ERO research on supporting NCEA students after lockdown

A new report from the Education Review Office has found that tailored programmes were successful in supporting Auckland NCEA students learning after lockdown last year.

With Covid-19 currently disrupting NCEA students’ learning across New Zealand, this report shows how targeted support for NCEA students after lockdown can support learning.

ERO’s new report examines how three targeted programmes supported Auckland NCEA students after lockdown in 2020. These programmes included pop-up sites in community venues, online learning, and summer school and were provided by Te Aho o Te Kura Pounamu.

“With Auckland experiencing multiple lockdowns in 2020, there was a real risk that the disruption for Auckland NCEA students would seriously impact on their education” says Ruth Shinoda, the Head of ERO’s Education Evaluation Centre.

“Given what we are seeing with the Delta variant outbreak, NCEA students’ learning will be disrupted again this year. What we have learnt about the programmes put in place last year can be quickly used to support NCEA students this year.”

“We found that targeted programmes can be effective in supporting learning and can reach students who are less engaged with their learning and helped them remain in education.”

For example, the report found for one of the programmes (TK400) at the end of the programme three quarters of students continued in education, one in ten enrolled in a tertiary provider and another 10 percent found a job. Three quarters of the students identified as Māori or Pacific.

Enrolling students quickly, targeting specific schools with high-needs students, and running face to face meetings with students and school leaders helped support students at risk of disengaging.

“We also found that having back up options can help students’ wellbeing when there are disruptions like lockdowns,” says Ms Shinoda.

“Given that Covid-19 continues to disrupt students learning, ERO is recommending that targeted programmes are maintained so that they can be scaled up quickly when needed.”

ERO is also recommending that the Ministry of Education works closely with the schools who need the most support, so that programmes can be quickly implemented if needed.

The full report and summary can be found on ERO’s website ero.govt.nz

Read the full report here: https://ero.govt.nz/our-research/responding-to-the-covid-19-crisis-supporting-auckland-ncea-students