Schools
Dateline Pacific morning edition for 26 March 2018
Does Indonesia belong in the Melanesian Spearhead Group?; Australia launches new links with Pacific schools; payday for Samoa's copra farmers after a US deal signed; Bougainville raises awareness of… Audio
NZ school attendance hits seven-year low
The number of children attending school regularly has hit a seven year low. Just 63 percent of children attended school more than 90 percent of the time in term two of 2017. In decile one schools the… Audio
Whanganui schools struggling for enrolments
Some Whanganui schools are less than half-full and the city's principals are on the cusp of calling for government intervention. Principals say there is already a problem because students are not… Audio
Sir Ken Robinson: why schools need to tap into kids' talents
Children love to learn but they don’t always get on with school, says author on education and creativity Sir Ken Robinson. The trouble is, we judge everybody by a single standard. Audio
ERO urges action on alarming maths decline
Teachers must do more to stop children's confidence and performance in maths falling as they advance through primary school, the Education Review Office says. Audio
Education Ministry paying for school with no staff or students
Tuturumuri School has no staff and no students, but the Ministry of Education is still paying for it, including $19,000 already this year. Katrina Casey from the Ministry tells John Campbell a school… Video, Audio
Families struggling with back-to-school costs
The Salvation Army is expecting a spike in applications for loans for laptop computers and the charity KidsCan has 2500 children on its waiting list for assistance. Audio
Student leaders gather ahead of Polyfest
Nearly 100 student leaders gathered in South Auckland today to set the tone, after fights outside the event last year overshadowed the successes onstage, and dominated media coverage. Video, Audio
School scraps fees and donations to relieve pressure
The principal of a Taranaki school which has become the latest to scrap voluntary fees and donations says he hopes it will relieve pressure on struggling families. Video, Audio
School misspending
The president of the PPTA Jack Boyle on what he expects to happen after an Auditor General's report revealed one school principal got a ride-on mower as a leaving present and one school raised money… Audio
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
