Mission Statement

'To be a leading provider of quality educational programmes and special related services which meet the needs of Deaf and hearing impaired students and their families.'

The van Asch Vision Enhancing learning outcomes for deaf and hearing impaired students. We will achieve this by: • providing specialist teaching and support services • developing communication and language • providing equitable access to learning • providing for successful learning van Asch Values PRIDE -- acronym P - Pride in self - school - Aotearoa / New Zealand R - Respect for - other people - diversity - the environment I - Integrity - Individual responsibility - Independence D - Deaf Culture - Deaf Participation in the wider community - Deaf Achievement E - Excellence -- Empathy - Equity

General Profile of the Centre, it's Community and it's Special Nature

van Asch Deaf Education Centre, located in Sumner, a suburb of Christchurch and in the Waitahi Iwi, was established in March 1880 as a fully funded Department of Education special school.
Today, it is both a coeducational composite special school and a national resource centre, having responsibility for the support of deaf and hearing-impaired children and students throughout the South Island and lower half of the North Island.
Maintaining regular liaison with the Ministry of Education Special Education district offices in the area, the Centre provides to deaf and hearing-impaired students, parents/caregivers and associated support persons:
• audiological services including cochlear implants and technical aids
• printed and electronic educational resources
• professional advice on educational management and programmes
• itinerant resource teachers
• part-time teacher support programmes and habilitation services
• counselling and guidance services, curriculum development and research support programmes.
• deaf resource services
It also provides a range of on-campus programmes, from preschool through secondary, and makes full use of the wide range of resources that are available both in the local district and greater Christchurch area. A satellite class operates at Hagley Community College in Christchurch.
Audiological and intervention services for children with cochlear implants are provided through a contract with the Southern Hearing Charitable Trust. Families can attend the centre for several days for support programmes and there is an outreach service to children's home areas.
The Centre has residential facilities to cater for those students whose overall personal, social and educational needs cannot be met in their home area. They are also used for assessment of students and in-service and training programmes for parents/caregivers and associated support persons.When not required for the Centre's own use, the facilities are used, on a cost recovery basis, for other education in-service programmes.
The Centre has well maintained buildings and grounds. Many of the buildings, particularly in the residential section, have been constructed since 1980 and there has been progressive upgrading of classrooms. There are a well equipped media centre, which also serves the region, a gymnasium, sealed tennis courts, well- appointed playing fields, a hall and associated conference facilities, technicraft, audiological assessment and technical services facilities, preschool through post-secondary instructional areas and special purpose instructional rooms.
Student enrolments come from throughout the region served by the Centre. Numbers vary; in 2011 there are 31 on the roll. Forty-seven Itinerant Resource Teachers of the Deaf support approximately 300 deaf and hearing-impaired students in mainstream settings in the region. In addition,support in the form of part-time teacher hours is provided for approximately 60 deaf and hearing impaired students who do not have access to the Itinerant Resource Teacher service.
Where appropriate, full use is made of medical and educational specialist support services within the Christchurch area. The centre, in turn, assists these agencies where advice and guidance is needed for mainstreamed deaf and hard of hearing and communication disordered students.
To meet the wide range of responsibilities associated with the on-campus and regional functions of the Centre a total of approximately 120 positions, or their equivalent, are established. Of these, appproximately 78 are classified as teachers and the remainder as ancillary staffing: audiologists, a counsellor, technicians, media centre personnel, teacher aides, residential and domestic staff, groundpersons, language assistant and Deaf Resource Person.

The full details of the Centre's Charter are set out in the attached PDF document.
Charter.pdf