Public schools and early childhood education that meets everyone’s needs.
The Green Party will ensure every child can reach their full potential with a high-quality, accessible public education.
For anyone who wants to become a teacher, a doctor, start a business, or be a climate scientist – it all starts with a great education.
It’s not only the school system that affects a child’s education, but also housing, income, and health. Evidence has been clear for years that the main barrier to educational outcomes is underlying inequality.
Far too many kids bounce around between schools because they haven’t got secure housing. Others are forced to take days off school so that they can work to support their families. Years of underfunding have also deprived kura kaupapa Māori of the resources they need to support rangatahi and their learning.
The Green Party is the only party that will fix the underlying drivers of educational achievement. Our Income Guarantee will ensure families have what they need so their tamariki can focus on doing well at school.
The Green Party also understands that the working conditions of our teachers are the learning conditions of our tamariki. We will make sure teachers have everything they need to guide our children through some of the most important years of their life. We will raise pay, increase funding, and provide resourcing for better student to teacher ratios.
The time is now to make sure our education system gives our tamariki the best possible start on a journey that happens inside and outside the classroom. The Green Party will prioritise a well-resourced public education system where all tamariki can reach their full potential.
Our Plan
- Increase funding for community-run early childhood education centres, kindergartens, and kōhanga reo – and work towards universal, public, free early childhood education.
- Improve working conditions and staff-to-student ratios at all levels of education, from early childhood through to high school.
- Support rangatiratanga aspirations of Kura Kaupapa Māori, Kura a iwi, Kōhanga reo and Wananga; and resource the universal teaching of te reo Māori and tikanga Māori in all public schools.
- Create school hubs with health and social services on-site, including mental health support.
- Expand Ka Ora Ka Ako lunches in schools to provide fresh, nutritious lunches to all students at all schools.
- Ensure all schools provide an inclusive learning environment, with support for children with disabilities and additional learning needs, and opportunities for all tamariki to thrive.