Categories: News

Majority of Northland schools can’t access learning programme

&NewLine;<p><img class&equals;" alignright size-full wp-image-1707" src&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;schoolnewsnz&period;fastrackdev&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2015&sol;08&sol;SND18-wk3-Education&lowbar;programme-Pat&lowbar;Newman&period;jpg" alt&equals;"SND18-wk3-Education programme-Pat Newman" style&equals;"margin&colon; 5px&semi; float&colon; right&semi;" width&equals;"300" height&equals;"259" &sol;>Seventy per cent of schools in Northland have not had access to the Positive Behaviour for Learning Programme&comma; president of Te Tai Tokerau Principals Association Pat Newman says&period; <&excl;--more--> <&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>While he is pleased to see the Education Minister Hekia Parata is strongly behind the programme&comma; Mr Newman says it is unacceptable that in Te Tai Tokerau&comma; one of the areas in New Zealand of greatest need for such help&comma; only about 30 per cent of schools had been able to access the training&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&&num;8220&semi;While I am a great believer in the positive effects of the programme on helping schools to deal with behavioural issues&comma;&&num;8221&semi; Mr Newman said&comma; &&num;8220&semi;it should not be seen as the answer to some of the high needs children we are now encountering up here&comma; who are putting staff and other children at risk&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&&num;8220&semi;Only 30 per cent of schools up here have been able to access this programme for a variety of reasons&period; Funding&comma; accessibility and for many of our schools&comma; the ability to obtain suitable relievers so staff can attend the training&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&&num;8220&semi;The &dollar;129&comma;000 made available for one failing Charter School&comma; the &dollar;350-odd million for supposedly grouping schools&comma; the &dollar;26 million around a flag design&comma; could have provided a lot of the funding that we and other schools in New Zealand need to cover the increasing violence and behavioural patterns from younger and younger children&comma;&&num;8221&semi; Mr Newman said&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&&num;8220&semi;We know&comma; as the Ministry states&comma; that Te Tai Tokerau does get more funding per head of population&comma; but that does not mean that it goes anywhere near to covering the massive needs in Te Tai Tokerau&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&&num;8220&semi;To me it is a no brainer&excl; Do we spend a few thousand extra per pupil up here now&comma; or spend millions in 10 or so more years on imprisoning them&comma; after other innocent people have been killed or injured&quest;&&num;8221&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The Te Tai Tokerau Principals Association recently conducted a survey around Special Education and Behavioural concerns within their schools&period; Over 100 principals&&num;8217&semi; responded&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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