Ministry will listen to Paeroa concerns

Ministry of Education news release

June 6, 2013

Ministry will listen to Paeroa concerns

The Ministry of Education says it will listen to all the concerns of Paeroa Central School and its parents over a proposal to enrol an 11-year-old student.

Special Education Group Manager Brian Coffey says he will be going to Paeroa tomorrow to meet with the principal and is very keen to work with the school and community.

“We know this boy has some serious behaviour issues and that the concerns of the school and parents are quite genuine.

“I will be listening very carefully to what everyone has to say and we will take it from there. We will take as long as it needs to get this right.

“Our plan is to have the boy attend the Thames Valley Alternative Education Centre, where he will get specialist support that will also be available to him at home.”

“We had hoped to be able to enrol him again at Paeroa Central and to transition him slowly back into that school as progress was made. But we will not do that without the agreement of the school.”

“We want to make sure that what we go ahead with has buy-in from all concerned.”

Mr Coffey says his team at the Ministry is very experienced in dealing with these situations and wants to achieve the best outcome for everyone involved.

“Last year, our Intensive Wraparound Service worked with nine students who had been excluded from their school and eight of them have now been successfully re-enrolled in their local school.

“We will continue to work with the school, the boy’s family and all other relevant agencies, including the police and Child Youth and Family, to ensure he gets the opportunity he needs in a way that secures the safety of the people around him.”

ENDS

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