Schools
Top Stories for Monday 11 December 2017
Police appeal for witnesses after Papamoa beach fight; Fuel shortages likely after Marsden Pt pipeline false alarm; Briscoes boss fights to land helicopter at Herne Bay home; schools closed in race to… Audio
Teachers, principals blame standards for reading drop
For the first time in 15 years, this country's score in the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study has fallen significantly. We're now ranked 33rd out of 50 countries. Audio
Principals want review of truancy services
Only 67 percent of children regularly attended school in term two last year, down from 70 percent in 2015. Principals want a review of attendance services charged with getting the worst offenders back… Audio
Why are our kids getting worse at maths?
The Education Review Office is calling for changes in the way maths is taught at primary schools to halt falling achievement as children progress through school. ERO visited 40 schools around the… Audio
Over 5s thriving with cohort entry
The Government plans to scrap cohort entry to school for children before they turn 5. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says that is in the best interest of kids. Families will still be able to start… Audio
Are flexible learning environments working in NZ schools?
Modern classrooms are closely linked to innovative teaching methods and deeper learning, research in New Zealand and Australia has found. Audio
Survey finds concerns over Communities of Learning
The secondary teachers' union has surveyed it members on attitudes towards the government's 359 million dollar cornerstone education policy to raise student achievement.The PPTA says fewer than half… Audio
Severe lack of staff hitting high schools - survey
One in five secondary schools has axed a subject and half have teachers working outside their areas of expertise because of a lack of staff. The figures are from a survey of secondary principals by… Audio
Thousands offered to keep Auckland teachers
Schools in Auckland struggling to attract teachers because of the city's notoriously high housing costs have been thrown a lifeline by the Minister of Education, Nikki Kaye. Auckland Primary… Audio
Dismay over $10k bonus to keep Auckland teachers
A bonus for teachers who stay more than three years at an Auckland school is being rolled out to try solve the teaching crisis in the city, but principals in poorer suburbs are worried it means… Audio
Classroom changes help reduce quake-related issues, study finds
Quake-related behavioural issues dropped by nearly a third in some Christchurch schools after small changes were made, such as removing hanging items and changing break times. Audio
Weekly bullying reported by 42% of students at some schools
Nearly half the children at some primary schools report being bullied at least once a week, a national survey has found.
Alarm raised about principal's burnout rate
A survey by the teachers and principals union NZEI has found principals report 70 percent higher rates of burnout and more than double the rate of stress compared to the general population. Rural… Audio
Ministry apologises to Chch schools for handling of closures
The Ministry of Education has been forced to apologise for its flawed handling of school closures and mergers after the 2011 Canterbury earthquake. Audio
Insight: Targets and Standards - Schools After 9 Years of National Government
Schools in New Zealand have faced huge change since 2008. RNZ Education Correspondent John Gerritsen investigates what impact nine years of National Party policies have had on schools and the children… Audio
Brighter Future? - the changing face of New Zealand's schools
As part of RNZ's election year series "Is this the Brighter Future?", our education correspondent John Gerritsen looks at the changing ethnic make-up of New Zealand's schools. Audio
Brighter Future? Inside our classrooms
Want to see the future face of New Zealand? Take a look inside our schools, where classrooms are more ethnically mixed than ever before. Audio
Govt withdraws promise to rebuild school
Te Kura o Matapihi got the green light for a Ministry-funded rebuild more than two years ago, but now it's been told that was a mistake. Audio
Schools up to 50% over capacity
Nearly 200 schools were over capacity and nearly 500 others were in danger of becoming overcrowded last year, according to a new Education Ministry report. Audio
Dunedin primary school grounds being tested further for lead
Five Dunedin schools have been that raised levels of lead had been found in soil in their school grounds. Whetu Cormack, the head of the Principal's Federation and Principal of Bathgate Park, one of… Audio