Speech
Wilson School new buildings
May I begin by greeting everyone in the languages of the realm of New Zealand, in English, Maori, Cook Island Maori, Niuean, Tokelauan and New Zealand Sign Language.
Greetings, Kia Ora, Kia Orana, Fakalofa Lahi Atu, Taloha Ni and as it is the afternoon (Sign)
May I specifically greet you: Marilyn Glover, Chair of the Wilson School Board of Trustees and your fellow trustees; Jan Kennington, Principal of Wilson School and your staff; Your Worship Andrew Williams, Mayor of North Shore City; representatives from the Ministry of Education and Ngati Whatua; parents, boys and girls, ladies and gentlemen.
Thank you for inviting my wife Susan and me to visit WilsonSchool today.
I have been the asked to officially open these new facilities, but before I do I would like to speak briefly as to the significance of today's ceremony.
Students requiring special education are not a homogenous group. There is no one size fits all approach. Each child has their own needs and each one will respond best to the nature and style of education that best addresses those needs.
Some students are able to be enrolled in mainstream schools and, with some assistance, learn in mainstream classrooms alongside other students.
Others will attend a special education unit, where they study in a special class within a mainstream school.
For others, they will study in satellite classes, where they are on the roll of a special school but attend a special class in a mainstream school.
Finally, there are special schools, where the student is on the roll of a special school and on a site with other special classes.
It is primarily to this last category that today's celebrations are focused.
I am advised that that there has been a school on this site since the 1930s when the land and original homestead were gifted by William Wilson, of the families Wilson and Horton that once owned The New Zealand Herald.
Over time, the school has changed as the needs of the community have changed. From originally providing education to children with physical disabilities, it now caters for students with physical, intellectual and specific learning needs.
Many have multiple disabilities and high medical needs. This change reflected changing social attitudes with the closure of remote homes where children with multiple disabilities were brought up away from their families.
WilsonSchool now has a roll of 64, with about half of that number receiving their education here at the base school with the other half studying in four satellite classes at other schools.
The school now enters a new era with the completion of these new facilities. I am advised that this is the first new special school to be built in several years and is purpose-built.
It features gantry hoists in all six classrooms, allowing staff to more easily lift students out of wheel chairs. The corridors are wide and spacious, recognising that wheelchairs and walking frames take up more space. It is also light and bright.
Earlier this year, I travelled to the United Nations in New York where to received, on behalf of New Zealand, the Franklin Delano Roosevelt International Disability Award.
On receiving the award, I told the Secretary-General of the United Nations, HE Ban Ki-moon, and the other guests that the award reflected a sustained commitment to address the needs and wellbeing of New Zealanders who live with long-term impairment. I added:
"New Zealand is committed to the principle that everyone is born equal in dignity and worth. Everyone is entitled—as a human right—to live a life to the fullest extent of his or her abilities. [E]mpowering and supporting those with disabilities is not a social nicety, but is rather a deeper obligation that stems from its commitment to human rights."
The completion of these new facilities is another example of New Zealand's commitment to this principle. As I said at the time, there remains much to do to ensure people living with disabilities live in a fully inclusive society, but it is another step along the road towards those goals.
A complex and lengthy project such as this has naturally involved many people. I am advised that Principal for the last decade, Jan Kennington, has played a significant and inspirational role as have current and former members of the Board of Trustees and many current and former employees of the Ministry of Education. To everyone who has been involved, I offer my thanks for your dedication and perseverance.
It therefore gives me much pleasure, to declare these new facilities at WilsonSchool officially open.
And on that note, I will close in Maori, by offering greetings and wishing you good health and fortitude in your endeavours. No reira, tena koutou, tena koutou, kia ora, kia kaha, tena koutou katoa.