Hundreds of schools stalling on standards

Anne Tolley and John Key. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Nearly 500 schools have failed to lodge National Standards-related documents as required, prompting warnings from the minister they risk jeopardising resources that could directly affect children's learning.

Schools have been told they have to send charters containing National Standards achievement targets for 2011 to the Ministry of Education by "the start of the school year".

The ministry has confirmed it is aware of 115 schools that are refusing to do so but the Herald understands that figure is closer to 500 - or nearly a quarter of all primary and intermediate schools that are required to do so.

Auckland Primary Principals Association president Iain Taylor said a recent survey found 277 Auckland primary and intermediate schools had not submitted their charters by the start February, the start of the school year. He said that showed there was still "widespread and serious concern about the requirements" around National Standards.

Boards Taking Action Coalition spokesman Perry Rush said he was aware of a further 193 schools from outside the Auckland area that have also refused to send in their charters with the required information.

Education Minister Anne Tolley last night responded by warning schools their "petty protest" would only harm their students.

"If schools don't set targets they will miss out on ministry support, which will directly affect children and their learning. These schools will then have to answer to parents. The protesters are interested in politics. I'm interested in children's education."

Ms Tolley said the Government had allocated $36 million for new National Standards intervention programmes for students who need extra help in reading, writing and maths. It also invests $86 million a year in professional development to help principals and teachers lift student achievement.

Without the charter information the ministry would not be able to identify which schools needed that professional development or where to target resourcing or intervention programmes.

The ministry's programme manager, regional education, Pauline Cleaver, said help would be given to schools that haven't set National Standards targets.

However, those schools who have not sent in their charters say it is not because they need help but because they did not agree with National Standards.

Neither Mr Taylor nor Mr Perry had heard of any schools being approached by the ministry about not sending in their charters.

Meanwhile, the New Zealand Educational Institute, the primary schools' union, yesterday withdrew from the Government's National Standards Sector Advisory Group citing "frustration and disappointment".

President Ian Leckie said the advisory group was failing to take action to address serious concerns that principals and teachers had been raising for the past year.

Group chair Professor Gary Hawke said NZEI was a significant stakeholder in the sector and it was preferable to have the them "at the table".

But the union arrived at a meeting yesterday saying they couldn't remain in the group unless everyone agreed to their point of view, which included a request to halt the implementation of National Standards until a number of issues were addressed.

"The rest of the group, unanimously actually, agreed they were not in favour of a halt in the implementation of National Standards therefore there was no way of keeping NZEI in the group."