School weapon incidents rise 80%, principals seek more support

Principals are seeking more support after a major spike in students bringing weapons to schools.

Figures released under the Official Information Act show 526 students were stood down, suspended or excluded for using or having a weapon at school last year.

That’s about 80% more than in 2018 – when it was reported about 300 students were disciplined.

Most (375) of the 2024 cases resulted in students being stood down, while 111 children were suspended and 40 excluded.

Almost a third (158) of the students were from Auckland, with Hamilton next-highest at 60.

The Ministry of Education said schools decide how to categorise misbehaviour – noting that a definition of a “weapon” can change from school to school.

It added that these are not a measure of student behaviour but a measure of a school’s response to such behaviours.

“What one school may choose to suspend for, another may not. The number of these events should not be used as a proxy measure for total student behaviour,” the ministry said.

Several incidents lAst year involved BB guns at schools.

A student at Christchurch primary school, Knights Stream, fired shots at peers in November.

In addition, two Invercargill mothers told the Herald their daughters had been shot with a BB gun at James Hargest College in October.

An Auckland student was also injured at a North Shore high school in an attack that a parent believes could have involved a knife in March 2024.

Secondary Principals’ Association president Louise Anaru said one weapon in a school is too many – but she’s seen a few in her 26-year career.

“But [in] the vast majority [of cases where] a weapon may have been brought into school, there’s been no intent to use it,” she said.

“Regardless, we have to treat these matters very seriously, given the risk around bringing a weapon into school.”

A child brought a BB gun into Knights Stream School before firing shots at peers last November. Photo / George Heard

Anaru said stand-downs are managed by principals and suspensions by the board.

She said if a principal feels a student could be seriously harmed, that is grounds for a suspension.

“Principals are absolutely best placed to make those decisions. They have all the evidence in front of them, understand the community and make the decisions based around all of that information.”

The Kaitaia College principal said pastoral care systems at schools need to be robust to prevent these kinds of incidents.

“Principals keep up to date with all the best-practice research and we know and we’re really focused on prevention,” she said.

“So best practice around this outlines that we need a whole school community approach, really around enhancing student wellbeing.

“That involves monitoring student wellbeing very closely, putting support and interventions in place promptly as needed.”

In terms of resourcing, more is needed from the Ministry of Education so schools can fund guidance teams, Anaru said.

“For instance, our board funds an extra counsellor, social worker and mentors so that we can really put these preventative actions in place.

“And then again, of course, we need schools and our parents to work together on this.

“We know that if we’re all working together, we can make a bigger difference for our students rather than operating in isolation.”

Jaime Cunningham is a Christchurch-based reporter with a focus on education, social issues and general news. Cunningham joined Newstalk ZB in 2023, after working as a sports reporter at the Christchurch Star.