New Zealand's education system must provide every young New Zealander with the opportunities they need to reach their potential - that's the law.

The Education Act 1989 REQUIRES school boards to enrol students in their schools irrespective of the students' needs or abilities. Schools MUST identify students with special education needs. They are REQUIRED to develop teaching and learning strategies to meet their needs.

It's that simple.

The Government’s Inclusive Education agenda is all about ensuring that the education system works for all students. The school board's role is to monitor their school's progress towards achieving these goals. The principal is required to report regularly on what is happening in the area of inclusive education and what results are being achieved.

Students should, as a result of their rights being met, feel confident, feel like they belong, enjoy school, want to go to school, have friends, have a say in what goes on for them, feel challenged at school, and feel proud of the things they have learned and achieved.

Your child has these rights – your child has the right to be dyslexic. Because the education system does not always recognise and respond automatically to this right, dyslexic students will require strong advocacy by parents and others who wish to see them succeed and reach their potential.

It’s not rocket science!

14 March 2014

In my role as Principal Youth Court Judge of New Zealand I am increasingly concerned at the number of young offenders who may have an undiagnosed specific learning disability. There is good overseas research to suggest that there is a “route to offending” which may start with classroom difficulties caused by undiagnosed learning problems. It may well be that many of our serious young offenders have learning disabilities to varying degree and the prevalence of learning disabilities in the youth offender population could be significantly higher than occurs in the general population – up to fifty percent or more.

I set out below some of the overseas research, especially in England and Scotland that sets out these concerns in more detail. Suffice to say, in my role, and as a representative of Youth Court Judges around the country, we would certainly support far greater attention to this issue and for urgent research as to the incidence of learning disabilities amongst young offenders. I am more than happy to discuss this issue further.

Learning Difficulties and Youth Offending

In recent years, at least in England, there has been considerable debate about the extent to which there can be said to be a link between learning disabilities, especially dyslexia, and criminal offending by young people.

The Chief Executive of the British Dyslexia Association, has commented that: -

“In recent years a number of projects and studies has identified a link between dyslexia and offending. A much higher incidence of dyslexia, usually between 30% and 50% have been found amongst offenders compared with and incidence of 10% in the general population. Yet appropriate educational support of dyslexic offenders remains the exception rather than the rule”.

A study carried out jointly by the British Dyslexia Association and the Bradford Youth Offending Team in 2004, concluded that: -

“There is evidence of a “route to offending” among certain young people, which starts with difficulties in the classroom, moves through low self-esteem, poor behavior and school exclusion, and ends in offending. Children and young people with dyslexia are more likely fall onto this route, because of the difficulties they face with learning ….

A sample of 34 young offenders was screened for dyslexia and 19 were categorised as dyslexic, an incidence of 56%. The incidence of dyslexia appeared to increase with the severity of the offending. Reading ages were generally much lower than chronological ages and informal contact with the sample highlighted low self-esteem. Of the 19 young people in the dyslexic group, 7 had a statement of Special Educational Need, but they all related to behavioural problems, not dyslexia.

This project adds weight to evidence that suggests that there is a much higher incidence of dyslexia amongst young offenders. I am not aware of any similar research in New Zealand.

A recent report from the Children's Commissioner of England and Wales focusses on neuro-development disabilities amongst young people. Of the eight key disabilities that are recognised, dyslexia is one of them. According to that comprehensive report and surrounding research, 10% of young people in the overall youth population are diagnosed with dyslexia. However, for those young people in youth justice custody, the prevalence rate is 43 - 57%. This silent but compelling statistic tells its own powerful story of the indirect link between dyslexia, school disengagement and the pathway towards serious youth crime resulting in custodial intervention.

Judge A J Becroft
Principal Youth Court Judge of New Zealand

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Need a document that spells this all out? Click here to download "Building Inclusive Schools".


Under New Zealand and International law, equality of educational opportunity means that a school must identify and remove barriers to achievement.

Parents, as well as teachers, often assume that they can’t do what they truly believe is in the best interests of the student. Parents can advocate, and teachers can act.

Working as a partnership is critical – Parent | Student | Teacher

Where it is in the students' educational best interest;

Students have the right NOT to:
- be tested
- be timed
- be humiliated because of their difference
- read aloud in class
- show what they know [assessment] only through written work
- do homework
- present their writing to the class

Students HAVE the right to:
- be dyslexic
- participate in decision-making
- make mistakes
- the necessary amount of time to process the information / situation
- be respected and valued for their strengths
- classroom adjustments that allow greater access to learning
- special Assessment Conditions to level the playing field, like extra time,
  a reader, a writer, use of a computer, or a quiet space
- to be listened to, and their needs met and supported
- explicit teaching
- access the curriculum in ways that best suit their learning profile
- an Individual Education Programme [IEP]
- question

Teachers and schools HAVE permission to:
- identify students who learn differently and take all necessary action to support & allow participation
- meet with and talk openly to students, parents and caregivers
- make changes to the way the classroom environment is set up
- make changes to the way that they present lessons
- allow alternatives to writing, like mind maps and audio / video recordings, to be used as forms of learning evidence and participation
- give extra time or remove time as a barrier
- let their students give them feedback
- teach part of the curriculum well, rather than the whole curriculum poorly
- seek more funds from the Ministry to allow students’ rights to be met

There are simply no barriers to making the necessary changes other than a willingness
to do so – attitude is everything!