Figures from MOE show it is currently working to re-enrol 19 excluded Bay of Plenty students into new schools. Photo / Getty Images
Bay of Plenty principal Suzanne Billington has called for the Ministry of Education to put an end to school exclusions, with nearly 20 students in between schools in the region.
New Zealand Principals Federation president Perry Rush described the exclusion process as "troubling, upsetting and awful", while a Rotorua principal says schools have "inadequate" resourcing to address an "exponential rise" in serious behavioural problems.
Other principals say there is a lack of funding to help students that often came from homes plagued with housing issues and financial stress.
Moving a student did not, in their view, fix the problem but they acknowledged tough decisions were being made on behalf of all pupils.
The Ministry of Education was working to re-enrol 19 excluded Bay students into new schools — including six who were kicked out for physically assaulting other students, new figures reveal.
Another five were excluded for continual disobedience. The behaviour types of the eight other students could not be revealed for privacy reasons.
Only a school's board can make the decision to exclude or expel a student and the ministry said they did not take the decision lightly.
Exclusion is for students aged 16 or younger and requires the student to be enrolled at another school. Expulsion is for older students and there is no obligation for them to be enrolled elsewhere.
Behaviour types that could result in exclusion include continual disobedience, physical assault on other students, drugs and physical and verbal assault on staff.
Billington, the Western Bay of Plenty Principals' Association president and Tauriko School principal, said she was eager to see an end to school exclusions because the system had "the appropriate options and support to keep young people in education and get them the support they need".
Billington said challenged youth in the region deserved "linked-up, culturally responsive, therapeutic help".
All schools in the Western Bay "strive" to have young people engaged in learning and attending school but it was difficult for the students facing "quite complex challenges".
"Ideally, the solution for students and their whānau is that the [ministry] provides appropriate support for any student who finds it challenging to engage in learning at their local school."
But there was a "clear" lack of resourcing to provide appropriate support for these young people, she said.
"Any school in the process of enrolling a student ... who has been excluded from school wants to know that they too have the support in place right from the start to enable this student to experience success."
Rotorua Intermediate principal Garry de Thierry said the increase in family harm, drugs, housing and poverty was being reflected in the classroom.
Some students were dealing with trauma and there was very little access to people to work them through these situations.
"That pent-up anger, frustration and anxiety that they bring into a school context. They arrive with all of that baggage, and then there is an expectation within a school that these students will be sitting there and engaging with learning. But these students have all this turmoil going on, and that is the challenge."
He described school exclusions as a "sad indictment on society".
Resources needed to be put into supporting students at a younger age to prevent school behavioural issues, he said.
"A lot of the work we seem to be doing now is an ambulance at the bottom of the cliff, as opposed to ring-fencing the top with support so that these students aren't falling over it."
Wraparound support for excluded students also needed to be put in place when transferring schools.
"Just moving a student doesn't fix the problem. It is like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic if you don't put in the required support."
John Paul College principal Patrick Walsh said there had been an "exponential rise" in the number of students presenting a range of "serious behavioural problems".
"The resources available to schools to manage these behaviours is manifestly inadequate including teacher aide hours, PD for staff and long waitlists to access outside agencies such as child psychologists.
"No principal wants to exclude a student as we know how traumatic it is ... Unfortunately without adequate support schools feel they have little option," he said.
Rotorua Girls' High principal Sarah Davis said the school would rarely exclude a student, often turning to alternative education first.
The school used suspension to address some issues but she described it as a "restorative process" rather than punitive. It gave staff the opportunity to hear from students and their families.
But Davis said the school was "struggling to cope" with the number of students whose learning was being interrupted by issues like emergency housing situations, depression and anxiety, caring for younger siblings and financial stress.
Like de Thierry, she said early intervention was key in these situations.
Rush, of the principals federation, described the process of excluding a student as a "troubling, upsetting and awful" set of circumstances for those involved.
Often when a student was redirected into a new school after being excluded, appropriate resourcing and support were "completely missing".
"You cannot simply exclude a student with significant issues, and then think that the new school in a different setting is going to resolve the core of the problems," he said.
Ministry of Education deputy secretary sector enablement and support Helen Hurst said the ministry was aware some students in complex situations displayed "very challenging behaviours".
"This puts pressure on students and staff but often has little to do with the school itself, and more to do with a range of social factors."
A "range of supports" were available for schools needing help with these behaviours, but Hurst acknowledged there was always a demand for more.
"In response to the sector's immediate need for support, Budget 2021 provided $17.7 million over four years to expand the Te Kahu Toi, Intensive Wraparound Service."
Hurst said this would support up to 95 additional learners a year with significant wellbeing and behaviour needs who needed support at school and at home.
The ministry was shifting away from providing behaviour services focused on individual students towards "locally-led, flexible and preventative approaches".
The ministry's acting deputy secretary sector enablement and support, Susan Howan, previously said it was the ministry's responsibility to work with family and education providers of an excluded students to find an option for them to "engage and participate" in learning.
Support, including transport in and out of school activities and learning support, was also available to ensure a student transitioned and integrated well into a new school.
According to the ministry website, a principal has 10 school days to try to arrange for a child to attend another school before the ministry steps in.
A school can refuse to enrol a child if they had been excluded or expelled from another school.
However, "the Ministry of Education can lift the exclusion to allow your child to return to the school which excluded them or direct another school to enrol your child".
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