A change in attitude towards mental health in the wake of Covid-19 could be behind a dramatic drop in the number of people being excluded from schools in the South.
University of Otago College of Education senior lecturer Dr Steven Sexton said Covid-19 was a major disruption and online learning changed how disciplinary actions were issued.
Many teachers took it upon themselves to engage with pupils as best they could and focused on supporting them rather than further exclusion, he said.
Figures released by the Ministry of Education show there were more than 1200 disciplinary actions issued at schools in Otago in 2019, but in 2020 there were about 760 and in 2021 about 850.
Disciplinary actions include stand-downs, suspensions, exclusions and expulsions.
Exclusion is the formal removal of a child from school if they are under 16 years old, while expulsion is for pupils aged over 16.
Excluded pupils must be enrolled at a different school with the help of the school principal.
In 2019 there were 50 exclusions in Otago, but in 2021 only 30.
Otago Secondary School Principals Association president Richard Hall said 2021 had similar levels of class time to 2019 and the drop in exclusions was an indication of the hard work done by schools and agencies.
Given last year was "certainly a more difficult year for mental health", there would have been positive steps taken by schools.
He said he was pleased to see the lower number of exclusions.
Stand-downs were starting to rise again, which could in part be attributed to more time in the classroom.
The stress that schools and pupils were feeling was also represented in the number of stand-downs.
It would be a worthwhile exercise for schools to look at their own numbers pre- and post-lockdown to see what impact it had had, he said.
Stand-downs and suspensions were useful tools as they allowed the school and pupil to get a short break and reset.
With that time, the school and family could work together to deal with the issues, he said.
Dr Sexton said when schools reopened it took a "massive" effort to get pupils back and on track to minimise any further disruption to their learning.
"Covid has highlighted the importance of health and wellbeing of students and staff."
Although it was not a free ticket for pupils to misbehave, some of the issues that might have been escalated in the past might have been addressed differently, he said.
