Like Roncalli College, Craighead Diocesan is a special character school. And like Roncalli, Craighead has had to close its books to new enrolments for 2025 having reached its roll capacity.

Enough's enough

Roncalli College principal Chris Comeau says the Catholic co-ed school's 520-student roll cap has been reached for 2025.

"The number is consistent with previous years but we have had to decline more applications this year due to lack of capacity" he says.

Comeau says he thinks the increase in demand is due to new families moving into the region, as well as a desire for Catholic education.

In his view it's unlikely that the roll capacity would increase any time soon.

"The only way we would be able to accept more students is if we were granted a roll increase. However, that is unlikely to happen.

"I think we are at the right size."

Room to grow

Timaru's Craighead Diocesan School has not only closed enrolments for 2025, but was directed by the Ministry of Education to reduce its over-subscribed roll.

But it could grow a bit more, principal Lara Hearn-Rollo says.

"We have a roll cap of 380 but we are currently over that cap."

Hearn-Rollo says Craighead is managing reducing the roll at entry points like year 7 and 9. But it's not easy.

"It's really hard [to turn girls away]. Under our enrolment scheme it often means we cannot bring in new families to the school, particularly at year 9."

The school was 20-30 students over capacity.

Hearn-Rollo doesn't see that as an issue. "We've got the capacity. Our auditorium would take 450 and when we look at our buildings the capacity is 450.

"If you've got those bigger numbers it does allow you to have more in the way of options you can offer."

Source

• ODT

There's been a steady increase in roll numbers, according to the Ministry of Education.

Immigrants boost school rolls

An immigration-driven surge in enrolments is adding to the pressure. The national school roll is now topping 831,038 children.

In Invercargill, Catholic co-ed Verdon College has reached its maximum enrolment number.

The school must hold spots for preference pupils, says principal Jarlath Kelly (pictured).

"It's been a bit tricky for us and we've had to turn people away - and we're just trying to hold on to places for our preference students, being a Catholic school."

Verdon College has many pupils from immigrant families which has been positive for the school, Kelly says.

"A lot of our new-to-New Zealand families are from the Philippines and we have a very vibrant and thriving Filipino community. We have done for some years so that's another positive for us."

The school welcomes new New Zealanders. Communication is eased by employing staff who can speak various languages.

Other Southland secondary principals are also reporting increasing school rolls.

This is borne out by the Ministry of Education's provisional rolls for Otago and Southland in 2024, which show a one percent increase. That's the equivalent of 486 children, according to provisional rolls for 2023.

Southland Secondary Principals Association chairman, school principal Peter Wilkinson says he thinks some schools in Southland are at capacity for infrastructure and teaching staff.

Primary school rolls decline

Interestingly, Southland primary schools are seeing a slight decline in enrolment numbers.

One principal says his school saw a peak in enrolments about five years ago.

"In the last two to three years those big increases have been going off to high school ... so there is a slight decline of enrolments."

His roll is sitting at about 400 pupils at the moment and is expected to go down to 350 at the start of next year. This is likely to climb to about 430 by the end of next year.

The fluctuation may be driven by rental accommodation which often leads to transient enrolments as people live in the area for a while and then move on.

Additional ESOL funding needed

One primary principal says he has many international pupils from Columbia and, although they managed English as a Second Language (ESOL), they could always use more funding.

"We're doing all right but that's just through sheer chance and because we've got experienced staff," he says.

Source

• Otago Daily Times

Serenity Pilgrim, Anna Courage, Rose Standtrue, Crystal Loyal, Pearl Valor and Virginia Courage took Gloriavale's leaders to court, arguing they lived in servitude working on the West Coast commune's domestic teams and were not community volunteers.

Last week, Employment Court Chief Judge Christina Inglis found the six women, who lived in the Gloriavale Christian community, were employees while working on the teams, after being primed for the job and taught from birth to submit to male leadership in all aspects of their lives.

In her findings, Judge Inglis said Read more

It wants the system overhauled and additional funding provided.

Responding to the need for extra funding, Alan Blackie, chair of the Marist Alternative Education Centre in Glenfield, said additional funding would be very welcome.

"Only 60% of the Marist Alternative Education Centre's funding comes from Government; the rest the Board has to fund-raise for," Blackie told CathNews.

The Marist Alternative Education Centre is one of many alternative education centres around New Zealand.

Blackie said that about 25 years ago, the Marist Brothers established the school for students in danger of being suspended.

"Unfortunately, the need hasn't gone away; rather, it has increased," he said.

Blackie told CathNews that he admired those involved in alternative education.

"For many reasons, our students are less equipped to learn in a traditional school setting."

He says the school works around showing respect.

"The school staff work hard to show respect to students and, in turn, looks to the students to mirror that respect to themselves and others."

A realist, Blackie told CathNews the school has "some wins".

Acknowledging it is tough work, he says the school is very pleased that it has a registered teacher and is well supported by teaching assistants, all with university degrees in Science and Fine Arts.

Education Review Office report

In a report released this week, ERO says few of the at-risk over 2000 13- to 16-year-olds enrolled in the programme achieved NCEA Level 2.

"Too many ended up on benefits later in life," ERO says.

"Alternative Education is potentially a missed opportunity to change these young people's life trajectories.

"They are often engaged and attending, but the current model of provision is failing to provide them with a quality education and may be contributing to poorer outcomes.

"The long-term costs for the young person, their family and broader society are very significant."

This year's additional Budget provision equated to only $16,536 per student - less than the funding provided per student in some small secondary schools.

Having to fund-raise to make ends meet does mean some schools have closed through insufficient funding.

Providers offer small-group learning with individual tutors, which students enjoy, but ERO found the results aren't good.

"The current model of Alternative Education is inadequate ... leading to worse outcomes than for other young people," the report says.

"Teaching is weak and teaching resources are inadequate. Only one in five educators ... are registered teachers.

"Facilities are often so run down they act as a barrier to learning. We visited 22 ... sites and found six operating out of poor-quality."

ERO recommends

The report recommends the Education Ministry (MoE) help schools identify and support those most at risk of disengaging from school and provide effective options for pupils who aren't thriving.

It also recommends overhauling alternative education to provide "a clear national model with standards for high-quality provision and funding".

It must be enough to meet students' complex needs.

Alternative education should be based on a national evidence-based teaching model. Registered teachers should be engaged. Small classes and kaupapa Maori approaches should be offered.

The MoE should ensure suitable facilities are provided.

Some of ERO's statistics

• 76 percent of students preferred alternative education to their previous school
• in the year before beginning alternative education, students miss about 58 days of school
• 68 percent are Maori
• 63 percent are male
• only 9 percent achieved NCEA Level 2 compared to 32 percent of students from comparable backgrounds not in alternative education
• by age 24, 63 percent were on benefits compared to 51 percent for the comparator group
• students are generally exposed to a wide range of negative social environments
• students may be in alternative education from several weeks to several years

Source

• RNZ
• Supplied: Marist Alternative Education Centre in Glenfield.

When approached for comment, David McLoughlin, Communications Adviser for the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference, said nothing in the Teachers Disciplinary Tribunal decision or in any NZ media says or suggests any Catholic involvement in this case.

In the decision, the teacher specifically says his stance is based on his "Christian belief," not his religion, which is not stated.

Auckland Secondary Schools' Principals Association president Greg Pierce said schools were required to use students' legal names for formal reporting purposes. But for daily, practical use, most schools preferred to use students' chosen names and pronouns, he said.

Catholic schools are not exempt from requirements to protect and support trans students.

Integrated schools, most of which are Catholic, are entitled to have a special character but were still bound by human rights legislation, Ministry of Education general manager Sela Finau said. That included the right to freedom from discrimination on the basis of sex, which has been interpreted to include gender identity.

Dr Kevin Shore, who leads the Association of Proprietors of Integrated Schools, said Catholic bishops had provided clear directions and guidelines supporting trans students to ensure they are safe and supported.

However, in a statement, Right to Life, a Christchurch-based pro-life group, is questioning the justice of the decision of the Teachers Disciplinary Tribunal.

Right to Life says that the teacher's human rights of free speech and freedom of religion have been violated.

They also maintain the tribunal's decision also violates the student's right to be educated in a safe environment.

"Right to Life upholds the biological truth that the student is a female, having been created by God with forty-six XX chromosomes.

"There is no medical procedure on earth that can change her gender from female to male," say the group.

Teacher deregistered

A New Zealand teacher was deregistered after refusing to acknowledge a transgender student's preferred pronouns and name, citing religious beliefs.

The teacher, whose identity remains undisclosed in the Disciplinary Tribunal decision, informed the 14-year-old student that gender transition conflicted with his Christian faith.

While not contesting the student's account, the teacher denied any wrongdoing during the tribunal proceedings.

'Teachers have a responsibility of care and part of this is affirming the birth sex of every child, the gender they were created as, which is an inseparable part of their identity,' he told the tribunal.

"God knows best and this behaviour will have negative consequences."

The teacher further asserted that individuals seeking to transition should seek "help and deliverance."

The teacher's submissions caused the tribunal to have 'significant concerns' about his ability to continue working as a teacher.

"They (the teacher) begin with objection based on Christianity, move to verbatim scripture, and then continue on to link the conduct with 'the devil', homosexuality and even abortion" the decision reads.

'The Tribunal is left with the firm view that Mr (teacher's name) is not fit to be a teacher. The conduct on its own calls this into serious question,' the decision reads.

In response to the incident, Finau emphasised that all schools are legally obligated to cater to students with diverse needs and create a safe and inclusive environment.

Although the legislation does not specifically address the use of preferred names and pronouns, the ministry published guidelines last year to provide schools and educators with direction on this matter.

Sources

NewsTalk ZB

Daily Mail

New Zealand Herald

Supplied: Right to Life

The Ministry of Education placed the Gore Catholic school under statutory management at the end of last month.

Principal Tara Quinney (pictured) says she has no confidence in the school's board chair, Ruth Mitchell, to lead.

She says she has a dysfunctional relationship with Mitchell and won't be able to work with her in the future.

Community concerned

Quinney says she is speaking out about the issues surrounding the Ministry's intervention because of community concerns about the school's health.

She wants to allay these.

She says she's finding it "heartbreaking" when people approach her with their concerns for the school's future. They paid for and built the school back in 1969, she says.

"I know we are a strong Catholic school which has an amazing history and support behind it. I don't like people feeling unsettled about the future of our school when it is actually very safe and strong."

These included claims that Mitchell and three other board members were perhaps there for "the circles they themselves socialise in", rather than being there for the whole school.

Quinney's concerns

The principal's and board chair's difficulties began before Christmas.

They concerned four board members, including Mitchell, asking to meet with four senior staff without Quinney's presence. The meeting was about a parent survey the board had undertaken.

Although Quinney was absent at the time, she stopped the meeting as it was outside the board's governance duties, she said.

She explained the board conducted the survey to determine what the community thought about certain things at the school. It focused on a lot of the negatives and not the positives, Quinney said.

She didn't think sharing the survey summary would be appropriate then. It was the middle of term four at a very stressful time of the school year, she said.

The staff had had three years of Covid behind them, were exhausted and trying to make it through to the end of the year.

Nonetheless, she was open to finding out about the survey.

She recommended, "even though it was outside the bounds of governance," she and the senior leadership team meet with the board early in the 2023 school year.

"That was not an option that was taken up," she said.

An untrained Board

Quinney said the board comprises mostly new members and thinks the issues stem mainly from their not being trained in board matters.

She said Mitchell had repeatedly refused to get free training for board members.

Training is an "absolute must" regardless of people's experience and backgrounds, Quinney said.

The Ministry said training is not compulsory.

Quinney said she wants a board committed to the school's character.

Limited statutory manager

Board chair Ruth Mitchell is not responding to questions regarding Quinney's specific worries.

Instead, the school's limited statutory manager has acknowledged Quinney had some concerns about the school's governance.

The board is confident Nicola Hornsey's appointment as a limited statutory manager can address these.

Source

• Stuff

The state-integrated year 7 to 15 co-educational Catholic school has about 450 pupils.

Ministry of Education leader for the South, Nancy Bell, directed a limited statutory manager's (LSM) appointment on 5 April.

She says the school's board of trustees had sought support with governing the school, but did not enlarge on what the issues were.

Timaru lawyer Nicola Hornsey has been appointed as limited statutory manager. She will begin her duties in mid-May.

In a memo to St Peter's College community before Easter, Hornsey explained the school board had asked the Ministry of Education for support with school governance.

"Despite the title, I work at board level. The day-to-day operations of the school are managed by the principal and her senior leadership team," Hornsey's memo says.

She says she has worked as a lawyer with a number of schools throughout the South Island over the years.

"The first stage of the intervention involves getting to know the school," she says.

Hornsey has the powers and duties as an employer to establish policies and procedures, to manage the curriculum, including teaching and assessment practice, and to support the special character of the school.

She will also advise the school's board on communication and financial operations.

Until Hornsey is able to take up her new role, Dunedin school governance consultant Cleave Hay had been liaising with the board.

Hay has been "assisting and doing some initial scoping interviews," he says.

Bell says while most schools operated successfully, a small number needed outside help to resolve concerns.

"In these situations, we are available to step in with the appropriate supports and expertise, allowing the school to focus on teaching and learning.

"The aim of any intervention is always to return the school to full self-management as soon as the recommendations of the intervention have been met," she says.

Neither presiding board manager Ruth Mitchell nor principal Tara Quinney were willing to comment to media, referring enquiries to Hay for comment.

Source

• Stuff
• ODT

Amid a long-term push away from ability grouping, both the Ministry of Education and the Government support think tank Tokona Te Raki - Maori Futures Collective aim to stop this.

In a bid for more equity, the Christchurch organisation launched a new action plan on Monday to remove streaming from Aotearoa's schools by 2030.

Called Kokirihia, the Collective's report has the Matauranga Iwi Leaders Group's endorsement. The Ministry of Education supported its release.

Researchers and report authors Eruera Tarena and Hana O'Regan (pictured) say the practice must be scrapped to make schools fairer for all students.

Tarena, who is Tokona te Raki's executive director, says while streaming has had a place throughout the history of teaching, it's time to re-evaluate it.

"The roots of streaming has been something that is deeply embedded in our history and education system," he says.

"It's the fact it's so deeply rooted in our history that we actually have gone beyond the point where we question it and we see it as normal."

New Zealand continues to have one of the highest rates of ability grouping in the developed world. It comes second in that equation - pipped to the post by Ireland.

The Ministry of Education discourages streaming. Regardless of this, decisions are left to individual school boards as to whether to use ability grouping systems on students.

Ditching streaming is part of an effort to find new ways to shift teaching to become more inclusive than it had been in the past, Tarena says.

"You can't just stop streaming and teach in the same way," he explains.

CORE Education chief executive Hana O'Regan isn't a fan of streaming either.

She argues the practice creates racial inequity for Maori and Pacific students.

"It has hugely damaging impacts on a lot of Maori and Pasifika, But also, what we know is that it's a behaviour which is changeable. What's fantastic is that we know the solution.

"There's a whole bunch of courageous teachers who have transitioned away from streaming and most often they use mixed-ability teaching" she says.

"What we know from the evidence is that when you have these mixed abilities, everyone benefits, but in particular, Maori and Pasifika students' achievement rates go through the roof."

O'Regan says the evidence shows all students benefit from the removal of streaming.

It is important not to be "fearful" of making changes to the education system.

"When we think about our younger and faster growing Maori and Pasifika populations, who are going to be a much larger proportion of our population and workforce in the future — we can't afford to continue a practice we know creates racial inequity.

"Which, to be blunt, means it is a racist practice."

Source

• 1News

Students are leaving school without qualifications, says Kevin Shore, Catholic Education Office CEO.

Catholic school principals tell him of former pupils working instead of coming to school. They're helping with stressed family finances.

Others are losing motivation.

He says absence and interruptions are draining their confidence and for some, NCEA success seems out of reach.

Shore says staff are stressed and the last three years have required a huge amount of resilience.

He says Catholic principals and teaching staff are making every effort to limit the negative learning impacts on students.

With sick leave among New Zealand's teaching staff up by 80 per cent some educational experts seem dismissive when they describe Covid as an "occupational risk" for teachers on the front line.

Long Covid's not being taken seriously enough, teachers say. Yet its symptoms accompany one in 10 infections.

One teacher speaks of "brain fog, fatigue and breathlessness". Another can't walk downstairs. Her lung capacity is poor.

Others report memory problems.

One says he needed reminding how to get to classrooms and when school finishes!

Getting relievers isn't much of a solution.

Principals say Covid is making it "impossible" to find relief teachers.

There are fewer than 8,500 relief teachers in New Zealand - the lowest number for 17 years.

In two years, more than 1,200 have left and have not been replaced causing some schools to roster students home and move to online learning.

Liam Rutherford of NZEI Te Riu Roa says relief teachers need more support.

"In the pandemic, people want access to more secure work and relieving is the opposite of that," he says.

"With no work during lockdowns or over holidays people have no job security. There isn't anything holding them into the sector.

"Covid only emphasises the long-standing issue of insecurity in relief work.

"They need a wider teaching career pathway, with access to professional development."

Rutherford is calling for an in-depth review of the relief teaching workforce.

Sources

• Supplied
• Stuff
• NZ Herald

According to the Ministry of Education, chronically absent means the students are missing at least three learning days a fortnight. The ministry also reports that almost 40% of students are not going to school regularly.

Catholic Schools, on the whole, had better regular attendance rates than the average of all schools across New Zealand between 2015 to 2020. On average, over the 5 years, the difference has been more than 5 percentage points.

In 2020, the difference in regular attendance was at its peak with 71.5% of regular attendance in Catholic Schools compared to 64.0% across all schools.

Chronic absence was also considerably lower, with 4.2% of chronic absence in Catholic Schools compared to 9.0% across all schools.

Ministry of Education data shows approximately 9% of school students attended a Catholic school in New Zealand between 2015 and 2020.

While the data shows better attendance in Catholic schools, they tend to be of a higher decile average and have less disadvantaged students.

What is significant is that the trend to higher truancy levels are similar, even though the gap highlights Catholic school students have a better attendance record.

The primary explanation for justified absences was illness. In contrast, the main reason for unjustified absences was "no information provided or a throwaway explanation".

The proportion of school days students missed due to unjustified absences was highest among decile 1 schools (12.9%), followed by decile 2 (9.5%) and then decile 3 (7.8%). Absences were highest among Maori (9.2 per cent) and Pasifika (9.6 per cent).

National Party education spokesman Paul Goldsmith said it was a "crisis" to have almost 40 per cent of students not going to school regularly.

"The Government needs to start sending a clear message to parents; it's your job to get your kids to school. It's time as well to get Attendance Services (national truancy services) working effectively."

Associate Education Minister Jan Tinetti said the main reason for falling attendance was more kids staying home due to feeling sick.

"It's good that New Zealanders are listening to the [Covid-19] health advice and staying home when sick."

"The first thing to do is to get a more accurate picture of the scale of our attendance challenge - which we are doing - to better understand patterns of attendance, and where greater support might be required to help schools reverse declining attendance," said Tinetti.

But Goldsmith wasn't buying Tinetti's pandemic reasoning.

"Given there has been a serious fall in regular attendance at schools over the past five years, excuses that the latest figures are a result of Covid-19 don't wash," Goldsmith responded.

On Monday, the Herald reported on a Ministry of Education briefing note from December 2020 showing Attendance Services didn't have the resources to reach some 30,000 students who are chronically absent students.

A police truancy overview from July 2020 showed just a single truancy officer for the 80 schools in the Waitemata East area, despite truancy being on the rise.

The overview said that local schools wanted to hire their own truancy officers instead of the current model of contracted services via the ministry.

Sources

• NZ Herald
• NZ Catholic Education Office

His transition to Saint Mary's Catholic School in Putaruru has gone smoothly, says his mother Tracey Lithgow.

It's over a year since Lithgow's son was expelled from Tokoroa's Tainui Full Primary School for extensive behavioural issues.

For almost all that time - since last December when his homeschooling tutor left - he was left without any formal education.

His family unsuccessfully spent months calling on the Ministry of Education for action.

It was only after news media company Stuff reported that the Ministry of Education was failing to get the boy back into the mainstream classroom that a place for her son was found.

Lithgow says it was emotional seeing her son back at school after so long.

He has a congenital heart defect which has led to him having anxiety issues, she explained.

"On the first day he went back it was almost as if my baby had started school and I got a wee bit teary," she says.

"He wasn't hanging off me harassing me or anything he just said ‘bye Mum, have a good day'. He was ready to go back and it's bloody awesome."

"The teacher he has is amazing. She's got him where he needs to be," Lithgow says.

"I did say to her that she has got to be his boss, not the other way around because the minute you let that happen you've lost control. She's listened to every word I have said, she's such a good teacher."

The Ministry of Education has provided a support worker four hours a day to help ensure the boy's transition back to school continues to be successful.

"He's doing really well and comes home and does his reading and spelling but on Thursday night he came home and just crashed out. He'd had a hard week," Lithgow says.

The boy's grandmother is grateful to the Ministry for finally sorting the situation, but is urging Ministry staff to learn from it.

"There was no need for this if they had done their job in the first place - but in the end we got what we wanted, so we are happy," she says.

Lithgow says she would encourage parents going through similar situations to never give up.

"Just keep fighting the Ministry and if you get nowhere, go to your local paper," she said.

Ministry of Education deputy secretary Katrina Casey says the Ministry has been working with the family.

"The learning support package to help his transition ... back into mainstream schooling is available and has been since he enrolled," she says.

Source

• Stuff
• Image: National Literacy Trust

We learned how lucky Maori were that we brought them Christianity, and that we won the Land Wars, which were called the Maori Wars. Maori seemed to have been unaware of their good fortune, but any simmering resentments were tidied away neatly with memorials erected to Pakeha soldiers who fought, and the "friendly" natives who joined our side. Since then there's been the odd spot of bother, we can't think why.

I'm pleased to see that the Ministry of Education is holding fast to that line, because we should be protected at all costs from the embarrassment of history. Knowledge can only confuse.

Look what happened to New Plymouth's mayor, Andrew Judd, who took the time to read a history book, learn that there was another side to the story, and realise he'd been unconsciously racist, as many of us are, all his life. He's been reviled and spat on by upright citizens who have better things to do than read, and has no intention of standing for election again.

What makes his case especially interesting is that Taranaki saw some of the most vicious encounters and land confiscations in our history, at Parihaka and Waitara in particular.

But the Education Ministry is right: no need for local students to have to bother with all that, especially where there is such a large Maori population in Taranaki. Uppity we do not need. Continue reading

• Rosemary McLeod is a New Zealand writer, journalist, cartoonist and columnist.

Ms Parata has revealed that she is looking to fund schools according to the progress their pupils made.

Continue reading

The 330 schools charge attendance dues to cover the cost of making their properties conform to state-school building codes.

The attendance dues are allowed to cover other charges associated with land and buildings, including insurance, and until 2009 it had been accepted for nearly 30 years that the cost of collecting could also be included as "associated charges".

But in 2009 the Education Ministry said the attendance dues could not include the cost of collecting them.

Source

• Stuff.co.nz
• Image: Prunescoop

Education officials are clamping down on charging practices at taxpayer-funded integrated schools, with at least one school told to return a bond parents have been required to pay.

This coming term $4000-a-year Bethlehem College in Tauranga is refunding a $500 attendance dues bond it has charged all its families for years, after the Ministry of Education ruled it was unlawful.

Education Minister Anne Tolley has also expressed concern that a leasing arrangement between the school and its owner, the Christian Education Trust (CET), enables it to get around the integrated schools legislation.

The Association of Proprietors of Integrated Schools says the Ministry of Education wants its members to stop including collection fees in the attendance dues they charge for the upkeep of school property.

Collection fees range from 2% - 6% of the attendance dues, some of which are more than $2000 per year.

The association says it has legal advice the fees are okay.

It says the two organisations have agreed to seek a High Court judgement on the matter and the case is likely to be heard in three or four months.

Source

• Radio New Zealand
• Stuff.co.nz
• Image: sunlive