The education sector union NZEI Te Riu Roa says education should not be used as a cash cow and the government would be mad to accept Treasury's latest advice.
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The education sector union NZEI Te Riu Roa says education should not be used as a cash cow and the government would be mad to accept Treasury's latest advice.

In its briefing to the incoming government Treasury has suggested radical reform to free up money, including increasing class sizes and student-teacher ratios and closing down schools.

"This type of reform would be a huge step backwards for our education system and I don't think schools, parents or communities would be willing to accept it.  It is ill-advised advice," says NZEI President Ian Leckie.

"Parents and schools fought long and hard to lower class sizes and student ratios in recent years particularly in the junior classes, and they would not want to see all that good work undone."

"It's disappointing to hear the Finance Minister say class size doesn't matter when parents and teachers, who see what happens in classrooms everyday, know that children get more out of teaching and learning when they are in smaller groups and can get more one-on-one attention".

"Having bigger classes would also do nothing to improve teacher quality," he says.

Closing down schools would hit communities hard, particularly if there was no educational benefit in doing so.

"Closing a school down impacts heavily on students and families and shouldn't affect a child's right to attend their local school.  Treasury's proposal is purely a money-making scheme for a wholesale sell-off of valuable school property and land which would come at the expense of local communities," Mr Leckie says.

"Surely education should not be a cash-cow for the government.  If Treasury really wanted to free up money in education and improve teacher quality it would reinstate the teacher professional development that the government has taken away and stop wasting tens of millions of dollars on National Standards".

NZEI says worryingly the Ministry of Education's briefing to the new Minister also signals school closures as well as the erosion of school board control over property.
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The education sector union NZEI Te Riu Roa is calling on the new Education Minister to guarantee the Government's decision to establish official league tables of secondary schools will not be extended to primary schools.
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The education sector union NZEI Te Riu Roa is calling on the new Education Minister to guarantee the Government's decision to establish official league tables of secondary schools will not be extended to primary schools.

When then-Minister Anne Tolley introduced controversial National Standards into primary schools in 2010, she pledged that the Government would not publish league tables.   

Following a visit to Australia, the new Minister Hekia Parata has said the government is considering establishing a new website to compare the performance of secondary schools and she is open to parents being able to rate the performance of schools and teachers.

"That’s a very different position and is disappointing given Anne Tolley's earlier comments," says NZEI President Ian Leckie. "International experience shows that league tables unfairly and inaccurately label children, schools and their communities and do nothing to improve student achievement.  We would sincerely hope and want guarantees that there are no such plans to extend such a system to primary schools - certainly not one which is based on unreliable National Standards information".

Secondary school NCEA results are nationally moderated and parents and schools have a clearer understanding of what they mean.

"The issue for primary schools is that National Standards aren't moderated and there is huge variation in the way schools are implementing them.  It would be a case of junk information in and junk information out.  Officially publishing that information on a government-sponsored website would be misleading for parents and potentially damaging for school communities."

"Schools want to be held accountable but that accountability cannot be based on a measure which is neither fair nor accurate, and is very narrowly focused."

NZEI would welcome the opportunity to meet with Ms Parata to outline its concerns and seek guarantees that student achievement data based on National Standards will not end up on an official website aimed at comparing school performance.
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The education sector union NZEI Te Riu Roa says the government is stacking the charter school deck while keeping the public in the dark about how charter schools will work in New Zealand and how they will actually make a difference to student achievement.
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The education sector union NZEI Te Riu Roa says the government is stacking the charter school deck while keeping the public in the dark about how charter schools will work in New Zealand and how they will actually make a difference to student achievement.

The Associate Education Minister and sole ACT MP John Banks has said the first charter school will be up and running in south Auckland by the end of the first school term and he has appointed  former ACT Party President Catherine Isaacs to oversee the charter school implementation group.

"Once again we are seeing a total lack of transparency in this whole process and an agenda driven by politics and business rather than education and children," says NZEI President Ian Leckie.

"Firstly the government and ACT completely blindsided the public by announcing charter schools as part of their coalition deal, and now it is moving to unfairly stack the deck of the committee set up to establish them."

"The charter school agenda was clearly more advanced than the government cares to admit," he says.

Despite the speed at which the government is moving on charter schools, the public and communities where these schools will be established, have seen absolutely no details on how they will be set up and run.

"We are not being told why and how these schools will make a difference to underachieving kids.  Exactly what will a charter school do that is different and how does giving taxpayer money to business to run a school improve student achievement?  These are all questions the government is failing to give New Zealander the answers to," says Mr Leckie.

New Zealand students and schools do better than those in any of the countries where charter schools have been established.  The balance of overseas experience shows that charter schools do nothing to raise educational achievement and can take money away from existing schools and undermine communities.

NZEI believes the children who are missing out on educational success the most are facing the combined hurdles of poor health, bad housing, troubled families and poverty.  These aren't problems schools can fix on their own, and they certainly aren't problems that charter schools can fix.  

NZEI continues to call for any move to establish charter schools to go through a parliamentary select committee process so the public and educators can make submissions and see the issues fairly debated.
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With the new school year about to begin, the education sector union NZEI Te Riu Roa is repeating its call for the government to move to protect centralised 'National Standards' information from being drawn up into damaging league tables.
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With the new school year about to begin, the education sector union NZEI Te Riu Roa is repeating its call for the government to move to protect centralised 'National Standards' information from being drawn up into damaging league tables.

All schools must submit their student achievement data based on 'National Standards' to the Education Ministry by 31 May.

NZEI says schools are deeply concerned that the information will be made public and aggregated into crude league tables that will unfairly label students, schools and their communities.

"It’s a top-of-mind issue and worry for principals, teachers and school as we go into the 2012 school year," says NZEI President Ian Leckie.

"They know that 'National Standards' data is inconsistent and that each school is interpreting the Standards differently.  Aggregating that data into national or local league tables that give the impression of ranking school effectiveness would be unfair".

"The public should not be duped into thinking the effectiveness of schools can be judged on such inconsistent and flawed assessment which cannot properly reflect a student's learning or progress".

"Any National Standards-based league table will simply reflect school decile and serve to name and shame some of the very schools which are working the hardest to raise student achievement," Mr Leckie says.

NZEI believes that school and teacher accountability is essential and parents have a right to know that their children are engaged in high quality, effective teaching and learning programmes.  

However Mr Leckie says the danger is 'National Standards' will increasingly become a blunt driver of the government's accountability agenda.

"That puts our education system at the mercy of junk information.  It will also create unhealthy competition between schools, the likely massaging of student achievement information and a teaching to the test approach.  Is this really what we want for our world-leading education system and our children?"

NZEI says schools want an assurance that centralised 'National Standards' information will be protected, otherwise the government will find that come 31 May, schools will be reluctant to hand their student achievement data over.

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The education sector union NZEI Te Riu Roa says contrary to claims by the Education Minister, principals in south Auckland have no appetite for charter schools.
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The education sector union NZEI Te Riu Roa says contrary to claims by the Education Minister, principals in south Auckland have no appetite for charter schools.

Hekia Parata has said that principals and parents are queuing up for the first charter school, and that there is very high demand.

NZEI has spoken to 87 principals in south Auckland.  The vast majority have said they are either concerned or very concerned about the prospect of charter schools, while only four said they could see some benefit.

NZEI President Ian Leckie says they are concerned on a number of fronts.

"Firstly they are suspicious about the government's privatisation agenda for education, secondly they believe charter schools are unmandated coalition policy, and thirdly they feel that low decile communities are being unfairly targeted by government claims that charter schools are needed in areas where underachievement is entrenched."

"Some of these schools work harder than any others in the country to raise student achievement and there is no recognition of the effective programmes they already have in place. The problems of underachievement are complex and principals in south Auckland know that charter schools will do nothing to fix them".

Mr Leckie says it's important to remember that the people of south Auckland did not vote for charter schools and have not been asked whether they want to hand over their children's education to private business where there is limited accountability.

NZEI says there is clearly a disconnect between what the Minister is saying and what people and educators in south Auckland are feeling.

"Perhaps the Minister should release some more details about exactly what these schools will look like and talk to those communities which will be affected by what represents a major shift change to the foundations of our public education system," says Mr Leckie.

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The education sector union NZEI Te Riu Roa is urging the government to come clean about its agenda for education and any plans it may have to change the way school principals are hired.
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The education sector union NZEI Te Riu Roa is urging the government to come clean about its agenda for education and any plans it may have to change the way school principals are hired.

Media reports suggest that the government is planning to make the Ministry of Education responsible for the appointment of principals rather than boards, and also ban them from speaking out against government policy.

NZEI President Ian Leckie says the suggestions are alarming and need to be honestly confirmed or denied.

"There have been a lot of rumours and speculation about the issue and principals and schools are understandably very anxious.  Removing the ability of schools and their communities to hire their own principal strikes at the heart of Tomorrow's Schools and you have to wonder how much further the government is willing to go".

"There's also the question of motive," says Mr Leckie.

"Handing over the employment of principals directly to the Ministry and attempting to gag them is a likely response to principals' widespread criticism of National Standards".

NZEI says like charter schools, the government seems like its readying to push through more unmandated educational change and policy.

"Changing the way principals are hired and managed would represent a major shift to our quality education system.  It would be completely wrong and would be met with opposition from principals, schools and communities.  It would also get the new Education Minister off to a very bad start with the sector as a whole," says Mr Leckie.

"The government needs to front up and be honest about what's on its agenda for education and put an end to the climate of suspicion and mistrust that it is fostering".
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The education sector union NZEI Te Riu Roa is hoping there will be opportunities to forge a strong and constructive working relationship with the new Education Minister.
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The education sector union NZEI Te Riu Roa is hoping there will be opportunities to forge a strong and constructive working relationship with the new Education Minister.

In the new cabinet line-up Hekia Parata takes over the education portfolio from Anne Tolley.

NZEI which represents more than 50,000 teachers, principals and education workers acknowledges that the past three years have been challenging.

NZEI President Ian Leckie says "we have seen a lot of policy and measures introduced such as National Standards and cuts to early childhood funding, which have definitely put a strain on the relationship between educational professionals and the government".

"We have a great education system which we want to see made into a truly excellent one.  To do that there must be a healthy and respectful relationship between the education sector and government".

NZEI believes there are many challenges ahead.

"Charter schools, fundamental problems with National Standards, raising Māori student achievement, the government's failure to commit to 100% qualified early childhood teachers, the future of education in Christchurch, more support for special needs students and recognising the professional work and value of school support staff are all issues which deserve full and open discussion," says Mr Leckie.

NZEI hopes the new minister will take on these challenges with an inclusive and constructive approach which values the voice of teachers, principals and communities.

It also wishes Anne Tolley well in her newly-appointed roles.

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The education sector union NZEI Te Riu Roa says the government should not be allowed to push any legislation on charter schools through parliament, without a proper select committee process.
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The education sector union NZEI Te Riu Roa says the government should not be allowed to push any legislation on charter schools through parliament, without a proper select committee process.

The government is allowing charter schools to be set up under its coalition deal with ACT, saying they will be trialed in south Auckland and Christchurch.  The policy was not flagged by either party in the lead up to the election.

NZEI believes legislation will be needed around the funding and governance of charter schools as they represent a fundamental change to the spirit of the Education Act and the Tomorrow’s Schools philosophy of communities running their own schools.

NZEI President Ian Leckie says while the government clearly had detailed policy around charter schools ready to go, the public has been completely blindsided.

"Given that, it is only fair that the any moves to establish charter schools go through proper parliamentary processes so the public at least has a chance to make submissions and have the issues debated".

"Charter schools represent a major shift in direction for New Zealand education and the government must not be allowed to simply pass legislation through the House under urgency, claiming it has a mandate to do so," he says.

NZEI believes that if a select committee was to consider charter schools, it should sit in Christchurch and south Auckland, to hear directly from residents as to whether they want charter schools driving a wedge through their communities.

"There are some very big question around why New Zealand needs charter schools and why the government is so intent on pushing them.  If the government and ACT are so wedded to the idea of charter schools, perhaps they should trial them in Epsom," Mr Leckie says.
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The education sector union NZEI Te Riu Roa says the government has used the ACT Party as a Trojan horse in introducing charter schools to New Zealand.
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The education sector union NZEI Te Riu Roa says the government has used the ACT Party as a Trojan horse in introducing charter schools to New Zealand.

Under the National/Act coalition agreement, the government has committed to embarking on a charter schools programme, which will see alternative education providers competing with existing schools for students and funding.

NZEI says the public needs to question why New Zealand needs charter schools and why the policy was never flagged in the lead up to the election.

NZEI President Ian Leckie says "it is astounding that this sort of policy, which has the potential to change the face of New Zealand's education system, is being arrogantly pushed through and given priority, without the public having a say on the matter".

"We need to be asking why we want public money going into privately-run charter schools when there is no evidence they will add any value or benefit New Zealand’s education system or local communities".

Overseas experience shows they can take students and money away from existing schools, undermine communities and increase social segregation. They are also less accountable and there is no proof that they are effective in raising educational standards or achievement levels.

Ian Leckie says the introduction of charter schools is a step towards the privatisation of education for which the government has no mandate.

"I think New Zealanders should be very concerned that the ACT Party, which received less than 1% of the vote, is suddenly shaping and dictating key education policy. The government clearly had charter schools sitting on its agenda and is using ACT to do its bidding".
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The education sector union NZEI Te Riu Roa says Moerewa School in Northland is at the sharp end of the government's punitive approach to National Standards.
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The education sector union NZEI Te Riu Roa says Moerewa School in Northland is at the sharp end of the government's punitive approach to National Standards.

The community is rallying behind the school to fight a decision by the Education Minister to close its senior secondary class, despite its students' stunning NCEA results.

Moerewa School and its principal have been strong critics of National Standards and are not implementing them because they don’t believe they will do anything to raise the achievement of Māori students.

NZEI immediate past-President Frances Nelson says "the government says it wants to raise the tail of underachievement and Māori achievement.  Moerewa School is doing that, and doing it very effectively.  The government should not turn around and punish them for that".

"What is happening at Moerewa is the sharp end of the government's punitive approach to National Standards.  That approach is being used against schools which are already performing well and making a real difference in lifting student outcomes."

Moerewa School clearly has the confidence of its community and NZEI believes the government should listen to that as a matter of urgency.

"The government should not ignore the resolve of communities such as Moerewa, in standing up for their children’s education.  What we're seeing in Moerewa will be repeated in communities around the country if the government continues to pursue flawed policy and enforce it with unreasonable action," Ms Nelson says.

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The education sector union NZEI TE Riu Roa says the parents of special needs students should be concerned that schools will now be required to report their children’s achievement against "National Standards".
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The education sector union NZEI TE Riu Roa says the parents of special needs students should be concerned that schools will now be required to report their children’s achievement against "National Standards".

The Ministry of Education has changed its advice to schools and says achievement information for special needs students must be included in their "National Standards" reporting.  That means schools will be required to measure the number and proportion of all students as above, at, below or well below “National Standards".

NZEI says not only does that raise serious privacy issues but it could result in schools excluding special needs children if "National Standards" information is used to publish school league tables.

Students with special needs are more likely to sit in the 'below' or 'well below' categories for their age.  

"The result of that will be that in smaller schools, or schools which have a special needs unit, those children will be easily identifiable in terms of National Standards reporting and any public league table which is drawn up," says NZEI’s immediate past-President Frances Nelson.

NZEI also believes there is a big danger that if the media can publish school league tables based on "National Standards" information, and schools are incentivised if they "perform better", then some schools won’t want students who might drag down their overall school achievement data.

"If the government stands by and allows National Standards information to be used to publicly judge and compare schools, and to reward high-performing schools, then there is no doubt some schools will make a conscious decision to exclude special needs children," Ms Nelson says.

"These privacy issues and the potential impact on special needs students, along with the increased school competition that National Standards will promote, again highlight the dangers of a one-size fits-all, tick-the-box approach to education.  They also underline the fact that such issues were never thought through in the haste to implement the Standards".

NZEI is advising Boards not to take any action with regard to reporting and submitting "National Standards" information at this stage because of the issues around the integrity of the data and the need to ensure that the privacy of individual students is not compromised.

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National's education policy for schools is one dimensional and is all about tick-the-box compliance driven by the flawed "National Standards", says the education sector union NZEI Te Riu Roa.
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National's education policy for schools is one dimensional and is all about tick-the-box compliance driven by the flawed "National Standards", says the education sector union NZEI Te Riu Roa.

Under its just-released policy, "National Standards" are the centrepiece of National’s agenda and will now be used as the key accountability and performance measure across all schools.

"Almost everything in this policy is underpinned by National Standards," says NZEI immediate past-President Frances Nelson.

"Professional development for teachers will hinge around "National Standards", there will be more expert advisors to implement them, schools will be expected to publish plans and targets against them by a certain date, provide templates of clear school reports, and schools and teachers will have their performance measured against them."

"It's frightening to see how much more time and money National is willing to throw into 'National Standards' when parents, teachers and school communities continue to have so little confidence in them," she says.

National is also making it clear that it will do nothing to stop public league tables being drawn up based on "National Standards" information.

Frances Nelson says schools will be very alarmed by this.

"Schools know that because the Standards are so flawed, the level of moderation is so inconsistent, and implementation is so varied around the country, any student achievement data based on them is completely unreliable.  It is unfair and dangerous for 'National Standards' to be used to compare and judge school performance, let alone as an accountability measure".

NZEI is also concerned that National wants to shift the resourcing model to 'incentivise school performance' as it suggests that money will be removed from those schools which are not complying with 'National Standards' or are not performing against them.

"More measuring doesn’t make the pig fatter and National's policy will simply increase the bureaucracy in education without adding value to the people who matter - children," says Ms Nelson.

NZEI also believes it is unfair that National has left it so late to release its education policy in the lead up to the election.

"We know National has an agenda for education.  It should be flagged honestly and within a timeframe that people have an opportunity to debate it and make an informed decision," Ms Nelson says.

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Imposing National Standards on bi-lingual and ESOL students amounts to cultural bullying and will do nothing to help them become competent learners, says the education sector union NZEI Te Riu Roa.
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Imposing National Standards on bi-lingual and ESOL students amounts to cultural bullying and will do nothing to help them become competent learners, says the education sector union NZEI Te Riu Roa.

The government has changed its advice and is now telling schools they must assess bi-lingual and ESOL students and report to parents against National Standards. It is part of updated Ministry of Education guidelines to schools. Previously these students were assessed against English Language Learning Progressions which were developed by the Ministry of Education and agreed to by the Education Minister.

"National Standards are unreliable and flawed and forcing them on this group of students is a tragedy, particularly as it replaces an assessment system which was appropriate for them and recognised their special learning needs and development," says NZEI President Ian Leckie.

"Measuring bi-lingual children or children who have just arrived in New Zealand against a set of narrow National Standards, completely devalues their own language, and the other skills and knowledge they have.  It will also discourage first language learning which is so important on so many levels".

Research shows that students who have strong literacy in their own language have greater success in literacy in English and bi-lingualism has been identified as a major contributor to the overall academic success of Pasifika students in New Zealand schools.

Ian Leckie says "National Standards for ESOL and bi-lingual students is completely out of step with that and will only serve to label children further and demotivate them towards becoming competent learners".

NZEI also believes schools will be reluctant to measure these students against National Standards, not only because it is unfair and inappropriate, but because they will have to include them in their official reporting.

"If National Standards information is not protected and will be used to compare schools in the form of public leagues tables, there is a risk that schools will either not include these students' results, or skew their reporting to offset them," Mr Leckie says.
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The education sector union NZEI Te Riu Roa says it's good to see the issue of compulsory te reo Māori in schools being put squarely onto the political agenda and out for public debate.
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The education sector union NZEI Te Riu Roa says it's good to see the issue of compulsory te reo Māori in schools being put squarely onto the political agenda and out for public debate.

The Māori Party has released its education policy in which te reo Māori would be compulsory in schools in 2015.  It also steps out a plan to increase the number of te reo Māori teachers to try and achieve that.

NZEI says compulsory te reo Māori in schools would add value to children's education and to the country as a whole.

Last year a Waitangi Tribunal report warned that te reo Māori was reaching crisis point and urgent change was needed to save it from extinction.

NZEI Matua Takawaenga Laures Park acknowledges that there would be challenges around training enough te reo speakers but having all students learning te reo and having some degree of competency would ensure the vitality of the language.

"Māori is an official language of Aotearoa and it is shameful that only a relatively small number of people are fluent".

Research shows that bi-lingualism can boost student achievement in other areas and makes other languages easier to learn.

"It is ignorant and offensive for people such as the ACT Party leader Don Brash to label te reo Māori as irrelevant and to somehow suggest it has no benefit to anyone but Māori".

NZEI also welcomes the Māori Party pledge to initiate nationwide discussion about compulsory early childhood education.

However it is disappointed that the Party has failed to come out with any policy on the controversial National Standards, given their potential to crudely label students and unfairly compare schools and communities.
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The education sector union NZEI Te Riu Roa says Labour's education policy is comprehensive and promotes high quality education for all children.
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The education sector union NZEI Te Riu Roa says Labour's education policy is comprehensive and promotes high quality education for all children.

It shows a major commitment to quality early childhood education by promising to restore funding cuts to more than 2000 services nationwide, reinstate the target of 100% qualified teachers, retain existing subsidies and fee controls for 20 hours ECE, as well as develop planned public ECE provision.

NZEI President Ian Leckie says that will help boost participation levels and be welcomed by those services and parents who have been hit hard by government funding cuts.

Labour's policy also places some welcome importance on the role and value of school support staff by promising to provide them with training and it says it will work on the viability of centrally funding their positions.

That is in line with a recent report by NZEI, the Ministry of Education and the School Trustees Association which recommends that school leaders integrate support staff more effectively into teaching teams and provide more training.  NZEI has also long argued that funding school support staff through school operations grants is flawed and needs to change.

"It is great to see Labour listening and taking on board some of those issues and reflecting them in their policy," Mr Leckie says.

It has also listened to calls for full funding until the end of 2012 for quake-affected schools and ECE centres in Canterbury which have had significant roll drops.  NZEI has repeatedly lobbied the government on this issue, saying that full funding is essential to support children and communities and to the region’s recovery.

Labour has already said that as part of its education policy schools would no longer be required to implement "National Standards".

Ian Leckie says "we know that with the ongoing confusion and lack of confidence in the Standards, given a choice, schools would happily get rid of them".

"High quality public education is a critical issue for all New Zealanders and we need policies that will help move our great education system forward".

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The education sector union NZEI Te Riu Roa says it is refreshing to see political policy which focuses solely on children and promotes the value of investing in quality early childhood education.
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The education sector union NZEI Te Riu Roa says it is refreshing to see political policy which focuses solely on children and promotes the value of investing in quality early childhood education.

Labour has released its policy for children, outlining a major commitment to invest more in young children to improve their health and wellbeing.

NZEI welcomes the clear commitment to quality early childhood education which would ensure every 3 and 4 year old had access to free 20 hours Early Childhood Education a week, maintain fees control, reinstate the target of  100% qualified teachers, and restore government funding cuts to those services with more than 80% qualified staff.

"All that recognises the value of quality early childhood education and the important role it has in making a real difference to children's lives now and into the future," says NZEI National Executive member Hayley Whitaker.

Research clearly shows that investing in children at a young age brings clear and long-term benefits to society and the economy, yet according to the OECD New Zealand's investment in children is among the lowest.

"The government needs to be doing everything it can to make sure all children can participate in quality early childhood education rather than putting up barriers by cutting funding and making it more unaffordable," says Ms Whitaker.

More investment in the overall wellbeing of children in their early years can go a long way towards reducing social inequity and help them get the most out of their learning further down the track.

NZEI also welcomes Labour's promise of additional support to families in need and the commitment to extend paid parental leave.

"Having policy which is dedicated solely to improving the lives of children makes sense and is a bold and refreshing political step.  It is what our children deserve," says Ms Whitaker.
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The Green Party's just released education policy is a welcome endorsement of quality public education, says the education sector union NZEI Te Riu Roa.
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The Green Party's just released education policy is a welcome endorsement of quality public education, says the education sector union NZEI Te Riu Roa.

Not only are the Greens committed to a fully-funded public education system, but they would drop the controversial "National Standards", re-establish the target for 100% qualified staff in early childhood, increase school operational funding, and support pay parity and professional development for teachers.

"The Greens' policy reflects a sound understanding of what makes a quality public education system and what puts it at risk," says NZEI President Ian Leckie.

"It clearly recognises the dangers of the flawed National Standards for schools, students and communities and has listened to the ongoing opposition.  Any promise to remove National Standards will be welcomed by schools which are struggling to implement them or are being forced to comply".

NZEI says it is also refreshing to see the Green Party acknowledging the importance of quality early childhood education by promising to reinstate the target of 100 percent qualified staff.  The target was removed by the government which says 80 percent qualified teachers is 'good enough'.

Ian Leckie says "our youngest children deserve the best and having 100% qualified staff is a hallmark of quality education.  We would hope the Greens commitment on this would also see them pushing for a restoration of the government funding cuts to those ECE services which have more than 80 percent qualified teachers".

The Greens' support for more resourcing of schools through higher operational funding will be music to the ears of school support staff.  They are funded through school operational funding which offers them little job security as schools juggle their funding around tight operational budgets.  

"Overall the Greens educational policy ticks the boxes for commitment to quality public education," Mr Leckie says.

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The education sector union NZEI Te Riu Roa says if the Education Review Office is going to publicly report on National Standards, it should provide a warning about the accuracy and integrity of the information.
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The education sector union NZEI Te Riu Roa says if the Education Review Office is going to publicly report on National Standards, it should provide a warning about the accuracy and integrity of the information.

Regardless of data accuracy, consistency or aggregation, ERO is publishing percentages and proportions of students achieving "at" or "above" National Standards as a topline learning result in its latest school reviews.

NZEI says those percentages are now being used in the media as a measure of a school’s success. (Read here)

"The danger is that ERO is putting information into the public arena which is fundamentally flawed and inevitably these bald figures will become the focus of media and parental attention," says NZEI President Ian Leckie.

He says schools will be disappointed so see ERO reporting in this way because they know there is so much inconsistency in the way National Standards are being interpreted and implemented.

"Any student achievement information based on National Standards is completely unreliable and cannot give an accurate picture of where children's learning is at.  To see that information used in the media as a public indicator of a school's success or failure, is disheartening and potentially very damaging".

NZEI says ERO's approach is also at odds with the Ministry of Education's official position on assessment data in which the Secretary for Education states: "Aggregated information on its own does not indicate anything about the quality of teaching, the extent to which a school is making a difference for its students, or the extent to which it is supporting the learning for each and every student in the school. For this reason, comparisons between schools, solely on the basis of aggregated student information, are misleading."

NZEI will be taking up this issue with ERO.  

"At the very least, we believe ERO should be providing a health warning to parents and communities about the fundamental problems with National Standards data if this information is to be used publicly," says Mr Leckie.
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"Teaching students is way more important than being an All Black coach" - Graham Henry, July 2011
New Zealand is celebrating World Teachers Day today. (Saturday 29 October)
World Teachers Day was established by UNESCO and is marked in over 100 countries.
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"Teaching students is way more important than being an All Black coach" - Graham Henry, July 2011
New Zealand is celebrating World Teachers Day today. (Saturday 29 October)

World Teachers Day was established by UNESCO and is marked in over 100 countries.

The education sector union NZEI Te Riu Roa, which represents thousands of teachers in primary and intermediate schools, kindergartens and early childhood centres, believes World Teachers Day is a time to celebrate and value New Zealand’s high quality education system.  

The OECD has described New Zealand as a "top-performing" country in education.

New Zealand’s early learning centres and schools are rated among the top handful in the world while our students are among the top five readers, and also do very well in maths and science.

NZEI President Ian Leckie says "there is fantastic teaching and learning going on in our classrooms and early childhood centres every day, inspired and driven by thousands of passionate and dedicated teachers".  

"World Teachers Day is an opportunity to showcase that and recognise the contribution and the difference that teachers make," he says.

"There's not a teacher in New Zealand who doesn’t want a better future for children and we need investment in education which acknowledges the diversity of our learners and meets the needs of every child".

Teachers, parents, and children from schools and early childhood centres will be taking part in World Teachers Day events around the country.
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The education sector union NZEI Te Riu Roa is repeating its call for the government to support Canterbury children and their families by retaining staffing and funding levels in quake-affected schools and community- based early childhood centres over the next year.
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The education sector union NZEI Te Riu Roa is repeating its call for the government to support Canterbury children and their families by retaining staffing and funding levels in quake-affected schools and community- based early childhood centres over the next year.

NZEI’s Waitaha/Canterbury Area Council is hosting a public meeting at Papanui High School at 7pm tonight where the case will be put to politicians, community leaders, principals, parents, teachers and support staff.

Area Council Chair Sandra Spekreijse says at the very heart of the request are children from the most affected schools and centres in the district.

"Parents are adamant that trusted and caring teachers and support staff are essential for the stability and emotional support of their children.  Keeping staff in place over the next year is essential for the on-going support and stability of children as they recover from the trauma of the past year," she says.

"Over the past year, our teachers and support staff have been heroic.  In many cases they have put their own needs on the back burner as they’ve worked to support children and their families."

Mrs Spekreijse says while NZEI welcomes Education Minister Anne Tolley’s announcement of a consultation on the future of education in Canterbury, schools and early childhood centres are looking for immediate help and support with both staffing and funding.  They want fair and equitable decisions to be made about funding and staffing in all parts of the education sector – from early childhood to tertiary.

"This doesn’t appear to be happening at the moment – given the Government has already guaranteed University funding for 2012 at 2011 levels.  This is exactly what the rest of the sector wants and needs".

"It’s hard to focus on the future when you’re worried about losing the very people who’ve been keeping our schools together over the past 12 months - valuable teachers and support staff.

"What makes it even worse is that support staff are currently funded from operational grants. So schools are now facing the unenviable task of either laying off staff or undertaking essential maintenance tasks like getting the playground, the driveway or the roof fixed".

"We already know that 16 or the 18 ECE centres in quake-affected parts of the city have experienced at least $700,000 in funding cuts due to roll drops - this has led to job losses, and pay cuts with some centres facing possible closure".

"It takes at least five years to get an early childhood centre up and running.  Our centres have all been an essential part of the community support network in Christchurch and to see closing is a major blow to the educational infrastructure in the city," she says.  

Mrs Spekreijse said she had called the meeting so the public had a forum to hear about what was going on in schools and centres and to support them.

"Extraordinary circumstances call for an extraordinary response so we can support our children, families and communities as they recover from the trauma of the past year," she says.

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Trainee and beginning teachers are angry over proposed changes to teacher training programmes at Massey University.
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Trainee and beginning teachers are angry over proposed changes to teacher training programmes at Massey University.

In a paper entitled "College of Education Academic Reform", the Pro Vice Chancellor of the College of Education James Chapman, is proposing radical change to initial teacher education.  It proposes to discontinue all undergraduate teacher education by cutting its three-year Bachelor of Education Early Years degree and the four-year Bachelor of Education Primary. That would mean students could only study teacher education through a one year, graduate diploma.

There are also serious concerns about another proposal to merge the Massey University College of Education into an Institute of Education beneath the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, with an increased focus on attracting post-graduate research. This move will threaten the jobs of teaching staff involved in initial teacher education, who aren’t classed as "research-active".

Young and New Members (YMN) of the New Zealand Educational Institute believe the proposals could be incredibly damaging to teacher education in New Zealand.  Jennifer Langridge, currently studying a graduate diploma through Massey says "although post graduate study can produce quality teachers, post-graduate students often agree that the pressure-cooker situation of being pushed through training and out into the 'real world' often leads them to be burnt out and feel underprepared in some areas of the classroom."

Emma McKay and Sarah Thomas, co-presidents of Massey University College of Education Students' Association (MUCESA) agree, arguing that undergraduate teaching qualifications must be offered alongside post-graduate.

"Students at the College of Education believe that post-graduate teacher education should not be the sole pathway to a teaching career. Students are concerned that all teachers being trained in one year will be detrimental to the future of quality education in New Zealand primary school classrooms."

Third year teacher Liam Rutherford says the move undervalues those teaching now.

"It simplifies what it means to be a teacher and the huge amount of effort and professionalism it takes to shape the students we encounter. Learning is not a linear process where teachers input knowledge and then students output understanding.  It’s laughable to think it is that simple."

YMN recognises that Massey University College of Education is the first to fall victim to the Government's reduction in undergraduate funding and the race to secure Performance Based Research Funding.

However it is urging Massey University not to shirk its responsibilities to train creative and motivated undergraduate students, and to continue its ground-breaking 4 year Bachelor of Education.  It also wants to see the University challenge the growing assumption that post-graduate research is superior to undergraduate teaching.
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The education sector union NZEI Te Riu Roa is adding its concern to proposed changes to teacher training at Massey University.
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The education sector union NZEI Te Riu Roa is adding its concern to proposed changes to teacher training at Massey University.

In a paper, the Pro-Vice Chancellor of the University's College of Education is proposing that all undergraduate teacher education be phased out.  That would mean that students could only study teacher education through a one-year, post-graduate diploma.

New and beginning teachers who are part of NZEI's Young and New Member Network, as well as members of the Massey University College of Education Students Association, have already raised alarm bells over the proposal.

NZEI President Ian Leckie agrees that the proposals are worrying and schools will be left to pick up the pieces.

"While there are some very good teachers who have completed graduate-only programmes, it should not be the preferred or only option available to those students wanting to go into teaching”.

“The undergraduate degree programmes give students a comprehensive and practically based course which is focused for three or four years on building a solid teaching foundation".

"Forcing everyone through a compressed teacher training programme is not the answer to building a professional and quality teaching workforce and it sends a worrying signal about the future of teacher education overall," he says.

In another proposal which could erode the quality of teacher education, the University wants to further reduce its costs by merging the Colleges of Humanities and Social Sciences and the College of Education faculties.  This would ultimately reduce the number of teacher lecturers involved in initial teacher education.

NZEI is urging Massey to listen to the concerns being expressed and take them on board before making any final decisions about changes to its teacher training programmes.

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The education sector union NZEI Te Riu Roa is banding together with two other educational organisations to fight the use of misleading "National Standards" information being used to compare schools.
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The education sector union NZEI Te Riu Roa is banding together with two other educational organisations to fight the use of misleading "National Standards" information being used to compare schools.

NZEI, along with the New Zealand Principals Federation (NZPF) and the Boards Taking Action Coalition (BTAC) share very real concerns over the potential misuse of flawed "National Standards" data on student achievement.

School communities will soon face the requirement to submit "National Standards" data into the Education Ministry which would then be available to be constructed into school league tables.

NZEI is making this joint statement with NZPF and BTAC:

"We believe that participation in a process that would use unreliable and nationally inconsistent data to form league tables poses a serious threat to New Zealand's highly successful quality public education system, to teacher professionalism, to the well-being of schools and their communities and ultimately, to our children's learning".

The threat of "National Standards" information being used unfairly is now very real says NZEI President Ian Leckie.

"The fact that the Standards are so flawed, the level of moderation is so inconsistent, and implementation is so varied around the country, means that any student achievement data based on them will be completely unreliable.  Despite whether schools are using 'National Standards' or not, they feel very strongly that it would be unfair, if not dangerous to be judged and compared against them".

The centralised collection of "National Standards" data has been a major concern for schools since "National Standards" were first signalled and introduced.

According to the School Sample Monitoring and Evaluation Project 2010 carried out for the Ministry of Education 93% of principals and 71% of Boards were moderately to very concerned about league tables.

Ian Leckie says the education sector has tried to get a commitment from the government that "Standards" data will not be available to unfairly rank very different schools, but it has refused to give any such commitment.

"We've already seen hundreds of schools taking a stand over "National Standards" in regards to their charter requirements.  They have been bullied into compliance because they did not want to break the law but there is an even bigger battle ahead in terms of handing over "National Standards" based student achievement data to the Ministry which can then be used to draw up unfair league tables," he says.

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The education sector union NZEI Te Riu Roa says the government is sending very mixed messages about the importance of education in the rebuild of Christchurch.
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The education sector union NZEI Te Riu Roa says the government is sending very mixed messages about the importance of education in the rebuild of Christchurch.

The government has announced that funding levels to Canterbury's tertiary institutions will be maintained next year despite an expected decrease in enrolments.  It says it will give them greater financial certainty as they work to recover from the effects of the September and February earthquakes and help contribute to the region's rebuild.

NZEI President Ian Leckie says that’s in stark contrast to the short-sighted approach the government is taking to early childhood services and schools affected by roll drops.

Early childhood services have been given no certainty about their funding even for the remainder of the year and roll drops have meant reduce funding to dozens of centres which are now struggling to maintain staff and keep their doors open.

The government has also refused calls by NZEI to maintain funding and staffing levels for schools until the end of 2012 to help provide additional support to students and keep their learning on track.  Schools were told last week that 167 teaching positions will be lost and there are expected to be support staff job losses if operational funding is also cut.

"If the rebuild of Christchurch is to be successful, children must continue to have access to the best quality education.  It is very disappointing to see the government placing more value on tertiary education while turning a blind eye to the vital role which early childhood services and schools play in educating and supporting children and families," says Mr Leckie.

"Principals, teachers and support staff also fulfil an important social role in many traumatised and damaged communities. Children and their families are going to need extra help and attention for a long time to come".

He says "the government needs to recognise the importance of all education in the rebuild of Christchurch by giving early childhood services and schools the same funding certainty it is giving tertiary institutions.  They deserve no less".
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The education sector union NZEI Te Riu Roa says more resources may be needed to ensure the success of a new abuse hotline for teachers.
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The education sector union NZEI Te Riu Roa says more resources may be needed to ensure the success of a new abuse hotline for teachers.

The government is moving to strengthen the processes around reporting child abuse and is setting up a dedicated Child Youth and Family hotline for teachers to use.

NZEI President Ian Leckie says anything which makes it easier to report abuse or speed up the response is welcome but there is concern that two people staffing the hotline won’t be enough.

"It's good to see schools being given priority in terms of the role they play in the protection of children but I think it will be a challenge for two people to deal with the number of calls".

"There is already some frustration out there about the length of time it can take to get action when schools do contact CYFS.  It would be a shame if that frustration was increased by people not being able to get through, being put on hold, or having to leave a message," he says.

Schools and school staff will also need some information about exactly how the new centralised hotline will work.

"It's very important for schools to know how they will continue to be contacted once a report has been made and how they will be kept in the loop around any resulting follow up action," says Mr Leckie.

"All schools want to do more to protect children and prevent child abuse but they will adopt a bit of a wait and see approach with this new hotline to see how effective it is and how it works in practice.  It might become clear very quickly that more resources are needed to support it".

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The education sector union NZEI Te Riu Roa says threats by the Ministry of Education to install limited statutory managers in a number of schools in Northland are unnecessary and unwarranted.
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The education sector union NZEI Te Riu Roa says threats by the Ministry of Education to install limited statutory managers in a number of schools in Northland are unnecessary and unwarranted.

The schools have been told in a letter from the Ministry that their boards will be replaced if they don’t remove a disclaimer in their charters saying they have referenced National Standards "under duress".   

"That does not mean they are not complying," says NZEI President Ian Leckie.  

"They and their communities simply wanted to let the Ministry know that they didn’t want to use 'National Standards' because they don’t believe they will do anything to help raise the achievement of their students".

School charters are supposed to reflect the expectations that individual communities have for their children.

"The Ministry should not be allowed to issue directives over what is in them and then threaten schools with limited statutory management when it doesn’t like what’s been written," says Mr Leckie.

"That sort of top down action takes control away from schools and communities and should be viewed by all schools and boards as very worrying and completely unacceptable."
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The education sector union NZEI Te Riu Roa says moves to cut hundreds of teaching jobs in Christchurch are short-sighted and will come as a major blow to those schools and communities which are still trying to put themselves back together.
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The education sector union NZEI Te Riu Roa says moves to cut hundreds of teaching jobs in Christchurch are short-sighted and will come as a major blow to those schools and communities which are still trying to put themselves back together.

Schools in Christchurch are being sent their provisional staffing figures for next year and the government has announced that overall 167 positions are being lost.

NZEI had called on the government to maintain staffing and funding levels to quake-affected schools and early childhood centres through until the end of 2012, saying extraordinary circumstances call for an extraordinary response.

NZEI President Ian Leckie says "schools have lost buildings, classrooms and playing fields among other things, and now they are faced with losing teaching staff who have worked tirelessly to provide stability and support to traumatised students and their families".

He says it's the wrong time to be pulling resources out of Christchurch as students, schools and staff will need additional support for a long time to come yet.

It's also disappointing that the government still refuses to give any certainty to early childhood centres around their funding, even for the remainder of this year.

Roll drops from the quakes have meant reduced funding to dozens of centres which are now having to make tough decisions about cutting staff, reducing staff hours and wages, or closing their doors altogether.  

"The end result is that children will miss out on vital early childhood education as many recovering communities will be left with no services.  It's critical for Christchurch’s children and families that these centres have their funding restored and receive some guarantees going into the future," Mr Leckie says.

"The government needs to be taking a long-term view in terms of the future of Christchurch education, rather than a short-sighted one which will see the loss of valuable staff and resources at a time when the city needs them most".
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Labour's just-released policy to raise student achievement in primary schools will spell a welcome end to ‘National Standards’, says the education sector union NZEI Te Riu Roa.
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Labour's just-released policy to raise student achievement in primary schools will spell a welcome end to ‘National Standards’, says the education sector union NZEI Te Riu Roa.

Under the policy, schools would monitor and track student progress against their own school expectations, and would not be required to implement ‘National Standards’.

"This would mean schools could refocus student learning back on the curriculum and allow them to rely on robust and tested assessment practices to measure student achievement," says NZEI President Ian Leckie.

Hundreds of school communities have been bullied into minimal compliance with 'National Standards' but have no confidence that they will do anything to raise student achievement.

Mr Leckie says "considering that lack of confidence and the level of concern and frustration about the implementation of 'National Standards', we know that given a choice, schools would move swiftly to dump them."

Polling also shows that an overwhelming majority of principals, teachers and parents are very worried by the prospect of league tables and believe it will be unfair to compare schools based on 'National Standards' information.

Ian Leckie says because of the lack of consistency in the way ‘National Standards’ are being applied around the country there can be nothing national about them.   

"Any policy which would stop unreliable student achievement information being collected centrally will be welcomed."

Labour's policy shows trust and confidence in the ability of schools to set high expectations for their students, measure their progress against robust assessment tools and encourage learning based on the curriculum and the individual child.

"Once schools are no longer required to use 'National Standards', they will quickly be tossed aside and go down in history as a failed educational experiment," Mr Leckie says.

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A report into child poverty raises even more red flags over the government’s controversial 'National Standards' policy and fast-track teaching programmes, according to the education sector union NZEI Te Riu Roa.
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A report into child poverty raises even more red flags over the government’s controversial 'National Standards' policy and fast-track teaching programmes, according to the education sector union NZEI Te Riu Roa.

In its "Further Left Behind" report, the Child Poverty Action Group raises concern about recent educational policy which has the potential to reinforce or widen social inequity.

One of its key recommendations is that the government should acknowledge that international research suggests its National Standards policy may have perverse and damaging effects.

NZEI President Ian Leckie says the government continues to throw tens of millions of dollars into 'National Standards' which will do nothing to raise student achievement as they don’t take account of the social factors which impact on a child’s ability to learn.

"There is no consideration of the fact that the tail of underachievement mirrors the tail of poverty.  'National Standards' will simply reinforce that by labelling children while continuing to ignore fundamental social issues like poor housing or hunger".

The report also recommends that the government look to avoid further damage being created by league tables of 'National Standards' achievement.

"Schools, particularly those in low socio-economic areas, are very aware of the potential harm of league tables on their students and communities.  That is where the real battle over 'National Standards' is moving to," says Mr Leckie.

Fast-track teaching programmes such as the Teach First New Zealand scheme also pose a danger in terms of quality teaching for children of the poor, according to the report.

Mr Leckie says "we need robust teacher training programmes which will not undermine the quality of teaching we need to help all our students achieve".

NZEI believes that to meaningfully address child poverty, a co-ordinated cross-party/cross-agency approach needs to be developed which formally audits the impact of government policy on children.
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The education sector union NZEI Te Riu Roa is urging the government to listen to the voice of tens of thousands of New Zealanders who want funding cuts to early childhood reversed.
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The education sector union NZEI Te Riu Roa is urging the government to listen to the voice of tens of thousands of New Zealanders who want funding cuts to early childhood reversed.

Parliament’s Education and Science Select Committee will today (Wednesday 14 September) consider a petition signed by more than 62,000 people calling for more investment in early childhood education.

"We are now part of an increasingly loud chorus of groups calling for a dramatic improvement in chid poverty through investment in the early years," says NZEI Spokesperson Hayley Whitaker.   

NZEI launched the petition in February this year in response to huge community concern over government's funding cuts to early childhood centres.

The cuts, announced in the May 2010 Budget, targeted ECE services with more than 80% qualified staff and saw thousands lose almost 13% of their funding and parents hit by fee rises of up to 12% nationwide. Many centres say they expect fees to rise again.

The petition, presented to MPs after a large march up Auckland’s Queen St in July,
calls for the funding cuts to be reversed and for the government to invest 1% of GDP on early childhood education as recommended by UNICEF.  New Zealand spends less than 0.8% which is well below the OECD average.

Hayley Whitaker says cuts to early childhood education have affected communities throughout the country causing financial stress to parents and centres alike. "The numbers signing the petition symbolize the strength of feeling among parents and families that the cuts are unacceptable, shortsighted and damaging," she says.

The Select Committee hearing will be held in Committee Room 3 at 10.20am tomorrow (14/9/2011)
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