Our Why

When asked about her motivation, Pippa shared her experiences of a system that she believes is unfairly impacting families with children who have moderate needs.

In summary,

  • The Public System has its limits, naturally. Currently, it is facing the reality of needing to support many, many more than it has the capacity to support. The result is that the quality of the services provided is being compromised.

  • The MOE specifically identifies priority students. This means that those limited resources are not reaching the students with moderate needs. Schools try to rescue the situation by filling the gaps themselves, often using resources meant for other aspects of learning and vice versa. All are tired.

  • Many schools have given up on applying or referring on. Those children flagged as needing something different or other sit on lists with many other “moderates” - waiting. As parents, you are told, this is just how it is. This has become your norm. You expect nothing more, and you too are waiting.

  • Teachers love your children. They want to provide what is best for them, they want to know how, but often, they do not have the time to take a tea-break, let alone do some professional development required to figure it out themselves. They rely on Specialist Educators, called RTLB. These publicly-funded specialists are, however, reserved for a tiny few. Teachers are told it is just how it is. This is their norm, they expect nothing more, and they too are waiting.

  • Learning Support Coordinators (LSC’s) are assigned to a few schools. There are only a few LSC, but this broken package called Inclusive Education has been handed to LSC to fix. They are doing a great job, at their own expense, physically, mentally and emotionally and with little support. They are making a difference, slowly, day by day.

  • This progress is a win, but the reality is - it will take time for your child to access public supports, and your child’s teacher will be lucky if she sees any. No-one is saying your child shouldn’t get that public support; in-fact, schools welcome it, but what the MOE says is that they can’t help everyone who needs it.

This is our why.