School staff involved in the application process
Usually, an educator leads the application process. For a student already at school, an educator could be a class teacher, a Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO), or a teacher from a Regional Hospital Health School.
For a child not yet at school, but at least 4 years and 8 months old, an educator may be an early childhood education teacher, early intervention teacher or key worker.
Educators must work with parents and caregivers to get all the necessary information for the application form, giving help when needed.
Remember to check the Eligibility criteria for the School High Health Needs Fund before applying and refer to the School High Health Needs Fund Guidelines.
How to apply for the School High Health Needs Fund - for school staff
- Download the School High Health Needs Fund application form
- Complete Parts A and B electronically.
- Enter the educator and parent or caregiver details in Part C.
- Fill in the student details section in Part D.
- Print Part C and Part D.
- Arrange for the student's medical specialist to fill in Part D and return it to you.
- Sign Part C after reading all the information in the application.
- Arrange for the parent or caregiver to read or understand and then sign the completed form.
- Send the completed form (parts A, B, C and D) to:
Manager Assurance and Eligibility
Ministry of Education
P O Box 1666
Wellington 6140.Wellington.
What happens once an application for funding is submitted
Once the Ministry receives an application, it goes to a panel of experienced Special Education staff, known as verifiers.
The verifiers read the application carefully and then decide whether the child or student can get the funding. This verification process usually takes 3 weeks.
The Ministry then writes to the applicant and parents or caregivers to let them know whether funding has been approved or declined.
If the verifiers don’t have enough information to make a decision, they will request more details from the applicant. They may also seek the opinion of an independent paediatrician to help determine if a student meets the criteria.
If a student's application is declined but their care needs change significantly, a new application with proof of the changes can be submitted at any time.
Contact us for help
• Email manager.eligibility@education.govt.nz
•Contact your district office
• Call the Special Education information line on 0800 622 222