Outreach school
He Kura Āmiorangi
Outreach school
The Ko Taku Reo Outreach School provides specialist teaching, advice and guidance, assistive technology and NZSL support to Deaf and Hard of Hearing students enrolled in their local mainstream school. The level of specialist support provided to students is reviewed and allocated on a term by term basis following a process of local prioritising and moderation.
Direct teaching support
Our programme is designed to ensure inclusive access for Deaf students within a mainstream classroom, with a strong emphasis on the New Zealand Curriculum. It focuses on developing essential skills in foundation studies such as reading, writing, mathematics, and other curriculum areas, while also fostering a deeper understanding of diverse cultural perspectives, particularly the contributions of the Deaf community.
Direct teaching support prioritises language, literacy, mathematics, and Deaf culture, promoting bilingualism through New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) and encouraging full engagement with the curriculum.
Delivered by a Resource Teacher of the Deaf or staffing transfer teacher, this support assesses students' language, literacy, mathematics, and overall engagement, ensuring alignment with curriculum expectations and supporting academic success.
Specialist teaching services
Specialist teaching services are allocated to students meeting the criteria for literacy, language support in an inclusive setting. This service is provided either by a Resource Teacher of the Deaf (RTD) or qualified teacher based in the student’s local area. Both RTDs and staffing transfer teachers receive outreach/professional support from the Specialist Resource Teachers (SRT) of literacy, sign language and speech-language. NZSL tutors provide sign language tuition and Deaf awareness training.
Who is eligible?
Student needs are prioritised around language levels and functioning in the class. Students are grouped into three priority levels and this informs the level of direct teaching support from an RTD or the funding transferred to the student's school.
We hold the ORS (Ongoing Resourcing Scheme) funding for Deaf students in mainstream schools. This support is delivered either by a Resource Teacher of the Deaf or a transfer of staffing. Students' learning needs are based on their current Individual Education Plan (IEP).
Language and literacy assessments inform the level of teacher support provided from year to year.