Drug-affected pupils test school systems
Both sides of politics are now grappling with the number of meth-affected babies and mothers drinking while pregnant, as child experts are calling out for help.
An unknown number of meth- and alcohol-harmed children are struggling in schools, with one school principal saying it feels like ‘‘a wave coming through’’.
National Party MP Nikki Kaye says 50 meth-affected babies are being born each year at Auckland Hospital and schools are lacking support for fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) support – so she is pledging reform. But the Associate Minister of Education, Tracey Martin, says the problem was inherited from the prior National Government, and reform is already under way.
National on Wednesday released an education discussion document, floating policy ideas for the 2020 election. Among the proposals was a focus on greater support for children with complex needs. Kaye said support for children with needs such as FASD was patchy and too dependent on schools overcoming bureaucratic hurdles.
Kaye wanted children harmed by alcohol or meth identified earlier, and multidisciplinary teams – including greater access to speech therapists and psychotherapists – providing ongoing support. ‘‘We need to, through workforce planning, incentivise more of those specialists ... but then also really upskill those teacher aides and teachers and provide that additional support.’’
The Government already has a crossagency action plan to tackle FASD, which ends this year. Kaye said: ‘‘It is a big shift that needs to occur … There has been some good work done but National is talking about some much bolder reform.’’ She could not put a dollar figure on possible funding but said it would be ‘‘definitely millions’’.
Dr Andi Crawford, a clinical psychologist and FASD researcher, said it was unknown how many children were affected by FASD or meth, as there was no available data.
‘‘Children with [FASD] don’t seem to be necessarily meeting the current threshold for access to service.
‘‘What I am hearing from teachers and other professionals is that we are all working to capacity and children and families are not getting the support they need.’’
Waitakere Principals’ Association president Donal McLean, a principal of a West Auckland primary school, said in talking with other principals about children affected by meth ‘‘it felt like there was a wave coming through’’.
‘‘Trauma is the issue. ‘P’ is related to people who are in pretty dire circumstances ... there is often alcohol and there is often violence.’’ McLean said his school had successfully trialled an intensive model where, amid support from the whole school, a dedicated teacher worked with the child to guide them into the classroom.
He said Martin had responded positively to the project, which was being trialled in other schools. Further expansion was a question of political will.
Martin did not disagree with Kaye’s characterisation of schools’ access to support, which she called ‘‘siloed’’ and ‘‘overly bureaucratic’’. ‘‘That is the system I inherited from her. None of that is new.’’
She said the Government had changed the way services were delivered, including the creation of more than 600 learning support co-ordinators.
Currently under development were screening tools for dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia and mild autism.
A screening tool was needed for children mildly affected by fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, Martin said. Also lacking was research about how FASD and meth-affected children were best supported in schools.
Martin said she was waiting to see the evidence that would emerge from McLean’s trial and another in Napier, before committing to expanding such models.