Big increase in neurodiverse students leads to unique approach from school

A South Auckland primary school is going the extra mile to help its students with learning difficulties, thanks to a new sensory classroom that it has established.

Māngere Central Primary, which is predominantly made up of Pacific students, says the special room was set up in response to an increase in new entrants presenting higher learning needs.

In an interview with PMN News, the school's principal Jacqualene Maindonald says even though funding wasn’t immediately available, they felt it was too important an issue not to address.

“We decided that we can't wait around for the ministry to always provide funding. We're about our values of motivation, care and success.

“We converted our old dental clinic into a sensory room as not an isolation space, but a time out [place] … for those children that need to self-regulate, that need that time with one-on-one, with those sensory resources that [these students] need to be successful.”

Part of the sensory classroom in Māngere Central School. Photo/Jacqualene Maindonald

There are currently 16 children from years 1 and 2 aged between 5 and 6 years who are neurodiverse in their school. And Maindonald says last year was when they really began to notice an increase of children with extra learning needs.

Along with the sensory classroom they have also employed 18 teacher aides to support these pupils, Maindonald adds, which makes up a third of their staff.

Principal Maindonald says it's all about educating and raising awareness around children with neurodiversity and higher learning needs.

“We take children on a case-by-case scenario and we're all different. So we had to put on some workshops to educate our staff that you're different, the people in this room are different, and these children are different.

“We just have to know a little bit more about how they work, how they think, how to meet their needs, how to be more patient with them, how to get down to their level because we are all diverse.

“It’s our role to educate children and to support the parents and the families to get their children into school …because at the end of the day, it's about our future as a country and their future as a participating contributor to our New Zealand society.”

PMN News reached out to the Ministry of Education local point of contact involved with this project but they did not respond at the time of publication.

A sensory classroom. Photo/Jacqualene Maindonald.