Latest news with #EducationandTrainingAmendmentBill
Scoop
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Report Shows Govt's Callous Lack Of Support For System At Breaking Point
Press Release – Green Party The Greens plan lays out real solutions. As a starting point: nationalising ECE, expanding free school lunches, and building a learning support system where every child belongs, says Green Party Education Spokesperson, Lawrence Xu-Nan. A new report from Aotearoa Educators' Collective, released today, has confirmed what teachers, students, and whanau have been calling out for years–our learning support system is overstretched, underfunded, and simply not working. 'This report paints a stark picture of systemic strain, with those working in learning support being pushed to breaking point,' says Green Party Education Spokesperson, Lawrence Xu-Nan. 'Education should serve the wellbeing and potential of all mokopuna—not just those whose needs align with the status quo. We have all the tools we need to give them that and more, but it requires serious investment and support for our workforce. 'However, the Government is intent on making cosmetic tweaks, like fragmented and reactive funding, while ignoring the core issue: the system was never set up to work properly in the first place. 'Every announcement to date from this coalition has tinkered around the edges to make the numbers look prettier, rather than prompting genuine change that benefits our tamariki, their whānau, kaiako, kaimahi, and the wider communities. 'Today's report shows decades of neglect, growing pressure, and a workforce pushed to breaking point. The Government's cancellation of 33 pay equity claims–many of which affect teachers and support staff–makes it blatantly clear they're not serious about fixing it. 'Further, the new Education and Training Amendment Bill completely fails to recognise the actual need of our education system. 'The Greens' plan lays out real solutions. As a starting point: nationalising ECE, expanding free school lunches, and building a learning support system where every child belongs. 'Our plan will put children's wellbeing at the centre of decision-making and policy, where it should have been all along,' says Lawrence Xu-Nan. Notes: The report can be found in full here. Learning support can be defined as '… the systems, services, and personnel designed to ensure that all mokopuna—including those with neurodivergence, disabilities, health needs, or experiences of trauma—can access, participate in, and progress through the curriculum on an equitable basis.' (Beyond Capacity: Learning Support in Crisis, p.5).
Scoop
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Report Shows Govt's Callous Lack Of Support For System At Breaking Point
A new report from Aotearoa Educators' Collective, released today, has confirmed what teachers, students, and whanau have been calling out for years–our learning support system is overstretched, underfunded, and simply not working. 'This report paints a stark picture of systemic strain, with those working in learning support being pushed to breaking point,' says Green Party Education Spokesperson, Lawrence Xu-Nan. 'Education should serve the wellbeing and potential of all mokopuna—not just those whose needs align with the status quo. We have all the tools we need to give them that and more, but it requires serious investment and support for our workforce. 'However, the Government is intent on making cosmetic tweaks, like fragmented and reactive funding, while ignoring the core issue: the system was never set up to work properly in the first place. 'Every announcement to date from this coalition has tinkered around the edges to make the numbers look prettier, rather than prompting genuine change that benefits our tamariki, their whānau, kaiako, kaimahi, and the wider communities. 'Today's report shows decades of neglect, growing pressure, and a workforce pushed to breaking point. The Government's cancellation of 33 pay equity claims–many of which affect teachers and support staff–makes it blatantly clear they're not serious about fixing it. 'Further, the new Education and Training Amendment Bill completely fails to recognise the actual need of our education system. 'The Greens' plan lays out real solutions. As a starting point: nationalising ECE, expanding free school lunches, and building a learning support system where every child belongs. 'Our plan will put children's wellbeing at the centre of decision-making and policy, where it should have been all along,' says Lawrence Xu-Nan. Notes: The report can be found in full here. Learning support can be defined as '... the systems, services, and personnel designed to ensure that all mokopuna—including those with neurodivergence, disabilities, health needs, or experiences of trauma—can access, participate in, and progress through the curriculum on an equitable basis.' (Beyond Capacity: Learning Support in Crisis, p.5).
Scoop
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Submissions Are Now Open For The Education And Training Amendment Bill (No 2)
The Deputy Chairperson of Parliament's Education and Workforce Committee has called for submissions on the Education and Training Amendment Bill (No 2). The closing date for submissions is Thursday, 12 June 2025. The bill would amend the Education and Training Act 2020 to give effect to new policy decisions, including matters related to: school board objectives statement of national educational and learning priorities for early childhood education, primary education, and secondary education initial teacher education freedom of expression attendance management plans other amendments, including some about strike notifications, Teaching Council processes, and changes to the Minister's ability to set fees for Crown expenditure relating to international students and the issuing of eligibility criteria for principals. The bill would also make some technical changes to the Act and regulations. Full details of the bill are available at the links below. Make a submission on the bill by 11.59pm on Thursday, 12 June 2025. Advertisement - scroll to continue reading
Scoop
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Education And Training Amendment Bill (No 2) — First Reading
Sitting date: 10 April 2025 EDUCATION AND TRAINING AMENDMENT BILL (NO 2) First Reading Hon ERICA STANFORD (Minister of Education): I present a legislative statement on the Education and Training Amendment Bill (No 2). ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Greg O'Connor): That legislative statement is published under the authority of the House and can be found on the Parliament website. Hon ERICA STANFORD: I move, That the Education and Training Amendment Bill (No 2) be now read a first time. I nominate the Education and Workforce Committee to consider the bill. At the appropriate time, I intend to move that the bill be reported to the House by 16 September 2025. It is crucial that New Zealand has a world-leading education system so our young people can reach their full potential and grow and to lead the life that they want to live. To achieve this, this Government is relentlessly focused on lifting achievement and closing the equity gap so parents can have confidence that their children have the foundations to succeed. This bill makes a range of changes to our education legislation to advance these priorities. They include focusing schools on prioritising student achievement, giving schools and families more time to respond to planned union strike action, and ensuring initial teacher education and teacher discipline and competence processes are fit for purpose. The bill also requires schools to have an attendance management plan, requires universities to protect the freedom of expression of students and staff, and more. These changes are critical to progressing our student achievement and attendance objectives, developing the workforce of the future, and establishing a knowledge-rich curriculum, grounded in the science of learning. This bill makes a number of changes to school board objectives, including making educational achievement the paramount objective for schools, as it should be. This is in line with the Government's unrelenting focus on lifting student achievement for every child. It's crucial that achievement is at the core of what schools prioritise, because every year 65,000 young New Zealanders start school, and we must ensure that they're getting off to the very best possible start and giving parents the confidence that their children are achieving to the best of their abilities. Delivering a world-leading education doesn't just pave the way for their success; it strengthens our country's economic and social future too. The bill also makes several other changes to ensure school board objectives are fit for purpose. We're introducing new essential supporting objectives for schools. Attendance goes hand in hand with educational achievement, so we're adding an objective for school boards to take all reasonable steps to ensure students are attending school. We're also adding an objective to ensure that schools use good quality assessment to monitor and evaluate students' progress and achievement, making it more visible to school boards as a clear focus for lifting achievement. Schools need information about how their students are progressing to help identify when to provide support to keep moving in the right direction for those children. The bill makes it clear that giving effect to Te Tiriti is essential and key to support student achievement. The bill also makes the requirement that schools are achieving equitable outcomes for Māori students at the top of the list of how schools are required to meet Te Tiriti o Waitangi objective. All tamariki deserve to attend a school where the primary objective is to ensure that they can achieve to the very best of their ability. We're also replacing references in the Act to the term "local curriculum" with "teaching and learning programmes", ensuring that wherever they are in New Zealand, young people are being taught a knowledge-rich curriculum, grounded in the science of learning. Alongside the changes we're making to the school board objectives, the bill removes the ability for the Minister of Education to issue a statement of National Education and Learning Priorities, known as the NELPs, and it repeals the related education and learning objectives. The school board objectives, alongside curriculum statements and frameworks, provide sufficient strategic direction. Keeping these provisions in the Act just adds a layer of additional priorities schools need to pay attention to that end up being an unnecessary additional legislative requirement. We don't want to overburden schools or detract from their focus on educational achievement. Together, these changes to school board objectives and removing the ability to issue a NELP ensure that we have a more simplified and streamlined set of expectations for schools with educational achievement as their top priority. Another key change in the bill is extending the amount of notice that unions must provide before striking from three calendar days to no less than seven calendar days. I recognise the right of unions to strike, but we must also prioritise student outcomes. This must remain the central focus of our education legislation. Three days' notice is often insufficient for schools, parents and caregivers, and whānau to provide alternative arrangements. This can be particularly problematic if the notice is given on a Friday or a Saturday. Schools need time to determine how to manage the disruption to students and their families, including arranging for additional supervision should it decide to stay open. Parents and caregivers also need time to make alternative arrangements should the school decide to close. By extending the amount of notice that unions must provide from three days to seven days, we allow more time for everyone to make arrangements before the strike happens. This is about minimising the interruption to student learning while upholding unions' right to strike. More notice for schools can reduce disruptions to achievement and attendance from the loss of valuable learning days. Additional time can also reduce the amount of pressure on parents and caregivers. Developing the workforce of the future continues to be a priority for this Government. Through this bill, we're ensuring initial teacher education, teacher discipline, and teacher competence processes are fit for purpose. The quality of the teacher in front of the class is the most important thing for our kids, and I'm committed to ensuring we attract, train, and retain great teachers. The Teaching Council plays a really important role in initial teacher education. The bill requires the council to consult with the Minister of Education before making changes to standards for ongoing practice and criteria for the issue of practising certificates. It also requires the council to have regard to the Secretary for Education's advice on changes to standards for qualifications that lead to teacher registration and teacher education programme approvals. Additionally, the bill requires the council to report annually on how it's giving regard to any relevant statements of Government policy. Together, these changes will increase the transparency and accountability of the Teaching Council and ensure that we have excellent initial teacher education. The Teaching Council also plays a key role in ensuring that we have strong processes related to the conduct and teaching practice of teachers. The bill makes changes to the council's disciplinary and competence processes to ensure that the council can perform its functions effectively with more consistency to help achieve timelier resolutions. This bill also requires all schools to have an attendance management plan which sets out processes and strategies for identifying and responding to student absence. It's crucial that our young people have every chance of succeeding and that there's a strong, positive correlation between attendance and literacy and numeracy scores over years 4 to 10, as well as attainment across NCEA levels 1, 2, and 3. I'm proud of the progress we've made on attendance, with regular attendance in term 3 2024 up 5.3 percentage points compared to the same term in 2023. We're committed to building on this momentum to achieve our student attendance target of 80 percent of students being present for more than 90 percent of the time by 2030. School attendance management plans will include strategies and interventions to respond to students' non-attendance. School responses will be triggered as a student reaches a certain number of days absent over a school term. In the tertiary education space, this bill requires universities to develop and adopt a statement of freedom of expression and imposes a duty on universities to protect and promote academic freedom and freedom of expression. It also requires universities to publicly report and maintain complaints procedures in relation to those matters. In recent years, some universities seem to have taken a risk-averse approach to discussions about the difficult issues, seeking to protect students and staff from controversial views, but universities should be a place of genuine debate, where diverse opinions can be discussed and challenged. Finally, the bill makes a number of other changes which help maintain the health of the education regulatory system and ensure that law and practice remain well aligned. The changes in this bill will make a meaningful difference and are part of a wider set of changes that our Government is progressing to improve the education system so all Kiwi kids grow up with the knowledge, the skills, and the competencies they need to grow into the New Zealand of the future. I'm excited by the changes this legislation makes. I commend the bill to the House. ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Greg O'Connor): This debate is interrupted and set down for resumption next sitting day. The House stands adjourned until 2 p.m. on Tuesday, 6 May 2025. Thank you for your work this week. The House adjourned at 6 p.m.
Scoop
22-04-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Teacher-Led Early Childhood Education: The Cornerstone Of Our Future
New Zealand Kindergartens (NZK), a for-purpose ECE Peak Body representing 19 of the 27 local Kindergarten Associations across the motu, acknowledges the Government's commitment to modernising the Early Childhood Education (ECE) regulatory system through the reforms announced today. Chief Executive Officer, Jill Bond, says that NZK welcomes efforts to streamline compliance, reduce duplication, and introduce more proportionate enforcement tools that support safe, quality education. However, she emphasises that the foundation of quality early learning is not regulation alone—it is the strength, skill, and professionalism of the workforce. 'The reference to possible legislative change within the Education and Training Amendment Bill raises serious concerns for us. Any dilution of the qualified, teacher-led workforce would be a regressive move with long-term consequences for tamariki, and the nation as a whole'. 'A system underpinned by qualified, registered teachers is not negotiable. The evidence is unequivocal: children who attend quality, teacher-led ECE achieve stronger educational, social, and emotional outcomes throughout life. Investment in qualified teaching at the earliest stages of learning is not just good policy—it is smart economics, and the cornerstone of effective social investment' says Ms Bond. 'ECE is the launchpad of lifelong learning and wellbeing. A qualified teacher doesn't just care for a child—they understand how children learn, how to build responsive and inclusive environments, and how to ensure every tamaiti has the best possible start.' The Kindergarten model - teacher-led, community-embedded, committed to equity, and steeped in the Froebelian Principles - has been part of Aotearoa's educational identity for more than a century. We know from generations of experience, and national and global research, that this approach sets children up not just to succeed, but to thrive. As government proceeds with reform, we urge caution and collaboration. We must not sacrifice quality and equity for expediency. We call on Ministers to reaffirm their commitment to a qualified teacher workforce, and to work alongside the sector to ensure changes lift outcomes, not lower standards. This is a pivotal moment. What we choose to protect and invest in today will shape the futures of our children, whānau, and communities tomorrow.
