Hon Anne Tolley
Minister of Education


11 December 2010 Media Statement

Bill enabling Trades Academies to become law

The Education Amendment Bill (No 2), which has passed the last of its Parliamentary stages, will increase educational opportunities, reduce bureaucracy and improve student safety, says Education Minister Anne Tolley.

“This Bill provides exciting new opportunities for Year 11 to 13 students by allowing them to participate in Trades Academies, removes unnecessary burdens on short-term child crèches, and ensures that those who pose a potential danger to children can be kept out of the classroom,” says Mrs Tolley.

The Bill also updates and streamlines private school legislation, makes minor changes to school enrolment schemes and makes changes to the way that foreign students can claim refunds from Private Training Establishments.

The Bill will:

• Introduce secondary-tertiary programmes, which will allow senior secondary students to study across secondary and tertiary education, but retain controls to ensure that all students will get a high quality education.

• Ensure that teachers that may be a danger to students can be suspended and allow the Teachers Council to annotate the teachers’ register where a teacher is found to be incompetent.

• Exempt short-term crèches from early childhood licensing standards to make it easier for recreation facilities, shopping centres and similar organisations to provide short-term babysitting. Police checks for crèche staff will be required under the Health and Safety Act.

• Reform and modernise private school legislation to implement the Law Commission’s 2009 report, Private Schools and the Law.

• Amend refund requirement provisions for international students enrolled at Private Training Establishments, to make it more difficult for ‘playing’ the system by changing courses once students are in New Zealand.

• Make policy changes to school enrolment scheme priorities for offering places to out of zone students via the ballot process by giving some priority to children of board members and of former pupils.

“This Bill shows the Government’s commitment to enabling pioneering new approaches to education, ensuring that children are safe and maintaining the highest educational standards. At the same time it removes needless regulation and red tape," says Mrs Tolley.

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