If you attended conference last week, no doubt you arrived at school this week with an over-flowing inbox, a bunch of urgent messages, and all the mahi you didn’t do last week, awaiting your attention.  Yes, professional learning comes at a cost. 

That said, learning is a ‘social construct’.  When we learn together, make meaning together and develop shared understanding, learning is deeper and stronger – the sum is greater than all the parts.  That is why conference is so important.  It creates those formal and informal opportunities to learn with, through and from others throughout the week – with some conversations continuing well after conference is done.

This week you received the results of the NZPF President election.  I congratulate Leanne Otene as the incoming NZPF president for 2023.  I am sure Leanne will continue to serve you, the members, in all the different areas of advocacy that the Federation is engaged in. 

My year, as president of NZPF, has presented an array of learning opportunities, personally and professionally.  Much of the work has been supporting you through COVID logistics, advocating for resource and support and alleviating intense pressure points.  It has also been about looking ahead, anticipating what will be needed to support Leadership Reform, the ‘Curriculum Refresh’, Principal and BOT Chair relationships and other system changes.

A lot has been achieved and there is work in progress, work in planning stages and work yet to begin.  While NZPF has a change of leadership for 2023, what will not change is our unwavering support for you, our members. 

EQI / Staffing for 2022:

On Thursday, the Ministry of Education released EQI Operations Grant funding notices.  Across the country 89% of schools received an increase in operational grants funding for 2023. 

Because EQI is based on student roll numbers, if you know you have students coming back to school that are not there now, please talk to your Educator Advisor in the first instance about getting your EQI funding reassessed. 

This week, schools also received staffing allocation notices for 2023.  Lobbying to stabilize staffing for 2023 began in Term 1.  We know more teachers have been retained in the system in 2021 and 2022 because of unstable roll numbers.  It is, however, extremely disappointing that across the system, there will be 350 less teachers employed in 2023, at a time when we need more staffing to address the learning needs of our ākonga.

NZPF has consistently stated that staffing for 2023 needed to be stabilized to begin to address

1. Student reengagement,
2. Lost learning time and
3. The need for bespoke learning programmes for students needing social, emotional and behavioural support.

The PGC – PL Network Webinar:

This week NZPF hosted a well-attended ZOOM hui with over 1000 principals registering for this event.

Changes to the principal appraisal system will be mandatory from 2023.  This webinar was created to provide information about the Professional Growth Cycle, Professional Learning Networks and what to consider when setting up a PGC / PL network with colleagues. 

Currently around 60% of principals are part of a professional learning network.  Some groups use external providers as facilitators; others prefer to self-manage. The challenge for the sector is how to systemically develop leaders’ mentoring, coaching and professional supervision skillsets, so appraisal systems we are part of are effective in building our individual and collective expertise as leaders of learning.

The webinar was recorded, so please follow the link if you wish to use this resource

https://us06web.zoom.us/rec/share/JhC-skrxRDWfKSdhs_aYCpZkdRHAw6wAFGAR_qwl0vEPyoZpiy3SiyWbhV4z-7Np.SQrnXYEEDgYaKIUx?startTime=1663714749000

Passcode: E&3X.&k3

Conference Updates:

Conference 2022:

Aotearoa and Beyond!  Each speaker at conference had key messages for delegates to consider, reflect upon and share. 

Presentations will be put up on the NZPF website next week for you to access.  If you go to Conference 2022, they can be downloaded from there. 

https://www.nzpfconference.com/

Conference 2023 Queenstown:

The dates for the Queenstown Conference are 11- 13 September 2023.  Because of venue capacity, there will be a limit of 550 delegates. Make sure you register early.  To assist principals in U1-3 schools, NZPF offers Don Le Prou Scholarships. Click here for an application form. The process is deliberately simple to save you time. Applications close March 1, 2023. 

NZPF also offers Tauri Morgan Scholarships that regional groups and clusters can apply for.  Like the Don Le Prou Scholarship applications, the process is not difficult.  These are designed to support groups of principals to undertake the professional learning of their choice.

The Trans-Tasman Conference 2024:

Due to COVID, the 2020 Trans-Tasman Conference did not proceed in Melbourne.  Early in 2021, NZPF made the decision not to reschedule the Trans-Tasman Conference because of the uncertainty of COVID and hosted its own conference in Rotorua instead.

NZPF will host the next Trans-Tasman conference in New Zealand. It will be held at the Te Pae Events Centre, Christchurch, September 18 – 20 2024. 

Staffing Shortages: 

This week, the Teaching Council have sent a survey to principals, to test our support for unregistered relievers and LATs to be given registration to help with the staffing shortage.  Some principals will have welcomed this, knowing of quality teachers and LATs that they could employ.  Other principals will not have supported this, because there are some unregistered teachers and LATs they would not want to see in the teaching workforce.

If you have not seen, or completed the survey, please see the notices below.

As a result of lobby since Term 1, a series of strategies were announced at the end of last week to help address the chronic shortage of teachers in some regions and some sectors.  They include -   

1. Two different types of career changer scholarships being offered.
2. Fully funding the Teacher Education Refresh programme to be fees-free until June 2023 to support teachers who have been out of the profession for five years or more to return to the field.
3. Continuing the Beginning Teacher Vacancy Scheme(BTVS) to connect beginning teachers to positions in schools with high need, which includes returning teachers who have recently completed the Teacher Education Refresh modules. 
4. Extending the contract for the Teach First NZ employment-based trainee teacher programme, that will deliver 75 new teachers each year.
5. Extending the Overseas Finders Fee (OFF) so that all ELS, schools and kura who successfully recruit an overseas teacher may be eligible for of $3,450 (inclusive GST) to help offset overseas teacher recruitment costs.
6. Making the Overseas Relocation Grant (ORG) available to more overseas trained and returning New Zealand teachers to offset relocation costs. The maximum payment has also increased to $10,000 (GST inclusive).

More systems support and MOE ‘Navigators’ have also been employed to help with overseas teacher recruitment.   These recent announcements cover the short-term initiatives which is hoped will increase the supply of teachers.  Early next year, plans are in place to engage with the sector to develop a medium and long-term strategy to stabilize teacher supply in Aotearoa New Zealand. 

This represents another significant piece of work done by the MOE Workforce Team, as a result of advocacy by NZPF and other PEAK group leaders.  Now, we need these initiatives to work, so all schools are well staffed going forward.