KEY POINTS:
Students behaving badly in mainstream schools need more consistent support, Chief Ombudsman Beverley Wakem says in her annual report to Parliament.
"It is worrying when students with behavioural difficulties face suspension or expulsion where insufficient or inadequate support for the student or teacher has been provided," she said today.
"We have had complaints where a student exhibiting these behaviours is involved in an incident - often of a violent nature - and the student is suspended or expelled."
Ms Wakem said schools had a duty of care to other students and to staff to keep them safe from harm, but "this can, and does, conflict with the duty to help students with behavioural issues to enjoy interacting with their peers in a normal classroom setting".
More attention needs to be paid to the issue.
"Funding needs to be in place to ensure teacher aide support is always available for as many hours as is appropriate to ensure learning can take place for everyone in the classroom, not least the student with behavioural problems."
Ms Wakem said some children behaved in such a complex way that teachers might need more support to understand what behavioural responses might arise and to develop techniques for managing the situation safely.
Another issue arose from cases where administrative justice and procedural fairness had been called into question in school board consideration of suspensions and exclusions.
"A common failing has been that the board did not keep adequate records of its deliberations on a case so the matters taken into account in reaching its decisions were not immediately clear," she said.
- NZPA
