Canterbury school says no to govt directive

DAVID HALLETT/The Press

TAKING A STAND: Southbridge School principal Peter Verstappen, whose school is refusing to introduce the national standards, welcomed the NZEI bus tour to the town.

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Another Canterbury school is refusing to introduce national standards.

Southbridge School will not enforce the standards until they have been trialled in schools, despite Education Minister Anne Tolley being adamant there will be no trial.

Christchurch's Somerfield School decided late last month that it would not implement the national standards until staff had been trained, which would not be until at least term three.

Several schools across the country have said they would not implement the standards, despite a government directive that they be implemented at the start of the school year.

Southbridge board of trustees deputy chairman Andrew Lambie said the school was not boycotting the standards but would not to implement them at this stage because they did not fit with the work it was doing on curriculum development.

He did not know when the school would implement the standards.

Lambie, principal Peter Verstappen and several parents yesterday joined more than 10,000 people in signing a New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) petition calling for a trial of the national standards.

The school was the first Canterbury stop of nine for the institute's national bus tour, which has been visiting schools throughout the country since the beginning of the school year.

The standards measure every child aged five to 12 at, above, below or well below national literacy and numeracy standards.

Verstappen said Southbridge School had decided it would improve pupil achievement by focusing on the national curriculum rather than the standards.

He was concerned the standards had been rushed into place without being tested and without teachers receiving any training on implementing them.

The national curriculum, which was also put in place this year, had been well thought out, took several years to be developed and was considered a world leader, he said.

Lambie said the board had not taken its decision lightly and was aware that it could be fired.

Lambie said the board had the support of the community.

Nikki Wellby, who has two children at Southbridge School, said she did not support the standards because she had spent time in Britain and knew they were not working there.

Another parent, Lisa Luxton, said no-one had been able to answer her questions about the standards. She wanted to know where special-needs children fitted into the equation.

NZEI national secretary Paul Goulter said even though Tolley had ruled out a trial, he believed the Government was listening to opponents of the scheme.

Only about 100 people attended a meeting at the Isaac Theatre Royal last night.

Canterbury University senior lecturer Brad Meek questioned how Tolley could say all children could achieve national standards when that had never been achieved elsewhere in the world.

Tolley will hold a community meeting at the Lincoln Bowling Club at 7pm today.

- © Fairfax NZ News