17 December 2018

The Green Party have today called on schools to follow the law and accept kids that have been denied enrolment because they have a history of truancy or no fixed address.

“As a society we often say that education is a pathway out of poverty. But if schools are turning away kids because they are struggling with homelessness, what hope do they have?” Green Party Education spokesperson Chlöe Swarbrick said today.

“The best case scenario is schools aren’t aware of their legal obligations. The worst case scenario is some schools are putting struggling kids in the too hard basket. We’re letting these children down and we must do better.

“We know that kids being part of their community and having a sustained, fixed learning environment is a critical variable for success.

“We must try and avoid kids being shuttled around from one school to the next, because we know full well that transience negatively impacts learning outcomes.

“Kids should be attending their local school, and all schools should be resourced to ensure high quality education.

“I understand that for many Principals and Boards, there’s immense stress and strain to maintain achievement and attendance standards, but neither of those things should be artificially inflated by refusing rangatahi legally entitled to enrol.

“I call on all schools in Aotearoa New Zealand to do right by the children in this country, and take in their local kids”.

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