A new national-led Government

As 2011 draws to a close we are already focused on the New Year and what it might bring for the private schools sector. With a National-led Government in place for the next three years we remain optimistic that there will be increased support for choice in education, that choice will be advanced so that more families have the capacity to exercise their fundamental right to choose the school that best meets the needs of their individual children.

We hope that this government stands by its election platform that “Good schools are vitally important.” Good schools should be supported so that they can continue to offer educational opportunities that will prepare young New Zealanders for a successful and productive work life and enable them to make a valuable contribution to the growth of this nation.

Private schools are “good schools”. They have a proven academic track record, one that lifts achievement in education outcomes.  Independent schools provide a competitive stimulus and they set national benchmarks in innovation, diversity and curriculum delivery.

The new National-led Government has an opportunity to leverage the capacity, the resources and facilities, and the educational outcomes of private schools by making them more affordable and more accessible to more families.

The government could raise the private schools per capita subsidy rate to 45 per cent of what it costs to educate a child in the state sector and still it would be a net fiscal beneficiary of the presence of the private schools sector.

We look forward to working with the yet-to-be announced Minister who will hold the private schools portfolio and together establish a successful way to support private schools and the huge contribution they make to their students and the wider community.