Announcement of Schools Plus Investments

Speech notes for announcement of how Schools Plus will roll out ... and the initial $39 million investment package to support it. Massey High School, Waitakere

==

Helping young people achieve their full potential through quality education and training is one of the best investments in New Zealand’s future our country can make.  That’s why in January this year I announced Schools Plus, the government’s policy to lift the participation and achievement in education of young New Zealanders.

 Today I am announcing more details of how Schools Plus will roll out, and the initial $39 million investment package to support it.

 Transforming the life chances of New Zealand’s young people is at the heart of the government’s plan for the future, and education is central to achieving our goals.  While educational achievement levels are improving, too many young people still leave the system without the qualifications required to succeed in a complex world.  

 For example, 34 per cent still leave without NCEA Level II – an important qualification for gaining entry to many trade and technical training courses.

 It is the aim of Schools Plus to raise achievement and participation by ensuring that all young people continue learning, either at school, in the workplace, or in partnership with other education or training providers until they reach the age of 18.

 Boosting student participation and achievement is much more complex than just raising the school leaving age. It is about making the education and training system truly engaging for all young people.  The best way to achieve this is when schools become the central point for flexible education and learning and the place from which students can reach out to tertiary learning and workplace training with the emphasis on what is right for them. 

 Some schools are already working hard to identify better ways to engage all their students in learning.  Massey High School, our host today, has been involved in Te Kotahitanga, a programme to rethink what works best for its students.   Innovation here also includes the development of education plans for each student, and the school enjoys close links with Industry Training Organisations. These are examples of what can be achieved when schools take on the challenge of engaging with all their students.

 What we must do now is build on the best practice which exists to transform the secondary schooling system across our country.

 After I announced Schools Plus in January, the Ministry of Education consulted with many stakeholders.  What we heard has helped us develop the implementation plan for Schools Plus. 

 In the consultation :

•  overall there was a high level of support for the goals of Schools Plus.
• there was also resounding feedback that the school system needs to change in the ways we propose.
• students wanted more flexible, and relevant programmes, and more support from schools and parents in their transition from school to work.
• employers were concerned about the literacy and numeracy levels of many of today’s school leavers, and thought that schools could do more to help prepare students for the demands of working life.
• schools and teachers raised concerns around levels of funding for and implementation of Schools Plus as it moves forward.

 A summary of the findings from the consultation is being released today. Chris Carter will speak about that a little later.

 Some of the stakeholders who participated in the consultation are here today. Thank you for your support of this process to date. I hope you will continue to work with us as we move to make Schools Plus a reality for students.

 Today I am announcing an initial investment of $39.7m over the next four years, to enable the implementation of Schools Plus to begin.  Much more funding on an annual basis will be required for full implementation as more sixteen and seventeen year olds participate in education and training.

 The initial investment covers the following initiatives :

• $11.7 million will be invested to develop extended careers guidance packages for all students. 

 By 2011 all students from Year 9 will be expected to have their own education plan developed and agreed in partnership with them and their families. The plan will set out a course of study which is both relevant and interesting to the student, and will allow them to meet their aspirations.

 Massey High School’s education planning process has already shown very encouraging results. I understand that each student here has medium and long term plans, and their progress is monitored.   Students here know what is required for them to proceed to the next level of study or to a course beyond school. That means they are making appropriate subject choices to gain the qualifications they aspire to achieve.  I understand that this has significantly increased parental and local employer involvement in education planning here.

•  The second component of funding is $21 million to increase student access to tertiary learning and skills training through the Secondary Tertiary Alignment Resource – known as the STAR programme. 

 STAR gives students the chance to experience tertiary learning while still at school.  The new investment will enable around 6,000 more students to access a wider variety of courses from 2009.

 Access to Youth Apprenticeships will also be substantially extended.  In January this year the government announced the extension of the Youth Apprenticeship scheme to more schools in each of the next two years, and to all schools by 2011.  The names of the 56 schools which will be offering youth apprenticeships from 2009 will be announced later today by the Minister of Education.

•  $6 million will be invested in 2009 and 2010 to identify initiatives which are already working well in some schools and to extend these initiatives to other schools.

 Schools Plus recognises that many schools like Massey High and their communities are already innovating in lifting educational achievement for a wider range of students.  What Schools Plus will do is link this innovation with the resources needed to extend these concepts and practices across the secondary school system.

 For example, innovation here at Massey High includes offering students catering and hospitality programmes which are run in partnership with the Hospitality Standards Institute. 

 At Dargaville High School, a Certificate in Dairying course has been developed, which has attracted young people back into school from employment.

 At Linwood College in Christchurch, programmes in tourism, hospitality, and automotive engineering are offered, and there is a partnership with the local polytechnic to offer zero fee courses to students from low income families.

 Many such examples of innovation and best practice are to be found across New Zealand. Our job now is to mainstream them, so that they become business as usual across our school system and so that the participation and achievement levels of young people can be lifted.

• The final component of today’s funding announcement is a $1 million dollar seeding grant to the Manukau Institute of Technology to establish a model Tertiary High School. 

This model Tertiary High School will offer a five year programme combining years 11 to 13 secondary schooling with two years tertiary education.  This represents a new approach to students who show potential, but might not succeed in the conventional setting of a secondary school.

 What I have outlined today are initiatives and investments which are ready to begin from the 2009 school year.  The full rollout of Schools Plus programmes, and the funding to support increased participation, will be phased in through to 2014. 

 The government recognises that increased participation in education needs to be properly resourced.  We will need to fund the teaching and operational costs for the extra young people who stay in schools and who participate in education and training beyond school.  We will need to fund the process and systems changes which will enable schools to respond to the challenges and opportunities Schools Plus provides. We need to ensure that there are adequate buildings and equipment where they are required.

 There are still issues to be worked through before all the details of funding arrangements can be finalised. We will also need to cover key issues like adequate professional development for teachers, increased support for and development of careers advice, and support for any additional health and social services required.

 Our January estimate of around $170 million per annum for the costs associated with keeping students engaged for longer still looks reasonable. As well, there may be an extra cost associated with the systems and process changes.

 This transformation in education will take time. We have taken on board the message from the consultation to take the time necessary to get it right.  But we must also set goals and timelines.

 While the school leaving age will stay at sixteen, we have begun the process of removing the early leaving exemption for the under 16s.  

 By 2010 all schools will be using the new New Zealand Curriculum, enabling them to provide relevant, innovative programmes which meet their students’ needs. 

 From 2011 the government will implement an education or training leaving age of seventeen.  That means students up to that age will have to be in education or training. The age will be lifted to eighteen in 2014. 

 Phasing in the education and training leaving age in this way will give schools time to develop the variety of programmes and options needed to engage the whole range of young people.

 I see Schools Plus as a highly significant education initiative.

 It is a comprehensive plan designed to support students on the pathway from school to work and to further education.  It is designed so that we can develop programmes informed by existing best practice across our school system. 

 I give the last word today to a young person who responded to a question in the Schools Plus discussion paper. Asked to say what individual success meant the student responded simply that success is:

 “Something that you do really well in and that’s going to take you to bigger and better things in life.”

 I am certain that the programmes developed under Schools Plus will be the springboard to bigger and better things for young people across New Zealand.

                               Thank you.