He peka titoki e kore e whati.
A branch of the titoki tree will not break.
(It will endure because it is tough)

Kia ora e te whānau,

I chose this whakatauki for today’s panui because it speaks to you! This term has been rather like competing in an ironman triathlon event.  You (the iron person) versus Omicron. You’ve pounded your way through the choppy seas of covid level changes, cycled the steep gradient of Omicron escalation and run on – to the end.  You overcame Omicron which is now beginning to fade, to weaken and lose power. 

The first quarter of the year has now passed, and we have 95% of the population fully vaccinated. Inevitably there are those opposed to vaccination and especially to mandatory vaccination, such as we had in schools. Some of you will still be working through employment issues, because of mandates being lifted. In Wellington, schools endured the effects of a massive, lengthy anti vaccination mandate protest, with young people being abused and spat at for wearing masks to school. Other centres experienced similar but low scale protest action. Disruptions to learning have been widespread and are likely to continue, as we adjust to the new way of ‘living with the virus’. Such is our world.

As you look towards the end of the week and the holiday ahead i hope you feel proud of what you have achieved and that you have planned yourself a treat.

Here are some updates.

NZPF Awards:

Congratulations to the 37 principals who are the recipients of a NZPF award for 2022.  The full list of successful applicants can be found in the notice section.  We look forward to seeing you at conference in Christchurch.

Leadership:

The idea of establishing a Leadership Centre emerged from the Tomorrow’s Schools Review, but for leadership professional development to serve the sector well, there are two key dilemmas.  First is how to protect it from the ‘political churn’ of successive government ideologies.  Secondly, is how to ensure a leadership strategy is developed in partnership with the sector it serves.

As was recommended in the ‘Tomorrow’s School Review’, most educators support the view that a ‘Kaitiaki Group’ of school leaders and educators be established, to keep the vision, the integrity, and the intent of a leadership professional development strategy strong.  

In 2020, the Teaching Council launched the Rauhuia Leadership Strategy.  NZPF coordinated a meeting of PEAK groups that included NZPF, SPANZ, NZAIMS, Te Akatea, NZPPA, AISNZ, NZASA and SEPANZ to discuss how the sectors’ voice would be represented in this work. 

In 2021, the PEAK groups supported the secondment of Linda Millar and Iva Ropati to the Teaching Council, to gather principals' voice.  This year, the NZPF leadership team, with Dr. Keri Milne-Ihimaera has used the data gathered to develop a draft ‘Raranga Tira Leadership Framework’ that we will share with the sector early in Term 2.  

We want the Leadership Strategy to work.  We want to see leaders have equitable opportunity to develop capacity throughout their careers.  We want feedback on how it should be developed and who leads it.  We look forward to getting your feedback next term.

Collective Bargaining Season:

Next term, PPCB and NZEI will be refining claims for the 2022 collective bargaining round and sharing them with principals.  I am mindful of the success teachers had in the last collective bargaining round. That wasn’t the case for principals. 

In Term 2, we need to be ready to support our unions as they head to bargaining.  We need to be clear we are underpaid for what we do.  Our expertise as leaders is undervalued and the current relativities between principals and teachers are so distorted that some principals on the current G Scale get paid less than the teachers they employ.  We have a growing retention issue within the sector, that has been exacerbated by the pandemic.   

In short, while it is a privilege to lead a school community, it cannot continue to be at the expense of our health and wellbeing, financial or otherwise. 

Curriculum Road Show – Term 2:

Organization for the Term 2 road trip is well underway, and we have dates locked in for visits from Whangarei to Southland.  The focus of the 2022 Road Trip is linked to curriculum. 

At each workshop, NZPF Executive members and I will be sharing the work of the Federation and listening to ‘what’s on top’ for you and your colleagues. 

Last year, Kaylene McNee spoke about the ‘Curriculum Refresh’ and how the programme of work would be rolled out.  This year, the focus is on mathematics.  Rob Proffit-White will be sharing strategies to support principals as ‘leaders of learning’ in this mahi.

Dates for the Road Show are as below.  Information about venues and times will be shared next term.

MOOT – 2022:

The NZPF MOOT, 2022, will be held on Friday 10^th June in Wellington.  We look forward to hosting regional and cluster presidents.  This year’s theme is “My Voice, Your Voice, Our Voice – What success in education looks like for the future”.  Prior to MOOT, we will be asking presidents to lead conversations across the motu to canvas your views, about future education.

TERM 1 – done!

Finally, I hope you have an R&R plan to recover from the intensity of Term 1.  It is time to refuel.  Whether it be mountain biking, hiking, reading a book, catching up with friends, going to a movie or taking a road trip, enjoy this time for you. 

Wondering of the Week:

Results of last week’s poll:

Ngā manaakitanga

Cherie Taylor-Patel

cherie.taylor-patel@nzpf.ac.nz