NCEA - CoLab, Wellington
5 & 6 December
On the 5 and 6 of December 2018, the Ministry of Education hosted the 3rd NCEA CoLab at the Westpac Stadium here in Wellington.
Over 200 people attended including principals, teachers, parents, tertiary organisations, employers, students and young people from a wide range of backgrounds. We had students from both English-medium and Māori-medium settings, representatives from the Cook Islands and Niue, along with people with disabilities and learning support needs.
We have been forging new ground for the Ministry in how we work with the sector and leading the way towards best practice engagement. This will help us partner with the profession to make meaningful improvements to how secondary schooling is delivered in the future.
Throughout the event, there were rich conversations and substantial feedback around the ten focus questions and ideas for change. Towards the end of the second day we had people creating prototypes and plenty of discussions with people exploring, defining, reviewing, assessing, and debating potential improvements to NCEA.
One of our Make Your Mark competition winners, Molly Kells, read her poem, and we listened to some great performances from the Tawa College Barbershop Quartet and contemporary guitarist Dominic Tomas.
Last week we synthesised all the information captured at the CoLab. This will guide us as we work with the Ministerial Advisory Group and Professional Advisory Group to develop specific recommendations for the Minister and Cabinet to consider on the future of NCEA in early 2019.
Draft Strategic Plan for Early Learning - Hui, Hamilton
5 December
Gill Brown, ECE senior adviser Hamilton office, discussed He Taonga te Tamaiki the draft Strategic Plan for Early Learning with iwi representatives from the Waikato region on 5 December. Hui are underway across the country and consultation ends on 15 March.
Māori Education - Wānanga, Hamilton
18 October
The wānanga are a follow on to the Education Summits and an opportunity for Māori to shape the future of Māori education.
NCEA Review- Make your Mark Awards
27 September
These year 2 and year 3 youngsters from St Francis Xavier School in Tawa won 2nd place in the ‘Young Minds. Young Dreams’ category – pictured here with teacher Sharon O’Meagher to collect their award at Parliament, from Acting Education Minister Tracey Martin. Around 240 students aged up to 20 took part in the competition from schools and youth organisations throughout New Zealand. View the full results here
Māori Education - Wānanga, Auckland
22 August
The wānanga are a follow on to the Education Summits and an opportunity for Māori to shape the future of Māori education.
Māori Education - Wānanga, Whangarei
17 August
The wānanga are a follow on to the Education Summits and an opportunity for Māori to shape the future of Māori education.
Tomorrow's Schools Review - Secondary School Students, Rotorua
21 August
Students debated the strengths and weakness of the current school system and discussed new ideas for improvements.
Taskforce Chair Bali Haque (far left) and Ezra Schuster, Director of Education Bay of Plenty Waiariki, (far right) met with secondary students in Rotorua to talk about the Tomorrow’s Schools review. Māori Education - Wānanga, Lower Hutt
4 September
The wānanga are a follow on to the Education Summits and an opportunity for Māori to shape the future of Māori education.
Over 70 people turned out for the latest wānanga in Lower Hutt last night.
Tomorrow's Schools Review - Parents group, Wellington
30 August
Members of the Tomorrow’s Schools Review Independent Taskforce met with parents and education specialists in Wellington. The group told the Taskforce about the importance of children having a strong sense of belonging at school and the need for more resources and specialists to support student wellbeing and learning. They also discussed better support for boards and a forum for parents to go to with complaints.
Home-based Early Childhood Education Review - Hui, South Auckland
29 August
Around 100 people came to discuss proposed changes for home-based early childhood education
Māori Education - Wānanga, Porirua
29 August
Over 50 people braved the wet conditions to take part in the second wānanga in Porirua. The wānanga are a follow on to the Education Summits and an opportunity for Māori to shape the future of Māori education.
Tahli Parai (in the middle), a Bachelor of Nursing student at Whitireia, said the second wānanga about the future of education for Māori in Porirua on Wednesday night was an eye opener.
Māori Education - Wānanga, Rotorua
28 August
The wānanga are a follow on to the Education Summits and an opportunity for Māori to shape the future of Māori education. About 100 people representing whānau, iwi, hapū, kura - both mainstream and Māori – attended.
Normalising te reo, improving and increasing the number of te reo teachers, as well as utilising traditional customs and practice were top of mind for participants, along with more careers focused subjects.
Lucy Diamond facilitates the session focused on Māori aspirations for education during the first national wānanga in Rotorua.
NCEA Review - Debate series, Wellington
20 August
Minister Hipkins invited students and staff to join him at Parliament for an NCEA debate between the New Zealand Schools Debating Team, and Members of Parliament.
Left to right are: Hamish Saunders (Coach) Sabrina Swerdloff Otago Girls’ High School, Dunedin (Year 13) William Price Westlake Boys High School, Auckland (Year 13) Nicola Willis MP Hon. Tracey Martin, Associate Minister of Education Chris Bishop MP Lydia Joseph Columbia College, Dunedin (Year 13) Hon. Chris Hipkins, Minister of Education
The motion was “This house believes that young people should have more control over their education.”
Tomorrow's Schools Review - Sutton Park School staff meeting
20 August
Taskforce member Barbara Ala’alatoa (top row, second from left) met with the staff at Sutton Park School in Mangere. The staff told Barbara that parent voice needs to be strong in schools, schools need to be able to make decisions that are important to their community (such as bilingual education provision) and students’ heritage should be alive in their school.
Amongst many other things they also suggested compulsory professional development for Boards of Trustees and having specialists to manage property and finance for the BoT.
Tomorrow's Schools Review - Year 9+ Champions, Gisborne
14 August
Taskforce member Professor Mere Berryman (seated, second from left) met with a group of Year 9+ champions in Gisborne. These champions work with at-risk young people to help them stay in education.
They told Mere about the challenges these young people, and their families, face in remaining engaged in education. They discussed the need for young people to have allies to address these barriers, through schools and the system as a whole.
Tomorrow's Schools Review - Napier Kāhui Ako
26 July
Taskforce Chair Bali Haque (far left in photo) was in Napier to meet with leaders and across-school teachers from three Napier Kāhui Ako.
The group told Bali that the Kāhui Ako model is leading to more information sharing, collaboration and connections at a community level but the implementation has been challenging.
Tomorrow's Schools Review - Hawke’s Bay Secondary School Principals’ Association
26 July
Taskforce Chair Bali Haque (far right in photo) met with the Hawke’s Bay Secondary School Principals’ Association in Napier.
The Principals told Bali that the requirements on teachers to prove competence to the Education Council every year, regardless of their ongoing performance, is a burden. Suggestions for change included more mentoring and leadership support for principals and moving responsibility for property off individual schools (but not going back to a centralised system). They also said specialist subject advisors would help the provinces get access to best practice. Find out more about the Tomorrow's Schools Review.
Tomorrow's Schools Review - Ngai Tahu and Matauraka Makaanui, Christchurch
18 July 2018
Taskforce member Dr Cathy Wylie (second from left in photo) met with representatives of Ngai Tahu and Matauraka Makaanui (pictured) in Christchurch.
They told Cathy of the educational barriers they observe Maori students face in the South Island, and shared experiences of challenging cultural environments at school. They talked about effective programmes they ran and the opportunities to help overcome these challenges. Find out more about the Tomorrow's Schools Review.
Tomorrow's Schools Review - NZ School Trustees Association Conference
20-22 July 2018
Taskforce members were at the NZ School Trustees Association conference meeting with trustees and principals. Here is Bali Haque, Mere Berryman and Barbara Ala’alatoa with one of the focus groups they heard from.
They heard about the different experiences of trustees and the opportunities and challenges of the current system. Key themes were the inconsistency in capability across boards, and the need for greater support for both trustees and schools. Find out more about the Tomorrow's Schools Review.
Education Conversation - Pacific Education Fono, Porirua
26 July 2018
Around 150 attendees participated in a bold and brave talanoa at the Porirua Pacific Education Fono last night as part of Education Conversation | Kōrero Mātauranga to give Pacific communities a unique opportunity to have a say of the kind of education system they want.
NCEA Review - Co-Lab, Wellington
19 July 2018
The mid-NCEA Review Co-Lab in Wellington, attended by 150 students, teachers, principals, union and employer representatives and others from the sector.
The full day collaborative workshop also involved members of the Ministry Advisory Group (MAG), led by Jeremy Baker, and the wider reference and youth reference groups.
Education Conversation - Ethnic Representatives meeting, Auckland
19 July 2018
Representatives of Auckland's ethnic communities met with Ministry staff today to learn more about EdConvo Kōrero Mātauranga and how to participate in the conversation. The New Zealand population consists more than 200 ethnicities. Around two-thirds of new migrant, ethnic New Zealanders live in the Auckland region.
Education Conversation - Fono for Pacific communities, Christchurch
17 July 2018
A great turn out and some really thought-provoking discussions at the Education Conversation Pacific fono in Christchurch, hosted by Associate Education Minister Jenny Salesa.
Education Conversation - Fono for Pacific communities, West Auckland
11 July 2018
The importance of reflecting Pacific culture, language and identity in the education system was a key theme at the Education Conversation | Kōrero Mātauranga Pacific fono in West Auckland. Over 900 people attended fono in the Auckland region.
Tomorrow's Schools Review - YouthLaw Aotearoa
10 July 2018
Taskforce Chair Bali Haque (bottom right) and member Barbara Ala’alatoa (bottom left) met with representatives of YouthLaw Aotearoa in Auckland this week.
Find out more about the Tomorrow's Schools review and events.
NCEA Review - Ambassador Workshop, Canterbury
July 2018
The largest workshop to date was held in Christchurch this month when over 120 people who had expressed an interest in being an ambassador attended. Commitment from the region was evident in the number of attendees and attributed to the success of the workshop.
Canterbury West Coast Secondary Principals’ Association President and Regional Engagement Leader for the NCEA review Phil Holstein says “I am enjoying working with the enthusiastic team of ambassadors committed to driving the review and making it accessible and relevant to all New Zealanders.”
Tomorrow's Schools Review - Learning Disabilities Association New Zealand conference
6-7 July 2018
Taskforce member Professor John O’Neill (far left in the photo) met with attendees of the Learning Disabilities Association New Zealand conference on the weekend. Here he is with one of the focus groups he heard from.
Find out more about the Tomorrow's Schools review and events.
NCEA Review - Workshop, Whangarei
25 June 2018
Parents, teachers and other interested attendees discuss the future of NCEA in Whangarei last year - at one of the first of 23 public workshops being held around the country.
Find out more about the NCEA conversation.
