Editor
Every year, NZPF hosts about one hundred regional association presidents in Wellington. They come from all over the country to participate in the annual ‘Moot’.
The ‘Moot’ is not typical. It is not a formally adjudicated capturing their questions, commentary, feedback, and solutions debate, where two teams of three debaters each present the for to current issues. and against arguments of a stated hypothesis. The NZPF ‘Moot’ NZPF Kaumatua, Hatarei Temo, opened the 2022 ‘Moot’ is a misnomer for ‘healthy discussion’ and ‘seeking a regional setting the tone for a respectful, open and participatory day. perspective on educational topics of He then handed over to MC. Denise current interest’. So entrenched is the Torrey, principal of Somerfield school In election year, event and its title, that in NZPF terms, in Christchurch, and former president the ‘Moot’ must remain ‘Moot’, no matter there may be a panel of NZPF. how un-Moot it is. Torrey described her own voice as This year’s ‘Moot’ was as lively and of education being that of an advocate for principals enlightening as ever. The programme at local, regional and national level. The spokespeople from follows a pattern. The NZPF President ultimate voice, she said, is the voice that speaks, the Minister(s) speak(s) and the each of the parties can make a difference. Presidents of both Te Akatea and NZ Pasifika Principals’ Association speak. contesting the election. NZPF President Cherie TaylorPatel Sets the Scene for a PostThis year we also heard from the President COVID Education Revamp of the Australian Primary Principals’ Association. In election year, there may be a panel of education spokespeople from each Having welcomed everyone, Taylor-Patel said there were many of the parties contesting the election. This panel always creates to thank and much to acknowledge. She began by thanking the excitement, but no matter how popular, it will have to wait till regional presidents themselves, for travelling to Wellington to next year. The rest of the day is devoted to the regional presidents, participate in the ‘Moot’ and for their leadership and support of principals in the regions throughout the last two and a half years of the COVID pandemic. Having acknowledged her national executive, she then outlined the four major areas of interest the executive is tackling this year. T h e s e , s h e s ai d , include principal leadership, the NZ Curriculum refresh, inclusive education, a n d p o l i c y. S h e also welcomed and thanked the speakers who would follow her, for their commitment to the ‘Moot’, and for sharing their thoughts, plans and time with us. ‘But the real focus NZPF Kaumatua, Hatarei Temo, opens the 2022 Moot
ur Voice, Our Voice
of today is you,’ she said to the regional presidents. ‘It is about listening to you and looking ahead, beyond COVID, and together shaping a new structure for education.’ She put a few questions of her own out for consideration, such as, ‘What in the education system is broken? What should we fix or throw out? What new systems would we like to see introduced? What values do we want embedded at every level of the system? NZPF President, Cherie Taylor-Patel warmly welcomes all the regional presidents Equity? Quality? Sustainability? Do current structures such as Kahui Ako and PLD deliver on these forward. The Aotearoa New Zealand Histories curriculum won her values?’ It was a set of thought-provoking questions, designed to stimulate debate, which was, of course, the whole point of the day. praises, as a helpful addition to the curriculum, which includes She declared that, ‘This is an education watershed moment. the Tangata Whenua point of view and ‘ . . . can help diffuse COVID has revealed much, she said, the good and the not so racism that has undermined Tangata Whenua for so long.’ This good. We have a rare opportunity to find solutions to problems is one example of a home-grown initiative that is uniquely ours and has created endless interest across the motu. Educators have that are uniquely ours.’ Taylor-Patel made it crystal clear that the solutions to these embraced the opportunity to learn more about our own country’s problems must also be uniquely ours. For example, she said, ‘Too history through the eyes of our own people, rather than learning often we look overseas for solutions. Well one thing for sure, the colonial history through the accounts of the colonisers. She also emphasized the importance of relationship building. OECD won’t help us lift the achievement of our Māori and Pacific Island tamariki by addressing their cultural identity, language The stronger the relationships between student and teacher, and cultural practices,’ she said. She urged her audience to back home and school, the more likely it was that young people will our own home-grown researchers to find our own unique way engage with learning and enjoy it. In acknowledging positives to emerge from the pandemic, she said, relationships were winners. ‘Teachers and leaders had an opportunity to connect directly with students and their families. Through zoom meetings we entered the kitchens, lounge rooms and back yards of our children’s homes. We lived snippets of their home life with them,’ she said. She suggested that teachers and leaders could now build on these relationships and make them stronger. The Ministry of Education also got a positive mention for the way in which Ministry staff worked alongside schools throughout the health crisis. This was well appreciated by principals and teachers, she said, and was a shift in attitude which principals hoped to capitalize on in the future. MC Denise Torrey addresses the Moot participants
COVID, she said, ‘create a plan to realise also presented an the UN declaration on opportunity for the rights of Indigenous creativity to flourish, peoples here in New as schools moved Zealand.’ He described from in-school to those rights as recognition at-home and then of ‘ . . . indigenous people to hybrid learning. to self-determination, These changes to maintain their own allowed teachers to languages and cultures, take advantage of the to protect their natural different learning and cultural heritage and contexts children manage their own affairs.’ were in. Instead of Jepsen made the most using the classroom of his platform to hammer environment to home his message. The create learning theme of today’s Moot, opportunities, he said, infers equity President of Te Akatea Māori Principals’ Association brought a strong message to the Moot teachers would use between two parties and home life activities instead. These included baking, painting, the coming together of perspectives – ‘My Voice, Your Voice, woodwork, gardening and many more family home activities. Our Voice.’ That, he said, is what the tupuna of tangata whenua Rather than seeing these new learning environments as a envisaged when they signed Te Tiriti o Waitangi with the challenge or a threat, many teachers viewed them as authentic, British Crown in 1840. As his voice climbed to crescendo, he liberating and inspiring. said emphatically, ‘That is what was meant by the three Articles Taylor-Patel provided myriad examples of the current of the Treaty. Kāwangatanga: the right of the British to govern; education context to stir the thinking and viewpoints of her Rangatiratanga: the right of hapū to retain sovereignty; and audience. In her closing remarks, she challenged her audience Ōritetanga: the guarantee that Māori would have the same rights to share their ideas with those at their immediate tables, with as others. Two hundred years later, he lamented, these promises the group as a whole and publicly through contributing to the have never been realised for tangata whenua.’ NZPF manifesto. Today she said was about ‘my voice, your voice He made it clear that the days of platitudes and pleasantries had and our voice.’ to end. Māori voices are marginalised, he said and that has been Māori reality for too long. ‘The concept of “our voices” is not a Te Akatea President, Bruce Jepsen reminded us how lived reality for Māori,’ he said. He encouraged those present to Equity looks for Māori honour the Treaty and give greater voice to Māori. Jepsen delivered a powerful reminder of just how far, as a nation His presence at Moot added energy and focus and his messages and as an educational sector, we are from achieving equity for were both powerful and practical. Māori. Drawing on the findings of the ‘He Puapua’ report, he Hon Jan Tinetti, Associate Minister of Education gives showed his audience pictorially just how massive the gap is. It was helpful that he positioned his view in the context an Update on her Portfolio of ‘He Puapua’, noting that the purpose of the report was to The Minister was effusive in her praise of school principals and their outstanding leadership throughout the pandemic. She expressed her appreciation of their innovation and sheer hard work as the country moved through lockdowns, to home learning and hybrid learning. She referred to the country-wide kōrero about schooling expectations that began in 2018 and resulted in the Tomorrow’s Schools Review recommendations. ‘People wanted an education system that valued the identity, language and culture of every child; recognised the connections between learner wellbeing, inclusion, equity and achievement; and wanted a Ministry that was less bureaucratic and more responsive to their needs and the needs of local students and their communities.’ Budget 2022, she said, has further The regional presidents listen intently to each other’s views
advanced these aspirations and provided an additional $1.66 billion and capital investment of $185 million over four years. It has also noted that school leaders need more localised support, to build leadership capability, to address school management issues and provide high level leadership-based expertise on an equitable basis. Budgeted items include: 1. T h e n e w E q u i t y I n d e x , representing a 50 per cent increase in annual equity funding, replacing the current school decile system. Real learning needs will be targeted although some schools with fewer student learning needs may find an overall reduction in funding over time. All schools will retain their current funding, at least until the end of 2023. 2. The restructure of the Ministry and establishing of Te Mahau, to strengthen the regional presence and better respond to educators, ākonga and whānau. 3. Refresh of the New Zealand Curriculum and Te Marautanga o Aotearoa curriculum. 4. Introduction of New Zealand Histories. 5. Establishment of the curriculum centre and supporting advisors.
curriculum. The curriculum will be guided by what ākonga should Understand, Know and Do as they progress. ‘Curriculum levels will be replaced by phases of learning in a progression framework and will give clarity on what ākonga should learn at each phase,’ she said. Achievement Objectives will be replaced by a smaller number of progress statements. There will also be newly designed ‘Records of Learning’ to better understand each learner’s progress. These will be collaboratively generated by ākonga, whānau and teachers and be ready for implementation in 2024. The redesign of Te Mātauranga o Aotearoa, to be an authentically indigenous curriculum embedded in te reo is well underway and will be ready for use by 2025. The mathematics and literacy strategies have also been released for the English and Māori curriculum and will build on the ‘Curriculum Refresh’ and records of learning. They will provide support for teachers to develop their confidence and there will be greater emphasis on these subjects in Initial Teacher Education courses. Whilst Minister Tinetti rightly identified the Curriculum as a big winner in this year’s Budget round, she saved education’s biggest problems to last. These are the Hon Jan Tinetti, Associate Minister of Education, had dangerously declining attendance a long list of education funding initiatives to share rates and student wellbeing. with participants
Leadership Advisors and Regional Response Fund Leadership Advisory roles will be established across the regions in 2023, through the Budget 2022 injection of $22 million. The advisors will provide coaching and mentoring, help build leader networks and enable the sharing of skills, knowledge and practice. This funding is in addition to the $23.4 million over four years allocated in the 2021 Budget for the frontline advisory positions. The positions will be determined in conjunction with the sector who will also determine the level of flexibility required. A regional response fund of $40 million over four years will deliver responsive support and services for example, to disengaged youth, to ensure they have the support they need to stay in school. Curriculum receives the biggest boost in years. Throughout terms two and three there are webinars to support leaders and teachers with the new curriculum content. Curriculum leads will work with schools and teachers to support them with implementation from next year. The ‘Refresh’ is to ensure every child experiences success in learning, the Treaty is honoured and the curriculum is inclusive. There will be a strong focus on wellbeing, identity, language and culture. It will be fully implemented by the end of 2025 and teachers will be supported throughout with a new Online Curriculum Hub with resources spanning the entire national
Attendance The decline in attendance, the Minister told us, is not new and has been deteriorating since 2015. COVID has made it worse. She told her audience that she has just this week (9 June 2022) announced the Government’s Attendance and Engagement Strategy. The strategy is intended to address the drop in those attending regularly and the increase in chronic absences. The strategy does not place all responsibility on schools. She was clear that this strategy required the cooperation of parents, teachers, Ministers, government agencies, students and communities. ‘ . . . it’s not enough just to get kids to school. Rather, it’s even more important to ensure they want to stay,’ she said. A first step, she suggested, is ensuring that our tamariki feel they belong at school and that school is a safe place to be. That is the responsibility of schools. The approach of the attendance strategy is to support local solutions working with regional Ministry teams. Schools will be asked to give feedback on their notifications to caregivers of unexplained absences, reminding parents of their legal obligations to ensure their children’s learning. $88 million has been targeted to the strategy. About $40 million of that is for the regional response fund. $18.9 million will boost PB4L, there will be more intensive support for Māori and Pacific Island learners at risk of disengaging and $6 million will go to
the attendance service to increase support to schools. Minister Tinetti acknowledged that the decades long decline in attendance will take time to turn around. That is why the approach is many pronged because there is no single contributing factor.
her Associate Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, Hon Kelvin Davis, who has responsibility for Māori Education and was unable to attend. The message from Minister Davis is all about growth in Māori medium and Kaupapa Māori pathways. The aim is for 30 per cent of Māori learners to be participating in Māori medium and Kaupapa Māori schools and ECE by 2040 and to grow the Kaupapa Māori workforce in tertiary education. If that is achieved, we would have 60,000 more Māori learners in Māori medium and Kaupapa Māori education 3,500 kaiako fluent in te reo Māori and 250 more Kura.
Student Wellbeing Closely related to attendance is student wellbeing. Behavioural issues and trauma have been on the rise for many years. COVID has also made these problems worse. The ‘Counsellors in Schools’ programme, through an investment of $44 million, is helping about 25,000 learners in 164 primary, intermediate and small Changes to Planning and Reporting The final change ahead, she said, was a change to the way schools area and secondary schools. plan and report. No longer will In this year’s Budget, a further annual charters be required. They $90 million has been applied to will become three yearly strategic expanding Mana Ake, which plans. Annual plans will continue provides wellbeing and positive to be submitted. mental health support to around 10,500 year 1–8 learners in Finally, there was time for a few Canterbury and Kaikoura. This will questions from the floor. now be expanded to Northland, Question: Counties Manukau, Bay of Plenty, Can Mana Ake be moved from Lakes and West Coast District (the Ministry of) Health to (the Health B oard regions. This Ministry of) Education? will result in 195,000 students benefitting from the programme. Answer: T h e G ove r n m e nt i s a l s o Minister Tinetti equivocated supporting free period products on this question expressing her in schools which expects to both understanding of frustrations improve wellbeing, promote yet applauding that Health and positive gender norms and increase Education were engaging with attendance of girls. each other. There was no clear The Highest Needs Review commitment except to continue to ensure tamariki receive the the conversation. supports they need, when they Question: need it and for as long as they When we talk of equity of need it was a further aspect of funding, could we please scrap student wellbeing identified. Kahui Ako, which has not Minister Tinetti explained that made a difference to children’s the review had completed its achievement? And could we put consultation phase and from the the Kahui Ako funding into parity extensive feedback, she expected with secondary schools instead? recommendations in October. Hon Aupito William Sio, Associate Minister of Education, The final aspects of wellbeing is pleased that we have plans like Tāpasa, to support the Answer: educational success of Pacific Island students, who are a were identified as the ‘Physical Kahui Ako work is moving fast growing group in Aotearoa New Zealand R e s t r a i n t’ g u i d e l i n e s a n d forward through the Accord and Relationships and Sexuality we are looking more broadly at the concept of collaboration. Education. These have concerned principals for some years. Budget 2022 is funding Kahui Ako for 2022 only. I am expecting After extensive consultation, the ‘Physical Restraint’ guidelines recommendations on what alternative collaborations might are about to be re-constructed and re-issued. This time, they will look like. come with a $6 million training Budget for teachers and others I will be taking questions of parity between primary and who will be responsible for restraint in schools. secondary funding to my officials. Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE) including resources on consent, digital safety and healthy relationships Question: When can I get an LSC (Learning Support Coordinator)? It’s are now clear, easy to use, bicultural and inclusive. All these initiatives are designed ‘ . . . so that students will be not fair that some have them and some don’t. happy and confident and thus learn better. They will foster a sense Answer: of inclusion and trust, break down barriers to learning, encourage The next stage of funding more LSCs is a Budget bid. We school attendance and bring our students and communities close must keep the pressure on and make sure everyone understands to appreciating difference and diversity,’ she said. how critical this role is. I will be advocating for the next Minister Tinetti then ‘swapped hats’ stepping into the role of tranche of LSCs. I know the difference they make in schools.
Labour is committed to the roll out of LSCs.
Wellington,’ said Minister Sio. It is therefore critical that these young people are successful Question: in their education, he said. Educational success is growing but Why would teachers want to be a principal in a small school ‘ . . . there is more work to do, especially in the cultural capital when Kahui Ako funding makes this undesirable? and cultural intelligence Answer: space,’ he said. I am committed to He acknowledged that ensuring a pathway COVID had been tough for principals. There is for some Pacific families. much work yet to do ‘ . . . some learners are on relativity between having to leave school leadership roles. This early to support their issue has already been families and provide raised. income and some just There was a lot to never return,’ he said. cover in a short time, The costs of attending after which the Minister s cho ol – donat ions, rushed back to join transpor t, uniforms, her campaigns team in language acquisition Tauranga. A ‘Moot’ and and literacy rates, along a by-election campaign with systemic racism, in the same week was discrimination and Fa’atili Iosua Esera – The New Zealand Pasifika Principals’ Association a big ask, but Minister bullying, create further (NZPPA) reminded participants that Pacific Island students’ identity and Tinetti handled it all with b a r r i e r s f or Pa c i f i c culture was key to educational success dignity and composure. learners. Minister Sio noted several Government actions that will Hon Aupito William Sio, Associate Minister of impact on some of these issues including the school donation Education replacement scheme, the introduction of the Equity Index, the Ka Just as Minister Tinetti acknowledged the impressive collegial Ora Ka Ako healthy school lunches programme, the Developing work of principals throughout the pandemic, so also did Minister Mathematics Communities of Inquiry programme, funding to Sio. He used a Samoan proverb ‘E le tu fa’amauga se tagata’ which improve the cultural capability of teachers of Pacific learners and translates as, ‘Nobody stands alone like an island, it is important more bilingual resources. that we work together as a team.’ Minister Sio was also full of praise for the Pacific Education ‘This Government could not have done it [got through the Action Plan which has a direct influence on lifting success rates pandemic] without your leadership and support,’ he said. for Pacific young people. It confronts systemic discrimination As previous speakers, Minister Sio raised the issue of equity and racism, promotes the support of bilingual and immersion in education, and how to support all our students irrespective of education, encourages working closely with Pacific communities, their diverse needs. helps educators to be COVID, he said, had culturally competent, sharpened our attention partners with families on the inequities in and shows ways to education and for Pacific grow and retain Pacific Isl and students t he educators. challenges were complex. Minister Sio told the ‘The Government wants regional principals that to give you the tools to get Pacific learners learn best every student, especially when their languages, our Pacific students, cultural capital, cultural across the line,’ he said. intelligence and identity Many Pacific students, are respected, supported he told his audience, and celebrated in their are weighed down with school communities. He the high aspirations concluded his address of their parents and with a Samoan proverb: grandparents who want E af u a m ai m au g a All eyes are on the speaker at this table of regional presidents better educational results fa’amanuiaga a le nu’u – for their children – more than 60 per cent of Pacific Island from the mountains flow the blessings unto the village. students are born in Aotearoa NZ, he said. The Pacific Island population of young people in Aotearoa NZ, Fa’atili Iosua Esera – The New Zealand Pasifika is fast growing. ‘ . . . in six years, the number of Pacific learners Principals’ Association (NZPPA) in the NZ education system, will exceed the total population of Esera echoed many of Minister Sio’s messages in his address,
but for those unfamiliar with the intentions of the NZPPA, Malcolm Elliot – President of the Australian Primary he outlined the guiding principles and key objectives. It was Principals’ Association (APPA) – Bringing a Futuristic no surprise that Te Tiriti o Waitangi would be honoured first, Perspective that Pacific learners are at the heart of all decisions and the Our Australian colleagues always seem much nearer when we organization advocates for and supports its members. are enduring common adversity. COVID is of course one such One of the leading crisis that has drawn us objectives, Esera told his closer together. Another audience, was to be the is the struggle of our voice for Pacific principals, indigenous peoples. to increase the number From his zoom screen of Pacific principals and in Brisbane, Elliot was support them. ‘This would quick to acknowledge give us the greatest chance the powerful message of seeing more Pacific that Bruce Jepsen of students achieve success’, Te Akatea had earlier he said. delivere d. ‘We are He also pointed to the part of the problem,’ school leadership PLD he announced. Elliot programme ‘Tautai o Le was referring to the Moana’ which challenges colonists on both sides principals to do things of the Tasman, who differently for Pasifika must take their share learners and links well of responsibility for Malcolm Elliot, President of the Australian Primary Principals’ Association joins with Tapasā, the cultural the inequities suffered the Moot by zoom from Brisbane competencies framework by o u r r e s p e c t i v e for teachers of Pacific learners. indigenous communities. He noted how much he was looking forward to bringing the He also acknowledged the principals in the room saying he Pacific voice to the ‘Moot’ debate. heartily respected them all. ‘You are out there leading schools amidst local and global crises, including climate change,’ he said.
Australia was also feeling the effects of climate change, he said, support resourcing was very high on everyone’s list. This issue with floods and fires and we all face rising sea levels and rising was closely related to addressing behavioural issues, which also temperatures. ranked as one of the most pressing challenges schools face. Looking futuristically, he said ‘We are in the zone of driverless Issues raised include: cars now. That is where Artificial Intelligence (AI) has taken us. We are there now. We are nervous’, he said, about futuristic ■■ Access to experts, specialists and trained teacher aides. technologies. There are emotional challenges to face when we ■■ Young people who are suffering trauma, anxiety, family violence and are acting up in class, are also disrupting other confront change. COVID has shown us glaring inequities and students and taking teachers’ attention away from their core offered different ways of learning. As leaders of learning in our job of teaching. schools, we now must ask ‘What might learning look like in the ■■ Some schools say the levels of disruptive behaviour are future?’ unmanageable and are threatening the school’s ability to There are of course options and Elliot put these to his colleagues deliver quality education for all students. from Aotearoa New Zealand. ‘Will we re-boot, reframe, replace ■■ Most agree that two and a half years of COVID has or revert?’ he asked. contributed to a spike in the number of students presenting ‘Whichever options we choose,’ he said, ‘relationships built on with poor mental and emotional health. Many more students trust will always remain at the centre.’ are failing to self regulate. Elliot quickly put a couple more suggestions forward, listing ■■ There was general agreement that having counsellors in equity and fairness as constants. He said he envisaged future schools is beneficial, but there is an equity issue. Many learning embedded in joy, heartfulness and fun, rather than just schools have no access to counsellors. being centred around technological advancements. ■■ It was recognised that many more counsellors were needed. His final message of the day was about assessment. ‘Let’s move The preferred option was to have existing teachers undertake away from a set of tests and explore alternative ways of assessing specialised training to become school counsellors. and reporting more holistically,’ he said. He drew his audience to think about the purpose of education. He said education has purpose for the individual, for society, for our democracy and for our economic prosperity. Let’s give our young people voice, he said, and listen also to their families and to the profession, then we will have a successful future together. Let’s also highlight democratic processes, especially in the light of current world events. ‘Our children need to grow up knowing they are democratically empowered,’ he said. ‘The future is already with us and we must embrace it,’ he said, ‘However, let’s also look back at past traditions and practices and ensure that we have heart and joy at the forefront of the future.’ Elliot’s message resonated with the regional presidents who embraced the holistic approach presented. It was another example of the neighbouring countries NZPF’s Te Akatea representative records the contributions of a group of regional presidents sharing common understandings. Staffing was another pressing issue for most groups. Issues Converting Their Voice to Our Voice raised include: Having listened carefully to each of the speakers and taken ■■ COVID is affecting staffing levels. on board the different issues raised by each, the final task for ■■ Relievers are hard to find, especially in rural areas, and participants was to voice their own views about the health or principals in many cases are having to cover the classes of otherwise of our education system. In groups, attendees were teachers away sick. This means other leadership duties are invited to discuss and list the top priorities requiring attention. shelved or completed outside of normal working hours. Although never likely to succeed, there was common ■■ Recent teaching graduates are also affected. Because of agreement that education decisions should be taken out of the COVID, they have limited classroom experience with many political arena so that the sector could achieve stability and long completing practicum work online and thus needing higher levels of support from schools. term planning, rather than being the three-year football for political parties to play with. ■■ Good quality teachers are hard to find. Themes of equity and alternative methods of funding were ■■ Experienced principals are retiring early from burn out. common for all issues raised. It was surprising just how much ■■ Ensure all schools receive at least the same staffing levels for agreement there was about those top issues. 2023 irrespective of roll declines. Equitable and consistent allocation and delivery of learning Reduce student: staff ratios
Funding In the current climate, school budgets are running thin on many levels, especially staffing budgets. There was general consensus that all schools need more direct funding. Issues raised include: ■■
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Fund Teacher Aides centrally, not through the operations grant. Fund every school a learning support coordinator or SENCo. Simplify funding, by eliminating individual pockets of funding and paying the money to the schools directly and equitably. Problems are local, so trust the schools to apply the money to local solutions. Parity of funding with secondary schools. Lift the level of overall funding. Fund more Teacher Only Days. Scrap funding to Kahui Ako which are inequitable and can lead to teachers in leadership roles paid more than principals. How will replacing the decile system with the Equity Index affect decisions already based on schools decile, such as the donations scheme?
Principal Wellbeing There was a general feeling that the pressures on principal wellbeing were not well understood. Acknowledgements of principal workloads tend to relate to COVID times, whereas principals were already overworked and stressed before COVID. Issues raised include: ■■
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Burnout and work overload and high turnover of principals in rural areas. Limit changes, too much happening at once including Curriculum refresh, ERO’s new model, Mathematics and Literacy strategy, NCEA changes, Professional growth Cycles and Te Mahau. Commit to a different structure of pay for principals in rural schools to retain and attract experienced principals. Principal release time and equitable PLD. Keep principal voice involved in all changes. Principals’ sabbatical every five years as of right. Secondment of principals to advisory roles to provide further leadership pathways.
The lack of property planning for roll growth creates stress for principals. NZPF thanks the regional presidents for their frank and clear advice on what needs to change, what doesn’t need to change and what additional support is required for a healthy functioning education system in the future. The issues raised will all be considered before the NZPF political manifesto is scripted for the 2023 election campaign.