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August 17, 2023
Seymour keen to resurrect charter schools
Claudette Hauiti
Posted On August 17, 2023
Download AudioACT leader David Seymour says former kura hourua will get a fast track back to charter school status if his party is in the next government.
Under the previous National-ACT Government 12 publicly funded private schools were set up, including four with a Māori focus.
With the change of Government in 2017 they were given the option to become special character schools within the state system.
“There will have to be fresh applications. People will have to qualify to operate a charter school under the new policy but I think someone who’s done it before would have a head start. If we’re in Government we will bring back charter schools, no question,” Mr Seymour says.
He says an evaluation by business consultants MartinJenkins showed partnership schools were strongly focused on disadvantaged children with complex needs.
Students were largely Māori and Pasifika from low-decile schools, and the partnership schools were meeting learners’ needs using innovative practices and high-quality standards.
He says ACT would also “introduce a Teaching Excellence Reward Fund and we would prioritise professional development for teachers in the basics, like english (sic) and mathematics”.
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