The Ministry of Education and Te Wānanga o Raukawa have been working together to develop a proposal for legislative change to recognise the mana and tino rangatiratanga of Te Wānanga o Raukawa, reflect the Tiriti o Waitangi/Treaty of Waitangi-based relationship Te Wānanga o Raukawa has with the Crown, and reflect the unique role that Te Wānanga o Raukawa plays in the education system.

We asked for feedback on the proposal to:

• reconstitute Te Wānanga o Raukawa as a new statutory entity, with dual accountability to the ART Confederation (Te Āti Awa ki Whakarongotai, Ngāti Raukawa and Ngāti Toa Rangatira) and the Crown; AND
• introduce new bespoke (custom) administrative arrangements for Te Wānanga o Raukawa related to its purpose, functions, and governance.

This work sits alongside work we have been doing with Te Wānanga o Raukawa, Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi and Te Wānanga o Aotearoa to develop a broader proposal for a Wānanga sector framework in the Education and Training Act 2020.

An overwhelming majority of submitters who participated in Te Wānanga o Raukawa survey (over 99%) supported the proposal for Te Wānanga o Raukawa to become a new statutory entity (over 99%), supported the proposed legislated purpose (over 99%) and believe it reflects the mission and role of Te Wānanga o Raukawa (over 99%).

You can find a summary of what was submitted during consultation attached below.

We summarised the feedback we received through consultation, used this to refine the proposals, and sought Cabinet agreement to final policy decisions in early December 2022 on the broader sector framework in the Education and Training Act 2020. The outcome of this is the Education and Training Amendment Bill (No.3). This was introduced on 23 March 2023. Work is still continuing on the specific Te Wānanga o Raukawa proposal.

You can find the Bill here

The Ministry and the Wānanga developed a shared proposal to create an enabling framework for the Wānanga sector in the Education and Training Act 2020 (E&T Act). This enabling framework would allow each Wānanga to work in collaboration with the Ministry to develop new rules in terms of who they are accountable to and how, their purpose and functions, and their governance structures.

We asked for your feedback on four issues:

Issue 1: Overall legislative design for the Wānanga sector which includes:

• Option 1: Developing consistent administrative provisions for Wānanga in the E&T Act.
• Option 2 (preferred option): Establishing an enabling Wānanga sector framework within the E&T Act that would allow Wānanga to:
  • Option 2a - Bespoke Tertiary Education Institution (TEI): Continue to be considered a TEI, with specific purpose, function and governance arrangements agreed between the Wānanga and the Government, or
  • Option 2b - New statutory entity: Become a new type of statutory entity which keeps its focus on education provision and but has greater independence in terms of its administrative arrangements, including accountability to iwi
• Option 3: Developing separate primary legislation for individual Wānanga, outside the E&T Act.

Issue 2: More detail about the preferred legislative option (option 2 above), focusing on the characteristics of a Wānanga and provisions for establishing a new Wānanga

Issue 3: More detail about the preferred legislative option (option 2 above), focusing on how the Order In Council could enable each Wānanga to have different administrative settings (within set parameters).

Issue 4: Tiriti o Waitangi/Treaty of Waitangi consistency, focusing on how the whole Wānanga sector framework aligns with Te Tiriti/the Treaty.

The response to the proposed changes has been overwhelmingly supportive:

• Most submitters were supportive of the proposed changes to establish a Wānanga sector framework
• Most submitters strongly supported the respective positions of individual Wānanga

You can find a detailed summary of what was submitted during consultation attached below.

We summarised the feedback we received through consultation, used this to refine the proposals, and sought Cabinet agreement to final policy decisions in early December 2022. The outcome of this is the Education and Training Amendment Bill (No.3) which proposes a Wānanga sector framework. This was introduced on 23 March 2023.

You can find the Bill here

The Ministry published the draft rules and guidelines for minimising the use of physical restraint in registered schools on 23 November 2021 alongside an online survey. These draft rules and guidelines were developed by the Physical Restraint Advisory Group following changes to the framework for using physical restraint in The Education and Training Act 2020.

In our consultation we asked whether the new draft rules and guidelines would work, what changes might be needed, and whether there were any gaps or other issues that need considering.

Read the initial consultation paper [PDF, 573 KB]

We received 267 responses from individuals and organisations, including parents, whānau and caregivers, teachers, principals and learning support specialists.

It’s clear that physical restraint is a complex area for school communities to navigate, but that schools, teachers and support staff want to do right by their learners and whānau. In general, the rules and guidelines are seen as helpful and needed and the preventative approach is appreciated. It was clear through the feedback that we need to look at how the rules and guidelines are applied in practice.

The guidelines need to better reflect a te ao Māori and disability view and they need some clearer definitions around what emotional distress is. They could also do with some more examples of context where physical contact is appropriate so that teachers know what they can do as well as what they can’t do.

The rules and guidelines are well positioned in terms of the emphasis on prevention and the contribution of school culture, leadership and environment in minimising the use of restraint, though there are those who strongly object to any use of physical restraint in schools.

Read the Consultation submissions summary [PDF, 1.3 MB].

We’re currently developing translations and accessible formats of this report.

We’re using your feedback to clarify the rules and reshape the guidelines. We’ll also carry what we’ve heard from you into the planning for training for schools.

We’ll clarify in the final rules:

• that school policies are to focus on reducing student distress and the use of physical restraint
• that incidents of physical restraint can be reported to the Ministry using the new online form
• when and how parents should be involved in debriefing after an incident of physical restraint.

We’ll reflect in the final guidelines:

• a te ao Māori view of school as a place of shelter, with an integrated network of support to nurture ākonga potential
• a strong focus on inclusive school cultures that promote wellbeing and minimise the need for physical restraint
• broader definitions and examples of emotional distress
• broader definitions of physical restraint as it relates to denying or removing mobility equipment and communication devices
• a format that is less complex and more practical and readable.

Keep updated on next steps.