Friday, 29 November 2013

National Standards survey dismissed

Stuff.co.nz
Education Minister Hekia Parata has dismissed research showingNational Standards have done more harm than good. In the latest figures out today, 80 per cent of teachers surveyed by the New Zealand Council for Educational Research (NZCER) said the ...

(RAINS) Final Report: National Standards and the Damage Done

Principals and Teachers slam National Standards

Scoop.co.nz (press release)
Mrs Nowotarski said the NZCER study confirmed the findings of a three-year research project released yesterday by Waikato University into the effect of National Standards on schools and student learning. It found primary education in New Zealand has ...

Primary teachers find little gain in national standards

A lead researcher at the Council for Educational Research says teachers' views of national standards in reading, writing and maths have been tainted by their rushed introduction.

National Standards 'doesn't make much difference'

TVNZ
In the latest figures out today, 80 per cent of teachers surveyed by the New Zealand Council for Educational Research (NZCER) said the policy had not made a big difference to student achievement. EducationMinister Hekia Parata herself acknowledged ...
Minister disingenuous about National Standards funding

Four out of ten principals say special needs are underfunded

A survey conducted by the New Zealand Council of Education Research found that almost 40% of the primary school principals surveyed said there was insufficient support for students with special needs is a challenge in their school.

Bad report for Year 8s in writing and science

Children in their final year of primary or intermediate school are falling behind in writing and science, a new study shows.

More than $31 million for Building on Success

Hekia Parata | Education

Education Minister Hekia Parata today announced the Government will spend more than $31 million over the next three years to accelerate Māori secondary school student achievement, under the new Building on Success programme. Speaking at the Iwi Chairs Forum in Gisborne, Ms Parata said Building on Success would extend the great progress made through the current Māori achievement programmes, including Te Kotahitanga, He Kākano and Starpath. ...

Speech to the Iwi Chairs Forum

Hekia Parata | Education

Five years ago New Zealanders overwhelmingly voted National into Government. The National-led Government immediately set about implementing its plans, and we have made steady progress to help deliver more jobs and higher incomes for New Zealanders. We were also determined to focus on education; which we felt had been neglected for too long. We found quite a bit that needed attention. ...

Martin Thrupp: National Standards data fixation barrier to useful change

This year the Government has produced more than 100 regional and national infographics related to the National Standards in primary schools for anyone who wants to look at them. The data for individual schools is also online for the...

Damage of National Standards outweigh benefits

Scoop.co.nz (press release)
That's the view of University of Waikato Professor Martin Thrupp, who has just released the third and final RAINS (Research, Analysis and Insight into National Standards) report at the annual meeting of the New Zealand Association for Research in ...

Most teachers says national standards not worth the effort

Reports this week deliver bad news about the state of primary schools: one revealing most year-8 students are behind in writing and science, and; a Waikato University study says the national standards in reading writing and maths are doing more harm than good.

NZ education facing a bad report

Education Minister Hekia Parata is preparing for an embarrassing drop in New Zealand's education rankings in an international survey next week.She says a drop in the OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) is...

Funding boost for Maori schools

Stuff.co.nz
The Government will pour more than $31 million into Maori secondary school students to lift achievement levels, Education Minister Hekia Parata has announced. Speaking at the Iwi Chairs Forum in Gisborne, Parata said the new Building on Success ...
More than $31 million for Building on Success

NZ set to slip on international education table

New Zealand Herald
She indicated it was modelled on an existing local model run with the Whanganui Iwi Education Authority and private education provider Cognition Education. The stated aim of the programme is to achieve accelerate and equitable outcomes for Maori ...

Joyce and Francey argue funding again | TEU - Tertiary Education ...

Lesley Francey told National Radio's Morning Report on Tuesday that the government needs to increase the rate of funding per student to reduce.

Teacher turns maths into fun

Auckland stuff.co.nz
"As soon as you stand in front of a classroom of kids you need to dazzle with inspiration," he says. "If you have strong knowledge that is a way to inspire them or even how to look at things and share your insights." Mr Choong dazzles with the most ...

Thursday, 28 November 2013

Study raises concerns about National Standards

Primary and intermediate school teachers are being overworked and some subjects are prioritised at the expense of others, says a study into National Standards.The latest report from the Research, Analysis and Insight into National...

Research says school national standards do more harm than good

New research says the national standards in reading, writing and maths are doing more harm than good and recommends reporting school results should stop.

Research says school national standards do more harm than good

A second report in two days has highlighted concerns about primary and intermediate students' performance in key subjects.

Education Minister defends national standards

The Education Minister, Hekia Parata defends the use of national standards.

80 percent of year 8 students don't meet science level

Primary and intermediate students continue to cause concern with their performance in core subjects, with science identified as a particular problem area.

Lack of support for science teaching - decline in confidence

Scoop.co.nz (press release)
“For four years this vital part of the curriculum has been neglected while the government continues its obsession with the reporting of National Standards. “Cutting that service resulted in a big gap in teachers' professional development and this ...

Big Five may defy PPTA

New Zealand Herald
The Ministry of Education has written a draft memorandum of understanding to ensure smooth operations between the schools and the two partnership schools due to open next year. The document is landing on the desks of the boards of trustees of Whangarei ...

Otago expecting increase in student numbers

Student numbers are expected to increase at the University of Otago next year, turning around three years of declining enrolments at the institution.The prediction student numbers would increase by 1.7 per cent to 18,918 full-time...

Internet use speeds ahead

Auckland stuff.co.nz
Prime Minister John Key and education ministers Hekia Parata and Nikki Kaye attended the official launch on Tuesday where pupilsdemonstrated the new technology. Principal Bruce Barnes says the new network is making a huge difference already.

Wednesday, 27 November 2013

Science & Society project to lift achievement in maths & science

Steven Joyce | Education
Science and Innovation Minister Steven Joyce and Education Minister Hekia Parata today announced the Science and Society project, a unique joint education-science sector plan to lift engagement and achievement in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) across New Zealand. ...

$10.5m funding boost for maths & science in schools

Steven Joyce | Education
The Government is providing $10.5 million in additional funding for schools to raise student achievement in maths and science, Science and Innovation Minister Steven Joyce and Education Minister Hekia Parata announced today. “Boosting the skills and achievement of our young people in maths and science are essential for their future careers and for New Zealand’s economic growth and prosperity,” Mr Joyce says. ...

Pasifika education profile released

Hekia Parata | Education
Education Minister Hekia Parata today released information on the educational performance and outcomes of Pasifika students, from early childhood education through to NCEA. “The information delivers on my commitment to provide public metrics on education performance, so that parents and the wider community know where success is occurring but just as importantly where we can work together to lift achievement,” Ms Parata says. ...

Maths, science focus of $10.5m in extra school funding

The Government is providing $10.5 million in extra school funding to improve student achievement in maths and science.An extra $7 million over the next four years would be put into two existing programmes - Accelerated Learning...

Pasifika education standards rise, but still lag behind national averages

Pasifika early childhood education participation rates and national standards achievement levels have increased slightly in the past year, but still remain well below national averages, new figures show.The data, released today...

Maori used to justify school ideology

waateanews.com
... Isaac, a former ACT president, says the decision means that, from Term 1 2015, more children from Maori, Pasifika and low income backgrounds whose needs are not currently being met will have a better chance of achieving their potential in education.

Māori communities want best sexuality education for children

Scoop.co.nz (press release)
'Without exception, schools that are teaching in the Māori language want to partner with organisations like ours to develop quality sexualityeducation programmes. The Māori families we work with are very, very keen. They want programmes that teach ...

N4L goes live as 100 schools sign-up for new network

Techday NZ
At an event to mark the first live N4L connection today, Associate Minister of Education Nikki Kaye also announced that 100 schools have signed agreements with N4L to join Massey on the managed network. In addition, a further 100 schools are being ...
First school celebrates connection to managed network

Higher education agreement between France and NZ

Universities New Zealand and its French counterpart Conférence des Présidents d’Universités (CPU) to sign an agreement intended to promote exchanges between the two countries in the spheres of teaching, research and scholarship.

Meet a scientific star, a thought-provoking graph, and a killer quote about ...

Crikey (blog)
The importance of providing supportive and culturally appropriate environments for Indigenous higher education students was highlighted at the Closing the Credibility Gap symposium held in Melbourne last week. Marie McInerney writes: ... Ewen referred ...

Tuesday, 26 November 2013

First school celebrates connection to managed network

Hekia Parata | Education
Education Minister Hekia Parata and Associate Education Minister Nikki Kaye today announced Massey Primary in Auckland is the first to connect to the Network for Learning (N4L) managed network. “Today we are celebrating a significant day for New Zealand schools, as Massey Primary is the first to take advantage of the $211 million that this Government is investing in the managed network,’’ Ms Parata says. ...

Careers New Zealand: Board appointments

Hekia Parata | Education
Education Minister Hekia Parata today announced three new members and three reappointments to the Careers New Zealand Board, and welcomed the release of the results of the Crown Entity’s Performance Improvement Framework (PIF) review. "I am appointing a current member of the Board, Dale Karauria, as the Chair of the Board, who brings governance and strategy experience to the role, and a detailed understanding of the pathways from education to work,” Ms Parata says. ...

International Education Snapshot released

Steven Joyce | Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment
Canterbury's international education industry is showing strong early signs of recovery with a 6 per cent increase in students according to latest data, Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Minister Steven Joyce says. The International Education Snapshot report released today also shows that high-quality courses in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) and postgraduate enrolments continues to trend upward. ...

Tertiary institutions face funding clawbacks from government

With barely a month left in the year, a handful of tertiary institutions look set to fall on the wrong side of a tough new repayment threshold that is likely to cost them millions of dollars.

Tertiary institutions likely to pay back millions

Listening to that was the Tertiary Education Minister Steven Joyce.

N4L goes live as 100 schools sign-up for new network

Techday NZ
“Several schools have mentioned they'll be reviewing their plans to use digital technologies in the classroom knowing they'll be getting their connection in the first term of 2014,” he adds. Wanaka's Mt AspiringCollege and South Canterbury's Waimate ...

First school celebrates connection to managed network

NZEI backs call for fairer investment in young children

Parliament’s Health Select Committee has sent a clear message to the government that it needs to put more focus on quality early childhood education (ECE) to address child poverty and social inequity.

Deborah Hill Cone: Unlocking the most valuable lesson for children

"Ideally, what should be said to every child repeatedly throughout his or her school life is something like this: 'You are in the process of being indoctrinated. We have not yet evolved a system of education that is not a system of... 

Students consider future after Unitec staff made redundant

3News NZ

They have to reapply for 17 positions, a move that's angered students enrolled in the courses. "Right now there's a large group of people that are very upset, very disillusioned and they're not sure what to believe," says visual arts student Marisa ...

Support Unitec's design school staff – sign the petition

School to fight to save free bus

Stuff.co.nz
If Pleasant Point pupils need to catch a free bus to school, they will have to go to Opihi College from 2015. The Ministry of Education will change access to the Opihi Transport Entitlement Zone (TEZ) in the Pleasant Point area, effectively excluding ...

Monday, 25 November 2013

August tertiary enrolment numbers reflect workplace recovery

Steven Joyce | Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment
The latest enrolment numbers for the tertiary sector are consistent with forecasts, with a slight decline in total numbers for the first eight months of this year. Overall in January to August 2013 there were 349,000 domestic students enrolled in formal study with tertiary education providers, which is 0.9 per cent less than the same period in 2012. The number of full-time equivalent domestic students was down slightly to 234,855. ...

QPEC Open Letter to Peter Hughes, Secretary of Education

Scoop.co.nz (press release)
QPEC is a broadly based incorporated society involving parents, teachers, students and researchers which sees high quality publiceducation as critical to the social and educational development of our community. QPEC is a voluntary organisation which ...

New ways of teaching and learning - Threshold concepts: University ...

The Waikato study has been funded by the New Zealand Council for Educational Research through a Teaching Learning and Research Initiative (TLRI). Ann Harlow, co-principal investigator on the project, says threshold ...

More charter schools to come

Stuff.co.nz
More charter schools are on their way after a second round of applications were announced by the Education Minister today. Hekia Parata said the Government had set "tighter priorities" for the second round of applicants, who could apply through the ...
Labour vows to repeal charter school legislation
More charter schools on the way

Sex education may confuse 5-year-olds

Stuff.co.nz
Five North Island schools are now bravely rolling out a sex educationpolicy apparently tailor-made to be absorbed by ankle-biters as young as 5 years old. In a TV news item, teacher and sexuality educator Kathryn Heape beamingly told a reporter about ...

Insight for 17 November 2013 - Safer Sex?

Megan Whelan explores whether young people are getting the education about sexuality they need.

No amount of Joyce's spin can hide the facts

Scoop.co.nz (press release)
"The Tertiary Education Minister has turned himself in knots to find the positive spin on this data, but the reality is that his destructive cuts to student support and underfunding of tertiary education are having an impact, and the worst is yet to ...

Guiding teens to wise decisions

High school years are when teens face important decisions that will shape their future. But whom do they go to when they need advice?This year's Youthtown nationwide survey of 1,194 teenagers has found the people they turn to for...

Generous gesture inspires school collection

Christchurch schools are repaying a favour to a Cook Island that raised $25,000 for the city after the February 2011 quake.

Spanish exam errors infuriate teachers

Stuff.co.nz
Errors have been found in three NCEA papers in the first two weeks of the exam season. Markers for the level 3 Spanish exam have been told to accept a range of answers after complaints from teachers about discrepancies in the translations of the ...

Need to Maintain Quality in Early Childhood Education

Early Education Sector Sounds Warning to Government on the Need to Maintain Quality in ECE Amid Push for Increased Participation

Preschool boss inflated attendance for funding

A preschool boss who inflated attendance records in order to fraudulently get $25,000 in government cash has been censured by the profession.The woman, who is also a registered teacher, was licensee of a preschool which received...

Teacher banned from management

Stuff.co.nz
The licensee of a preschool childcare centre who overstated funding claims, resulting in overpayment by the Ministry of Education, is facing restrictions on her ability to undertake school managerial positions. A decision from the Teachers Disciplinary ...

Friday, 22 November 2013

More charter schools on the way

MSN NZ News
It has already agreed to open five of the controversial schools in cities around the country. Charter schools are an ACT Party initiative and setting them up is part of a support agreement with the government. The government calls them partnership ...

Charter schools won't survive under Labour

MSN NZ News
Labour is warning charter school applicants that if it wins next year's election the law that allows them to be set up will be repealed. The government has so far granted five applications to establish charter schools and they're due to open next year.

Charter school applicants put on notice

Charter head picked

Auckland stuff.co.nz
Charter schools have attracted criticism from teachers' unions and opposition parties, but Mr Montgomery is not fazed. "We'll stick to our goal of educating kids and let the politicians worry about the rest of it," he says. Mr Montgomery left Rangitoto ...

National Govt locking in charter school experiment

Scoop.co.nz (press release)
“The Green Party is giving charter school applicants fair notice that when in Government we will close charter schools and focus on what is actually effective for our kids; investment in great public schools and great public education. “New Zealand ...

Second round of charter schools exposes Government's agenda

Scoop.co.nz (press release)
The Government's announcement of a second round of charter school applications has exposed its agenda to establish as many charter schools as possible, as quickly as possible. NZEI Te Riu Roa President Judith Nowotarski said it was now obvious that ...

Thursday, 21 November 2013

Partnership Schools second round announced

Hekia Parata | Education
Education Minister Hekia Parata today announced a second Partnership Schools | Kura Hourua application round to continue the impetus for raising achievement for all children and young people. “In education, one size doesn’t fit all. Partnership Schools provide further options for young people and their families, giving them the choice of the type of education that best suits their own specific learning needs,” Ms Parata says. 

$10 million investment in Murupara Area School

Nikki Kaye | Education
Associate Education Minister Nikki Kaye today announced that Murupara Area School would be included in the Government’s major school development funding initiative. “While detailed costs are yet to be finalised, at least $10 million will be committed to redevelop and extend the Murupara school site to upgrade infrastructure, remediate facilities and accommodate an extended roll and curriculum,” Ms Kaye says. ...

Novopay end of year proceeding well but challenges remain

Steven Joyce | Education
More than 90 per cent of schools have now entered their pay data for the end of the school year via an upgraded version of Novopay Online, Minister Responsible for Novopay Steven Joyce says. “By the close of Monday – the deadline for inputting end of year payments – 91 per cent or 2228 schools had completed that process. That compares to just 45 per cent or 1112 schools at the same time last year and is also above the average of past years under the previous provider,” Mr Joyce says. ...

Govt releases reports on Pay Periods 16 & 17

Steven Joyce | Education
Minister Responsible for Novopay Steven Joyce today released the reports on complaints and notifications in regards to Pay Periods 16 and 17 of the schools’ payroll. Pay Period 16, which was paid on the morning of 30 October, paid 88,766 people a total of $173.6 million. The report shows that complaints and notifications were received regarding 0.084 per cent of staff across the country, 11 staff were notified as not paid, 34 were overpaid, and 26 underpaid. Affected staff were from 58 schools or 2.36 per cent of schools in the payroll system. ...

New construction school for Wellington

Steven Joyce | Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment
Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Minister Steven Joyce today announced that the Wellington Institute of Technology and Whitireia New Zealand will be investing $13.6 million in a new Regional School of Construction for Wellington. Speaking at the launch of the Construction Sector Report at WelTec, Mr Joyce said the new initiative will consolidate engineering and construction programmes around the region into two main hubs centred in Petone and Porirua. ...

Parata: Christchurch Education Renewal Property Programme

While some of the city's schools demonstrated NCEA achievement higher than national averages,achievement rates for schools were generally below the national average of similar schools elsewhere. ...Now – after more than 12 months of intensive consultation and decision making about the shape of theeducation network and a considerable amount of detailed assessment and analysis of our existing infrastructure- we have reached the point where we can really ...

Speech to Annual ITO Qualifications Forum - LIST MP HEKIA ...

Like many developed countries, our education system has well-established and well-understood pathways for progression to degrees and academic achievement. While it is vital that we continue to excel in this area, the ... Every young person must have the essential foundation of a coherent and useful NCEA Level 2 qualification or better - ideally by the time they leave school, but certainly by the time they turn 19. A higher proportion of our young people need to be ...

School future proofed

Auckland stuff.co.nz
Education minister Hekia Parata announced this month that Freemans Bay School will be redeveloped to accommodate its increasing roll and repair leaking buildings. The school will retain two facilities - a Reading Recovery room and a two-storey block ...

Govt funds new construction school

Stuff.co.nz
The Government is to invest $13.6 million to help build a new construction school in Wellington in order to boost the number of skilled tradespeople as it looks to curb the 'boom and bust' nature of the construction sector. Tertiary Education, Skills ...

New $13.6m regional construction school to have two hubs – Petone and Porirua

Parata's blunt axe has costly handle

Stuff.co.nz
Almost $100,000 of taxpayers' money has so far been spent onEducation Minister Hekia Parata unsuccessfully defending in court her decision to close and merge Phillipstown School with another. Information received by The Press through the Official ...

Principals want power to search students' bags

Stuff.co.nz
"We can't touch things like Facebook, yet it spills into the classroom all the time." In the past five years, he had received one complaint from a parent about a student being searched, yet he had received 10 complaints from parents frustrated that ...

Partnership schools letter gets support

New Zealand Herald
She is urging the minister to firstly consult with Northland schools, whanau and community about alternative solutions to the low rate of Maoriachievement. Government-funded like state schools, charter schools are not operated by the Ministry of ...

Auckland makes list of best cities for students

Auckland has been ranked among the top cities in the world for students to pursue a university education.The City of Sails was listed as the 18th best city by London-based Quacquarelli Symonds in its annual Best Student Cities ranking...

Kiwi ingenuity leading the way in improving learning

Te Aho o Te Kura Pounamu (formerly The Correspondence School), has been assisting children's learning and development around the country for over 90 years. They remain leaders in supporting remote learning.

Foreign students on the rise

International students are returning to New Zealand, latest Immigration New Zealand figures show.More than 78,445 international students have been approved to study here in the year to October.Although slightly down from the 80,743...

Principals want more powers to combat cyberbullying

Former president of the Secondary Principals' Association, Patrick Walsh, who has surveyed principals about the misuse of social media, wants schools to have more powers to crack down on cyberbullies and those who share recordings of physical and sexual assaults.

Te Wānanga o Aotearoa honoured by Workplace Wellness Award

Te Wānanga o Aotearoa Te Taiurungi (chief executive) Jim Mather said he was honoured on behalf of the institution to be awarded joint winner at New Zealand Workplace Wellness Awards.

More work needed to improve wellbeing among school students

More education work needs to be done to improve the importance of teaching the skills of happiness in schools, a University of Canterbury (UC) researcher says. Dr Annie Soutter says her research suggests that more needs to be done to give effect to important ...

Calls for increased childcare funding

Otago Daily Times
The goal is to ensure by 2016, 98 per cent of all children starting school have attended early childhood education. Participation has risen to 95.7 per cent, but the Ministry of Education still has a way to go, particularly with Maori and Pacific ...

Kohanga Reo audit ordered

Otago Daily Times
Education Minister Hekia Parata says an independent audit of allegations of the misuse of funding at a subsidiary of Te Kohanga ReoTrust is charged with ensuring no public funds had been misused, and checking the financial controls in place. Ms Parata ...
Review into Kōhanga Reo Spending Underway
Independent review of Kohanga Reo board begins
Kohanga Reo funding review underway

Education about people, not profits

Scoop.co.nz (press release)
“Not content with introducing privately run charter schools, the Government is now considering using Public Private Partnerships for all of the school rebuilding work required in Christchurch,” Education spokesperson Chris Hipkins said. “Clearly there ...

Unitec cuts 50 design staff

Tertiary Update Vol 16 No 40 The disestablishment of 50 positions in the Design and Visual Arts Department at Unitec will lead to job losses for more than half the department’s staff. Many students and community members are furious, with one student’s parent saying she will be asking for her money back. The faculty dean [&hellip

Top teacher wins award

Auckland stuff.co.nz
OfficeMax general manager of education Suzanne Flannagan says the programme was adapted from a global A Day Made Better programme started in the United States in 2007. "This is the third year the programme has been running in this country and we ...

Tuesday, 19 November 2013

Technology aids reading comprehension

Techday NZ
College Street Normal School in Palmerston North partnered with Massey University's Institute of Education in the research that studied four classrooms – two year 4 classes and two year 5/6 classes – over the second school term. The study focused on ...

Schools can share UFB with communities

Schools with ultra-fast broadband will soon be able to share their fibre connections with their local communities.Associate Education Minister Nikki Kaye said that in communities with poor connectivity - usually rural or remote...

A global classroom

Stuff.co.nz
At the age of four, Taj peered at the photo of the World Vision child stuck to our fridge. "I don't like Amili," he announced. "Her face is dirty." It was at this point we decided to enrol our kids in the global classroom. More and more families are ...

The destructive and absurd world of league tables

Stuff.co.nz
National Standards results are not consistently measured across the country and the more emphasis that is placed on these limited results, the greater risk that schools and teachers will be driven to narrow their teaching to what is measured and compared.

National Standards Under Fire from Advisory Group

Scoop.co.nz (press release)
'Recommendations from the 'National Standards Aggregate Results Advisory Group' to the Minster are pointing to a lack of confidence in the standards themselves, and call for reviewing processes to be implemented claims a spokesperson for the New ...

Costly action in schools disputed

New Zealand Herald
Eight commissioners and five limited statutory managers are in Northland schools, where the Ministry of Education believes there is risk to the operation of the schools, student achievement or to student welfare and safety. Nationally there are 26 ...

David Hill: Testing time to control 140,000 teens

It started on November 8, with Scholarship Drama. It finishes on December 3, with Level 1 Spanish, Level 2 Dance, Level 3 Social Studies, Scholarship Earth and Space Sciences. Yes, it's NCEA external exam time again.The statistics...

feedback may be on 'wrong track'

Stuff.co.nz
"It's difficult because the overall goals are things everyone would support - we all want to see more student education that is useful to people when gaining employment, we all want to see more Maori and Pasifika in tertiary education and we all want ...

Chch schools $1b spend revealed

NZ City
More than 1200 new classrooms would be built and 1200 repaired. "When complete, over 80 per cent of classrooms in greater Christchurch will be modern learning environments," Ms Parata said. Forty-four state integrated schools are not included because ...
Parata: Christchurch Education Renewal Property Programme

Students' research has rewards

Stuff.co.nz
Doing a project that is a priority to the Rangitikei District Council givesstudents' real experience and exposure. "On top of that, it's about connecting to the communities we live, work and play in . . . It's a great opportunity to connect student ...

Tertiary education underspend worsens funding cuts

Scoop.co.nz (press release)
Tertiary education underspend worsens funding cuts. November 16, 2013ComVoices, Daily ... That includes $17 million that was budgeted for student achievement and $33 million that was budgeted for industrytraining but not spent. “$17 million is nearly ...

Training college marae reaches 30

waateanews.com
Auckland University's school of Maori education Te Puna Wananga is this weekend celebrating the 30th anniversary of the establishment of Te Aka Matua o te Pou Hawaiki marae at the Epsom campus. Head of school Jenny Lee of Ngati Mahuta, who ...

Kindergarten teachers pay talks reach stalemate

Meanwhile pay talks between kindergarten teachers and the Education Ministry have stalled over a claim for more pay for head teachers.

ERO concerned at lack of resources at Pasifika preschools

Radio New Zealand
ERO concerned at lack of resources at Pasifika preschools. Updated 2 minutes ago. The Education Review Office says a lack of Pacific language resources is putting Pasifika preschools at risk of being unable to deliver the national early childhood ...

ERO paints bleak picture for Pacific ECE resources

Busy keeping kids in school

Auckland stuff.co.nz
It's been a busy year keeping students in school. Waipareira Trust's Whanau and School Support Service was awarded the $1.2 million truancy contract for the Waitemata area earlier this year. With only six kaiawhina (attendance support workers) working ...

'You're not a princess' school ad campaign goes viral

Stuff.co.nz
The Mercy Academy, an all-girls preparatory school in Louisville, Kentucky, is making waves nationally for its ad campaign telling young girls "You're not a princess," and encouraging them to "Prepare for real life." The campaign, which aims to empower ...

Calls for more sexual violence education

3News NZ
Mr Smith has worked with over 700 male offenders over the past decade through Te Ohaakii a Hine, a national Maori network aiming to end sexual violence. He believes schools should be required to teach their pupils about sexual violence and prevention.

Academic backs MPs' calls for better sex education

Parliament's health select committee says there's an urgent need to improve sex education in schools.

Guide to search school students

Stuff.co.nz
The move follows concerns about the wording of the recently amendedEducation Act. A working group of school and Ministry of Educationrepresentatives has been assigned to develop guidelines to help schools apply the act's surrender and retention ...

Omarama principal optimistic

Stuff.co.nz
The school has had a tumultuous few years, with a limited statutory manager appointed by the Ministry of Education in September last year to take over governance of the school. New principal Dion Stechmann began at the start of term four. He said he is ...

Principal resigns under parent pressure

Stuff.co.nz
The principal of a Catholic school in Christchurch has resigned as parents banded together to try to oust her. Our Lady of Victories School has been under the statutory management of commissioner Murray Strong since January 2012 after the previous ...

Friday, 15 November 2013

Teach First NZ launches second intake

Scoop.co.nz (press release)
The Teach First NZ programme is being independently evaluated by theNew Zealand Council for Educational Research, with the first phase of the evaluation set to be published in January 2014. For more information visit http://teachfirstnz.org. ENDS.

NZ and China advance education collaboration

Steven Joyce | Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment
New Zealand and China today took the next step in advancing the technical and vocational education and training (TVET) relationship between both countries. Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment, Steven Joyce, and China’s Vice Minister of Education, Du Zhanyuan, together unveiled a plaque establishing a “Virtual Technical and Vocational Education & Training Research Centre”, to be based at China’s Central Institute for Vocational and Technical Education (CIVTE), in Beijing. ...

Green light for schools as digital community hubs

Nikki Kaye | Education
Schools with ultra-fast broadband will soon be able to share their fibre connections with their local communities, Associate Education Minister Nikki Kaye said today. “In communities with poor connectivity, typically rural or remote areas, schools will be able to make their fibre infrastructure available to the wider community,” Ms Kaye says. ...

More than 80 per cent of classrooms in greater Christchurch will be modernised by 2022

Gerry Brownlee | Canterbury Earthquake Recovery
Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister and Education Minister Hekia Parata today announced that 80 per cent of classrooms across greater Christchurch will be modernised within ten years changing the way children and young people learn. The Government is investing over $1 billion in a 10 year programme of restoring and renewing the schools in greater Christchurch following the earthquakes. The Government today released the final Business Case and outlined the schedule for rebuilding, repairing and renewing 115 schools across greater Christchurch. That includes: ...

New members appointed to PIPEF Board

Hekia Parata | Education
Education Minister Hekia Parata has appointed six new board members to the Pacific Islands Polynesian Education Foundation to continue to grow the Foundation and its relationships with education providers. Speaking at a Foundation event last night, Minister Parata said she was delighted with the new appointments to the board. “They are outstanding individuals who come highly recommended by their communities.” The new board members are: ...

$1 billion for schools

Stuff.co.nz
The programme would affect 80 per cent of the greater Christchurch area's classrooms. More than 1200 new classrooms would be constructed with another 1200 being repaired, Parata said. "We are providing something better something better for the children ...
Chch schools $1b spend revealed
Over 80% of classrooms in Chch will be modernised by 2022

Fast track to learning

Auckland stuff.co.nz
Mr Keenan says the deep search function will make it easier to use quality resources in the classroom. "The kids are learning about water at the moment so the teacher might put in the key word of water and it will bring up not just all the Google ...

Snub for new schools

New Zealand Herald
Government-funded like state schools, charter schools are not operated by the Ministry of Education but by sponsors such as iwi, not-for-profit organisations, businesses or existing education providers. They can set their own curriculum, hours ...

Students help students

Auckland stuff.co.nz
She has always had an interest in humanitarian causes and the importance of education can't be underestimated, she says. "If you've got a good education under ... funding comes in, she says. Go to nceacampus.org.nz for more information. Ad Feedback.

Student loan crackdown

Auckland stuff.co.nz
"At university the topic of expensive education is a huge one. "I believe people have the right to study and be able to pay ... Students over 65 aren't entitled to the student allowance. Visit studylink.govt.nz to learn of further changes to the ...

Te Reo pilot wins spot in finals

Gisborne Herald
The young men were kohanga and kura kaupapa Maori children themselves and “got a kick” out of spending time with the bilingual Maori children. “It is a good experience. As we are teaching them, they are teaching us also,” said Year 13 student and ...

Greatest NZ stories: Taking heed of roots gave school its life

New Zealand Herald
"A lot of Maori whanau had left. Engagement around learning is hard ... There are parents who didn't like school, or hated it." Not surprisingly, meeting Maori ambition turned out to be a critical but missing aspect for a school where 73 per cent of ...

Bill Fish - teaching philosophy to primary school students

Massey University Associate Professor, Bill Fish who is teaching philosopher at his local primary school, posing questions such as what is bravery, what is truth, and is my chair real?

Job net cast wide in schools

Stuff.co.nz
Applicants, who may be school- leavers or already working in agriculture and wanting more qualifications, need University Entrance or NCEA Level 2 in numeracy and literacy and on-farm experience. Massey University's Taranaki business development ...

Thursday, 14 November 2013

Minister announces review of interventions into schools in difficulty

Hekia Parata | Education
Education Minister Hekia Parata says she has asked the Secretary of Education, Peter Hughes, to review the way interventions are managed in schools in difficulty. ...

Speech to Annual ITO Qualifications Forum

Hekia Parata | Education
Introduction: Significant developments in technology, a global recession and the move to a global economy have meant that our students need to be highly skilled to gain access to better jobs, better incomes, and better life opportunities. Knowledge, qualifications and skills are the key that opens the door to these opportunities. Like many developed countries, our education system has well-established and well-understood pathways for progression to degrees and academic achievement. ...

Education Minister launches review of school interventions

Radio New Zealand
he Education Minister, Hekia Parata, has launched a review of the use of commissioners at schools in difficulty.

Secretary of Education to review how commissioners & limited statutory ...

Newstalk ZB
The Secretary of Education has been asked to review the way commissioners and limited statutory managers operate within schools. Education Minister Hekia Parata has made the request of Peter Hughes after her officials met with the New Zealand ...

Minister announces review of interventions into schools

Review of intervention
Otago Daily Times
Ms Parata said she had asked Secretary for Education Peter Hughesto review how the ministry helped schools in difficulty move back into full self-governance. ''This has been an area of discussion for us and it is timely to see if we can improve this ...

NZEI welcomes review of school interventions

NZEI Te Riu Roa says it welcomes the Minister of Education’s announcement that there is to be a review of the way commissioners and limited statutory managers operate within schools.

Schools 'left in debt' by cost of commissioners

Radio New Zealand
Schools 'left in debt' by cost of commissioners. Updated 27 minutes ago. Principals say their schools have had to cut budgets and go into debt because of the cost of commissioners appointed by the Ministry of Education. The Government has ordered a ...

Ministry not yet confident about Novopay

Radio New Zealand
The Ministry of Education is not yet confident that the Novopay school payroll system will handle the busy pay rounds at the start of next year. Education Secretary Peter Hughes has told Parliament's Education and Science Committe he is confident the ...

Alarm over outrageous' NCEA exam gaffe

An "outrageous" mistake with yesterday's NCEA Level 1 German exam has alarmed the Qualifications Authority and sparked an inquiry.The entire exam paper - apart from the instructions - was printed in German, even though the specifications...

NCEA blunder won't cost students

Stuff.co.nz
The NZQA received 26 complaints about Tuesday's NCEA Level 1 German exam which was printed entirely in German despite studentsbeing told questions would also be in English. It also contained translation errors. The NZQA is investigating the mistakes ...

Students can change flawed NCEA exam marks

Students can forgo poor marks from a flawed NCEA exam, The New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) says.

Minister Misleads Listeners

Scoop.co.nz (press release)
This leads people to believe that the only reason left, is political, based upon the principals standing up to the current Minister on National Standards!” Ms Parata stated this morning that it was fine for commissioners to be paid for out of a school ...

Principals keen for online exams

Stuff.co.nz
But principals are questioning the future of the paper-based assessments; as classrooms become more in tune with technology, so should end-of-year exams, they say. Freyberg High School principal Peter Brooks said written exams were a thing of the past ...

Science success

Stuff.co.nz
And her work has seen a 30 per cent jump in the number of Maori and Pacific pupils studying science at her school in the past two years. Pass rates have risen to 81 ... Thirteen Manurewa High pupils won regional or national science awards; others were ...

In-Home Childcare Provider Encouraging ECE Participation

Scoop.co.nz (press release)
PORSE In-home childcare has today committed to taking a leading role in South Auckland to encourage more Māori and Pacific Island children into early childhood education (ECE) to reach Government targets. The Papakura and Takanini regions in South ...

Change needed in tertiary sector

Scoop.co.nz (press release)
The TEU has today released their report Te Kaupapa Whaioranga: The blueprint for tertiary education, which sets out proposals to returntertiary education in New Zealand to an equitable and accessible system focused on the public good, rather than the ...

Changing direction by degrees

Many people dream of changing their life's direction, but few actually do. An exception is student John Mead who has swapped his life caring for and treating animals, for the life of an artist.

Childcare centre to close

Stuff.co.nz
The Hargest Community Childcare Centre will close next month, ending 30 years of education and play opportunities for children in the area. A letter from the trust responsible for the centre was sent to parents last week. The letter cites declining ...

Training in IT helps teacher win award

Techday NZ
Literacy skills are also embedded in her programmes, enabling students to interpret or 'decode' the language in examinations. “It may not be easy for teachers to do individual education plans for each student but it's easy for all teachers to prevent ...

Hungry kids need food in schools

About 100 children will be fed breakfast in front of Parliament House tomorrow (Wednesday morning), as Mana promotes the first reading of its Feed the Kids Bill, supported by more than 25 organisations including NZEI Te Riu Roa.

Boys take to reading - when it's on an iPad

Technology is helping to boost the appeal of reading for young boys, and they're getting smarter because of it, new research has found.

Chucking the ball a good exam call

Rugby fanatic Gafatasi Fuimaono swapped the ball for the books a few months ago and reckons doing so will get him a better exam result.The 16-year-old was one of 47,000 Year 11 students from around the country to sit their first...

School ordered to reverse suspension of principal

A Catholic school that suspended its principal over serious misconduct allegations has been ordered to reverse the move by the Employment Relations Authority.Principal of Christchurch's Our Lady of Victories School, Barbara Perry,...

Twelve Questions: Madeline Gunn

1. Girls' schools for girls: co-ed schools for boys? There's obviously a problem logistically in this! I do think that girls' schools are very good for building the confidence of girls. At a co-ed school they only get half the l...

AUT appoints top academics to prestigious title

Five AUT University academics can now add the title of ‘Professor’ to their names as AUT announces its new professorial appointments. The professors are experts in the disciplines of: mathematics, construction management, ecology and midwifery, ...

Tuesday, 12 November 2013

Kaye to visit US for Google Education Symposium

Nikki Kaye | Education
Associate Education Minister Nikki Kaye will travel to the United States today to attend Google’s first Global Education Symposium. The symposium will be held at Google’s California headquarters. It will be attended by 40 education leaders including Ministers, Secretaries of Education and senior officials from Malaysia, India, Brazil, Mexico, Poland, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Thailand and the United States. ...

Education Secretary on the challenges facing the Ministry

Peter Hughes took over as Education Secretary earlier this year after the departure of Lesley Longstone, who ended her contract after a breakdown between herself and the Minister, Hekia Parata. He inherited a Ministry in the midst of the Novopay debacle, controversy over mergers and closures of Christchurch schools, teacher unions unhappy over National Standards, public sector funding cuts and a public sector trust and confidence survey which ranked it last out of about 40 government agencies.

Union eyes probe into school interventions

NZ City
Radio New Zealand reported that the part-time commissioner of Moerewa School, Michael Eru, had been paid $95,000 for 80 hours a month between April last year and May 2013 and claimed expenses of $53,000 from the Education Ministry. Mr Goulter says ...

Govt eyes school lessons to stop rape

Prime Minister John Key says the Government is looking at rape prevention education but when it comes to sex education in schools it would have to tread carefully.Some parents would feel that more information and debate in that...

Pupils' deaths spark crisis meetings

Stuff.co.nz
As exams began at the college yesterday, a mental health expert, police, district councillors, Maori health providers and Ministry of Education staff held meetings to address concerns for its roll of 300 pupils. Simon Shaw, clinical director of mental ...

Big development at Southern Cross

Auckland stuff.co.nz
The schools were chosen because of anticipated population growth in the areas, Education Minister Hekia Parata and Associate EducationMinister Nikki Kaye said at the announcement. ... having modern learning environments just makes the whole process of ...

Lessons over for four Waitara HS staff

Stuff.co.nz
"I felt most at home in the classroom," she said. Mrs Watts, who planned to kick-start her retirement with a bit of sailing, said she enjoyed the relationships she had built up at the school with both the students and the staff. "You get that lovely ...

Technology drives Dunedin's education industry

3News NZ
"In the classroom we've got books, I can give the vocab, I can give them grammar but we've now got this opportunity of actually going back home and practicing it and, almost playing games," says Lucie Taylor, Clifton Lodge School language teacher.

A new education professional body – EDUCANZ

The Education Council of Aotearoa New Zealand (EDUCANZ), is a cornerstone of the Government’s programme to raise the status of the profession, and publicly recognise the value it contributes to New Zealand.

Students join call for public debate on tertiary education

Scoop.co.nz (press release)
“We have also been heartened by cross-party support received at the weekend from the Labour, Green, NZ First and Maori parties for changes to the ways that students and the student voice are supported. We believe the negative and worsening situation ...

Students back union's plan for tertiary education

Today Victoria University of Wellington Students' Association President Rory McCourt supported the Tertiary Education Union's $1b plan for fixing New Zealand's university and polytechnic sector, announced today at the union's annual conference. McCourt ...

Surface boost for schools as Microsoft selects Expert Educator candidates

Techday NZ
With Baradene College also selected to take part in the Mentor Schools Program, members of both programs will become part of an exclusive one-year initiative that recognises pioneer educators and school leaders using technology to transform education ...

Childcare centre to close

Stuff.co.nz
The Hargest Community Childcare Centre will close next month, ending 30 years of education and play opportunities for children in the area. A letter from the trust responsible for the centre was sent to parents last week. The letter cites declining ...