Categories: News

Fewer students are being suspended

&NewLine;<p><img class&equals;" alignright size-full wp-image-1610" src&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;schoolnewsnz&period;fastrackdev&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2015&sol;06&sol;SND16-wk5-Suspended&lowbar;students&period;jpg" alt&equals;"SND16-wk5-Suspended students" style&equals;"margin&colon; 5px&semi; float&colon; right&semi;" width&equals;"300" height&equals;"225" &sol;>A drop in the number of school students being suspended&comma; stood-down&comma; excluded and expelled has been welcomed by Education Minister Hekia Parata&period; <&excl;--more--> <&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&&num;8220&semi;The numbers are the lowest since record-keeping began 15 years ago and have fallen sharply since 2008&comma;&&num;8221&semi; Ms Parata says&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The Student Engagement information shows that since 2008 the number of suspensions in state and state-integrated schools has fallen by 38 per cent to 2&comma;692&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&&num;8220&semi;This means more students are spending more time at school&comma; laying the foundations for future success&comma;&&num;8221&semi; Ms Parata says&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&&num;8220&semi;The information also shows that since 2008 stand-downs have dropped by 29 per cent to 14&comma;437&comma; while exclusions have fallen by 34 per cent to 900 and expulsions by 25 per cent to 116&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&&num;8220&semi;The numbers are improving&comma; and this is great news for students&comma; teachers and parents&period; However&comma; we know there is still more to do&period; The numbers for M&amacr;ori&comma; Pasifika and boys are higher than for P&amacr;keh&amacr; and girls&comma; for example&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&&num;8220&semi;We want every student to enjoy the benefits of educational success so it is great that the Positive Behaviour for Learning &lpar;PB4L&rpar; programme is helping to create a more inclusive and supportive environment for students in almost 600 schools&comma; including more than half of the country&&num;8217&semi;s secondary schools&period;&&num;8221&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The figures also show that the number of transient students &lpar;students who change schools twice or more in a school year&rpar; is declining and that fewer students are being granted early leaving exemptions to leave school before the age of 16&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&&num;8220&semi;More and more of our young people are seeing the point of staying in education longer&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&&num;8220&semi;There are now 23 Trades Academies&comma; providing 5&comma;250 students with the opportunity to gain NCEA Level 2 while developing work-related skills&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&&num;8220&semi;There&&num;8217&semi;ll be 1200 more places available in the four years beginning 2016&comma;&&num;8221&semi; Ms Parata says&period;<&sol;p><&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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