For me, a powerful legacy is not about the monument we built, the awards we won or the renovations we instigated. It is about people and leaving behind a solid foundation of relationships, on which the future can be built. As NZPF President, these relationships extended to you – the membership – to seek your feedback; to the media, to give us a public voice; to Ministers to give us a political voice; and to Ministry staff to help us to achieve our goals.
Three years ago, in my first President’s Pen, I wrote about how principals are too often ‘handed the school keys and told good luck with that.’ I had either been on the receiving end of that comment or watched as others navigated that impossible situation. The NZPF Presidency gave me the opportunity to finally do something about it. That meant building relationships with the people who could help to make that happen.
As I write my last President’s Pen, I think about the NZPF roadmap to sustainable principal leadership. Our work started through building a strong, trusting relationship with the Chief Principal Advisor and his team in the Ministry. Part of ensuring sustainable principalship was developing an Induction Programme, which the Leadership Advisors now deliver to the regions. I feel proud that no future principals will ever just be ‘handed the keys and told good luck’. They can all participate in the induction programme so they are well prepared to take over a new school.
NZPF’s roadmap to Sustainable Principalship has been central to NZPF’s strategic plan for the last three years, and I am delighted to say that every one of the 10 components has been delivered:
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Leadership development from aspiring to experienced principals
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Professional development mapped with quality assurance standards
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Recruitment and retention initiatives
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Wellbeing and work condition support
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Cultural responsive programmes
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Innovation in leadership practice
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Strategic workforce development
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Sustainability planning
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Resources and sector support
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Professional insights and research
The investment in Principal Leadership, to keep building sustainable leadership – which we vigorously advocated for – was realised when the Minister announced substantial new funding in Budget 2025. That gives us a solid foundation for the future.
My mantra in leading NZPF was to listen, to learn and to act.
We listened: Through regional meetings, surveys, and countless conversations, we heard your voices. When 71 per cent of primary principals told us through NZCER’s 2024 survey that the pace of curriculum change was too fast, and the demands of rolling out both Structured Literacy and Structured Maths simultaneously were impossible to meet, we spoke truth to power about slowing down to get it right.
We learned: I had the privilege of attending the UNESCO Principals’ Seminar in Shanghai, where we explored how success cannot be defined merely by reading, writing, and mathematics assessment data. We learned that policies that follow the Global Education Reform Movement (GERM) don’t serve our unique context, especially when it comes to honouring Te Tiriti o Waitangi and our commitment to Māori, Pacific, and our diverse learners.
We acted: We advocated relentlessly on your feedback. We established a framework of four discrete workstreams for the National Executive – Nga Pou E Wha – each with a clear annual plan and each Pou reported to you through our fortnightly Principal Matters pānui. We developed quality assurance standards for professional development. We strengthened our relationships across the sector – with sector leaders, sector partners, politicians and our international partners. We won the right to host the 2026 International Confederation of Principals (ICP) Convention through our strong global connections and this event will attract principals from across the world to come and learn from us – about what makes us unique and special. We did not hold back from calling out politicians when they made incorrect statements or misrepresented us and continuously asked to be included in the policy and curriculum design process.
Through it all, we never lost sight of our core responsibility: giving effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Te Tiriti belongs to all of us. It is not just an historical document, but a guiding framework for our shared future. By embracing Te Ao Māori, Mātauranga Māori, and Te Reo Māori me ona Tikanga in our schools, we are contributing to the development of a more equitable, compassionate, and unified society.
Throughout my three years as President, working out of the national office in Wellington, I was largely an absent wife and mother. I want to pay tribute to my amazing husband and two sons for their unfailing support and love, which sustained me throughout this journey. I could not have done this job without their daily phone calls and social media posts, which kept me grounded throughout. Whakawhetai ki a koutou mo to aroha me to tautoko!
I also want to pay special tribute to our New Zealand Principal magazine Editor, Liz Hawes, who will be retiring at the end of this year. For over 10 years, Liz has been instrumental in ensuring that our quarterly magazine is of the highest quality, featuring articles and stories that are not only thought-provoking and challenging but also deeply relevant to school leadership within our unique context. Liz has done an exceptional job of keeping well abreast of educational changes while ensuring we as leaders understand the transformative power of school leadership. She has worked tirelessly to bring clarity to the focus of our work as school leaders. If we talk of legacy – Liz leaves us with a library of works that will be valued and treasured now and into the future. True to her character, she has consistently highlighted the best of us, never herself. We thank Liz for her outstanding contribution and wish her well in her well-deserved retirement.
My legacy? I hope to be remembered as the President who valued building strong relationships so that together we could make a positive difference for principals, their teachers, support staff and tamariki.
To the incoming President and Executive: you inherit a strong foundation of established relationships and systems to build upon. I am very proud of the 2023–2025 National Executive, their hard work and all their achievements. Now it is the turn of a new National Executive to build on the foundation now established, strengthen relationships further and continue the mahi that will help future leaders, teachers and tamariki to successfully shape their own future. I wish you all the very best – ngā mihi aroha.
Kia kaha, kia māia, kia manawanui.
Leanne Otene served as National President of the New Zealand Principals’ Federation from 2023–2025, the first wāhine Māori to hold this position.