In 2005 Motueka High School became involved in the Ministry of Education's Enhancing Effective Practice in Special Education (EEPiSE) project. The following is the story of how we integrated this action research project into our existing Enhanced Programme Funding (EPF). The project was supported by researcher Don Brown and led by our head of department (HoD), Learners' Support, Jan Trafford. A range of teachers across the school, including the literacy coordinator, Tracey Ellery, were involved in the project. Both initiatives aimed at upskilling all teachers, enhancing literacy across the school and were based around students with moderate special teaching needs. We collated quantitative and qualitative data mainly in the area of literacy but also in numeracy and behaviour. These two programmes have made an impact on the school's efforts to increase learning outcomes.