Vigilance and funding critical to making schools safe

Greg Turner

Bullying at school has been at the centre of much media attention of late, culminating with a strong reaction from the Prime Minister himself.

He publicly called for his minister of education to write to schools reminding them and their boards of their responsibility in providing a safe environment for students and warning that the Education Review Office (ERO) would be uncompromising in its appraisal of schools on this matter.

From the perspective of Wakatipu High School (WHS), we have the pleasing scenario of ERO's very recent report highlighting the strong pastoral care at the school and raising no concerns about bullying, probably based on the schools ever-improving disciplinary data.

That said, vigilance is critical.

All schools in the Wakatipu are united in working co-operatively to ensure the current strategies to combat bullying are strengthened.

In fact, just this week, the teacher-only days are focused on the use of restorative practices.

It would be sad if, in their attempt to send a clear message that bullying will not be tolerated, the Government ends up modelling the very behaviour they rightfully deplore.

Rather than threatening letters and rhetoric, the opportunity exists for a constructive engagement on what isn't working and what other resources might be needed to better handle the issue.

At WHS, we regard the safety of our students and staff as of paramount importance.

We have a number of protocols and doctrines in place, lead by our emphasis on Say Yes to Respect - Respect for Yourself and Others campaign and clear confidential reporting avenues.

Along with this are our vital alternative education and supported learning programmes.

These are targeted specifically at our most at-risk students and undoubtedly stop many potential problems before they occur.

But they are woefully underfunded by the ministry, meaning that we suffer a shortfall of around $60,000 a year that must be met from somewhere.

About $25,000 comes through the generosity of the Central Lakes Trust, which still means a substantial burden for the school.

And this is a programme we would like to spend more on, not less.

When these programmes can't intervene before problems occur, the restorative practices initiative kicks in.

But, again, this requires significant resources that we must find ourselves.

It is time we, the public, were made a little more aware of the realities of the funding scenario.

Education is not free in New Zealand, the decile system (that funds schools in more wealthy areas less than those in poorer areas) provides a clear admission of this fact.

It is not based on the belief that kids emerging from larger houses require less education, but on the assumption that schools in areas with high property values will be successful at raising significant funds for themselves.

The result is that schools in such areas tend to deal with any behavioural issues by exporting them elsewhere.

At WHS, our programmes exist to solve these issues early on, to nip them in the bud in a school environment rather than let them evolve into a community problem.

Their achievements are something to be proud of, and it is a shame it comes at a cost we can ill afford.

But the alternative is even less palatable.

Actions speak louder than words, and the only thing cheap is talk.

If the Government is serious about addressing the issue of bullying, it could start by adequately funding the programmes designed to avoid such problems in the first place.

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