If there is to be real progress on reducing violence in New Zealand schools a national approach is needed involving not only the school sector but other concerned agencies and government departments and ministries in the Health, Justice, Police and Social Development sectors. To this end PPTA endorses the current initiative of the Ministry of Education in developing a long term plan, with funding priorities and targets for best meeting this ongoing (and growing) area of concern.
Recommendations to Government
- That a new formula with which to target staffing to students who are at high risk of disengagement and dangerous and disruptive behaviour be investigated.
- That government significantly increase the resourcing available to schools through targeted funding to reduce the need for stand downs and suspensions in schools with high risk students.
- That government extend both the funding and the criteria for students eligible for GSE funded interventions in schools.
That long term non-contestable funding be provided for programmes that have a beneficial impact on students behaviour, learning and achievement. - That the full recommendations of the Schools Staffing Review Group 2000 be implemented to provide the staffing resourcing required to create appropriate guidance, support and learning environments to maximise the engagement of high risk students.
- That the relevant legislation, including the Privacy Act be amended to allow for the sharing of information about students with a history of high risk behaviour that may put members of a school community at risk.
- That the government support the Ministry of Education to hold a conference in 2009 for the purpose of developing national legislation, policy and/or strategies that will assist secondary schools and their wider communities in dealing with disruptive and anti-social behaviour.
Background
Over the last decade PPTA members have increasingly identified bullying and harassment from students, as a prime issue affecting their teaching environment, their health, safety and well-being, and their job satisfaction. The experience of many of our members is that bullying and harassment (racial, sexual, ageist and homophobic) is steadily increasing and for some, has become a daily occurrence. This has been exacerbated in recent years by students’ increased access to drugs and alcohol.
PPTA surveys of members, as well as many other research projects by other agencies, have continued to provide evidence of this increasing trend. The issue is also continually raised as being of prime concern by our members at all levels of the union, in branches, regions and nationally and papers on disruptive student behaviour have been presented to the last two annual conferences.
The recent pay and employment equity report of the compulsory school sector also found that significant numbers of teachers and support staff in schools had concerns about the absence or effectiveness of policies and practices to prevent bullying, harassment and discrimination.
At the same time, the support networks that schools could once rely upon such as social welfare, special education support, health and psychological services, drug and alcohol counselling and even the police have been steadily eroded.
Schools have been left struggling to deal with the consequences of these policies without the necessary resources. Many initiatives which have been introduced have been short term and dependant on contestable funding and have foundered when funding has been withdrawn.
Current Issues
There are a number of issues that need to be addressed if schools are to succeed in both reducing bullying and harassment against staff and students, and in promoting healthy school environments which value respect and fairness.
These are:
- large classes
- large numbers of students with disruptive behaviour
- impact of drugs and alcohol in many school communities
- nsufficient teachers and specialist staff to provide the necessary support for all students
- school communities which refuse to acknowledge or address the problem in their school
- lack of professional development and resources for teachers
- insufficient student access to counselling and behavioural programmes both inside and outside the school
- too few initiatives and ones that are dependent on short term and contestable funding
- insufficient access to assistance and support for students from Group Special Education (GSE) and other agencies
- lack of information given to schools about new students with a history of violence.
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