Katrina Casey.
There's been a bit of discussion lately about how we can all make sure there is enough room in local schools for kids in Hawke's Bay.
At the Ministry, we play our part by helping schools plan ahead so that families have good schools for their children.
When we do this we balance several factors. We think about all schools not just one or two and we carefully consider where growth is anticipated - monitoring census data, projections from councils, schools growth trends, planned subdivisions, changes to housing such as special housing areas, changes to transport routes. We work very closely with schools and with a range of other agencies.
We have a range of responses to growth ranging from new schools to new capacity at existing schools to enrolment schemes to ensure the capacity across all schools is well managed.
So do we need a new primary school for Havelock North in the very near future?
We don't think one is needed at the moment. Hawke's Bay is not an area with big population growth. At the moment our projections show small growth in the student population in the short term.
So our best information at the moment is existing schools can accommodate the students that are expected in the area. Where a small amount of extra capacity is required we are confident we can accommodate that and we are working with the schools to determine what their needs will be.
We know though, things can change.
The council is interested in possible new areas for housing subdivisions for the long term. We're watching these developments closely. Depending on where those subdivisions are, the size of any subdivisions, and whether they would be likely to attract families with younger children, that could mean we may need a new school in the long term. We will continue to monitor the situation closely.
There's also been some interest in enrolment schemes and how they work. It's one of the ways that schools make sure they don't get overcrowded and it helps to manage student numbers across all schools in an area.
They're pretty common around the country - roughly about one-third of schools have them.
And schools find they are a handy way of ensuring they have the right number of students for the size of the school.
It isn't good for students or for staff to be learning and teaching in a crowded school.
And enrolment schemes can be really important in giving local families some certainty that there will be room at a local school for their child.
A school may decide it wants to look at putting an enrolment scheme in place, or sometimes we may think it's something that needs to be considered by the school.
Usually this happens after we have shared all the information we have about growth and population trends as well as other relevant information.
We work with the board of trustees and if necessary work with them to develop a proposal for the enrolment scheme, including mapping out the area it will cover.
Any school that sets up an enrolment scheme or makes changes to their scheme puts a lot of thought into it, and makes sure that everyone affected has a say.
Once a board of trustees has drawn up an enrolment scheme they go out to consultation with the local community.
This includes talking to local people, current and potential future students and their families and the boards of other schools that could be affected by the proposed scheme.
The Board then reviews the consultation results and makes any necessary changes. They will send us the feedback on the proposed scheme and after careful consideration it will either be approved, or we may discuss further changes with the Board before approval. Then the board lets the local community know that the enrolment scheme has been approved and when it will come into use.
They provide a general description of the area the scheme covers and information about where copies of the enrolment scheme may be viewed and obtained.
Current students are not affected by the adoption of an enrolment scheme. But enrolment schemes aren't the only way that schools manage their size - another option is building more classrooms if that makes sense in the context of other schools in the area.
We will keep updating our plans in Hawke's Bay to make sure that students have a good local school they can go to, with enough room for a good environment for teaching and learning. And we are committed to working with schools and communities to make that happen.
- Katrina Casey is the Ministry of Education's Head of sector enablement and support.
- Views expressed here are the writer's opinion and not the newspaper's. Email: editor@hbtoday.co.nz