Overview

• Beginning teacher time allowance
• Support grant for PRTs in ECE
• Salary for beginning teachers in schools (salary assessment)
• Renewal of a practising certificate
• Extension to a practising certificate
• Professional development requirements
• NZEI members teaching overseas
• GSE staff
• Resource teachers
• Supplementary learning support teachers

Beginning Teacher Time Allowance

• What is the Beginning Teacher Time Allowance (BTTA)
• Who is able to use the time allowance?
• What are the eligibility criteria?
• How much time is there?
• Can the BTTA be back dated?
• Is the PRT also eligible for the CRT?

This is additional staffing to assist primary and area schools to meet the employer obligations to beginning teachers. The allowance is for the board to ‘enable an advice and guidance programme to be resourced.’

• In primary schools, the time allowance is allocated to the school, not to the individual teacher. The time must be used by the school to support the advice and guidance programme for the provisionally registered teacher. Schools should have policy clarifying the use of the BTTA by those involved with the advice and guidance programme.
• In areas schools, there is a contractual right for the teacher to receive a time allowance for their advice and guidance programme.

What are the eligibility criteria?

For the school to be eligible for the BTTA, the beginning teacher must:

• have completed an approved teacher education programme
• have completed less than twenty-four months teaching
• meet the service eligibility (see grid below)
• be appointed to the position for a minimum of ten weeks/one term
• be paid from Teacher Salaries, or relieving for a teacher granted Ministry of Education study leave. (ie not paid from Operational Funding [Bulk Grant])

An appropriate advice and guidance programme must be provided by the school for provisionally registered teachers who are employed above entitlement, or who do not meet the beginning teacher criteria, even where no Ministry resourcing is available.

The principal applies to the Ministry for the BTTA using these forms. The Ministry of Education Funding, Staffing and Allowances Handbook contains further information.

No. The Ministry approves the staffing from the date the application is received, or the date the teacher takes up the position, whichever is the later date. The board (or principal) should apply immediately following the appointment of an eligible teacher.

Yes, if they are eligible under the criteria to provide teachers with classroom release time (CRT). Eligible beginning teachers are entitled to CRT in addition to any release associated with the advice and guidance programmes.

Please Note: In exceptional circumstances, some PRTs may not meet the beginning teacher eligibility criteria as outlined above. Schools employing such teachers should contact NZEI 0800 HELP.
For further assistance, contact NZEI 0800 HELP.

Support Grant for PRTs in ECE

• What is the Support Grant?
• Who is eligible?
• How must the grant be used?

The Support Grant for provisionally registered teachers (PRTs) provides additional funding for early childhood education services to meet teacher registration targets. The grant is to encourage and support PRTs in achieving full registration.

All chartered teacher-led services (including education and care services, kindergartens, and home-based care networks) are eligible. The PRT may be employed in a permanent position, or in a fixed term position of at least ten consecutive weeks.

The grant can be claimed for up to two years, or until the teacher becomes fully registered – whichever comes first. (The Ministry notes that, because the grant is paid to services, a teacher that moves to employment by a different service may have the grant claimed on their behalf for a further two years, or until the teacher becomes fully registered, regardless of the period of the grant claimed by their previous employer.)

The grant must be used to provide support for PRTs in working towards full registration status. Specific expenditure of the grant is at the discretion of the service.
NZEI believes that decisions about this should be made in close collaboration with the PRT and the tutor teacher. It is intended that this grant will directly benefit the PRT, and support their work in achieving the goals they have identified as part of their advice and guidance programme. Contact 0800 NZEI HELP if you feel your service’s grant is not being used appropriately.
The Ministry of Education identifies some possible uses for the grant as:

• release time for the PRT to undertake professional development, for example to attend professional development opportunities and meet with the supervising/tutor teacher
• payment of the costs associated with the services of a registered supervisor, attending professional development seminars, conferences and workshops as part of a registration advice and guidance programme
• resources or technology, for example, subscriptions to academic journals, the purchase of relevant research reports and conference papers
• release time to allow the supervising/tutor teacher to observe and meet with the PRT and to plan for the advice and guidance programme
• professional development to assist the supervising/tutor teacher in their role, for example, in developing mentoring skills.

The Support Grant monthly rate is $351.75.

Salary for Beginning Teachers in Schools

The principal is responsible for ensuring the beginning teacher has provided a complete and accurate set of information before the principal’s declaration is signed and the forms are sent to the Salary Assesment Unit and the school’s local payroll provider.

1. There are two forms that must be completed:

FORM ESP1t – will be sent to the school’s local payroll provider
FORM ESP7t – will be sent to the Salary Assessment Unit

2. Beginning teachers must check that all the required pay-related information detailed on the forms is completed correctly before giving the information to the principal for processing.

3. Beginning teachers should start by collecting all the information needed. Make sure:

• all documents are certified (e.g. qualifications, and relevant work experience documentation) and by a person who is allowed to take declarations
• all documents are signed
• the school stamp is used when the principal certifies a document
• all statements of service contain the full date (i.e. day/month/year) and hours worked per week
• certified true copies are stamped and signed as a true copy (no photocopies of the certification)

4. Make sure all required information is completed accurately and in the format specified.

5. The Salary Assessment Unit will process the application within fifteen days and send it on to the payroll provider for payment in the next possible pay period.

6. Incomplete forms will be returned to the school. When the Salary Assessment Unit finally receives all correct and completed documents the clock starts again, i.e. fifteen days for processing before it is sent to the payroll provider for payment in the next possible pay period.

7. If information is missing, or not specific as required, then a beginning teacher will be paid at the minimum step on the scale until the correct information is finally received by the Salary Assessment Unit. Only then will the Salary Assessment Unit send it to the school’s local payroll provider for processing.

8. Until the process is completed a beginning teacher will not be on the correct step of the teachers' salary scale. This could leave the teacher in a difficult financial position at the start of their career.

Renewal of a practising certificate

• How can principals/professional leaders and teachers ensure that practising certificate do not expire?
• When can a teacher apply?
• What needs to happen if a practising certifiate expires?
• What happens when a teacher applies to renew their practising certificate?
• Late fee for teachers renewing/applying for practising certificates?

The expiry date is noted on the practising certificate (the wallet card) and the register on the website. The Council sends reminders to individual teachers prior to the expiry date. Schools and centres should have a system to highlight when practising certif icates are due to expire. This can be linked to the school’s or centre’s appraisal system.

The council will now accept applications for renewal of practising certificates as early as six months prior to the expiry date. NZEI recommends early application to ensure the practising certificate remains current.

Teachers need to be aware that, if their practising certificate expires and the renewal process has not been completed, there are two actions that allow them to continue to teach legally.

1. They may teach for up to twenty half-days in a year, after which -
2. the employer must apply for an extension in order to continue to employ that teacher.

This extension means that although the teacher does not have a current practising certificate, their employment remains legal. If a practising certificate expires, NZEI would advise that application for an extension is made immediately (ie prior to the twenty half-days being completed).

When a teacher applies for renewal of a practising certificate, the Teachers Council sends an acknowledgement letter. This acknowledgement letter confirms receipt of the application, and informs the teacher that an extension can be issued to the employer. This letter is not evidence that the teacher holds teacher registration and a practising certificate, but can be supplied to an employer as evidence that the Teachers Council has received an application. Where the practising certificate expires, and the teacher is already employed, the teacher may teach for twenty-half days without a current practising certificate. Once that time is competed, the employer must have an extension in order to be able to continue employing that teacher.

The Teachers Council has now introduced a late fee of $50.00 (including GST) for teachers employed in teaching positions who fail to renew or apply for their practising certificates by the due date. This is additional to the cost of the practising certificate fee of $120. For more information visit their website - www.teacherscouncil.govt.nz

Extension to a practising certificate

The teacher must send an application for registration or the renewal of a practising certificate to the New Zealand Teachers Council on the Teachers Council’s Form TC1 or TC3.

The principal/professional leader must request an extension to be able to continue to employ the teacher beyond the twenty half days allowed under the Act. The request must

• be in writing by:

fax to 04 471 0870, or
e-mail to inquiries@teacherscouncil.govt.nz or
post to PO Box 5326, Wellington.

• include the teacher’s name and registration number
• be made on letterhead.

The Council will now accept applications for renewal of practising certificates as early as six months prior to the expiry date. NZEI recommends early application to ensure the practising certificate remains current.

In the early childhood education sector, the Council can grant extensions to practising certificates only to those who are employed in settings where teacher registration is compulsory. Information on the implications of this for funding is available separately.

Late fee for teachers renewing/applying for practising certificates.
The Teachers Council has now introduced a late fee of $50.00 (including GST) for teachers employed in teaching positions who fail to renew or apply for their practising certificates by the due date. This is additional to the cost of the practising certificate fee of $120. For more information visit their website - www.teacherscouncil.govt.nz

Professional development requirements

• A key requirement for the renewal of the practising certifi cate is clear evidence of professional development.
• All teachers should maintain a log of their professional development.
• All principals and professional leaders should ensure a system to record individual teacher development as part of her/his personal file.

• Continuing education in teaching, or in your teaching subject(s), through:

Tertiary courses
Professional development contracts
Workshops, seminars and conferences, or
Professional reading.

• Relevant research–based activities, such as:

Action research
Developing a new programme
Lecturing about teaching and learning, or
Writing or producing an educational book, article or resource.

• Directly assisting other teachers or student teachers by, for example, being:

A supervising or tutor teacher
A student teacher mentor or associate teacher
A curriculum leader within a learning centre
An advisor or resource person.

• Professional activities such as:

Co–operative planning, review and programme development with colleagues, or
Active participation in subject associations or education organisations.

Professional development support for relieving teachers is important. This needs some co-ordination and can be best achieved through school clusters. Individual principals should consider sending a list to all teachers
on its relieving list of staff meetings and staff professional development dates for the term with an invitation to attend A further option is for schools to apply for funding to support professional development for relieversthrough the Ministry of Education’s School Based Relief Teacher Training Initiative. (www.minedu.govt.nz)

NZEI members teaching overseas

• I hold full registration but I’m heading overseas for a few years. Will I still be registered when I get back?
• I taught overseas for several years. Can my overseas teaching service count towards full registration?
• Can an overseas school provide a testimonial when reapplying for registration, or complete the school section on the Practising Certificate Renewal form?
• Certificate of Service

Please note: the information in this section is provided directly from the New Zealand Teachers Council website, and is not information from NZEI. It is recommended that members check their individual circumstances with the New Zealand Teachers Council prior to their travel. Members should ensure that the NZTC has an address in New Zealand to which mail can be sent, especially if your practising certifi cate will expire during your overseas trip.

It depends how long you are away. If your Practising Certificate comes due for renewal while you are away and you have taught in NZ for two of the past fi ve years you can apply for renewal as if you were in NZ. Otherwise contact the Teachers Council on your return to determine your current status. Please be aware that policies relating to registration do change and it is important to read the website to check on new developments which may occur while you are overseas. Your full registration lapses 5 years after the expiry date of your practising certificate card.

Up to a maximum of one year of overseas teaching may be counted, provided you were employed in a learning centre recognised by the education authority of that state or country. You will need to provide a statement on letterhead from the learning centre were you were employed, outlining the system of professional support, guidance and appraisal involving a mentor teacher provided for the whole of that period of employment. You cannot gain full registration while teaching overseas. At least one full year of supervised teaching must be completed in New Zealand and you must be teaching in this country when the recommendation for full registration is made.

Testimonials from overseas schools can be accepted when reapplying for registration. However the learning centre section of the Practising Certifi cate Renewal form must be completed by your last New Zealand professional leader. If that professional leader has left, the form can be signed by the new principal and a senior teacher who worked with you.

You need to contact Payserve by email payserve@datacom.co.nz or their website www.payroll-serv.co.nz - forms - statement of service request. There is a fee for this service.

Group Special Education Staff

• Does employment with GSE mean that I can still be a registered teacher?
• Why am I to be registered subject to confirmation (STC)?
• Can full registration be maintained by employees of the Ministry of Education?
• Who should endorse applications by GSE field staff seeking to have their teacher’s practising certificate renewed?
• My practising certificate has expired? What should I do?
• Where can I access more information?
• I am concerned about the categories of registration. How can things be improved?

Yes, you can maintain your teacher registration. GSE employees are often experienced teachers who may be entitled to registration in the category of full registration or the category of subject to confirmation. In either case, you are a registered teacher.

The category is intended for experienced teachers who have previously been registered but who do not currently meet the criteria for full registration, often because of the current criteria for recent teaching experience are not met.

There is misunderstanding that ‘Subject to Confirmation’ is not a form of registration. It is a category of registration. The teacher is a registered teacher, and will have a practising certificate (the wallet card) which notes the registration number, expiry date, and the category of the teacher registration.

Teachers with registration STC can reapply every three years when their practising certificate expires. The teacher may continue to be granted registration in the category of STC, as they continue to be able to be registered but not able to meet all the criteria for the category of full registration. This is professionally not ideal, but may be the current reality for some teachers.

One aspect of the satisfactory recent teaching experience criteria is a period of employment of at least two years in the previous five years undertaken in the general education system, or in an institution approved by the Teachers Council. As the Ministry of Education is deemed to be part of the general education system, the Ministry is therefore an approved setting for the purpose of maintaining full registration.

The Council has acknowledged that some positions in the Ministry, such as those in special education, may involve the kinds of activities required by its criteria for full registration. The Council has agreed to consider applications for full registration from field staff on a case by case basis. Thus, appropriately qualified GSE field staff (those with a teaching qualification recognised by the Council for the purpose of registration) are eligible to apply for registration.

The Council has previously advised that, in the same way as occurs in schools and centres where the principal or the most senior registered teacher in a learning centre, endorsement that field staff are satisfactory teachers should be provided by their employer. It should be noted that appraisal for registration links to the Council’s Satisfactory Teacher Dimensions and not the Ministry appraisal requirements.

In previous discussions with GSE, the Council noted that, given the Council’s expectation that assessments of teacher performance will be built into normal performance management and appraisal systems, the Council considers it would be both appropriate and sufficient to have applications from GSE field staff endorsed by their line manager, who in most cases will be their service manager.

However, for a service manager (or any GSE manager) to provide an endorsement, they (the manager) must be a fully registered teacher. If they are not, then their endorsement will need to be accompanied by the signature of a fully registered teacher who is in a position to assess whether the Satisfactory Teacher Dimensions have been demonstrated. This person does not have to be a GSE employee – they could, for example, be a teacher with whom the GSE applicant has been working closely in a school or early childhood centre.

You are able to renew your practising certificate and remain as a registered teacher even if your employment with the Ministry does not require you to be registered, ie you can make a personal choice to maintain your teacher registration. It will cost you $120 for three years.

You can re-apply for registration, using the Council’s Form TC1, and you may be granted registration in the category of full or of STC depending on how you meet the criteria for satisfactory recent teaching experience. There is not the option of “preferring’ or “choosing” a category - you apply for registration and are placed in a category according to how you do, or do not, meet the criteria.

The Council’s website: www.teacherscouncil.govt.nz
NZEI’s website www.nzei.org.nz has a section on teacher registration, which includes further information about the STC category.
NZEI field staff can also assist individual members.

In 2009, the Teachers Council intends to consult with teachers about teacher registration, which will include discussion about categories of registration.

NZEI will be involved its GSE members in the consultation, and hopes you will participate when information is provided in 2009.

Resource Teachers

• Does employment as a resource teacher mean I can still be a registered teacher?
• Can a resource teacher maintain a practising certificate in the category of full registration?
• Where can I access more information?
• I am concerned about the categories of registration. What work is currently being undertaken in the area of registration?
• Why are some teachers registered subject to confirmation (STC)?

Resource teachers must be registered teachers. Resource teachers are able to renew their registration and practising certificate each three years. They are eligible to maintain a practising certificate in the category of full registration so long as they, as individuals, meet all the requirements for full registration.

Yes, resource teachers should be able to do so. The Teachers Council Registration Form TC3 outlines the requirements.

If a resource teacher cannot meet the requirements for full registration, (for example by not having taught for two out of the last five years) then the teacher will still be registered but with a practising certificate in the category of subject to confirmation.

Teachers Council website
NZEI website  and its section on Teacher Registration
NZEI 0800 HELP can assist individual members.

The Teachers Council consulted in late 2009 about a proposed new registration framework, and is soon to release a further draft framework.

The new Registered Teacher Criteria are to replace the current Satisfactory Teacher Dimensions, with phased introduction from the start of 2011. You can read more about these on the Teachers Council website.

This category is for experienced teachers who have previously been registered but who do not currently meet the requirements for full registration, often because of the Council requirement for recent teaching service is not met. These teachers are registered teachers, and can re-apply for registration when their practising certificate expires. Teacher frustration with the STC title is one of the reasons for the Teachers Council’s current review of the registration framework.

Supplementary Learning Support Teachers

• Does employment as a supplementary learning support teacher mean I can still be a registered teacher?
• Can a supplementary learning support teacher maintain a practising certificate in the category of full registration?
• Where can I access more information?
• I am concerned about the categories of registration. What work is currently being undertaken in the area of registration?
• Why are some teachers registered subject to confirmation (STC)?

Supplementary learning support teachers must be registered teachers. They are able to renew their registration and practising certificate each three years. They are eligible to maintain a practising certificate in the category of full registration so long as they, as individuals, meet all the requirements for full registration.

Yes, supplementary learning support teachers should be able to do so. The Teachers Council Registration Form TC3 outlines the requirements.

If a supplementary learning support teacher cannot meet the requirements for full registration (for example by not having taught for two out of the last five years) then the teacher will still be registered but with a practising certificate in the category of subject to confirmation.

Teachers Council website
NZEI website  and its section on Teacher Registration
NZEI 0800 HELP can assist individual members.

The Teachers Council consulted in late 2009 about a proposed new registration framework, and is soon to release a further draft framework.

The new Registered Teacher Criteria are to replace the current Satisfactory Teacher Dimensions, with phased introduction from the start of 2011. You can read more about these on the Teachers Council website.

This category is for experienced teachers who have previously been registered but who do not currently meet the requirements for full registration, often because of the Council requirement for recent teaching service is not met. These teachers are registered teachers, and can re-apply for registration when their practising certificate expires. Teacher frustration with the STC title is one of the reasons for the Teachers Council’s current review of the registration framework.

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