Welsh content area
iNet special education study tour to New
Zealand
Saturday 16 – Saturday 30 October 2010
Within the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust’s special
school network there is great interest in the work of special
schools in New Zealand. To support this iNet, the international arm
of the SSAT, is running a study tour to New Zealand in October
2010.
The tour will include school visits and a Special Education
Leadership Conference hosted by the New Zealand Special Education
Principals Association. During the study tour you will:
- Spend time in special schools both in the North and South
Islands.
- Visit the country’s first special school to be built in twenty
years.
- Attend a seminar and visit the world famous Champion Early
Childhood Intervention Centre in Christchurch.
- Attend a conference on Leadership in Special Education which
will include presentations from schools and the University of
Auckland Leadership Centre.
- Participate in reflection and de-brief sessions with Professor
Barry Carpenter who will lead the study tour.
The tour is relevant to headteachers and senior staff in special
schools and to experienced consultants / advisors in special
education and disability.
The study tour combines visits to special schools and centres
throughout New Zealand. By participating in the study tour you
will:
- Gain an understanding of the New Zealand education system by
direct observation of daily routines in New Zealand special
schools.
- Form an appreciation of the leadership challenges for New
Zealand special school principals through focused conversations and
general discussions.
- Explore the curriculum available to students with special
educational needs / disabilities, including the multi-cultural
aspects related to Maori and Pacific Island communities.
- Debate with the principal of Wilson School, Auckland (winner of
the New Zealand Architecture prize) and consider the design
implications of building a new special school in the 21st
century.
- Forge links for future comparative leadership learning and
collaborative curriculum exchange and development.
- Participate in a seminar on ‘Child Mental Health’ at the world
famous Champion Early Childhood Intervention Centre given by Dr
Patricia Champion, M.B.E.
- The evenings will be free-time with no programmed activities.
There are no formal programmed cultural activities included but
suggestions for activities and booking options will be provided.
For example, Christchurch hosts the National Symphony Orchestra of
New Zealand and the National Museum of New Zealand which charts the
history of the Maori culture.
See the full study tour programme
Further information
This study tour is now fully booked. For further information
please contact Hannah Warwick on Hannah.Warwick@ssatrust.org.uk
or 020 7802 9094.