Priority Outcome 3:

What are we seeking to achieve?

At present, one in five students leaves secondary school without worthwhile qualifications. Students who are Māori, Pasifika, from poorer communities, or with disabilities or special education needs are over-represented in this group. The Ministry needs to work with principals, teachers and communities to ensure that schools are responsive to the needs of every student, and that they shape and deliver education accordingly.

Schools need to work with parents, other schools and specialist agencies to address poor attendance and truancy, behavioural issues and lack of progress in learning. Students who are Māori, Pasifika or from poorer communities are more at risk. This means ensuring that schools are engaging with at-risk students in ways that are appropriate and supportive.

The Government expects all young people under the age of 18 to be in education, training or work. To keep young people engaged in education, the Ministry needs to develop a wider range of relevant learning options within schools, through partnerships between schools, training and tertiary education providers, and local businesses.

The education system needs to respond to New Zealand’s economic, social and cultural context, developing new models that support every student to achieve their potential, and building clearer links between school and future education and career paths. This includes ensuring that New Zealand students are well equipped to succeed in an increasingly globally connected society and economy, and that international students are supported to contribute both during their study here and in the future.

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How will we demonstrate success in achieving this?

We will know we have achieved this when we see changes such as:

• increased student engagement and retention in education for target groups
• fewer young people from target groups leaving education without worthwhile qualifications
• reduced numbers of young people who are not in education, training or employment.

System Indicators⁷:

• Retention rates.
• Achievement levels of school leavers.
• Percentage of school leavers with NCEA level 2 or above.
• Percentage of school leavers with a university entrance qualification.
• Percentage of school leavers continuing in to tertiary education.
• Percentage of the youth population not in employment, formal study or a care-giving role.

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What will we do to achieve this?

Developing a Workforce Strategy:

The key to student engagement and achievement is the teacher-student relationship. The Ministry will provide a consistent approach to ensure schools are fully staffed, ably led and have a high quality and productive teaching and non-teaching workforce. To do this, we need to address aspects of teacher supply, including attracting and retaining good teachers, developing and supporting good leaders and principals, strengthening initial teacher education, and ensuring professional development for teachers and principals is effective and targeted. This will include having expectations that teachers are capable and confident in teaching students from a variety of backgrounds and working with every student to support them to realise their potential.

The Workforce Strategy will include advice to Government on terms and conditions of employment that support education outcomes, and working with teacher unions and associations to ensure an unrelenting focus on achievement in education for every student.

Ministry performance will be measured by:

• feedback from principals on staff supply and capability
• evaluations of professional development showing improved teaching quality and student achievement
• developing industrial relations agreements that support Government’s education priorities.

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Using support and interventions better:

The Ministry will respond as quickly as possible to lift the performance of schools that are not performing well. Through regional and district offices, the Ministry will support schools to focus on educational achievement for every student. This will include schools developing programmes that address underperformance, truancy and the needs of disruptive students so they stay engaged and are successful in school. These programmes will need to be relevant and appropriate to the needs of students most at risk.

The Ministry will focus interventions on those schools that are underperforming and ensure they are provided with the additional advice and support they need to improve quickly. We will identify schools that are performing consistently well and, accordingly, minimise the compliance and constraints imposed on them by government agencies, using their success as an example for other schools. We will encourage special schools to work with mainstream schools to share effective practice, resolve issues and provide expanded options for parents of children with special education needs.

Ministry performance will be measured by:

• having information and benchmarking systems that accurately and quickly identify poorly performing schools
• Ministry interventions that are timely, well targeted and effective in addressing poor performance
• reports prepared by ERO on the performance of schools
• timely provision of support and resources to schools that need assistance in dealing with disruptive behaviour
• schools taking responsibility for finding solutions to support disruptive students, while keeping them in school
• stronger relationships between specialist services and mainstream schools.

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Advancing the Youth Guarantee:

For 16- to 17-year-olds who have left school, the Government will provide a Youth Guarantee. The Ministry will work to improve the educational achievement of these 16- to 17-year-olds, identifying opportunities for students to attain level one to three qualifications in other educational environments.

Ministry performance will be measured by:

• a greater proportion of young people completing school-level qualifications (level one to three)
• increased participation in education by 16- to 17-year-olds.

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Improving secondary-tertiary transitions:

The Ministry will work with schools, training and tertiary providers, businesses and industry, to ensure that young people can study towards worthwhile qualifications in a range of educational settings. This will include working with the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) to fine-tune the school qualifications system (NCEA) to ensure that the system is relevant, fair, and encourages development of core skills and competencies for every student. It will also include expanding the range of vocational and industry-based education available to students, both within and outside school, and increasing flexibility for schools in the use of resources. The Ministry will work with schools to ensure students with special education needs have a transition plan out of school before they reach age 21.

The Government is committed to establishing at least five Trades Academies in the next three years, specialising in providing students with learning opportunities that are relevant to careers in trades or industry.

Ministry performance will be measured by:

• improved participation in higher-level qualifications for students aged under 20 from target groups
• the range of opportunities available for trades experience in schools
• feedback from students and parents on the choices available
• the quality and timeliness of policy and implementation guidance for the establishment of Trades Academies
• feedback from industry and employers on changes in the quality and relevance of the skills of young people leaving education.

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Developing a 21st-century school infrastructure:

The capacity and type of school buildings must meet future demand in terms of student numbers and requirements, and teaching methods and subjects. This includes ensuring that schools are accessible and suitable for students with a range of disabilities and special education needs. The Ministry will implement a work programme to improve facilities in existing schools and plan and build new schools. This programme supports the Government’s infrastructure investment package, designed to inject a stimulus into the New Zealand economy.

Ministry performance will be measured by:

• new school buildings delivered on time and within budget
• the quality of forecasting and advice to Government on the need for re-organisation and development of school property.

⁷ We will use these indicators to identify change over time, and to identify the quality and effect of that change. Most recent status and historical trends in these indicators are available on the Ministry’s Education Counts website: www.educationcounts.govt.nz