Education Legislation Bill passes first reading

Education Minister Hekia Parata says parents, school boards, students and home-based early childhood education providers will all benefit from the increased flexibility proposed by the Education Legislation Bill, which had its first reading today.

“Schools are seeking more flexibility in their timetables to cater for the particular needs of their students. The Bill allows schools to vary their hours, after consultation with parents, staff and their community, as long as it would not result in students spending less time in school than students in comparable and other local schools,” says Ms Parata.

Some schools in New Zealand are already experimenting with different opening hours, including one school that is running fewer classes of longer duration. Another is opening later, responding to the evidence around when adolescents learn best.

“An effective principal can make a huge difference to student achievement. But many schools face challenges in recruiting and retaining great principals. The Bill addresses this by giving all Boards the option to agree to a principal managing more than one school.”

The Bill also enables licensed home-based early child education (ECE) providers to offer ECE and out of school care services at the same time, to children aged 13 and under.

“This change provides flexibility for families with pre-school and school-age children so their children can be cared for together. It is subject to limits on child numbers, the maintenance of stringent adult-to-child ratios and existing regulations around safety and provision of quality learning environments.

“These changes and others in the Bill are all about providing more flexibility throughout the education system for the benefit of students, parents, schools and other education providers.”

The Bill has now been referred to the Education and Science Committee. People will be invited to make a submission to the Select Committee on all the matters in the Bill once a date is confirmed.