Student suspensions looming at underfunded schools

<h4 style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">The government&&num;8217&semi;s inadequate school funding and a staffing cap on specialist Ministry of Education staff has forced desperate Northland principals to threaten to suspend disruptive students&comma; says NZEI Te Riu Roa&period;<&sol;h4>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">The president of Te Tai Tokerau Principals&&num;8217&semi; Association&comma; Pat Newman&comma; has advised the media that he is seriously considering recommending to principals that they suspend children with severe behavioural needs when they can&&num;8217&semi;t get the necessary support or services&period; He says the crisis numbers of children suffering trauma at home and issues such as foetal alcohol syndrome &lpar;FAS&rpar; and ADHD is now a matter of health and safety for staff and other children&period; Other Te Tai Tokerau principals have echoed his concerns&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">NZEI national secretary Paul Goulter said the situation was a crisis of funading&comma; both of schools and the ministry services tasked with supporting children with behavioural and other learning difficulties&period; For a number of years&comma; an MoE staffing cap has mean long waiting lists for children to see learning support staff such as psychologists&comma; speech therapists&comma; behavioural therapists and early intervention specialists&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">&&num;8220&semi;Ministry staff are stretched to breaking point&comma; meaning excessively long wait times for diagnosis and support&period; Meanwhile&comma; operations grant funding for schools has long been inadequate and made worse this year by a funding freeze&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">&&num;8220&semi;Children who are a real danger to themselves and others might only get two hours a day of ministry-funded teacher aide support each day&period; The school must fund the other four hours out of their operations grant and it&&num;8217&semi;s not sustainable&comma; particularly in areas of high need like Northland&comma;&&num;8221&semi; he said&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">&&num;8220&semi;Schools are cutting staff hours and jobs to balance their budgets&comma; even as the need for greater support for our students is growing&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">&&num;8220&semi;It&&num;8217&semi;s time for the government to acknowledge the extent of the underfunding problem and support every child to reach their potential&period; And that means more resources&comma; not just words&comma;&&num;8221&semi; said Mr Goulter&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;