Following an independent review of the Phoenix Centre, the Ministry of Education closed the facility in April last year, ending a service which had helped up to 40 secondary school pupils a year with behavioural problems.
Special Education service delivery group manager Jill Bond said the ministry had been working with Dunedin schools through the Dunedin Secondary Partnership, to bolster existing support which would assist them in managing pupils with behavioural needs.
"All schools are expected to manage student behaviour using techniques that are evidence based and considered to be best practice," she said.
Four Dunedin secondary schools are now engaged in the School Wide programme and more are interested in joining it next year, she said.
Two schools have also accessed a ministry-supported programme which works with secondary school leadership teams to raise Maori learners' achievement alongside secondary and area schools' professional development.
A mentor has also been appointed to support the achievement of Maori pupils in all Dunedin secondary schools.
Other actions agreed with Partnership schools include introducing a behaviour specialist who would support schools to better manage pupils with behavioural needs in school; and a secondary teacher has been seconded into the ministry's Special Education behaviour team for six months to help build capability on her return to her school in 2012.
A restorative justice programme will be available to all Dunedin secondary schools early next year, and a non-governmental agency will be contracted to deliver social services to assist pupils with school engagement and provide support to families and communities.
However, Kaikorai Valley College principal and Partnership member Philip Craigie remained critical of the speed at the initiatives were being introduced.
He said the problem was funding for the initiatives was too slow in coming, and like other schools, his was struggling under the current regime.
Mr Craigie believed one of the greatest pros of the Phoenix Centre was that it took pupils with behaviour issues away from the school and gave them a chance to reset their attitudes without the distractions around them.
It provided an immediate solution for schools with pupils who had behavioural issues, and was superior to anything else that had been proposed, he said.
Otago Secondary Principals' Association president and partnership member Julie Anderson agreed things were moving slowly.
"We've all been very frustrated over the time lag.
"But at least we are moving in the right direction. We are certainly starting to see some progress."
