He aroha whakatō, he aroha ka puta mai.

If kindness is sown, then kindness is what you shall receive.

Kia ora e te whānau

Te Akatea - Māori Principals’ Association

This week I am attending the Te Akatea conference in Palmerston North. There are over 100 Māori school leaders gathered for the conference which has some draw card speakers to look forward to. On opening day, we were inspired by the strong powhiri from the proud tamariki of Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Manawatu. It was a powerful reminder to me that schools must provide a culture that will nourish and grow the talents and potential of our young people. I am very much looking forward to the rest of the conference. Ngā mihi aroha au ki te haukāinga o te rohe o Rangitāne me Ngāti Raukawa. 

ERO Research 

I have been asked to give you a heads up that ERO is undertaking an evaluation study of Overseas Trained Teachers (OTT) in New Zealand schools. It is a survey-based study.

The aim of the research is to better understand how OTTs understand the NZC and adapt to local classroom and school settings.  Evaluation will also cover recruitment and settlement experiences and motivations of OTTs.

It is intended to survey both OTTs and Principals during August and September.  Any principals who answer that they have hired an OTT in the last twelve months are asked to forward a link of the survey to their OTT(s).  Later, principals employing OTTs will be asked to complete a quick ten-minute survey themselves. 

The more participants, the more reliable is the data, so I urge you to look out for communications from ERO on OTT research and respond as quickly as you can.

Lockdowns

Lockdowns have been a high-profile news item this week as findings emerge from the inquiry that was undertaken after the Christchurch Mosque attacks. The independent inquiry by KPMG found that problem areas first centred on communication between Police and the Ministry resulting in Police contacting schools directly. Some schools were uncertain whether or not the Police were genuine callers or hoax callers. This created confusion.

Initially, the Ministry had emailed all schools and ECE centres directly and then called them.  Not all staff were in a position to receive emails at the time. This resulted in delays and further confusion about the lockdown directive, especially as some Ministry staff calling schools were unable to answer questions.

The investigation made a number of recommendations including:

1. The use of technology for communication is efficient when dealing with large volumes of people, but email is less useful. Calls or texts would be preferable.
2. Systems and contact details need to be electronically accessible and up to date because hard copy systems may not be accessible in an emergency
3. Regular, clear communication throughout an emergency would alleviate fears and stress and manage expectations
4. It would be helpful if Police communicated with parents during an emergency lockdown as it was found that parents created additional challenges for schools during the Christchurch lockdown
5. Schools need to undertake regular lockdown practices if we expect them to cope in a real emergency
6. There is now an opportunity for all schools to review their lockdown procedures, ensure all details of the lockdown plan are current and schedule practice times. The Ministry provides excellent guidelines on how to establish your lockdown plan. Click here to access information. 

Have a great week and I will be back next week with more news and updates for you.

Ngā manaakitanga

Whetu Cormick
whetu@nzpf.ac.nz