Te Kura o Titiea Mount Aspiring College (MAC) says incidents of student misbehaviour are a problem facing schools across the country, after a report of a teacher being intimidated by a group of students.

The incident was reported by Otago Daily Times after it obtained a copy of a letter to staff from the school’s PPTA representative Denise Bruns, which drew attention to concerns about the behaviour of some students towards staff.

“As in any school, and in any community, there is a small percentage of people whose behaviours do not reflect the values that are held,” a joint statement from MAC principal Nicola Jacobsen and MAC board deputy chair Mark Sinclair to the Wānaka App said.

“The college is working hard to support these students and their families.”

Nicola confirmed that the statement also reflected Denise Bruns’ views.

The statement did not respond specifically to the reported incident of a group of students intimidating a teacher, nor did the school respond to a specific question about a cohort of boys known within the school to exhibit disrespectful and inappropriate behaviour.

“As the privacy of our students is paramount, we won't comment on the behaviour of individual students or groups of students,” Nicola said. “The majority of our students do the right thing and behave in a way that reflects our school values.”

The statement said, as with every other school throughout New Zealand, MAC’s “top priority is to ensure the wellbeing of our students and staff is looked after”.

‘Robust systems’ to deal with misbehaviour

“We have robust systems in place to ensure wrap-around support for students when dealing with behavioural incidents, and these procedures also exist to protect staff. This includes free, confidential guidance counselling, access to external agencies and a united, collegial staff with multiple communications channels for individuals to feel supported across the school.”

Parents have raised concerns with the Wānaka App that it is difficult for MAC to expel students as there are no other secondary school options in the Upper Clutha. 

Nicola said national guidelines for dealing with serious misbehavior of serious risks to student safety apply irrespective of the location of a school.

She said MAC has “robust processes” in place for when student behaviour escalates, including stand-downs and suspensions, as well as behavioural hearings for students with their parents, the principal, a member of the guidance team and at least three members of the school board.

“These meetings result in a set of conditions and actions that need to be taken, or in extreme cases, the removal of the student from the college… If a student is excluded, the principal has the responsibility of finding another education provider (i.e. another school or Te Kura [the NZ state distance education provider]).

Staff morale, student behaviour improving

Last week Friday (July 25) Nicola and Mark emailed all parents about the reported bullying allegations.

“We appreciate that everyone works hard to support our young people, and that as a community we are able to do this. There is a lot of care from and for teachers, parents, whānau, volunteers - all of the people involved in supporting a dynamic and vibrant school and community environment, with great learning opportunities available.”

MAC also told the Wānaka App the school sends out a staff wellbeing survey every two years (officially distributed by the PPTA) and a student wellbeing survey annually (designed by the NZ Council for Educational Research). 

“It was pleasing to see that last year’s staff survey results saw an increase in staff morale,” Nicola and Mark said.

“Any anti-social behaviour incidents that take place at school are recorded on our school operational database. We respond to any incident quickly and our systems are designed to alert [the senior leadership team] and parents in a timely manner. Our process involves working with parents, staff, and putting interventions in place as required.”

In April last year the Wānaka App reported that behaviour in New Zealand schools has been worse than in other countries during the past two years, with behaviour at MAC reflecting the trend.

A 2024 Education Review Office (ERO) report on student behaviour in New Zealand classrooms found that teachers and principals had seen a rise in talking inappropriately in class, distracting others, refusing to follow instructions, damaging or taking property, and physically harming others.

Read more: Worsening student behaviour causes disruption

Last week, Nicola said the school’s official surveys indicated “that our staff and student wellbeing is on the up”. 

“Recently, our head students and head of our student-led Wellbeing Committee presented to the school board and reported that they had observed a decrease in anti-social behaviour in the playground,” she said.

PHOTOS: Supplied