Kaye Nikki: Education Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Kaye Nikki: Education Amendment Bill — First Reading 
[Sitting date: 18 October 2012. Volume:684;Page:5990. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
NIKKI KAYE (National—Auckland Central) 
: 
 I am very pleased to be standing here and speaking on the first reading of the Education Amendment Bill. I want to acknowledge the Hon Hekia Parata and the job she is doing in the education portfolio and also the Hon John Banks. This bill is incredibly important for our country because what this bill is about is actually real policy to help some of our most disadvantaged children in this country. Too often we hear the rhetoric that we care about the one in five children who do not succeed in our education system. The fact is that there are many wonderful educational professionals in this country doing a great job. However one in five children leave our education system not being able to participate in a modern economy and what this legislation is about is saying that that is not good enough and that we are prepared to put in place policies that will give parents and students greater choice and greater options for their learning. 
We have already seen some improvements under our Government. At school level nearly 72 percent of school-leavers achieved at least National Certificate of Educational Achievement level 2 compared with 66 percent in 2009. This is part of a wider range of policies that are about greater accountability in terms of our education system. That is why we have national standards. Through national standards we want to raise literacy and numeracy standards for those children in some very disadvantaged communities. We know where they are and we know how we can better support them and we can target resource not only from a Government perspective but also in terms of their parents. When you look at the Manaiakalani Project when you see how these kids are doing in very disadvantaged communities it is because their parents are involved in their learning and it is because they decided to do something different. 
Partnership schools are about actually recognising that one size does not fit all. We hear from the Opposition that this is about putting kids at risk. Well the greatest risk in this country is to do nothing. What we believe is that through the design of the partnership schools model we are developing a model that is in the New Zealand context and that ensures that we are also requiring greater accountability in the sponsorship contracts. There is a range of provisions there in terms of accountability. But there is actually flexibility to go into low-decile areas in particular and offer a different type of school for some learners. This is self-selecting as well. I think that is a really important point. 
The other point I would make is that the model has actually been successful. The charter schools model in other countries has been incredibly successful. We have heard recently from Mike Feinberg from the United States but what we have tried to do in terms of this policy is say that we need to develop it for a New Zealand context. So I look forward to the select committee process as chair of the Education and Science Committee and I hope—it is my greatest hope—that the Opposition keeps an open mind. The greatest thing that we could do in this country is not to continue to do nothing with these children but to develop another option. The other point that I want to make is that we do have varieties of schooling in this country. We do have single-sex schools. We do have kura kaupapa. So this is just another option for parents in terms of schooling. 
The other key aspect of this bill that I want to briefly touch on is about safer environments. We have a number of provisions in here regarding search and surrender. We also have a National Student Number which is being recognised within this bill. This is part of our target to ensure that we have 98 percent of new entrants participating in early childhood education by 2016. The other aspect of this bill that is very important to mention is school boards of trustees. We will see through this bill and through guiding this legislation through the House a range of provisions that clarify the primary purpose of school boards to ensure there are very clear expectations. I think that if we step back for a moment what we are saying on this side of the House through this legislation and through other mechanisms is that we believe in greater accountability through mechanisms like national standards and through mechanisms like partnership schools which provide other options for parents. We believe in greater transparency through national standards and through things like partnership schools. 
A key aspect of partnership schools that we believe in is that the State does not control the only mandate for the provision of education in this country. There are many community organisations—and the Opposition has focused on businesses that may be sponsors—that have an outstanding role in our community. We think they should be considered for the provision of education. We are not going to bring those kids up by saying that we are going to continue to do what we have always done. That is why this legislation is about choice. This legislation is about raising achievement. This legislation is about transparency. It is about greater accountability in terms of our school trustees and their boards. It is about safer environments through the search and surrender provisions. This legislation is incredibly important for those one in five children in New Zealand whose opportunities have been snuffed out too often because people have not been prepared to try some things differently. I support this bill to the select committee.