Mahi  Ngātahi  - Collaboration

Naku te rourou nau te rourou ka ora ai te iwi

With your basket and my basket the people will live
 

Kia ora e te whānau

Both pre and post the Budget NZPF has been experiencing increased media attention and extra demands with meeting commitments. That is understandable because these events create such high expectations.  Before I share with you some of the updates post Budget, I will draw your attention to a notice below.  It is about forced marriages here in Aotearoa New Zealand.  Forced marriage is a violation of human rights. The Shakti Youth organisation was formed to advocate for young people whose families were forcing under-age marriage on them and have managed to politically influence a parliamentary bill to ensure those aged 16 and 17 must now be independently assessed by a family court judge.  The notice includes a link to further information which you may wish to disseminate in your schools.

Payment in lieu of school donations

Last week I outlined for you the major Budget announcements that will affect schools. The announcement resonating the most is the $150 payment per student to all decile 1 – 7 schools, whose Boards of Trustees agree not to ask parents and caregivers to pay donations.

My thanks to all of you who took the time to write to me and I apologise if I have not replied to you personally. Please accept this as a personal acknowledgement of your messages to me. Mostly, your messages were encouraging and positive and some of you noted your gratitude that NZPF has continued to keep this election promise in front of the Minister.

Not everyone was happy though. Several of you, leading decile 8 – 10 schools, felt short-changed that you were excluded from the offer. I intend to take your concerns directly to the Minister and will report back to you through this Principal Matters newsletter.      

The initiative will see schools receive the additional funding in January 2020, alongside the regular operational funding.

Boards of Trustees will need to opt-in to the scheme by 14 November 2019. More information will be provided in July, about the process and about the scheme.

Learning Support Coordinators (LSCs)

Some of you are reporting that you are confused about the 600 LSCs, how they will be found and how they will be funded. 

I have consulted with both Minister Martin and the Secretary for Education, Iona Holsted and can tell you that they will not be appointed before 2020 and they will not be in every school. All schools will eventually receive staffing for these positions.

The LSC is not intended to replace Special Education Needs Coordinators (SENCOs). LSCs will be school-based, working with teachers in the school or kura. Their role is to support the school or kura to build capability and knowledge in teachers. They will lead and coordinate support for students. The intention is that they will simplify the system, making it easier for families and whānau to access services.

At this stage the final role description is still under development and consultation is underway on the nature and responsibilities of the role, for both urban and rural settings.

Connecting with the Regions

Last week I had the pleasure of attending the Secondary Principals’ Association NZ  (SPANZ) conference in Wellington and the NZ Education Institute (NZEI) Rural and Teaching Principals’ Conference in Nelson.  My thanks to the SPANZ Executive and the NZEI organising committee for inviting me to participate in these events and for hosting me.

Until next week,

Ngā manaakitanga

Whetu Cormick
whetu@nzpf.ac.nz