Two committee members met recently with Associate Minister of Education, Heather Roy. As a result of this meeting several questions were put to the office of the Minister of Education on our behalf. A summary of the meeting and responses from the MOE are given below. Perhaps the most important response from MOE is that the proposed National Standards will not apply to homeschoolers.
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Marianne Wilson and Penny Bilton met with Heather Roy, Associate Minister of Education and ACT MP, on Wednesday 4 February. We passed on NCHENZ congratulations to the new ministers in the Education portfolio and our appreciation for ACT’s support for parent’s choice in education and support for home education. A special thanks was expressed to former ACT MP Deborah Coddington for her work on behalf of homeschoolers.
Heather reiterated ACTs total support for homeschoolers and her desire to see us get a better deal. ACT is pushing for a voucher system (by another name). Heather is committed to getting a working party up and running by the end of the year comprising a review of education with a view to more parent choice. She encouraged NCHENZ to present submissions to the working party. Heather herself will not be covering the homeschooling portfolio, this will be taken by Anne Tolley. Heather will have charge of Special Education. She responded positively to our request to be kept informed of changes to education policy which might affect us.
The National government’s policy “Youth Guarantee” is going to be implemented. Heather could not answer our question regarding raising the school leaving age.
The gaining of NCEA credits as an issue for some families was raised, especially those credits which are internally assessed. We raised the matter of the $1200 per subject for under 16’s to purchase curriculum from TCS. Heather indicated that the voucher system would cover this. NCHENZ suggested part-time school as a good option – attending school for one or two subjects such as science or metalwork. Currently the Act does not allow students to attend part-time or schools to charge fees to New Zealand citizens. Community education classes are available after
the age of 16 but these seldom are courses which give NCEA credits, and not the courses homeschoolers need. Heather indicated she would bring this issue to the Minister’s attention for consideration, and suggested that the “Youth Guarantee” policy might change the situation.
NCHENZ stressed the need for single parents on a benefit to retain their exemption from work requirements while they are homeschooling. We indicated the need of some teenage students for continuing adult supervision and that staying home alone to do their work was not optimal. Heather was not aware of this issue but seemed sympathetic to our cause. The productiveness and commitment of single homeschooling parents is recognized by ACT.
We expressed NCHENZ opposition to our students being subject to the National Standards regime and presented these arguments. Many of our students have special abilities or needs or other reasons why they were taken out of school. Many parents use alternative educational methods which suit their children better and are often linked to the child’s development or learning style. i.e. we don’t want late bloomers or kinetic learners branded as failures. Heather explained that the results of testing children would be used to compare teachers and schools rather than as a reflection upon the achievement of the individual child. She suggested that we liaise with ERO, since we have a good relationship with them, to find out where the consultancy process is at, and how we can contribute to it.
In conclusion, NCHENZ affirmed homeschooling parents as being highly committed and that our children invariable turn out to be well adjusted and productive members of society. ACT is aware of this. We consider homeschooling to be a win/win situation – our students get their needs met, the government saves money, schools have fewer students to teach, and teachers have fewer special ability/needs children in their classrooms.
Heather expressed willingness to assist us where needed, but encouraged a first approach made to the government agency concerned – political pressure from a minister being a last resort.
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Responses from the MOE
Susan Arcus, Heather Roy’s secretary, put these question to the Minister of Education’s office on our behalf.
Does the Youth Guarantee Policy mean the school leaving age has been raised?
No, Youth Guarantee does not raise the school leaving age.
· Currently there is an exemption for single parents on a benefit to stay at home if they are home-schooling their children, which applies til the child is 16. Will this be raised to 17 so that a parent does not have to apply for an exemption in line with the Youth Policy Guarantee?
Home schooling is not affected.
· According to the Education (National Standards) Amendment Act 2008, there are to be National Standards (rather tests) for literacy and numeracy at certain stages of a child’s schooling career. NCHENZ do not feel it is appropriate to test home-schooled children as it feels that these tests are focused on schools and needing the ability to compare themselves against other school, which does not apply to home-schooled children, and would like this to be noted.
The National Standards apply to all state schools. The standards will not affect those students who are exempt from enrolment in a state school, such as students who are home schooled, and will not affect students enrolled in private schools, as the National Education Guidelines do not apply.
NCHENZ has concerns with the cost of enrolling children in the Correspondence School to gain certain NCEA qualifications (starting at $800 per subject, this is not insignificant). There seems to be disparity when those over 20 years of age can receive this at a minimal cost.
This last point has been noted ( in addition to the issue of homeschoolers having access to secondary schools for one or two subjects).
