David Seymour: Lifting education outcomes for young Kiwis

Associate Education Minister David Seymour says the passing of the Education and Training Amendment Bill shows the Government is making significant progress to lift education outcomes.

“Establishing charter schools, lifting attendance, and streamlining early learning regulations are all essential to raising achievement. This legislation will set in motion the system changes that need to happen to make the education system more flexible and responsive to the needs of students and their families,” says Mr Seymour.

The passing of this bill amends the Education and Training Act 2020 and will:

• Set out the framework on how charter schools will be set up, operate, and be monitored. This includes the establishment of the Authorisation Board
• Remove the requirement for early learning providers to get an ECE network approval before applying for a licence to establish a new service
• Empower the Secretary of Education to set out the rules and requirements for state-schools, including state integrated schools, to submit attendance data to the Ministry of Education.

“Now that the legal framework for charter schools is in place the next step is to announce the members of the Authorisation Board. I will announce this shortly. The Board will be responsible for approving new charter schools, overseeing their performance, and intervening where they are not meeting their contracted performance outcomes.” says Mr Seymour.

“Once the Board approves sponsors, the Charter School Agency will proceed with finalising their contracts. The Agency is also working hard to enable the first charter schools to open in term one, 2025.

“We’re also promoting more choice in the ECE sector, making it easier for more services to open up and respond to demand. Bureaucracy has dictated when and where early childhood centres can open by making licensing dependent on ECE network approval since 1 February 2023.

“Providers and parents are best placed to decide where early learning services should be established. Where there is demand, providers will follow. New services shouldn’t be hindered by bureaucracy.

“This bill also gives the legislative green light for new rules to be created about attendance records. The introduction of this rule-making power supports the requirement for schools to provide attendance data daily that is being introduced through new attendance regulations planned to come into force for Term 1 2025.

“Changes are being made so that schools will be ready to submit daily attendance data in term one 2025. Select kaupapa Māori education providers will begin their daily reporting in mid-2025.

“Daily attendance data will help us gauge whether our attendance initiatives are working as intended and keep track of trends. It can also help parents and schools to identify early signs of irregular attendance among students and respond appropriately before it becomes an issue.

“The future of New Zealand will be bleak if we are unable to transfer knowledge from one generation to the next. Education is intrinsically linked to economic growth – both personal and gross domestic product. These changes are to give every New Zealand child every opportunity to succeed.”

David Seymour is the Leader of ACT and a coaltion partner in the current National government. David is a graduate of Auckland Grammar and the University of Auckland (in Electrical Engineering and Philosophy). This article was first published HERE