12% of schools in Te Tai Tokerau report aggressive incidents

12% of schools in Te Tai Tokerau report incidents of aggression, threats and violence to staff occurring up to 3-5 times a week by primary pupils!

47% of schools report issues of deliberate non-compliance, and defiant disobedience by primary pupils to teachers occurring from daily to 3-5 times a week!

Whangarei August 19, 2015: , The Te Tai Tokerau Principals Association has just conducted a survey around Special Education and Behavioral concerns within their schools. Over 100 principals’ responded:

Pat Newman, President of Te Tai Tokerau Principals Association said, “The really scary thing is that these are not secondary aged children. These are children aged between roughly 5 to 10 years of age!” What is more alarming he continued, “is that schools are reporting more and more children aged five years old, arriving at school that damaged already, that angry with life, that scared of being hurt, that they are responding already by lashing out at anybody, children or adults, biting, throwing furniture and running…”

51% of our schools are saying quite categorically that the resourcing available to help these children is insufficient and staff and other children are coming into danger from some of these children.

“The Ministry states that Te Tai Tokerau is funded for Special Education and Behaviour on a better basis than elsewhere,” he stated, “ but the reality, it is not covering the needs of individual children in the north.”

We now have another road show on reforming the Special Education system but all it is doing is trying to squeeze the last drop of blood our of the stone. There is no new funding available. We are just reinventing how we access it. Already some schools this week up here have been told that the applications for help for behaviour funding from the Ministry, far out ways the funding available!”

Mr Newman finished by saying, ”Governments seem to be able to find funding when it suits for their political directions. $129000 for the failing Charter School at Whangaruru would have provided 7000 hours of support. The $26million for the flag debate, the $350million for getting schools to work together, would have gone a long way in assisting those children. in Te Tai Tokerau and elsewhere in NZ.. Do we spend a minimal amount now, or spend a fortune in ten years jailing them after they have hurt or killed someone else!””

Schools up here are doing their utmost with absolutely minimal resourcing!

ENDS

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