‘Never seen it like this’: Gap in school learning support laid bare
Tuesday, 26 May 2026
When Penny Duffell’s daughter was diagnosed with ADHD it was a relief ‒ finally her daughter would get the help she needed at school.
But that wasn't the case. Instead, the child encountered inconsistency, a lack of understanding and a school more focused on her attendance, Duffell said.
Eventually, “school stopped feeling safe”, and, worried about escalating self harm, Duffell began homeschooling her daughter.
She's now 15, and ready to return to mainstream school, Duffell said. But the problems remain for children who aren't disengaged, but in need of greater support.
Read more:
More than 400 schools to access new learning support co-ordinators
Staff shortages hit schools: Will a new curriculum add to the pressure?
Duffell is one of several parents, educators and advocates who gathered at Parliament on Tuesday afternoon to voice their concern over the continued lack of learning support in schools.
When the Government earmarked $636 million for learning support in last year’s Budget, Education Minister Erica Stanford called it the “most significant investment in learning support in a generation”, a “seismic shift” designed to address long standing inequities.
However, a year later, on the eve of a new Budget, educators say not much has shifted on the ground.
The Parliament gathering was organised by Aotearoa Educators Collective to launch a report, Still Beyond Capacity, which has laid bare the gap between learning support funding and need.
Longworth Education researcher and educator Dr Sarah Aiono, who authored the report, found classrooms struggling to support children with complex needs.
Principals told Aiono of non-verbal, autistic children in nappies who were funded for only half their school hours, and of children who harmed themselves and others, impacting the learning of their classmates.
They talked about their efforts to address funding gaps: one principal said their school was funded $68,000 for learning support but spent $238,000.
Robyn Brown, principal of Birchville School in Upper Hutt, said she couldn't keep asking parents for “more and more and more” donations through sausage sizzles, which Aiono called a “double tax” for school whānau.
The school was so strapped for cash she did the cleaning herself. “It was cheaper to buy vacuum cleaners than pay for cleaners”.
One principal recalled a time when the school raised money for people in need in their community.
”We have had to step back from that. We are now the ones in need.'
The Government’s promise to support greater access to the Ongoing Resourcing Scheme (ORS), which supports high-needs students, did not appear to have materialised, the report said.
Some schools have abandoned applications altogether, while the ones that are successful say they only get a handful of hours of support, the report said.
And educators noted a swell in young learners entering school with anxiety, impaired speech, toileting needs and trauma.
Schools were leaning heavily on the goodwill of teachers and staff, while principals found their roles expanding: navigating funding applications, co-ordinating agency support and dealing with greater pastoral needs.
Māori were some of the least served learners: specialist resource teachers had been abolished, and there was no specific learning support for kura Kaupapa Māori.
Bridget White, Deputy Secretary, Learning Support said the first phase of extra support from last year’s Budget was rolled out at the beginning of the year.
The investment was a “multi-year” project, White said.
“While we recognise it may take time for the full impact of this investment to be realised by schools, families and learners, positive outcomes are already emerging after Term 1’s implementation.”
White said the funding went into key services including ORS, as well as extra teacher aide hours, allocated regionally based on need.
Early data showed that despite increasing demand, more children are being seen sooner, with fewer children waiting long periods for support.
In 2026, there are 221 funded full-time equivalent Learning Support Co-ordinator (LSC) roles with 474 schools allocated an in-school LSC entitlement for 2026, the ministry said. There are 396 schools for 2027 and 261 schools for 2028, subject to change due to new and closing schools.
Overwhelming need in Northland
Northland primary teacher Bee Thomas, who heads learning support in her school, said nothing had changed for Te Tai Tokerau.
There are 146 primary and secondary schools in Northland, and Thomas said they shared one educational psychologist and one special education advisor.
She kept making ORS applications for her students in the hope they could get some help.
“I'm told by all the experts, they won't get it, but it doesn't stop me putting it in because I need to sleep at night and feel right that I've done right by the kids.
“We are the hardest community, who need the most support, and I’ve seen zero evidence of any learning support at our school and for our kids at all.”
The needs at her school were so overwhelming that she often drove home “to the point of crying”, she said.
“I've got so many kids that need support and help, and there isn't any.”
Aiono has a background in special education, and works in schools, teaching teachers. Her work has given her a front row seat to the scale of the classroom needs.
“I've been working in classrooms for a long time, I have never seen it like this before, ever,” she said.
“I don't think people realise just how bad it is, and the impact of this on the teaching workforce and on our children.
“I'm literally in a school today where the principal said, I have seen zero of that money.”
For Aiono, the report was about putting people at the front of the learning support discussion.
“We're going to hear a lot this week from the Budget: we're going to spend a billion dollars here and a million dollars here.
“It sounds really flash … but when you look at it in the context of a massive system like education… it's not reaching the kids and their families and the teachers who need the support.”