logo
Welcome Budget Increases Number Of School Onsite Teacher Training Positions

Welcome Budget Increases Number Of School Onsite Teacher Training Positions

Scoop23-05-2025
Press Release – Te Rito Maioha Early Childhood NZ
The increased funding announced in the budget by Minister Stanford to fund a further 530 places is a very welcome move, with those teacher trainees being offered a stipend and a contribution towards their tuition fees from the government.
Primary Teacher training organisation Te Rito Maioha congratulates Minister Stanford on increasing the number of School Onsite Training Programme placements.
The School Onsite Training Programme (SOTP) provides funding for places in school-based Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programmes where teacher trainees are hosted in schools 3 days a week while studying remotely towards their teaching qualification.
'Te Rito Maioha has been growing teachers via this method since 2016', says says Kathy Wolfe, CE Te Rito Maioha. 'We commenced our Bachelor of Teaching (Primary) in 2021 and our Graduate Diploma of Teaching (Primary) in 2023 with great outcomes for new teachers. It's encouraging that the government has acknowledged this practical method of teacher training as an important tool in addressing the current teacher shortages due to the successes it has shown.
The increased funding announced in the budget by Minister Stanford to fund a further 530 places is a very welcome move, with those teacher trainees being offered a stipend and a contribution towards their tuition fees from the government.'
'This programme intends to grow and maintain the pipeline of teachers by investing in onsite (in- school) teacher education. This fund covers the student tuition fee for their initial teacher education degree at their chosen provider, a stipend for students, as well as a koha to schools for providing a placement for students,' says Mrs Wolfe.
'As an organisation we have 11 education centres around the motu, offering online delivery and personable pastoral care, and all our ITE is field-based, meaning students can study while working in local schools. That's a win- win for combating local teacher shortages, graduates are ready to teach, and this often results in keeping local talent, local.'
'It's a fantastic way of learning. Our decision to offer this online model where our students are also in classrooms right across the country, has been the best thing we ever did. Not only are the students learning the theory online and with our excellent lecturers, from the primary sector, but they are then putting that theory into practice immediately. It makes for a much richer and practical learning environment for students and schools.'
'This learning model has been a very successful, with 98% of our graduates employed in schools upon completing their qualification.' [1]
'It's exciting that the Minister has recognised both the need in Primary Schools and the value of the SOTP programme and we look forward to again working with the Ministry of Education as they allocate further placements for 2026, says Mrs Wolfe.'
Notes:
Te Rito Maioha has seen significant growth in both our primary ITE programmes. Our 2025 enrolments for The Bachelor of Teaching (Primary) increased 61%, while the Graduate Diploma of Teaching (Primary) increased 80%.
Interested schools or students are encouraged to contact Te Rito Maioha to see if they qualify for the SOTP funding for 2026.
Background:
Budget 2024 funded 1200 School Onsite Training Programme (SOTP) places for aspiring teachers to train in the classroom. Funding is for four years and expands the programme to include primary and intermediate as well as secondary.
Provide a $20,000 package per placement to make it easier for SOTP teachers to train by providing a stipend toward their living and training expenses and a tuition fees contribution. Schools will also receive a costs contribution for each trainee teacher they work with.
[1] The other 2% have generally gone overseas or through personal circumstances, have decided to do relieving work.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Education Minister cut Māori words from future junior books, documents reveal
Education Minister cut Māori words from future junior books, documents reveal

NZ Herald

time7 days ago

  • NZ Herald

Education Minister cut Māori words from future junior books, documents reveal

The ministry's report said: 'Under this option, we would not include kupu Māori in all phases of the RtRPP scope and sequence for any future books. The 13 RtRPP books currently in development do not contain any kupu Māori, apart from character names.' It was not clear in the paper whether the books would be reprinted. 'As noted above, the RtRPP resources are expected to have a lifespan in schools of approximately 10 years, so it would take several years for the books containing kupu Māori that are currently in circulation to be replaced in practice.' The document showed Stanford also instructed the ministry to develop a teaching sequence in the English curriculum to help teachers prepare children to read Māori words from their second year at school. Stanford told RNZ that would stop teaching children in mainstream classrooms to pronounce and read Māori from being 'left to chance'. The ministry's document said currently from Year 4, Māori words were included in the curriculum with increasing frequency and complexity. Stanford told RNZ she considered rewriting the 27 books that contained Māori words to retain only the proper nouns in Māori, but later decided against it. 'These are very early readers that teach children to learn to read and there are already 'heart' words in there that children have to memorise in English and if there are some te reo words in there as well, then that's okay and we'll leave them as they are,' she said. She described the decision as the middle position between conflicting advice. The minister's October decision included reprinting one of the books, 'At the Marae', as a big book but not as a 'reader' for children to take home – something that angered many teachers and principals in the past week. The document showed Stanford raised the issue after 'experts in structured literacy approaches' told her that including two different languages in the books could confuse learners and make it harder for them to master English phonetics. The ministry's paper said evidence about that was mixed but there was a case to consider the amount of Māori words in books for children learning to read. Literacy experts told RNZ this week Māori words were part of everyday New Zealand English and did not present problems for beginning readers because their spelling was regular and their vowel sounds matched some of the English vowels. The document said 26 of the 75 Ready to Read books had up to three Māori words and a 27th, At the Marae, had six Māori words. A handwritten note on the document showed the minister wanted te reo Māori introduced when children stopped using 'decodable' books like the Ready to Read series, usually at the end of their first year at school or early in their second year. 'I want to include in the NZC (English) a section on Te Reo vowel sounds and pronunciation to ready students for reading te reo words in school journals as previously discussed,' she wrote. Stanford also noted that: 'Interestingly – I asked kura leaders if they would accept English words in te reo Māori decodable books and they said no. So it would be consistent to keep one language only in very early Year 1 decodable books, except for names.' The ministry's paper said the Ready to Read series was designed to teach the reading of English 'and the sound-letter correspondences in English'. 'Our advice to schools is to teach kupu Māori in RtRPP books as 'told' words. The foundational skill of phonic decoding within the resources is based on the English language and students are not expected to decode the kupu Māori,' it said. The paper warned the options could result in pushback from schools. 'If we discontinue the use of kupu Māori (apart from character names) in RtRPP books, there may be a negative response and media attention. [REDACTED] In particular, recalling existing books has the potential to generate pushback.' The minister wrote in response: 'It's only in Year 1 decodable books that teach English and it would align with the approach taken in te reo decodables. Te Reo would be introduced immediately after the use of decodable stops which is typically end of Year 1 early Year 2 where students move on to journals.'

Schools Risk Losing Teaching Talent
Schools Risk Losing Teaching Talent

Scoop

time24-05-2025

  • Scoop

Schools Risk Losing Teaching Talent

North Canterbury's ''best and brightest'' teachers could be lost following cuts in Thursday's Budget, a North Canterbury principal says. More than 100 teaching roles across North Canterbury will be impacted, with the Kāhui Ako (communities of learning) programme set to be axed in December. Education Minister Erica Stanford confirmed the Kāhui Ako scheme, which paid about 4000 teachers extra to lead improvements in groups of schools around the country, will be scrapped. The funding will be diverted to help pay for more learning support co-ordinators and teacher aides. ''We have assessed underspends and reprioritised initiatives that are underperforming or lack clear evidence that they're delivering intended outcomes,'' Ms Stanford said. Ending the Kāhui Ako programme means teacher contracts will need to be paid out and principals will be left navigating staff surpluses. Rangiora High School board of trustees presiding member Simon Green said it was ''devastating'' to see Kāhui Ako disestablished, ''particularly for North Canterbury kura where this model has been highly effective''. Kaikōura Primary School board of trustees presiding member Vicki Gulleford said the Kāhui Ako programme has been successful in bringing schools together and supporting the transition to high school. She said her school was set to lose its resource teacher of literacy, which was shared with the other Kaikōura schools. Kāhui Ako were established in 2014 and involved local preschools, primary and secondary schools working together. There are 220 Kāhui Ako around the country, comprising nearly 2000 schools and around 1500 early learning centres. In North Canterbury there are four, including Puketeraki which comprises 18 schools including Rangiora High School, and Kātote which brings together nine schools including Kaiapoi High School. Tipu Maia Kahui Ako comprises six area schools and seven Hurunui primary schools, while in Kaikōura a Kāhui Ako is centred around Kaikōura High School. Swannanoa School principal Brian Price, the Puketeraki lead principal, said around 40 teachers were employed in Kāhui Ako roles. ''These are our best and brightest teachers. We put them in these roles because they had to ability to lead, to upskill their colleagues and to lift student achievement.'' It will also impact on the relief teachers employed to cover for part-time Kāhui Ako roles, he said. Mr Price said schools in the Kahui Ako already had learning support co-ordinators and he thought it was unlikely they would gain any more, despite the extra funding. Tipu Maia lead principal Maree Lucas, of Omihi School, said Kāhui Ako had provided ''a great opportunity to collaborate, network and learn as a group''. She said 22 staff have been employed in Kāhui Ako roles across the 13 schools. ''This helps with staff retention in small schools. It has given us professional learning opportunities that small schools definitely wouldn't have been able to afford without the Kāhui.'' Te Kātote Kāhui Ako lead principal Andrew Retallick, of Woodend School, said around 30 staff will be impacted. ''It provided a leadership pathway which can even lead to becoming a school principal.'' He said there seven learning support co-ordinators across the nine schools. Given the existing formula of one co-ordinator to 500 students, he estimated Kātote might gain one or two co-ordinators at most. The principals said they were committed to continuing to work together. The Ministry of Education has been contacted for comment.

Welcome Budget Increases Number Of School Onsite Teacher Training Positions
Welcome Budget Increases Number Of School Onsite Teacher Training Positions

Scoop

time23-05-2025

  • Scoop

Welcome Budget Increases Number Of School Onsite Teacher Training Positions

Press Release – Te Rito Maioha Early Childhood NZ The increased funding announced in the budget by Minister Stanford to fund a further 530 places is a very welcome move, with those teacher trainees being offered a stipend and a contribution towards their tuition fees from the government. Primary Teacher training organisation Te Rito Maioha congratulates Minister Stanford on increasing the number of School Onsite Training Programme placements. The School Onsite Training Programme (SOTP) provides funding for places in school-based Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programmes where teacher trainees are hosted in schools 3 days a week while studying remotely towards their teaching qualification. 'Te Rito Maioha has been growing teachers via this method since 2016', says says Kathy Wolfe, CE Te Rito Maioha. 'We commenced our Bachelor of Teaching (Primary) in 2021 and our Graduate Diploma of Teaching (Primary) in 2023 with great outcomes for new teachers. It's encouraging that the government has acknowledged this practical method of teacher training as an important tool in addressing the current teacher shortages due to the successes it has shown. The increased funding announced in the budget by Minister Stanford to fund a further 530 places is a very welcome move, with those teacher trainees being offered a stipend and a contribution towards their tuition fees from the government.' 'This programme intends to grow and maintain the pipeline of teachers by investing in onsite (in- school) teacher education. This fund covers the student tuition fee for their initial teacher education degree at their chosen provider, a stipend for students, as well as a koha to schools for providing a placement for students,' says Mrs Wolfe. 'As an organisation we have 11 education centres around the motu, offering online delivery and personable pastoral care, and all our ITE is field-based, meaning students can study while working in local schools. That's a win- win for combating local teacher shortages, graduates are ready to teach, and this often results in keeping local talent, local.' 'It's a fantastic way of learning. Our decision to offer this online model where our students are also in classrooms right across the country, has been the best thing we ever did. Not only are the students learning the theory online and with our excellent lecturers, from the primary sector, but they are then putting that theory into practice immediately. It makes for a much richer and practical learning environment for students and schools.' 'This learning model has been a very successful, with 98% of our graduates employed in schools upon completing their qualification.' [1] 'It's exciting that the Minister has recognised both the need in Primary Schools and the value of the SOTP programme and we look forward to again working with the Ministry of Education as they allocate further placements for 2026, says Mrs Wolfe.' Notes: Te Rito Maioha has seen significant growth in both our primary ITE programmes. Our 2025 enrolments for The Bachelor of Teaching (Primary) increased 61%, while the Graduate Diploma of Teaching (Primary) increased 80%. Interested schools or students are encouraged to contact Te Rito Maioha to see if they qualify for the SOTP funding for 2026. Background: Budget 2024 funded 1200 School Onsite Training Programme (SOTP) places for aspiring teachers to train in the classroom. Funding is for four years and expands the programme to include primary and intermediate as well as secondary. Provide a $20,000 package per placement to make it easier for SOTP teachers to train by providing a stipend toward their living and training expenses and a tuition fees contribution. Schools will also receive a costs contribution for each trainee teacher they work with. [1] The other 2% have generally gone overseas or through personal circumstances, have decided to do relieving work.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store