President's Message
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 Hurihanganui
As some of you may be aware, I have recently worked alongside a group of Mātanga (experts) from across the education sector to co-design Te Hurihanganui.
The Hurihanganui seeks to transform the education experiences of ākonga Māori and their whānau by addressing inequity and racism across the education system. It builds on the success of work like Te Kotahitanga, Kaupapa Māori education and a range of evidence and knowledge about what works for ākonga Māori.
The Wellbeing Budget (2019) has invested $42 million over 3 years to test and evaluate Te Hurihanganui. The Government expects that this will involve ākonga, whānau, hapū, iwi and community groups as well as (at least 40) education providers (early learning and schooling) located in 6 communities nationwide. It will also involve an iterative evaluation programme that will inform ongoing improvements across those communities and across the system. In this way, Te Hurihanganui will identify, support, strengthen and normalise good practice for ākonga Māori and their whānau because good practice will lead to good outcomes.
The Ministry of Education is responsible for delivering Te Hurihanganui and is currently preparing for implementation. As part of these preparations, the Ministry has been holding wānanga across the organisation to develop a good shared understanding of Te Hurihanganui. As with the co-design process, the Ministry has worked with the Mātanga to deliver these wānanga. This week, I was able to attend a wānanga to share this kaupapa with kaimahi from the Christchurch office.
The transformative potential of Te Hurihanganui requires a deep understanding of and commitment to the challenge that lies ahead. These wānanga are a critical first step for the Ministry implementing Te Hurihanganui as it pulls the words off the page and makes it ‘real’ so that all parts of the Ministry can work together in this kaupapa. I look forward to seeing the next steps of this work unfold.
For more information please follow the links below:
https://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/topics/bes/using-evidence-for-a-step-up
Further details about the implementation will be available in the coming months.
Principal Leadership Advisory
Many of you will be aware that in 2014/15 NZPF undertook extensive research, including a visit to a Schools’ Principals Advisory Service in New South Wales. We put together a comprehensive proposal to the Ministry of Education to establish a new service of principal advisors throughout Aotearoa New Zealand.
That service has now been in operation for over three years and includes 38 Advisors serving 718 principals. All Beginning Principals (BPs) are given two years or eight terms of support and experienced principals can also be supported for two terms. Beyond the immediate support are Professional Learning Groups which principals are encouraged to join for on-going PLD and networking.
All Leadership Advisors are principals or recently retired principals. They are well received by the principals they support because they bring professional knowledge, are non-judgmental and trusted. Most of all they can empathise with the demands of the profession, including the wellbeing needs of principals.
You can access a Leadership Advisor here.
Teaching Council and Appraisal
The principals’ pay negotiations have now ended with ratification of the final offer. That is not however the end of the collective bargaining process. One of the conditions of settlement was an Accord and that includes removing teacher performance appraisal as an accountability instrument, in recognition that the process is burdensome. This will have implications for renewal of practicing certificates, for example. What is sought is professional trust and freeing teachers to focus on their development as teachers.
In future, renewal of a practicing certificate will be based on an endorsement by the professional leader. That means providing an annual summary report, which is required by ERO, and includes observation of the appraisee by an appraiser who is familiar with the teacher’s day to day work. There will be no requirement to undertake inquiry, maintain PLD reports or for teachers to keep a portfolio of evidence.
You can read the full Teaching Council requirements for appraisal here.
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