Guidelines on guns in schools tightened

Naval weapons instructor Martin Plant showed off a Steyr rifle when Whangaroa College pupils visited the Navy dive ship Manawanui on a trip organised by Kaeo police in 2012. Photo / File

Guidelines banning schoolchildren from handling guns have been tightened to cover police as well as military visits to schools.

Finalised guidelines, released today by the Ministry of Education and School Trustees Association, go even further than a draft published in March, which followed concerns over children handling guns during an army visit to a Manawatū primary school last year.

The draft stated: ""No student, parent/caregiver, volunteer or staff member may hold/possess a restricted firearm during Defence Force visit."

They final version says: "No student, parent/caregiver, volunteer or staff member may hold/possess a restricted firearm during a Defence Force or NZ Police visit."

The final version has also added an acknowledgement that the NZ Defence Force (NZDF) may use school grounds for exercises such as Exercise Southern Katipō, the force's major military exercise held every two years. But it says this must be outside school hours.

"This may involve armed domestic and foreign personnel in addition to helicopters and vehicles owned by NZDF that may be armed, such as the LAV [light armoured vehicle], and should be outside of school hours," the guidelines say.

Ministry deputy secretary Katrina Casey said the ministry and school trustees received 108 submissions on the draft guidelines.

"This feedback greatly assisted the Schools' Health and Safety Sector Reference Group in shaping the final guidelines. As a result of this feedback the guidelines now include considerations around health, student wellbeing, and lead poisoning," she said.

"We know there are differing opinions on schools allowing students to participate in activities involving firearms. There has also been considerable public debate on the appropriateness of firearms being bought into schools.

"The consultation allowed us to understand more about these opinions and concerns. It has resulted in a comprehensive set of guidelines that will help schools make informed decisions on whether they will allow student involvement with firearms on and off school grounds, and if so what that would look like.

"We do not support unsupervised access of firearms in schools, but we do acknowledge that there may be legitimate circumstances where firearms may be part of students' education and/or sporting activity. These guidelines will help school's ensure that when these activities occur they remain safe."

The final guidelines have been sent to schools through the school leaders' bulletin and are available on both the Ministry and NZSTA's websites.