Decile changes welcome
Possible changes to decile funding and more flexibility for school starting ages would be welcome, but many other changes proposed for schools were a mystery, Manawatu parent Katie Kopke said.
Parents cared deeply about their children’s success at school, but staying informed about all significant changes proposed in education took energy and time most parents didn’t have in surplus, she said.
The mum-of-three is closely involved with Rongotea School (near Palmerston North), takes part in fundraising and support activities, keeps a close eye on her children’s learning and juggles family with work. But trying to understand the nitty gritty and implications of major proposals like COOL is a big job.
COOL (Communities of Online Learning) is a mystery to most parents she’s talked with. Carrying out schooling largely or completely online could compromise children’s development in other areas, she worries.
Kopke is a fan of more flexibility for parents on the age their children start school. She likes the possibility of starting her 4-year-old daughter in the term before her birthday. She didn’t think her son would’ve been ready for school before he turned 5.
A review under way of decile funding could bring about significant changes for schools, but was not well understood, she said.
Kopke’s children’s school rose from 6 to 8 in the decile system in the last review in 2014, resulting in a meaningful reduction in operational funding. It wasn’t easy to see how there had been a matching benefit from economic changes in the community, she said.
Farming communities were also vulnerable to changeable economic conditions.
Social need at school needed to be addressed, but funding should be kept separate from educational achievement, she said.
‘‘There should be funding for those programmes; it should always be in place, and it should be adaptable.’’
Small school communities struggle to shoulder a loss of funding from a decile change, she said.