New Zealand Student Engagement 2003 Publications

Publication Details

This report provides statistics and analysis on stand-downs and suspensions for the 2003 school year to 31 December 2003.

Author(s): Ministry of Education

Date Published: December 2003

Summary

This is the sixth report on the system of suspensions and stand-downs in New Zealand schools that was put in place in July 1999 and is the fourth report for a full school year, the first being for 2000.

Although statistics for stand-downs and suspensions are important as indicators of a form of behaviour management, they do not reflect the wide range of interventions that are used in schools in an endeavour to ensure that students are focused on their learning in a positive, safe and secure environment. The use of stand-downs and suspensions is seen as a last resort when other options have not proved to be successful. Schools should continue to use this form of discipline as infrequently as possible.

A key finding of this report is that during this period, while stand-downs continue to rise, the number of suspension cases has reduced. Nine regions had an increase in the rate of stand-downs per 1,000 students, two remained the same and six regions showed a reduction. More significantly, eight regions had a reduction in suspensions per 1,000 students, two remained the same, and only two showed an increase. The use of stand-downs is the preferred method of dealing with student behaviour rather than suspensions. This is a short- term measure, controlled solely by the school, allowing a problem to be dealt with quickly. This enables a student to return to the classroom as soon as possible.

The Suspension Reduction Initiative (SRI), described later in this report, continues to be successful with the number of suspensions of Māori students in the SRI schools continuing to fall.

In areas of New Zealand where the Ministry of Education is providing support for specific programmes, there is a levelling-off or reduction in the number of suspension cases. Schools in the West Coast region recorded an increase in the rate of stand-downs from 2002 (from 37 per 1,000 students to 45 per 1,000 students) but a decrease in suspensions (from 13 per 1,000 students to 10 per 1,000 students). Northland schools continue their positive approach to managing student behaviour with stand-down cases decreasing from 13 per 1,000 students in 2002 to 10 per 1,000 in 2003. Suspension cases remained at 12 per 1,000 students for 2003.

There is an increase in the work in schools attempting to address the needs of individual students so as to maximise student engagement in their learning programmes. Early intervention when dealing with behaviour problems has meant many schools are finding successful alternatives to suspensions. The Suspension Reduction Initiative and the Innovations Funding Pool are examples of how this can be achieved. An examination of successful school case studies may assist those schools having difficulty when investigating alternatives to their present discipline procedures.

2003 Quick Facts
Stand-downs and Suspensions
  • At 1 July 2003 there were 761,755 students attending New Zealand's 2,700 schools being an increase of 2% (13,671 students) since 1 July 2002. Primary level (Years 1-8) rolls increased by 4482 from 488,424 to 492,906 while secondary rolls (Years 9-15) increased by 20,200 (8%) from 259,660 to 279,860.Stand-down and suspension figures must be read in the context of the total school roll.
  • Students in the 13 to 15 age group, comprising 24% of the school population, made up for 63% of stand-downs and 71% of suspensions.
  • There were no suspensions in 37% of secondary and area schools and fewer than five suspensions in a further 16% of secondary and area schools. Seventy-five per cent of all schools had no suspensions the same as in 2002. Thirty five percent of intermediate schools had no suspensions with 88% of primary schools having no suspensions.
  • There were 19,858 stand-down cases during 2003, a rate of 27 per 1,000. This was an increase of over 9% from 2002. As some students were stood-down on more than one occasion, the number of students stood-down is less than the number of cases. This report records only the number of cases not the number of students.
  • The West Coast had a reduction of 3 suspensions per 1,000 pupils while stand-down cases in Northland continued to decline for the third year with a drop of 6 per 1,000 pupils.
  • The most common reasons for students to be stood down were continual disobedience (25%) and physical assault on other students (24%).
  • The most common reasons for students to be suspended were for drugs, including substance abuse (27%), a decrease of 162 from 1,471 in 2002, and continual disobedience (24%), a decrease of 76 between 2002 and 2003.
  • Male, Māori and 14 year old students continue to be over-represented in stand-down and suspension statistics compared to the school population in general.
  • Māori males were stood-down at a rate of 71 per 1,000 students and suspended at a rate of 21 per 1,000 students in 2003. Pasifika students, both male and female, showed comparative high rates of stand-downs with the highest rate being for Niuean males students with a rate of 74 per 1,000.
  • The peak age for stand-downs and suspensions, for both genders, remains 14 years at 88 per 1,000 and 26 per 1,000 respectively.
  • Students in the 13 to 15 year age group made up 63% of stand-downs (74 per 1,000). This age group was represented in 71% of suspension cases (21 per 1,000).
  • Indications are that, where specific interventions are in place, both stand-downs and suspensions have reduced or remain steady. Secondary schools participating in the Suspension Reduction Initiative, for example, have succeeded in reducing the suspension rate for Māori students from 76 per 1,000 in 2000, when the initiative began, to 43 per 1,000 in 2003.
  • Approximately 0.7% of the total New Zealand school population was suspended from school. The majority of these students returned to a school with 61% returning to the school they were suspended from. Just 0.2% was expelled or excluded during the period 1 January 2003 to 31 December 2003.

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2003 Stand-down and Suspension Cases by RegionFile Type & Size

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