Section
Practical guidance for the day-to-day work of leading a New Zealand school.
Articles in this section share how-to advice on the operational and relational aspects of principalship: navigating employment law, writing letters of expectation, talking to parents about ERO reports, enacting Te Tiriti o Waitangi in school life, mentoring future leaders, and supporting equity in the classroom. Contributors are working principals, sector specialists, employment lawyers, and education consultants drawing on lived experience in New Zealand schools. Use this section to find tested approaches to common challenges, build your professional toolkit, and learn from the practice of colleagues across the country — from country schools to large urban primaries.
When something goes wrong at a school, it rarely happens at a convenient time. An incident occurs. Parents start asking questions. A journalist rings. Staff are looking to you for direction and this often happens before all the facts are known. In those moments, the pressure isn’t just to respond, but to respond quickly. What […]
All NZPF members who join Principals’ Advice & Support Limited (PASL) can get legal advice on any matters affecting their employment and relationship with the Board as their employer. Do you have a tricky issue? Employment issues can arise unexpectedly, and it can take time to build relationships with new Board members. Remember that as […]
Woodville is a small rural town nestled at the northern end of the Tararua Range. It’s not so remote now the new Te Ahu a Turanga section of State Highway 2 is open – it’s now the gateway to Tararua, Hawke’s Bay, and Wairarapa from the central North Island. In any case, it still classifies […]
As Editor of the NZPF magazine, Liz Hawes has been tireless in highlighting the harms a neoliberal agenda brings to education and the benefits of collectivism so that schools and tamariki can thrive. Her wisdom, values and writing skills will be greatly missed – E mihi ana ki a koe e te mareikura. In her […]
CERVIN LTD HAS BEEN publishing the NZ Principal magazine since the late 1990s. Well known former NZPF President and Editor of the magazine, Geoff Lovegrove, was clear about why NZPF approached Cervin Ltd (then Snedden & Cervin) to publish the Federation’s magazine. He said it was the company’s strong family values, sense of community service […]
It has been praised as the greatest innovation of our times, and criticised as unethical and completely lacking in humanity. It is admired and despised, embraced and rejected, in equal measure. But whether pro or con, it is difficult not to take an interest in this controversial technology. As I write this article, our Prime […]
‘As a young teacher, I never thought I would have to be a weather expert!’ Meteorology was not a curriculum option at Teachers’ College in the ’60s and besides, there were far more important things to focus on, such as life-altering, revolutionary music, debating the ethics of the Vietnam War, buying a first car, and […]
The modern classroom is more than a site for delivering content—it is a relational space where the brain, body, and heart come together in the service of learning. As educators, we’re learning – through both research and reflection – that the most powerful teaching happens when we hold thinking and feeling side by side. In […]
Studies on school principals’ wellbeing make for grim reading, according to Heidi Hayward, principal of Dunedin Intermediate School. Heidi participated in ‘The New Zealand Primary Principal Occupational Health, Safety and Wellbeing Survey (2016–2021)’ and says, ‘The research shows a significant deterioration in school principals’ wellbeing across the timeframe.’ The research showed that 72 per cent […]
Lemonwood Grove School arises from a massive housing boom in the Christchurch suburb of Rolleston. Opening in 2017, with a roll of 59 students, the school now welcomes 1,000 students a day and expectations are for further growth on the ten-acre site. Although Rolleston is located close to the epicentre of the 2010 Christchurch earthquake, […]
I am fortunate to have been welcomed into a great Professional Learning Group. Seven primary principals from a variety of schools, both town based and rural, who meet monthly. The host Principal chooses the venue, picks a short reading and pays for breakfast for the group. We start the hui with karakia and ‘What’s on […]
Ruakākā School is proudly located near picturesque Bream Bay, about a half hour’s drive south of Whangārei. Mount Manaia dominates the horizon and features in the pepeha of more than half the tamariki of the area. The mountain erupted about twenty million years ago and is now blanketed in a thick coat of native bush. […]
