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Every principal reading this will recognise the feeling. You’ve barely bedded in one change when the next one lands. A new curriculum document. A new assessment expectation. A new reporting requirement. A new timeline that someone decided was ‘achievable’ without ever standing in front of 30 children on a cold and wet Tuesday morning. Speaking […]
While there is so much on top for us at the moment including the overwhelming volume and pace of change from the Education Minister, my speech to regional principal association presidents and sector leaders at our NZPF Moot specifically focused on the importance of leading, learning, and advocating, threaded together by something we all know […]
As we enter 2026 and I humbly begin serving NZPF in the President’s role, I find myself reflecting on “Ka mua, ka muri” – an important whakatauki that many will know means “walking backwards into the future”. It’s the idea we should look to the past to inform the future. In doing so, I am […]
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 […]
I recently had the privilege of attending a UNESCO Principals’ Seminar in Shanghai. Much of our mahi was about ‘defining student success’. Repeatedly, we heard that success is not defined by reading, writing and mathematics assessment data, and nor does such data define the quality of a teacher. Andreas Schleicher, Director for Education and Skills […]
Let’s talk about something that’s been quietly – but powerfully – reshaping the way we do education here in Aotearoa New Zealand and across the world: the Global Education Reform Movement, or GERM. If you haven’t heard the acronym before, you’ve definitely felt its effects. It’s influencing everything from how schools are funded, to what […]
It’s easy for politicians to create a crisis by manipulating data – it happened last year with mathematics. Data produced by researchers testing a new mathematics curriculum was used as if it was assessing student achievement. The mathematics curriculum in case was still in the process of being written, and had never been taught. But […]
I want to highlight the importance of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, not just for Māori but for all Aotearoa New Zealanders. Te Tiriti o Waitangi is a living document that continues to influence our nation’s trajectory. In the context of education, the articles of Te Tiriti – particularly kawanatanga, tino rangatiratanga, and mana ōrite / […]
In the ever-evolving world of education, change isn’t just inevitable; it’s like the weather – always shifting. As school principals, we often find ourselves steering our waka through waves of reforms and updates. With the task of ensuring smooth transitions, keeping everyone’s spirits up, and making sure the quality of education stays top-notch, we need […]
Education is dynamic. To craft and implement effective education policies, collaboration between school principals and government is essential. The partnership hinges on mutual respect, agreed goals, and recognition of the responsibilities each party carries. When principals and government work closely together, they create an environment conductive to the growth and success of students, educators, and […]
The ebb and flow of political change, inevitably, affects our schooling system. New governments bring new policy changes. As stewards of our schools, principals front the new policies, examine them, seek input from their communities, and apply their own knowledge and experience to predict whether the policies can achieve what politicians intend. Some policies will […]
The greatest revelation of the International Confederation of Principals (ICP) Congress this year, was not the differences between the 50 member countries, but how much they have in common. Principal and teacher wellbeing, insufficient staffing, post-Covid attendance, lack of support for learning needs, promoting indigenous cultures, the advance of Artificial Intelligence (AI), inequities, and insufficient […]
