Govt Retains Funding For ‘Crucial’ Out-of-School Classes

Tuesday, 3 June 2025, 6:21 pm
Article: Max Frethey - Local Democracy Reporter

Funding for a Government programme that enables education outside of the classroom has been retained in Budget 2025, much to the relief of providers.

In April, director of Nelson’s Suter Art Gallery Toni MacKinnon told Nelson City Council she was concerned about the future of the Enriching Local Curriculum programme as the Government sought to reduce spending.

“I don’t think there’s any expectation from the sector that that funding will be renewed in the next financial year,” she had said in April.

But the Ministry of Education has now confirmed that the annual funding pool of $4.964 million has been retained.

The programme reached 351,000 students in primary and secondary schools and kura, and 18,092 children in early childhood education in 2024.

More than 5000 of those students visit the Suter, which receives around $40,000 per year to enable the visits to occur.

“It’s great,” MacKinnon said. “For lots of those kids, that’s the only time they come to the Suter gallery … they also bring their parents back, which is kind of neat.”

While at the gallery, the students are shown an exhibition before doing a hands-on activity related to the exhibit while they learn about the artist’s message.

For example, in October 2024, Stoke School students explored the Hineukurangi exhibit of Māori culture and clay art before getting to make their own model clay kaitiaki (guardians).

MacKinnon said those experiences were “crucial” for children.

“It’s probably about kids understanding that art is a language and that it expresses ideas, but it’s also where a lot of kids come face to face with cultures other than their own, so it’s often where they build empathy and knowledge about other points of view.”

The Suter always got “very positive” feedback on the classes, which teachers have described as “incredible”, she added.

Outdoor educator Whenua Iti has received funding through the programme for more than a decade to engage 500 children, but it contributes funding from other sources to reach more than 1000.

“With the current changes across many sources of potential government funding, we naturally had some concern but are thrilled by the proposal to extend the funding through to the end of 2026,” said chief executive Mark Bruce-Miller.

While future funding for Whenua Iti beyond the end of this calendar year is not guaranteed, Bruce-Miller said they deliver “exceptional” education and youth development outcomes.

“We are pleased to see these outcomes and their far-reaching impact being further invested in.”

Whenua Iti’s programmes give students opportunities to connect with the natural world outside of their school through exploration, discovery, restoration, and cultural understanding.

“We enjoy working with schools to enhance the learning of their tamariki, incorporating the needs of the group and any classroom goals,” Bruce-Miller said.

The organisation is seeking to negotiate an extension to its contract to 2026.

While the funding environment was tight, Bruce-Miller added that Whenua Iti welcomes discussions with community stakeholders who are interested in supporting the organisation.

More than 30% of ELC funding recipients are members of Museums Aotearoa.

Interim chief executive Sarah Maguire said it was “great” to see the Government continuing the “proud tradition” of education outside the school gate, which has occurred since the 1940s.

“It makes sense that the Government would continue to invest in long-standing, trusted partners like museums and galleries,” she said.

“Students need more opportunities to learn, not fewer.”

Independent research has put the value of museums and galleries hosting educational programmes for school visits and holiday programmes at $32.7 million for the 2022/23 financial year – “a healthy return on a taxpayer investment”.

Maguire said she will be looking for the programme to deliver future contract certainty for the medium-term, as well as opportunities to deliver across a range of subjects.

“These programmes not only support student success, they are a key part of teachers’ professional development and subject matter expert support, particularly at the primary level.”

Nelson Mayor Nick Smith helped establish the programme, then known as Learning Experiences Outside the Classroom, when he was Minister of Education.

Smith had been concerned about the potential loss of the programme and had written to the current Minister, Erica Stanford, urging its retention.

He was “delighted” the programme is continuing.

“I would have felt very disappointed had that gone,” he said.

“Council spends huge sums on maintaining these facilities and having the 5000 students a year coming through them is an important return on that investment.”

He added he will be “strongly supporting” any future funding applications from the Suter, and from the Nelson Provincial Museum which also receives a grant from the programme.

In addition to the Suter, Provincial Museum, and Whenua Iti, the New Zealand Marine Studies Centre is the fourth regional organisation to receive ELC funding.

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