$2.7 million to lift achievement of at-risk-students

Education Minister Hekia Parata has today announced the Government is investing $2.7 million over four years in an initiative which will provide help and support for at-risk students enrolled in Te Kura - the Correspondence School.

“Young people who can’t or won’t attend their local school, either because they have been expelled or they are habitual truants, are enrolled in Te Kura,” says Ms Parata.

“A number of these young people often remain disengaged from learning, and do not gain any qualification, and we are determined to change that.”

The programme has been designed by Te Kura, and builds students’ interest in learning through a work-placement or job shadowing opportunity.

It will initially focus on up to eighty Year 9 - 11 at-risk students already on Te Kura’s roll, who do not currently have face-to-face support.

“This initiative will be evaluated as it progresses. Obviously if its goes well we want to be able to offer it to more Te Kura students who are falling behind,” says Ms Parata.

“As part of our Better Public Service Targets our Government is focused on 85 per cent of 18 year-olds achieving NCEA Level 2 or an equivalent qualification in 2017.

“Over the past two years we have collected data across the whole school system so we can see where we need to target resources to lift achievement.

“This has helped us identify which students need what kind of support through programmes such as Youth Guarantee, Trades Academies, Achievement 2013-17, and Power Up Pasifika. This programme is another initiative to try something different to help lift students who have fallen behind.

“We are seeing positive results in our targeted approach based on knowing the names of each student and their particular needs,” says Ms Parata.

"It's that simple. And that effective".

"More young people are leaving school with NCEA Level 2, with provisional results for 2013 showing an increase of around 10.3 percentage points since 2008.

“This Government is relentless in finding what works to lift achievement for all,” says Ms Parata.