Increasing roll growth has seen the Ministry of Education propose introducing an enrolment zone for Nayland College that is likely to take effect partway through 2021. In this article we hope to answer questions our wider community may have and provide all the information you need to know.

Nayland College is currently working through a consultation phase with the Ministry of Education regarding the proposed enrolment zone. This has involved many meetings and discussions, in particular a recent Board of Trustees meeting with Ministry of Education representatives, where members of the public also shared their questions and concerns. 

A major concern for our wider community is the right for families to be able to choose a co-educational option for their children at secondary level. An enrolment zone for Nayland College would mean families that lived in the Nelson city area may lose this choice. The Education Act however, does not provide for the character of the school, whether it is co-educational or single-sex, to be taken into consideration. Our Board of Trustees have stressed that the Ministry of Education needs to listen to and consider public opinion on the matter. 

The Ministry of Education guidelines for the development and operation of enrolment schemes states that "when the Ministry believes that there is or is likely to be overcrowding at a school, the Manager National Operations will notify the board of this in writing. The board must then develop an enrolment scheme to avoid overcrowding." Current government policy prefers zoning over building or re-siting new classrooms as a solution to roll growth. 

Below are the key points that were raised at the recent Board of Trustees meeting with Ministry of Education representatives.  

Ministry of Education Key Points:

• All students have the right to attend their closest local school.
• The Education Act does not provide for the character of the school (co-ed or single sex) to be taken into consideration.
• An enrolment zone gives those who reside within it the absolute right to attend. Others can only attend if out-of-zone places are available.
• Government policy requires zoning in preference to re-siting classrooms or building new ones.
• Following notice in writing, the Board of Trustees have one month to conduct a consultation process at their own expense. The Ministry will check the consultation process has been sufficient and then notify the Board of its decision. 
• Consultation will only be permitted to consider zone boundaries, not whether or not the enrolment zone is implemented.
• The Ministry can make the decision regarding the zone irrespective of the outcome of the consultation process and The Education Act can be used to impose the decision.
• Any zone is likely to come into place during 2021 and would definitely be imposed before the start of the 2022 school year.
• Any ballot process for out-of-zone placements is governed by legislation.
• Legislation is going through parliament to move responsibility for consultation from schools to the Ministry; this will likely be in place by 2021.

Key Points raised by Nayland College Board of Trustees and members of the public attending:

• Parents from Nelson city want the right to choose co-education for their children at secondary level.
• The situation is inequitable – zones were not imposed on other schools when their rolls increased in the past; in fact, classrooms were taken from Nayland College to make up their shortfall.
• Nayland College is going to be short of classrooms in 2021 regardless of the enrolment scheme. We are requesting that good quality, modern portable classrooms to be provided as an interim solution.
• Any consultation needs to include Nelson city residents as well as Stoke and Tahunanui.
• The current process is not genuine consultation; public opinion needs to be listened to and considered.
  

A written response from the Ministry of Education to the Board of Trustees was requested and the Ministry have agreed to provide this. 

More information on enrolment zones can be found at this link.

We will endeavour to keep our community updated as the situation unfolds and rest assured that as much as we are able to, we wish to welcome all students to Nayland College.  All students who apply to attend for the beginning of 2021 will be accepted.

Pat Davidsen
Board Chair