3/04/2023
A P Clarke
[FYI request #21619 email]
Tēnā koe
OIA: 1306093 – Further to OIA 1303331 – Bullying and Student Safety data
Thank you for your email of 6 March 2023 to the Ministry of Education requesting the following
information further to your previous request for information on Orewa College since January 2021:
1. The number of individual bullying and student safety incidents that the ministry has had to
be involved in over that period,
2. As well as whether Orewa College is being treated as an outlier with regards to the number
of these incidents.
3. Finally can you please also provide information whether Orewa College is either being
considered for or is under any kind of special measures (i.e. anything outside of BAU
interactions) from the ministry to assist the board and leadership team in the running of the
school in any way.
Your request has been considered under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act).
Schools and kura in Aotearoa are self-governing and have autonomy over the approaches they
take to address bullying. This allows them to implement approaches that best suit their school or
kura, community and context.
We have interpreted
part one of your request, insofar as it relates to bullying, as the number of
complaints that the Ministry has received relating to bullying, as the Ministry does not require
schools to collect or share data related to bullying or safety incidents. Complaint information has
been provided below as
Table One below. Complaints made to the Ministry about bullying are
unlikely to accurately reflect the number of bullying incidents occurring in New Zealand schools.
I am refusing
part one of your request insofar as it relates to safety incidents, and
part two of your
request for how Orewa College compares to other schools’ bullying and safety incident data, under
section 18(g) of the Act, as the information is not held by the Ministry, and I have no grounds for
believing that the information is either held by, or more closely connected to the functions of,
another department or organisation subject to the Act.
Wellington National Office, 1 The Terrace, Levels 5 to 14, Wellington 6011
PO Box 1666, Wellington 6140, DX SR51201 Phone: +64 4 463 8000
Table One: number of complaints received by the Ministry across all NZ schools where the
nature of the contact is bullying, reported by calendar year between 2021 – 2023*.
Nature of Contact
2021
2022
2023*
Bullying
101
103
13
Caveats:
• *2023 data is Year to Date.
• Data was extracted on 17 March 2023 from the Ministry’s schooling database.
• Data is live and subject to change.
Regarding
part three of your request, the Board of Orewa College demonstrates the governance
and leadership capability to manage the school without additional support from the Ministry. School
boards and leaders are, however, able to access further support when needed. You can find more
information about the types of supports available on our website:
https://www.education.govt.nz/
school/boards-information/boards-of-schools-and-kura/support-for-boards/.
Additional information – Bullying in schools
Bullying is defined as harmful behaviour that is deliberate, involves a power imbalance, and has an
element of repetition. It is a societal problem influenced by our wider values and norms, and is not
limited to schools and kura.
The Education and Training Act 2020 (ETA) states that one of a board’s primary objectives in
governing a school or kura is to ensure that the school or kura ‘takes all reasonable steps to
eliminate racism, stigma, bul ying, and any other forms of discrimination within the school’ (section
127(1)(b)(iii) of the ETA). Another primary objective for boards is that they provide a physically and
emotionally safe place for all students and staff (section 127(1)(b)(i) of the ETA).
Ensuring that places of learning are safe, inclusive, and free from racism, discrimination and
bullying is also a priority in the Statement of National Education and Learning Priorities (NELP) and
the Tertiary Education Strategy. Boards of schools and kura must have particular regard to the
NELP, including in their strategic planning.
To support schools to understand the extent to which bullying behaviours are occurring in their
schools, the Ministry provides schools with free access to the Wellbeing@School survey toolkit,
developed by the New Zealand Council for Educational Research. These surveys can be used by
schools to undertake a self-review of the systems and practices they have in place to provide safe,
inclusive environments that deter bullying. These tools explore both student and teacher
perceptions, and can be used to understand the level and type of bullying occurring.
The Education Review Office (ERO) also looks at the measures that schools have in place to
address bullying as part of their regular review cycle.
The Ministry facilitates the inter-agency Bullying Prevention Advisory Group (BPAG) to provide
leadership on bullying prevention. There are 17 members with representatives from across
Government and the education sector, including New Zealand Police, ACC, education sector
unions, the Human Rights Commission, and the Office of the Children’s Commissioner.
OIA: 1306093
Evidence shows that the best approaches to addressing bullying involve students, staff, whānau
and communities working together, with a focus on a whole range of social and environmental
factors that help to foster caring and inclusive cultures at places of learning
The Ministry has worked with the BPAG to develop the Bullying-Free NZ School Framework. This
framework contains nine key elements that evidence indicates need to be addressed as part of an
effective whole-school bullying prevention and response approach. This framework has been used
to develop a wide range of resources and information to support schools and kura to develop
approaches that work for them, and these are freely available on the Bullying-Free NZ website at
https://bullyingfree.nz/preventing-bullying/the-nine-elements-of-an-effective-whole-school-
approach-to-preventing-and-responding-to-bullying/. This site also provides information for
students, as well as parents and whānau.
In 2019, ERO found that schools with the most effective bullying prevention and response
approaches were effective across all nine domains of the Bullying-Free NZ School Framework.
Other initiatives for safe, inclusive environments
Schools also have access to access a range of other initiatives, resources and supports to help
them provide safe, inclusive environments, including:
•
Positive Behaviour for Learning (PB4L) School-Wide – a whole of school approach to
creating positive learning environments
•
Positive Behaviour for Learning (PB4L) Restorative Practice – a whole of school
approach to build and maintain positive, respectful relationships across the school
community.
•
PB4L Incredible Years programmes - provide advice, strategies, and support for
parents/whānau and teachers of 3–8-year-olds to help them address challenging
behaviours and increase social and self-control skills.
•
Interim Response Fund - a short-term response to schools to address a significantly
challenging event. It provides funding for a short-term response while a more
comprehensive intervention plan is devised.
•
Resource Teacher: Learning and Behaviour (RTLB) - the Ministry also funds the
national school-based RTLB service to support the achievement and wellbeing of students
in Years 1-10
•
Teaching for Positive Behaviour – a resource to support teachers and kaiako to
understand what works in supporting positive behaviour and increasing engagement.
•
Inclusive Education Guide to Behaviour and Learning – practical approaches to
strengthen behaviours that promote learning and minimise behaviours that disrupt and
inhibit learning.
To help address online bullying, the Ministry supports Netsafe to provide online safety and digital
citizenship education, advice, and support to schools. This includes information relating to online
bullying, abuse, and harassment. Netsafe provides online resources, and has education advisers
who work with schools.
Please note, we may publish this response on our website after five working days. Your name and
contact details will be removed.
OIA: 1306093
Thank you again for your email. You have the right to ask an Ombudsman to review my decision
on your request, in accordance with section 28 of the Act. You can do this by writing to
[email address] or to Office of the Ombudsman, PO Box 10152, Wellington 6143.
Nāku noa, nā
David Wales
National Director Learning Support Delivery
Te Mahau | Te Pae Aronui
OIA: 1306093
