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Ko au te awa, ko awa ko au
'I am the river and the river is me'
Kia Ora Koutou e te Whanau,
With a heavy heart
In the past three weeks, our educational community has suffered the loss of two esteemed colleagues, Paeariki Johnson and Paul McKinley. The sudden passing of two prominent principals has left a profound void in their respective Auckland school communities, where they were both well-regarded and deeply cherished. Their dedication and contributions to their schools have been widely recognized.
In addition, New Zealand mourns the loss of another remarkable man, New Zealand Greens MP Fa’anānā Efeso Collins, who served the public with unwavering dedication. His sudden passing comes as a significant loss to our country and especially the Pasifika community.
In honoring the memories of these three great people, we acknowledge the exemplary way in which each served their people. We extend our heartfelt condolences to their families and loved ones during this difficult time.
Paying Attention to our Wellbeing
When we lose great leaders in their prime, it reminds us to reflect on the pace of our own lives, our commitments and priorities. Our professional roles are important but we must remember that they are just one aspect of our lives - He mahi tēnei, he mahi nui rawa, engari he mahi noa tērā. Our well-being and the connections we have with our families and friends are equally vital.
We are reminded to balance our professional responsibilities with our personal lives, prioritize self-care and maintain meaningful connections outside of work. Self care begins with paying attention. Paying attention to yourself, to the earth, the elements, ancestors, he tohu, he tapu. “Ko au te awa, ko awa ko au”
Consultation with the Minister of Education
Amidst the challenges of the current educational landscape, NZPF remains committed to advocating for you. In our recent meeting with the Minister, we urged her to work with us so that there are no surprises and we can share our expertise for the betterment of our tamariki.
- We discussed the high turnover of principals and the difficulties filling principal vacancies.
- We outlined the problems of attracting and retaining excellent principals in rural and small schools. The pay differential was noted and that DPs and APs of larger schools can be paid more than the principal of a small school. There is no incentive to lead a rural school, except as a stepping stone to lead a bigger school.
- We noted that quality teaching, and quality principalship, have the greatest impact on ākonga learning outcomes.
- Changes to Initial Teacher Education and principals’ professional development were discussed and we noted that raising the mana of teachers would attract more school leavers to the profession.
- Please refer to Nga Pou e Wha reports for further information relating to our discussion with Minister Stanford on Principals’ Professional Development.
Consultation with the Secretary for Education
The Secretary for Education, Iona Holsted, has shared the news that staff savings, in addition to not filling vacancies, must be made to meet the Government’s cost savings target. For Ministry staff this creates uncertainty and we acknowledge the difficulties they are facing. Whilst reviewing the Budget is a normal activity in the Ministry’s cycle at this time of the year, making savings this year has been much more prominent because of the Government’s determination to recover funds from the public service.
Learning support has not been affected by the recruitment pause. Recruitment for Learning Support Specialists, as well as Leadership Advisors and Curriculum Leads continues as normal. Actual hours for Learning support also remain the same. If you have a specific concern please let us know and we will bring it to the attention of the Secretary for Education.
National Education Leaders Partnership Forum (NELPF)
In our last Principal Matters Bulletin we noted the reconstitution of the NELPF. Today I am sharing with you the jointly signed letter, constructed by the Peak Body Leaders and sent to Minister Erica Stanford. You can read the letter here.
Ngā Pou E Whā
To listen, to learn, to act.
Pou Tahi - Te Kaiarahitanga / Leadership
Stephanie Thompson, Jason Miles, Leanne Otene, Jen Rodgers
Last week, an NZPF delegation met with Minister Erica Stanford. They presented the case for implementing a principal leadership strategy and establishing an Aotearoa/New Zealand Centre for ‘Principal Leadership’. Minister Stanford agreed, emphasising that the key to improved teaching and learning outcomes is effective school leadership and high-quality teachers. She also recognized the importance of engaging with the profession to advance these initiatives.
The discussion included the absence of a formal professional development framework for aspiring through to experienced Principals in New Zealand. We are one of the few jurisdictions in the OECD lacking such a framework. Minister Stanford expressed her eagerness to explore this matter collaboratively with NZPF, with a view to finding an equitable, workable solution, incorporating work already underway in the Ministry through the Leadership Advisory.
Pou Rua - Te Marautanga / Curriculum
Heidi Hayward, Shane Buckner and Blair Dravitski
There has been much discussion on social media channels about the upcoming closure of NZMaths online and TKI, along with other digital resources available to schools.
The closure of these digital resources was decided because in November 2023 Tāhūrangi, a new digital home for curriculum content, teaching resources, and news was launched. See Tāhūrangi.education.govt.nz. This new digital site replaces TKI, Kauwhata Reo, and Te Whāriki Online.
Tāhūrangi is full of the features you would expect of a modern online curriculum hub, making it easy to find, organise, download, and share curriculum content by visiting just one site.
The Strategy and Integration team (Te Poutāhū | Curriculum Centre) are currently moving content from more than 70 different education websites onto Tāhūrangi. All content will be quality assured before it is moved to make sure it is relevant and as up to date and accessible as possible.
Regular updates of the transition progress will be shared by Te Poutāhū. More information can be found here: tahurangi.education.govt.nz/moving-content-to-tahurangi
Pou Toru - Students / Ākonga / Inclusive Education
Hayley Read, John Bangma, Phil Palfrey and Tracy Fraser
Te Rito – Update on Progress
The team at Te Rito is excited to report that delivering the next phase of Te Rito will begin from the end of term one this year. Te Rito is an information-sharing platform that enables learners’ information to follow them throughout their education.
'Know me before you teach me' – see core information about your
learners from the day they enrol.
'For the sector, by the sector' – Te Rito is co-designed by educators
'Connect today to protect learner information for tomorrow' – connecting your SMS secures learner data for the future.
Te Rito data is safe and secure – Te Rito meets stringent international privacy and security standards. Teachers and leaders in Whangārei, the Pūtauki Kāhui Ako in the Bay of Plenty, and Ko Taku Reo: Deaf Education New Zealand will be the first to access and use Te Rito. Access to Te Rito will also be trialled for Ko Taku Reo learners, along with their teachers. It will be some time before all schools are connected and can use Te Rito but connecting your SMS now will secure learner data for the future. You can find out more here: https://terito.govt.nz/
Me tiaki te mana o te tamaiti me tōna whānau – Protect the mana of
the child and their whānau.
Pou Whā - Te Tikanga Ture/ Policy/ Systems
Julie Hepburn, Gavin Beere, Karen Brisco
Forming Legislation and Regulations
From time-to-time politicians publicly share new policies. An example of this is teaching reading, writing and maths for one hour a day. This policy change is not currently embedded in legislation. It is a regulation. The re-introduction of Charter Schools, and direction on the use of cellphones in schools are also regulations. These regulations are published in the Education Gazette to signal that educators will comply with them.
If a change in legislation is proposed, the full formal process is:
- Pre -introduction – ideas are shared and discussed, and a Bill is created.
- First reading in parliament of the Bill
- Bill sent to select committee for scrutiny.
- Second reading in parliament.
- Committee of the whole House.
- Third Reading.
- Final stages.
- The Bill is passed into legislation.
Regulations are not law until the process as outlined is completed.
Ko au te awa, ko awa ko au
'I am the river and the river is me'
Ngā mihi,
Leanne
NZPF President
Te Ariki Scholarship
The Ariki Trust has been established to commemorate the leadership research and development of the late Dr David Stewart. David’s legacy is continued through a memorial scholarship which is offered annually to principals, who are studying leadership.
Te Ariki is now self-funding and administered by Te Ariki Charitable Trust. NZPF and NZEI are the Trustees.
Applications for the 2024 Te Ariki scholarship are now open and close on the 31st July.
To find out more about the David Stewart Memorial Scholarship click here.
Trans-Tasman Conference 2024, Christchurch
Early Bird registration for the Trans-Tasman Conference 2024 in Christchurch is now open, click this link to access the website.
For Regional Presidents: NZPF MOOT 2024
NZPF Moot 2024
Date: Friday 22 March 2024
Time: 8:30 am – 3:00 pm followed by social hour
Venue: The Lambton Ballroom, The Intercontinental Wellington, 2 Grey Street
More details to follow, if all Regional Presidents could please mark this in their calendar and RSVP before Friday 6 March at admin@nzpf.ac.nz then it would be much appreciated.
You and/or your team members can easily access the NZ Principal Magazines online, as an e-magazine or as a PDF. Additionally you can search for a previous issue, an article by title or by the author of the article. All magazines back to Term 1 2012 are available in this format. To view or search click here.
“Every culture has its traditions about how the world was created. Māori have many of them, but the most important stories are those that tell how darkness became light, nothing became something, earth and sky were separated, and nature evolved.”
Tell the Māori Creation Story through dance and narration with our brand new Footsteps school concert theme: Ranginui and Papatūanuku - The Māori Creation Story.
This story can be used by all schools regardless of size, as we are able to adapt the number of dances to fit your school’s needs!
For contact information and to view the full flyer, see below.
NZPF assures its business partners that, as members, you will contact them to have a conversation if you are purchasing products, services or solutions for your schools that a business partner supplies. Please support our partners as their assistance to NZPF means better membership services to you.
