6. Students—Management of Behavioural Issues

[Sitting date: 29 July 2014. Volume:700;Page:5. Text is subject to correction.]

6. TIM MACINDOE (National - Hamilton West) to the Minister of Education : What recent announcements has she made on schools addressing difficult behaviours of students?

Hon HEKIA PARATA (Minister of Education): Today I was pleased to announce that student stand-downs, suspensions, and exclusions have reached 14-year lows. Early leaving exemptions have dropped by 89 percent between 2006 and 2013. Since 2008 there have been 4,700 fewer stand-downs, a reduction of 24 percent; 1,292 fewer suspensions, a reduction of 30 percent; and 300 fewer exclusions, a reduction of 22 percent. Under this Government we are seeing far fewer kids being removed from school and more students staying longer and gaining better qualifications.

Tim Macindoe : What approaches are being taken to help pupils stay at school longer and leave better qualified?

Hon HEKIA PARATA : We have a range of initiatives investing into safe and positive school environments to keep kids at school longer, and there are more educational pathways to choose from so that they can be successful. They include, for example, a $145 million investment into Positive Behaviour for Learning school-wide programmes, which will involve 800 schools by 2017; a $15 million investment by the Prime Minister’s Youth Mental Health Project initiatives for youth resilience programmes; a much improved nationwide integrated attendance service; and more kids are leaving with National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) level 2 results through a mix of very targeted support and options such as trades academies coupled with clear vocational pathways that are seeing kids getting NCEA level 2 because they can see the practical application of their learning. More kids are starting earlier, staying longer, and leaving better qualified under this Government.

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