Categories: News

Teacher quality should be part of funding review, think tank says

&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"margin-bottom&colon; 0&period;0001pt&semi;"><span size&equals;"1" face&equals;"Times New Roman"><span><img class&equals;" alignright size-full wp-image-1411" src&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;schoolnewsnz&period;fastrackdev&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2015&sol;04&sol;SND14-wk4-Decile&lowbar;Funding-Hekia&lowbar;Parata&period;jpg" alt&equals;"SND14-wk4-Decile Funding-Hekia Parata" style&equals;"margin&colon; 5px&semi; float&colon; right&semi;" width&equals;"300" height&equals;"280" &sol;>The New Zealand Initiative think tank has welcomed a review of the controversial decile funding system for schools&comma; reported by the Sunday Star Times on April 12&period;<&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p> <&excl;--more--> <&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Minister of Education Hekia Parata announced the Government will review how it targets educational resources&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The decile system was set up 20 years ago to provide more funding to schools serving students from poorer families&period; The review has been prompted by concerns that low decile ratings stigmatise schools&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The New Zealand Initiative urges the review to consider not only school funding but also the ability of low decile schools to attract good teachers&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Research Fellow Rose Patterson says&colon; &&num;8220&semi;Within schools&comma; there is nothing more important than the quality of teachers&period; &&num;8220&semi;Unfortunately&comma; our system does not direct the best teachers to the children who need them the most&period;&&num;8221&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The think tank says decile funding makes up about 13 per cent of school operational funding&period; However&comma; when teacher salaries are included&comma; decile funding accounts for only three per cent of school funding&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&&num;8220&semi;Teachers are generally paid the same&comma; regardless of decile&period; However&comma; better teachers might be attracted by better working conditions and leadership in higher-decile schools&period; If poorer kids then have less access to good teachers&comma; that would be a real concern&comma;&&num;8221&semi; Ms Patterson says&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The think tank says the review is an opportunity for a comprehensive analysis of the decile system and should include an investigation of whether higher decile schools are more able to attract highly skilled teachers&comma; principals&comma; and boards of trustees&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;

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Rosie Clarke

Rosie is the managing editor here at Multimedia Pty Ltd, working across School News New Zealand and School News Australia. She has spent 10+ years in B2B journalism, and has spent some time over the last couple of years teaching as a sessional academic. Feel free to contact her at any time with editorial or magazine content enquiries.

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