June 01, 2016
Welfare rolls matched with schools
Education Minister Hekia Parata says better collection and use of data is enabling a change to school operations grants.
In what’s described as a social investment approach, this year’s Budget shifted $43.2 million of operating funding over four years to schools educating students from benefit dependent homes.
Ms Parata says those 150,000 children are most at risk of educational failure.
The schools were identified through data matching with the Ministry for Social Development.
The money has to be spent on raising achievement.
"It has to be focused on how do we ensure that those kids who are not able to read or write at whatever age are getting the interventions that they need, it has to be focused on ensuring that kids get across the 80-credit line to get a meaningful NCEA 2 qualification so that's what it's aimed at. We are not telling schools what to use the money for because we trust their professional judgment but we are saying we have heard their concern," Ms Parata says.
The $1.44 billion in extra spending over the next four years also includes $42 million for special needs students and $882 million for new or rebuilt schools and classrooms.
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