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Home / Bay of Plenty Times

Students kicked out of school

Bay of Plenty Times
30 Jun, 2011 11:56 AM4 mins to read

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At least 119 students have been stood-down, suspended, excluded or expelled from Bay secondary schools this year for offences such as violence, bullying, drugs and alcohol.
Principals say they are concerned about the behaviour of some students and how they affect other students.
Katikati College has stood down 42 students. A further
10 have been suspended and one has been excluded.
Principal Neil Harray said the number of students who received serious disciplinary action was higher this year than the previous two years but he did not know why.
"I'm not sure but this is the highest number we've had over the past few years. It's not the highest we've ever had but certainly is higher than the previous two years," he said.
Katikati College students were punished for actions such as continuous disruption, using inappropriate language toward staff, fighting and "the odd assault between students", Mr Harray said.
"I am concerned about it because it reflects what's happening in society.
"These [disciplinary actions] are in place so next year we will hopefully see a reduction."
At Tauranga Girls' College, three students under the age of 16 have been excluded from school this year.
One student was excluded for assault and two for being continually disobedient.
One Otumoetai College student was expelled for serious assault and 20 others have been stood down for behaviour relating to assaults, bullying and other actions of gross misconduct that put staff and other students in danger. Principal Dave Randell said the school exhausted all available opportunities for the expelled student.
"We take a very strong stance on bullying and sometimes this action is required. But when schools have high suspension rates, people might think the school has a problem or they're too tough, but if the numbers are low, people might think the school is too soft, so it can be challenging and different schools have different strategies to address such problems."
At Mount Maunganui College, eight students have been suspended. Six were excluded and of those six four were placed in alternative education. The remaining two students were allowed to return to the school, provided they followed a number of conditions. Another student has been stood down.
Principal Terry Collett said most involved in disciplinary action were Year 9 and 10 students and most suspensions related to continual disorder, such as disrupting teachers and other students learning. One student was suspended for threatening another student.
A Year 9 student at the Western Bay's newest college, Papamoa College, was stood down for gross misconduct - but principal Steve Lindsay would not elaborate.
Tauranga Boys' College would only supply its data per 1000 students. It has about 1800 students. There have been seven suspensions per 1000 students and one exclusion so far this year. The school has also had 19 stand-downs per 1000 students.
The college is one of the many schools involved in a Ministry of Education-funded student engagement initiative that offers alternative options to suspending students.
Principal Robert Mangan said other options were sometimes more beneficial to students than suspending them.
Tauranga Girls' College, which is also involved in this programme, has excluded three students - one more than last year.
Principal Pauline Cowens said the number of students being stood down, suspended, excluded or expelled had decreased in the past five years.
In the Western Bay and across the country, schools continued to stand-down, suspend and exclude more Maori students than any other ethnic group. Male students were also more likely to receive a stand-down, suspension or exclusion than their female counterparts.
Te Puke High School refused to give the Bay of Plenty Times figures for the number of students stood down, suspended, excluded or expelled this year.
What does it mean?

Stand down: A school principal may consider the formal removal of a student through a stand-down from school for a period of up to five school days. Students return automatically to school following a stand-down.
Suspension: A suspension is the formal removal of a student from a school until the school Board of Trustees decides the outcome at a suspension meeting. Following a suspension, the Board of Trustees decides how to address the student's misbehaviour. The boards can either lift the suspension (with or without conditions), extend the suspension (with conditions), or terminate the student's enrolment at the school.
Exclusion/expulsion: If the student is aged under 16, the board may decide to exclude him or her from the school, with the requirement that the student enrols elsewhere. If the student is aged 16 or over, the board may decide to expel the student from the school and the student may enrol at another school. These decisions should be arrived at only in the most serious cases.
- Source: Ministry of Education

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