Green Party education proposals will make a big difference for children

NZEI Te Riu Roa says it welcomes the Green Party’s proposals to tackle the impact of growing inequality on children’s education.

National President, Judith Nowotarski says the proposal to develop health, welfare and support service hubs in lower decile schools goes right to the heart of tackling the biggest problem we face in our education system – poverty and inequity.

"International evidence clearly shows that poverty and inequality are by far the biggest obstacles that children face in education.

"This proposal directly targets these real issues and, if adopted, would make a big difference to the education outcome of thousands of children in this country.

"Policies such as this would ensure that many more children in this country get the opportunity for a good education – something that teachers and school support staff have been calling for, for a long time."

However, Ms Nowotarski says inequality and poverty are now much more spread throughout the community so NZEI wants to see policies that target children from financially disadvantaged backgrounds at all schools – not just lower decile schools.

She says the education sector looks forward to working with the Greens in further design and implementation of the policy.

ENDS

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