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
This final term is accelerating fast. I do hope you are managing all the pressures the fourth term inevitably brings by ensuring you take compulsory breaks for yourself – take some time out to read ‘The Forty Hour Principal’ – see the article in the latest NZ Principal magazine which has now arrived in your schools. It will cheer you up, give you a laugh and give you some tips on how to manage your workload. The book was written by two practicing principals from Timaru, Dave Armstrong and Steve Zonnevylle. They know exactly what you are all facing!
Meet the new Chair of the Teaching Council
This week I travelled to New Plymouth to meet with the new Teaching Council Chair, Nicola Ngarewa, who is also principal of Spotswood College. First-hand, I saw what a transformational leader Nicola is. Secondary schools have often been criticized for teaching subjects, not students. Nicola Ngarewa has broken down those subject silos with her new approach to curriculum and NCEA. Students sit at the centre of every decision and the school’s partnership with the local community is powerful. Nicola brings community leadership and expertise into the school to give her students the broadest and richest curriculum experiences and students also go out into the ‘real world’ to learn in authentic contexts. Subjects such as forensic psychology, led by real life Detectives and business entrepreneurship led by real-life CEOs are two of the subjects students can take at Spotswood and if new assessments have to be devised to fit with this eclectic curriculum, then that will happen. A student-centred curriculum like this also means that the 50-minute period may not be appropriate so, for much of the time, especially when learning off-campus, students will have three-hour blocks of learning.
After having a record of suspensions, stand downs and expulsions fitting the average of other schools in the District, this year Spotswood has had not a single expulsion. ‘It’s about finding solutions together and having the motivation to ensure our students all have a valued place in our school community,’ she said.
Our Teaching Council can look forward to a bright and successful future with this determined, committed and highly regarded Māori woman leading the Board.
Tomorrow's Schools Review
You will be aware that last week the Minister announced the outcome of the Tomorrow’s Schools review. NZPF issued a media release which was sent to you last week. Here is a link to our media in case you missed it
Most notable is that the controversial hubs will not be going ahead and principals will not be put on five-year contracts. Some of the highlights include the announcement of a Leadership Centre to be located with the Teaching Council, more local leadership advisers and establishing minimum eligibility criteria for the appointment of principals. There will also be more front line services through establishing a business unit, which will relieve schools of carrying all of the burdens of property issues, if they want to use those services, and there will be a curriculum advisory unit which we welcome. The governance model of one school, one Board will continue which, in accordance with our own survey, was the preference of most principals.
Here is a link to the Cabinet papers for more detail.
The NELP (National Education & Learning Priorities)
Work on The NELP began under the previous government and has been substantially amended since. The Minister has described the NELP as a blueprint for change which aims to give New Zealanders the best education system in the world. It is a visionary statement with the strategic objectives of:
- Learners at the Centre
- Barrier free access
- Quality teaching and leadership
- Future of learning and work – relevance to the lives of New Zealanders today
- World class inclusive public education
You can access a summary of the NELP discussion here.
You can access the full document on NELP here.
We are interested in your feedback because we are preparing our own submission on the document.
Please send your feedback directly to me. Submissions close next Monday 25 November.
Connecting with the regions
This week I have visited both the Whangarei Principals’ Association and the North Shore Principals’ Association. Thank you so much for hosting me and for your manaakitanga. It was a huge pleasure to meet two such enthusiastic groups of committed school leaders.
As I have said through this newsletter many times, visiting you in the regions is one of the most valuable and enjoyable aspects of being your national president. I have said it before and I will say it again – talking to you and getting your feedback directly is the most important driver for my representation role. Your views and analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of our education system influence the way I lobby for policy changes in Wellington, whether that is with Ministers, the Ministry, CEOs or sector heads.
I also report to these people how committed you are to the profession. Irrespective of where in the country you are located, your successes and challenges are similar. As I have travelled to visit you over the past few months and talked to you about the Tomorrow’s Schools review, you have all said we need more learning support close to the classrooms, more curriculum advice and greater leadership support. You will see above that I have included the Cabinet papers on the Tomorrow’s Schools review which show that your pleas have been heard. The machinations of government do not operate at speed, and it will take time to see the changes in action but alongside NZPF you will be invited to participate in how these changes are implemented.
Next week I will include a copy of the NZPF submission on the NELP, so please do send in your comments!
Ngā manaakitanga
Whetu Cormick
whetu@nzpf.ac.nz