New Zealand Principals' Federation eNewsletter

E tutaki ana ngā kapua o te rangi, kei runga te Mangōroa e kōpae pū ana.

The clouds in the sky gather, but above them extends the milky way.

Kia Ora Koutou e te whānau,

Last week, Tāhuna (Queenstown) was the setting for the NZPF annual conference. The conference was sold out two weeks after registrations opened. In my opening speech I acknowledged not just those who were there but those who couldn’t be there because we had run out of room. A full report of the conference will be published in the NZ Principal magazine, next term.

The conference offered a perfect mix of cerebral challenges and fun, relaxation and networking. It was just the event for recharging those tired batteries through the many choices of hauora activities while collecting up some new friends and new ideas to share with your school teams. Feedback indicated that the re-imagined conference dinner was a winner with delegates gathering at the Kingpin fun parlour. Turning colleagues into friends, having fun and much laughter was the aim of the night.

Each day we were entertained by local school kapa haka groups in celebration of te wiki o te reo Māori [Māori language week] and were amazed at the very high standards of the performances.

Here are a few additional highlights:

Minister of Education - Hon. Jan Tinetti, took time away from the campaign trail to congratulate us on the work we do and reminded us that education was not in a crisis despite what we hear, and that the changes planned involved the sector at every step. She agreed with us that education should not be a political football and like us, supported a bipartisan coalition including researchers, education experts, and practitioners. She said it would be a tragedy if the work currently underway was derailed because of a change in Government.

Inspiring Speakers - Speakers included 2 senior international research leaders, a refugee from Afghanistan, and one of our most outstanding achievers in the world of athletics, Dame Valerie Adams. It was a perfect blend of critical analysis of education equity and excellence, with Pasi Sahlberg, teaching to thrive through social and cultural trauma with Patrick Camangian and the extraordinary story of Abbas Nazari, fleeing the Taliban in Afghanistan to being rescued by the Norwegian container ship, the Tampa and eventually settling in New Zealand. Both Abbas Nazari and Dame Valerie Adams were stories of determination, hope, resilience, compassion, and inclusiveness. They each demonstrated how they turned adversity to advantage and succeeded.

Fi McMillan – our NZPF Principals’ Advice and Support Limited (PASL) lawyer reminded principals of the importance of protecting their position as employees of the Board. She offered the principals appointment times throughout the conference to meet and discuss any niggles or problems. The PASL scheme is popular with principals who rate it as giving peace of mind and providing a strong legal advocate if ever necessary.

NZPF awards - Two outstanding principals (one a former principal) were honoured at a special Awards Ceremony during the conference. Both are exemplary models of service and dedication to our profession. Nga mihi nui ki a korua.

Stephen Lethbridge - NZPF Service with Distinction

Whetu Cormick - NZPF Life Membership

The NZPF Executive was honoured to host you all in Queenstown. In the wise words of our remarkable speaker, Patrick Camangian, I hope you left “equipped with the tools to shift from coping to hoping."

Trans Tasman Conference 18th - 20th September 2024 Ōtautahi Christchurch

We last hosted the NZPF conference at the Te Pae Events Centre, Ōtautahi in 2022. Over 800 NZPF principals gathered for that event and for the Trans-Tasman conference we expect more like 1500. The Trans-Tasman conference includes both our own NZPF members and those of our Australian colleagues from the Australian Primary Principals’ Association (APPA). Keep an eye out near the end of September, for the registration link in this panui. Book early to capture the early bird discount and ensure your place. To learn more, you can watch the conference promotional video here.

As I sign off for the term, I wish you all a well-deserved holiday break. You've worked tirelessly, and now it’s time to balance that up with a rest and a recharge. Another busy term awaits us and we will be ready for it. In addition, we will be heading to the polls to choose the Government for the next three years. Choose wisely. We will be sending you a document with the major party education policies outlined before voting day on October 14.

Thank you for your dedication to education, your unwavering support for the NZPF, and your commitment to our collective vision of creating remarkable schools and experiences for our ākonga.

Ngā Pou E Whā

To listen, to learn, to act.

Pou Tahi - Te Kaiarahitanga / Leadership

Tracy Fraser, Stephanie Thompson, Jason Miles, Leanne Otene

Principal Induction

Te Pou Ohumahi Mātauranga – led by Tim White, of the Ministry, is working alongside NZPF to examine how the Principal Leadership Advisors in Te Mahau might work with existing principals’ networks to further support newly appointed principals to:

Meet and form functional working relationships with the regional Te Mahau office/team.
Identify local and regional support and resources that are available.
Find Information that would help a new principal successfully settle into their new school.
Understand the local Hapū and iwi structures and what cultural relationships the school might already have with iwi and local marae

Assessing the Health of Principalship

NZPF is seeking information to be better informed about the health of principalship today. We are looking at evidence from survey research indicating the rate of principal resignations and reasons for retirements.

We are also looking at the suitability and readiness of candidates for principalship and the incidence of Boards having to re-advertise.

Finally we want to establish a pattern of trends to inform discussions and decision making about principal recruitment and retention.

Principal Eligibility Criteria

The Minister has now approved the Principals’ Eligibility Criteria (PEC), released 29 August 2023.

From March 1, 2024, Boards will be required to apply the Principals’ Eligibility Criteria in their principal appointment process.

You can access the Principals’ Eligibility Criteria here

Pou Rua - Te Marautanga / Curriculum

Heidi Hayward, Karen Brisco, Jen Rodgers and Blair Dravitski

Update to our work:

NZPF has been working with the Ministry to consider appropriate dates for 2024 Teacher Only Days (TODs). We have advocated for more flexibility in setting the dates that suit kura best. The Ministry hopes that schools will set dates geographically so that whānau with children in multiple kura will not experience multiple closures over a series of days.

The windows have now been set as follows:

TOD #3: Term 2 (Mon 27 May – Fri 7 June 2024, includes the King’s Birthday long weekend on 3 June)
TOD #4: Term 4 (Mon 21 Oct – Fri 15 Nov 2024, includes Labour Day on 28 October and Canterbury Show Day on 15 November – when no NCEA exams are scheduled)

The four-week date range for the fourth TOD includes a public holiday and extends into the NCEA exam period. This gives schools more flexibility to hold their TOD at a time that works best for them.

You can also find resources to support your TODs here

Pou Toru - Students / Ākonga / Inclusive Education

Shane Buckner, John Bangma, Phil Palfrey and Gavin Beere

We have been informed that the Ministry has scheduled a new Gateway review with Treasury for the week of 9 to 13 October to review the:

Programme approach to delivering desired strategic change.
Approach to engaging and collaborating at multiple levels of interest and influence.

RTLB have also been involved in this review. As Pou Toru, our hope is that this will not be just another review with no positive changes.

The next steps in the Highest Needs Review are also about to happen. The Ministry states that to better enable the Ministry to achieve the expected outcomes within resource constraints, their primary focus will be on two of the eight building blocks identified in the Highest Needs Review:

A new service delivery system.
A new funding model to support a tailored and flexible approach.

NZPF has been invited to a hui about this later this month.

Pou Wha - Te Tikanga Ture/ Policy/ Systems

Hayley Read, Julie Hepburn, Cherie Taylor-Patel

Ministerial Advisory Group

We expect the Minister of Education to announce the members of the Ministerial Advisory Group (MAG) shortly. The final Terms of Reference for the group, which incorporated feedback from the sector and Minister, will be released in full following the announcement.
It is expected that the MAG will provide its first report to the Minister after three months. This will cover the scope of further work and canvass what fundamental skills and staffing are required to deliver education, as set out in the Education and Training Act and the National Education and Learning Priorities.
The first meeting of the MAG is being planned for October.
The first report will include the group's future work programme and provide the Minister with an opportunity to have input into the direction of the work.

Support for you

PASL Principals’ Advice & Support Limited NZPF Legal Support scheme: PASL application jacquie@pasl.nz 021 385 014
NZPF Helpline The NZPF Executive provides a Helpline service to all members 0800 798 798
Employment Relations Service for mediation and resolving problems: 0800 20 90 20 Email us a query

Kia pai tou hararei koutou katoa - Have a great holiday break everyone.

In our last PM we advised you all about the research work of ERO. NZPF assisted ERO in identifying key research areas. The research will gives us the quantitative and qualitative data to support our manifesto.

ERO are getting great responses from principals and new teachers. Below is the link to the new teachers’ survey, anything your principals could do to encourage their new teachers to respond would be much appreciated as they have been a little reluctant so far.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/KGCTTLH

About the project - ERO is seeking to understand new teachers’ experiences, what helps them be well prepared for and supported when they start, and any challenges they face. ERO is keen to hear from as many new teachers as possible, they can complete the survey or find out more by emailing teihuwaka@ero.govt.nz

E tutaki ana ngā kapua o te rangi, kei runga te Mangōroa e kōpae pū ana.

The clouds in the sky gather, but above them extends the milky way.

Ngā mihi,

Leanne

NZPF President

“Shared knowledge, immersed learning, inquiry-based research”

The New Zealand Principals’ Federation (NZPF), in partnership with the Ontario Principals’ Council (OPC), is excited to announce our exchange programme for tumuaki in 2024.

To learn more, view the flyer here

For those who would like to register their interest, you can find the form here

Te Arahou – MAC

Tena Koutou Katoa. He mihi ki a Koutou.

Te Arahou - MAC celebrates 10 years of significant growth and success and will host a conference in Auckland October 16th - 18th. Nau mai, haere mai!

From humble beginnings of 47 schools in 2013 we now cater for nearly 500 schools from Kaitaia to Invercargill across to Stewart Island. We have a staff of 24 deeply committed to changing hearts and minds in pursuit of this kaupapa. We have published a Curriculum and Graduate Profile Book - Te Whare Tapu o Te Ngākau Māori - ki te wheiao ki te ao mārama that aligns with Mātaiaho NZC. We are working on digital and hard copy resources to support this. These will be available to all MAC schools.

MAC is a Kaupapa not a PLD programme. We are a whānau not individual participants. We are ex-principals and can work with you on any kaupapa in your school. We work with staff, whānau, community and Boards of Trustees.

We hope for a renewal of our contract with the Ministry of Education. We believe MAC should be in every school in Aotearoa NZ and will work to achieve this. If you are interested in joining up or attending our conference go to our website

www.mac.ac.nz

NZ Principal Magazine also Online

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.