Submission: Education and Training Bill

The Education and Training Bill (the Bill) is a culmination of two years of reviews, including advice from the Tomorrow’s Schools Review Taskforce and Kōrero Mātauranga – a national consultation on the future of education in Aotearoa New Zealand in the 21st century. The Bill includes many new policies in education from early childhood through to tertiary education. It also brings across legislative drafting from the current Education Acts for these sectors and consilodates these into one Act that is more logical and ordered.

The Office of the Children’s Commissioner (OCC) welcomes the opportunity to submit on the Bill. We present this submission from a child-centred viewpoint, focusing on new policy in the compulsory education sector, and one policy in the early childhood sector. We do not comment on the tertiary sector or on new policies relating to structure of agencies in the education system. Our focus is on children and young people up to age 18, the issues that directly impact on them, and how their rights – including the right to have their views heard – can be upheld.

Read the full submission below.