7. Schools—Risk IndexCHRIS HIPKINS (Labour—Rimutaka) to the Minister of EducationSchools—Risk Index7. CHRIS HIPKINS (Labour—Rimutaka) to the Minister of Education: What criteria will be used to calculate the Risk Index that will better target funding to schools with children and young people most at risk of not achieving due to disadvantage"?Hon NIKKI KAYE (Minister of Education): The criteria that will be used to calculate the risk index are based on research and evidence and involve factors that are linked to students not achieving NCEA level 2. However as I have already stated yesterday we will be working with the Chief Science Advisor the Social Investment Agency and the sector to test out the draft risk factors and how they may work within the overall system. Chris Hipkins: Why does the National Government believe that being from a larger family having a younger or older mother having a male caregiver who is not a biological father or having parents who are migrants indicate that a child is disadvantaged? Hon NIKKI KAYE: That is because we have worked with a range of organisations and the sector to look at what the potential risk is of not achieving. So it is not about just the individual factor; it is about how the factors may work together to potentially look at what the prediction is in terms of those who are at risk of not achieving. Chris Hipkins: Which does she think creates a greater stigma for schools: decile rankings based on socio-economics or the creation of league tables showing the number of children in a school with parents on a benefit; a parent in prison; Child Youth and Family (CYF) notifications; or male caregivers who are not the biological father of the child? Hon NIKKI KAYE: Well firstly I would like to make a couple of points. The first is that publicly labelling schools via the decile system is widely seen as discriminatory. We have been very clear that this risk index will involve anonymised data—that is the first point. Secondly we have said we are going to work with the Auditor-General and the Ombudsman to see what we can do to make sure that this does not become a discriminatory system. Chris Hipkins: How will she prevent the release of that information given that once it has been compiled and used to inform funding decisions when using public money the Government will be legally obliged under the Official Information Act to release it to the public? Hon NIKKI KAYE: Well the first point that I would make again is that this is different to the decile system in that this is overall a more sophisticated system in terms of determining what the weighting of funding may be in terms of those students who are at risk of not achieving. The second thing which answers his question is that we have said we will be working with both the Auditor-General and the Ombudsman but separately from that there is the possibility that we are—it is how we present the funding information and it could be presented with other funding so you may not be able to determine exactly which funding is for those at risk of disadvantage. Chris Hipkins: Which does she think is going to create the greatest stigma for schools: decile rankings as we have now or the release of information—which would not be able to be withheld under the Official Information Act—on the number of children in a school with a parent on a benefit or a parent in prison or on whether a child is subject to CYF notifications or has a male caregiver who is not their biological father? Hon NIKKI KAYE: As I said in answer to the previous question the decile system is discriminatory and it is that system that we are getting rid of and it is that system that is more discriminatory. The second point that I would make is the member does not understand how it works. He does not understand how it works in that it is not just about the individual factors; it is about how the factors work together. We are working with the sector in terms of the presentation of that information to make sure that we do not create a discriminatory system. Chris Hipkins: Which does she think is the biggest influence on a child's chances of success in education: their natural talents and abilities coupled with their willingness to work hard or the National Government's Big Brother algorithm which is going to miraculously decide their future before they even set foot inside a classroom? Hon NIKKI KAYE: Well I completely disagree with the last statement in the question and I want to make this point. We have received widespread support for this announcement because not only are we scrapping the decile system which is discriminatory we are providing more funding for disadvantaged and it is supported by a lot of parents and the sector."