The Government must cancel plans to open seven more charter schools, as serious concerns are raised about the results of those schools already opened, the Green Party said today. Most of the annual reports of the Partnership Schools already opened have been published today. The reports have been criticised for not providing information that’s comparable with state schools, including roll-based results for NCEA. Some schools had unacceptably high rates of suspensions and expulsions, and about half failed to meet all...

Parents up and down the country will have to pay more for their child’s education, following the National Government’s surprise budget move to freeze funding for schools’ operational grants, the Green Party said today. “It is shocking that National is freezing funding for schools. Education should be at the top of any Government’s agenda,” said Green Party education spokesperson Catherine Delahunty.   “After the class sizes back-down a few years ago, it is surprising to see the Government again attacking school...

Ploughing more money into the failed charter school programme is a mistake, the Green Party said today. The Government today announced funding in the 2016 Budget for seven more charter schools to open in 2017 and 2018, and for a new organisation to support charter school sponsors. “It defies belief that the Government would plough ahead with more charter schools when the programme has been so plagued by problems,” Green Party education spokesperson Catherine Delahunty said today. “No one from...

Information obtained by the Green Party today shows the Education Minister has sought no data or proof that her Government’s drive to increase the numbers of children in Early Childhood Education (ECE) is leaving those children better off. A Green Party parliamentary question shows that school readiness of children is not being monitored, despite large changes in early childhood education.  The National Government has set a Better Public Service target of 98 percent participation rate by 2016 in Early Childhood...

Every child who is suspected of having dyslexia must be provided with a publicly funded assessment, after a select committee of MPs heard children from lower income families are still missing out, the Green Party says. Last year half of all the schools that made no Special Assessment Conditions (SAC) applications, which help dyslexic students with their exams, were decile one or two. This follows previous revelations that the vast bulk of kids who got one on one assistance in...

The Minister of Education must step up and take responsibility for the children at Whangaruru School who have been failed by her charter school experiment, the Green Party said today. Education Minister Hekia Parata has today confirmed her earlier recommendation to close the experimental charter school, Whangaruru School, in Northland. “The children who were experimented on in Northland have been shortchanged by the Government on their education,” Green Party education spokesperson Catherine Delahunty said today. “The Minister of Education must not...

The Government must rule out opening any more charter schools, as the first of the experimental schools has just been told it is closing, the Green Party said today. The Minister of Education Hekia Parata has today given Whangaruru School in Northland a month to respond to her decision to close the school. A further 26 charter schools have applied to open in 2017. “The experience of the children who were experimented on in Northland should never be allowed to...

The Government’s new Education bill appears to continue its moves to privatise New Zealand’s public education system, the Green Party says. The Government today released the Education Legislation Bill, which makes several changes including creating new types of charter schools and paving the way for principals to take over the management of other schools in what appears to be a new franchise-type arrangement. “Schools are not businesses, they are part of their community. New Zealanders don’t want their schools run...

Comments made by the Minister of Education on Q and A today show she is in denial about the real impacts of poverty on children's learning, said the Green Party today. “Any review of the decile system must focus on creating equity - not measuring achievement of children and then blaming schools under pressure,” said Green Party education spokesperson Catherine Delahunty. "The Minister is reviewing the decile system and quoting a low statistic on poverty impacts from the OECD, which is...

The Government must make safe cycling around schools a priority, following new data that shows the number of children who cycle to school has dropped to just 2 percent, the Green Party said. The 25 Years of New Zealand Travel: New Zealand Household Travel 1989-2014 report shows that the percentage of children cycling to school has dropped from 12 percent in 1989 to 2 percent in 2014, and the number who walk to school has dropped from 42 percent to...