In October 2011, sector and community views were sought on the future shape of education provision in greater Christchurch. Feedback was received from 229 groups and individuals. Along with input from key stakeholders and national and international research, this informed the development of the draft Education Renewal Recovery Programme ‘Directions for Education Renewal in Greater Christchurch’.

In May 2012, the Minister of Education released the draft document for consultation.

A key feature of consultation was a series of 15 focus groups, including community forums. These were attended by civic leaders, students, parents and residents, members of the health, education and business sectors and wider community.

Many participants went on to host their own community based self-facilitated focus groups.

The draft document was also presented to a wide range of stakeholders and associations for comment.

The Shaping Education website, developed for the initial engagement, was revised to support the consultation process.

A total of 554 submissions were lodged with the Ministry which almost universally supported the directions outlined in the draft programme, and general acknowledgement of the opportunity to do something different and innovative to support improved outcomes in education.

This process led to the development of Directions for Education Renewal in Greater Christchurch – the Education Renewal Recovery Programme [PDF; 881kb].

You can read more in the Analysis of submissions: Directions for Education Renewal in Greater Christchurch report.

Download the report (PDF;  6.3mb)

The process also informed the initial proposals [PDF; 85kb] for 38 schools in greater Christchurch that were announced in September 2012.

Affected schools submitted responses that were then analysed by the Ministry of Education alongside further data to feed into the interim decisions and final decisions.

All 38 schools had final decisions by September 2013, including two that opted to close voluntarily.

Further consultation on the shape of the new Aranui Community campus will be led by the Aranui Community Leadership Group, made up of members of the local community.

Upcoming engagement information will be updated on the Engagement Schedule page.

 

Secondary schools

In October 2013, the Minister of Education announced decisions for secondary schools in greater Christchurch as part of the Government’s education renewal plans.

In developing recommendations for secondary education in greater Christchurch, the Ministry worked collaboratively with the secondary schools cluster.

The secondary cluster, led by the executive of the Canterbury West Coast Secondary Principals Association, held a two day forum to consider and develop ideas for future secondary education provision in greater Christchurch.

On the first day, 120 students from across greater Christchurch worked together to consider how to build on the best of existing practice. On the second day these ideas formed the basis of a presentation to secondary school principals and Board chairs.

Following the forum, the secondary schools cluster established working groups to formulate proposals and ideas for action around specific aspects of the renewal programme. These working groups focused on governance, digital strategies, special education, Māori and Pasifika, secondary/tertiary/business interface, international students, network provision/models of delivery/alternative education and east Christchurch.

The working groups included Board of Trustee representatives, Ministry representatives, and other subject experts.