Greetings from the Combined Board of Trustees
for Kelston and van Asch Deaf Education Centres
NZSL
Greetings from the Combined Board of Trustees for Kelston and van Asch Deaf Education Centres.
Recently we have been doing quite extensive consultation about the future of Deaf Education and our services and the proposal to merge both of the Deaf Education Centres.
Thank you for working with us on this. Your feedback has been really useful and will help us shape our strategic direction for 2019 and beyond.
We thought it might be helpful for you to understand how Deaf Education operates and introduce you to the Strategic Goals which guide our work:
At the end of 2017 the Combined Board agreed on 7 Strategic Goals.
These are to:-
1. Develop a holistic progressive service for Deaf and hard of hearing learners that maximises educational, social and emotional outcomes and is accessible, equitable and efficient in its nationwide delivery.
This means we want to deliver a service that is fair and offers equal opportunities for every learner so that:-
- They feel valued and part of an inclusive community of learning.
- Their individuality and diversity are acknowledged and respected.
- Their social and emotional wellbeing is valued and supported just as much as their academic achievement.
- They are confident, informed and empowered.
- We support parent/learner informed communication choices so they can access the New Zealand curriculum and reach their full academic potential.
2. Develop one new national organisational structure that enables excellent educational outcomes for Deaf and hard of hearing learners New Zealand wide.
At present, providing Deaf Education Services in New Zealand is the responsibility of two Centres serving the whole of the country. These are van Asch Deaf Education Centre in Sumner, Christchurch and Kelston Deaf Education Centre in Auckland. Between them, they support more than 2,000 Deaf and hard of hearing children nationwide. In 2012, the Ministry of Education combined the Trustee Boards of each Centre into one national Board. This has allowed opportunities for uniting the strengths of both Centres and sharing skills, knowledge and resources. The Board is now moving to create one new organisational structure to deliver a more efficient service nationally. We recently consulted with staff, parents and other stakeholders about the merger proposal. We expect a decision on the proposal by the end of March 2019.
3. Inform decisions, priorities, and resourcing by utilising data, evidence-based best practice and research, that underpin the child-centred values of Excel, Choose, Grow and Belong.
We will continue to build our capacity and knowledge by using student data and up-to-date research so that we are leaders in the field of Deaf Education.
4. Lift individual and collective student wellbeing and achievement through high quality teaching and learning pathways.
It is the Board’s responsibility to ensure that our learners receive support that meets their individual needs and allows them to achieve their best. We will ensure that our staff have the training, knowledge and skills needed to make this happen. Teaching practices will respect cultural diversity and the preferred learning styles of each learner.
5. Build and maintain strong, collaborative relationships with students, family/whanau, the Deaf community, the wider education community and other external stakeholders.
We want our learners to develop their potential as active members of their schools, local communities and society and their family and whanau to be able to contribute to and influence the decisions that affect them. We will improve how we communicate with you so that you are involved, supported and appreciated.
6. Use and manage resources to provide the maximum educational benefit for our learners.
We will continue to lobby for increased resources for our services and will ensure we make the most efficient use of the funds available to us to deliver the best services we can to our learners.
7. Align property and infrastructure to support a nationwide service delivery model.
Having one new national structure will allow us to make the best use of our buildings and properties nationally and ensure we deliver services that are both accessible and equitable for every learner - no matter where in the country they live.
These new Strategic Goals represent an exciting new phase in developing Deaf Education Services throughout New Zealand. We welcome your support and feedback as you make this journey with us.
We will continue to keep you up-to-date with our progress and will shortly be sending out a parent newsletter which will be issued to you each term. We also invite you to visit the Parent section of the websites for van Asch DEC and KDEC and our new Facebook page for Deaf Education.
Kind regards
Rachel Douglas
Board Chair
Terri Johnstone
Limited Statutory Manager
KDEC
Mike Rondel
Limited Statutory Manager
Kelston & van Asch Deaf Education Centres
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