Creating a Safe Learning Environment

 

A 2006 school violence survey revealed that one in seven primary teachers surveyed reported being physically assaulted. Truancy is an ongoing problem and there is a clear link between truancy and youth crime rates. Bullying was nominated as the reason 10% of secondary students are absent on any given day. NZ principals identify disruptive behaviour as the most common in-school obstacle to learning.

Family life has changed with children now being more likely to experience a number of different family arrangements than in the past. Sole parenting is common, parents are older and large numbers of children have no resident father figure.

It is UnitedFuture policy to:

  • Support restorative justice styled disciplinary programmes in schools to combat bullying and other misbehaviour, requiring the student to understand the implications of his/her actions, involving the parents, and arriving at a punishment (e.g. community service) that is an alternative to suspension or expulsion
  • Include parents where possible in developing and enforcing agreements between students with disruptive behaviour and the school prior to resorting to exclusions and/or stand-downs.
  • Require the government to respond to the call from NZEI Te Riu Roa (primary teachers’ union) to provide clear guidelines for teachers as to how to manage and reduce disruptive behaviour.
  • Expect principals and senior staff to regionally develop on and off-site alternative provision for suspensions longer than five days, with all exclusions properly recorded.
  • Make discipline a key factor in evaluating school performance.
  • Resource alternative education providers to work with at-risk youth who have dropped out of mainstream schooling.
  • Merge District Truancy Services and the Non-Enrolment Truancy Service, increase their funding, and require the new organisation to work more closely with schools, police, welfare agencies and non-governmental organisations (e.g. Maori Wardens) to ensure that they respond quickly to truancy before it develops into a bigger problem.
  • Work with schools to ensure that they remain drug-free by promoting treatment options in conjunction with punishment for drug offences.
  • Undertake a campaign to promote academic role models amongst youth, but particularly targeted at boys.
  • Expand the Social Workers in Schools programme.