Key prefers to 'work with' rebel schools

DAVID HALLET/The Press

CLASS VISIT: Prime Minister John Key, with principal James Petronelli, left, and Education Minister Anne Tolley, speaks with Clearview School pupils, from left, Christo du Plooy, Rhys Henderson and Connor O'Carroll.

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Schools rebelling against the new national standards will have to explain to parents why they are prepared to allow children to leave school without adequate literacy and numeracy skills, Prime Minister John Key says.

After opening the $9.8 million Clearview School at Rolleston yesterday, Key said schools were Crown entities and the law required them to implement the standards.

"We made a change to the Education Act to implement national standards last year and I think it's the responsibility of schools to implement that."

His comments were in response to a growing number of schools throughout New Zealand, including Somerfield in Christchurch and Southbridge in central Canterbury, refusing to implement the standards until they were trialled and teachers had received training.

Asked if rebellious boards of trustees would be sacked, Key said he preferred to work with the schools in the first instance.

"In the end, if they don't, then those schools need to answer to the parents of New Zealand why they are prepared to allow one in five young New Zealanders to leave school without adequate literacy and numeracy skills."

Key said the "vast bulk" of schools were implementing the standards, which measure every child aged five to 12 at, above, below or well below national literacy and numeracy standards.

Education Minister Anne Tolley has come under fire from schools, teachers and parents about her handling of the standards and for ignoring their concerns about putting in place an untried programme.

Key said he had confidence in Tolley's ability to deal with the unrest, and he was happy with the implementation.

"For the last 20 to 30 years there has been no national standards in New Zealand, and one in five young new Zealanders are unable to read and write properly."

Clearview principal James Petronelli said the school was aligning its assessment practices with the national standards and would report twice yearly to parents in plain language.

Tolley was supposed to give a speech at the opening, but left to catch a flight to Auckland, leaving Selwyn MP Amy Adams to deliver it instead.

Key said Clearview was the first school to open in the Selwyn District for 77 years and was a tremendous achievement and a sign of the area's growth.

Selwyn Mayor Kelvin Coe said he hoped to see Key back to open a secondary school in the not too distant future.

- © Fairfax NZ News