• Scholarshipa and financial 

• Thinking about further education options?
• • Which course where
    Information about tertiary education providers, qualifications and courses to help you make decisions about tertiary education. For those already studying at a tertiary institution who may want more information or for intending students and their family and whanau.
  • Vocational pathwaysVocational pathways

• Student loan information

  • Find out about  student loans and apply for one on the Studylink website
  • IRD has information about repaying your student loan

You can also find news and updates in the  Education Infrastructure Service newsletters .

March 2017

Revised construction contracts

The weathertightness warranty in the Major Works and Medium Works contracts is now optional.

• Contracts for construction works and professional services

Revised procurement templates and guides

The following revised procurement templates/guides are now available:

• Contract works procurement plan - full (for open tender)
• Contract works procurement plan - short (for closed tender/direct source)
• Contract works Registration of Interest (ROI)
• Contract works Request for Tenders (RFT)
• Contract works Request for Quotes (RFQ)
• Contract works RFQ Lite (optional for under $50k)
• Contract works Schedule of Prices
• Contract works price analysis workbook
• Open tender evaluation workbook
• Procurement quick guide
• Conflict of interest and confidentiality agreement
• Exemption request
• Recommendation report
• Successful/short-listed respondent letter
• Unsuccessful respondent letters

Changes include:

• Introduction of the Request for Tenders (RFT) for Contract Works (in addition to the Request for Proposals (RFP) for Professional Services)
• The RFT and other Contract Works specific templates align with:
• • the latest Ministry Construction Works Contracts
  • the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 
  • Contract Works Price Schedule and Contract Works Price Analysis Workbook
• Evaluation Criteria weightings for Professional Services RFP have been changed to:
• • Proposed Solution: 10%
  • Capability: 45%
  • Capacity: 5%
  • Price: 40%
• Evaluation Criteria weightings for Professional Services ROI:
• • Capability: 80%
  • Capacity: 20%
• Approach to market templates (ROI,RFT,RFP,RFQ) refer to a single, separate RFx Process Terms and Conditions document.document available on the Procurement templates web-page: School Property Procurement Templates and Guides.
• Introduction of a Request for Quote Lite (RFQ Lite) that is optional for use for under $50,000 procurements of goods, services or works.
• Conformance and Best Value evaluation method or evaluating RFQs (direct source and closed tender) requires quotes to be scored ( /10) for proposed solution, capability and capacity as the means for determining which quotes conform/meet the requirement prior to selecting the conforming quote that is adjudged to represent best value.

Professional Services specific templates and the remaining templates and guides are currently being revised and will be released shortly.

For enquiries regarding revised procurement templates, please email: dean.hollis@education.govt.nz .

• Procurement templates and guides

Toilet reference designs

Version 2.0 of the Toilet Reference Design Guide has been released. The updated version incorporates feedback on the earlier version, and considers the recent coroner's report.

• Reference designs: Toilets

February 2017

Health and Safety Charter

Find out about the commitment the Education Infrastructure Service and their partners have to the health, safety and well-being of our workers and workplaces.

• Health and Safety Charter

Property Portal

The Property portal is now live. On this site schools can access the Property Maintenance Grant and School Property Guide previously accessed via PMIS.

• Property Portal

January 2017

Project management forms

New project management forms have been added - Design Fees Release Form, Invoice Templates, and Ministry-led Project Forms.

• Project management forms

PMIS update

Updated information about the Ministry's Property Information System (PMIS), and how to access up-to-date school property data.

• Property data

December 2016

Project management forms

Project management forms have been replaced, including an Interim Asset Update Form.

• Project management forms

Construction contracts

Following feedback after their release in October, we've made some changes to the Construction Works Templates.

Read about the changes, and download the updated templates and guidance:

• Construction contracts for professional services and works

Health and safety

The Health and safety management page has been reorganised so related topics are grouped together. There is also new information about health and safety for contractors working on property projects.

• Health and safety management

November 2016

Construction rates

Construction rates have been updated, and the new rates are to be used for projects approved after 1 December 2016

• Construction rates

October 2016

New asbestos risk management checklist

A checklist has been added to the asbestos management page to help contractors be sure they are following all the steps for safe asbestos risk management.

• Asbestos management

Construction contracts

Updated templates and guidelines for construction contracts.

New templates must be used from 17 October 2016.

• Construction contracts for professional services and works

Designing Quality Learning Spaces - Acoustics

A substantial update on the 2007 guide. It will become mandatory for all projects starting from 1 January 2017.

Read about key changes and download the PDF:

• Designing quality learning spaces in schools

Reference Design - ugrading Nelson two storey blocks to flexible learning spaces

Each reference design package contains a general briefing document for Boards of Trustees, supported with three appendices of technical information, including:

• an architectural scope and design plans with layout options and enhancements
• a structural scope including structural calculations, design features report, accessibility report, and fire report; and
• an estimated cost analysis.

Read more and download all the reference design packages:

• Reference Designs for Standard Classroom Block Upgrade (Nelson info is at the bottom of the page)

Reference Design - Toilets

New information includes:

• written guidelines
• example drawing layouts for design teams to use when planning to build new (or upgrade existing) toilet facilities

Read more and download the guide:

• Toilet reference design

On this page:

• Overview
• Key steps in preparing the Condition Assessment
• Your 10YPP Consultant's responsibilities
• Download forms, templates and guidelines

Overview

A Condition Assessment is a systematic review of all buildings, facilities, plant and underground services. They use the findings to identify what maintenance works are required over the next 10 years.  

The Condition Assessment will help you prioritise work in your 10YPP that is needed to keep your school property:

• in good working order
• meeting all legal and Ministry standards
• safe and functional.

You must have a Condition Assessment done every 5 years as part of your 10YPP preparation. However, maintenance is ongoing. Damage must be repaired as soon as possible to prevent further deterioration.

You must use your  Property Maintenance Grant funding for such work.

Key steps in preparing the Condition Assessment

1. Identify strategic impacts

Your 10YPP Consultant will meet with you and other school property representatives to discuss any Strategic Impacts at your school. Strategic Impacts are factors or planned actions that will affect the use or condition of a building or service now or in the future. For example, if you identify that a building is due to be replaced, it may need essential work to keep it operational in the meantime, but will not need painting or new floor coverings.

Other Strategic Impacts to consider are:

• predicted changes in enrolments
• the impact of new technology
• the effect of Ministry programmes like earthquake strengthening or weather-tightness repair
• specialist reports, eg structural reports that will impact the condition assessment.

Your 10YPP Consultant will guide you through this discussion.

2. Agree maintenance standards

Agree the required Maintenance Standard for each building and service with your 10YPP Consultant. The Standards define a desired condition of buildings and services in a school and establish quality levels.

Each building or service will have one of the following Maintenance Standards.

1. Specialist spaces are spaces that need a higher level of maintenance than other areas. These spaces either get a lot of wear and tear or legally require higher maintenance (eg science laboratories).
2. General spaces are general classrooms and administrative facilities. Maintenance keeps up their operational capacity without close attention to their physical appearance.
3. Minimal is the standard for buildings and services that have a limited life, fulfil a non-core function or have a basic utility function only (eg ancillary buildings such as a caretaker or storage shed). Operational spending is kept to the minimum, while maintaining operational capacity.
4. Mothball is the standard for buildings and services that are closed and not in current use. Maintenance is only for essential security measures.

3. Assessment

Your 10YPP Consultant conducts:

• a quick  desktop assessment of your school property, using the knowledge of people who understand your school property well such as the principal, caretaker and other property personnel
• a detailed  physical assessment of your school property to be sure that the Condition Assessment requirements at your school are accurately recorded.

Specialist reports : At this stage your 10YPP Consultant also engages specialists to do high-level reports on 5 key infrastructure features. High-level reports are required for:

• electrical services
• roofing
• plumbing services
• drain laying
• boiler and heating services.

The reports are to confirm that there are, or are not, any known problems with any infrastructure services. A full report may also be prepared if any problems are found during the Condition Assessment.

Specialists must be able to certify that they are qualified to produce reports and that they have taken every reasonable step to identify any required work. However, they are not liable if their contribution to the Condition Assessment is incorrect.

You will be invoiced directly for the costs for any specialists’ reports.

More information:  Paying for 10YPP preparation

4. Enter data in WebFM Mplan system

Your 10YPP Consultant:

• enters the data from the assessments into the WebFM MPlan computer system
• assigns priority codes to each project.

5. Develop the 10 year forecast

Your 10YPP Consultant uses the data in WebFM to show an initial 10 year forecast of the costs of maintaining the school’s buildings and facilities. They work with you to align common works in the same year to improve delivery or reduce disruption to your school.

Your 10YPP Consultant’s responsibilities

Your 10YPP Consultant (Property Planner) is responsible for completing and signing off the Condition Assessment and producing the 3 reports required for your 10YPP.

These include any works resulting from specialists’ inspections. However, the 10YPP Consultant is not liable if the Condition Assessment is incorrect. For example, they are not liable if:

• they fail to identify a problem with a boiler that later breaks down
• a planned project proves more complicated and costly than expected.

Download forms, templates and guidelines

Find out more about preparing a Condition Assessment:  Condition Assessment Guidelines .

How to download and fill out documents:

1. Right click on download, and click save link as to your PC
2. Then open the documentdcoument from where you have saved it to fill it out.

To complete a Condition Assessment, your 10YPP Consultant will use:

• Condition Assessment Data Capture Form
• Condition Assessment Minor Items Form
• Condition Assessment School Briefing Letter
• Condition Assessment Questionnaire
• Condition Assessment Preparation Checklist for 10YPP Consultants
• 10YPP Specialist High-Level Reports Template
• Condition Assessment Pivot Table Examples (including mandatory 10YPP reports) .

Please note: the above PDF forms must be saved to your computer in order to open and complete them.

Go to Step 3

Around 1,300 schools or 60% of schools have pools. Those that don’t have pools can use community or council swimming pools. These can provide a safer swimming environment, better year-round facilities and more trained instructors.

We provide all schools with swimming pools additional funding as part of their annual property maintenance grant. Schools may also use their capital funding (5YA) to maintain the essential infrastructure of the pool. Schools without a pool can use their operations grant to help take students to a nearby swimming pool. Boards of trustees are responsible for delivering the curriculum and decide how funding is spent at their school.

We encourage schools without pools to collaborate with local community groups and councils, or each other. In some cases, schools have worked in partnership with local community groups and councils to co-own facilities and redevelop existing pools. We believe this approach provides better value for money both locally and nationally and leads to a better use of existing facilities.

School boards make their own decisions about closing pools, whether temporarily or permanently, and they don’t have to tell us that a pool has closed. We don't hold specific information about swimming pools which have closed in the past.

Kim Shannon,Jerome Sheppard, Head of Education Infrastructure Service.

• National mentoring service for Māori and Pasifika students
• Health and wellbeing information for children and young people
• Bullying prevention and response
  
• Reporting child abuse and neglect
• Education service for youth courts
• Information on international and exchange students
• Supporting young people with stress, anxiety or depression

National mentoring service for Māori and Pasifika students

The National mentoring service for Māori and Pasifika students is aimed at supporting young Māori and Pasifika students to achieve NCEA.

Reporting child abuse and neglect

See the Reporting Abuse Protocols in the Useful Resources section of Preparing for and dealing with emergencies and traumatic incidents .

Education service for youth courts

The Ministry of Education's education services to youth courts throughout New Zealand.

Information on international and exchange students

• International student visitors
• Student exchange approvals
• Exchange Programmes which meet the Code of Practice for International Students

Supporting young people with stress, anxiety and/or depression

The guidelines for supporting young people with stress anxiety or depression will help you to support a young person who may be suffering mild to moderate mental health issues.

These guidelines have been developed as part of the Youth Mental Health Project .

These resources are for schools and for early childhood education (ECE) services and nga kōhanga reo.

• Physical Activity for Healthy, Confident Kids
• Promoting student health and wellbeing: drug education in schools guide
• Preventing and dealing with bullying
• Why promote healthy lifestyles?*
• Preventing flu spreading *
• School High Health Need Fund
• Headlice and nits * on the Ministry of Health website
• Infection control issues surrounding HIV/AIDS and other blood borne diseases on the Ministry of Health website
• Health conditions in education settings: supporting children and young people

 * resources that ECE services and nga kōhanga reo may find useful.

Health conditions in education settings can be downloaded below in PDF and Word format. The forms from the document are also available as separate PDF downloads.

Related downloads

Health conditions in education

Example health care plan P41

Contacting emergency services P44

Agreement to administer medication P44

Information sharing plan P46

Self administration agreement P46

Staff training plan P47

Hospital Play Specialists

Contact your  local Director of Education or ring 0800 to discuss what's involved. You can also ring 0800 IES INFO (0800 437 4636) if you have any questions or need further information. email  IES.team@education.govt.nz with the list of schools, early learning services or tertiary provider names and numbers that wish to establish or join an existing Community of Learning | Kāhui Ako.  

Guides

These guides provide advice for the various stages in establishing a Community of Learning | Kāhui Ako, from expressing interest in participating in a Community of Learning | Kāhui Ako to the appointment of the Community of Learning | Kāhui Ako roles.

• Guide for Schools and Kura
• He Aratohu ma nga Kura
• Tips and Starters: Working Together
• Guide to Writing a Memorandum of Agreement 
• Role Selection and Appointment Information 

Periodically during the year the board and the Principal will want to assure themselves that the school is on track towards achieving its financial and non-financial objectives. It is up to each board and principal to determine how their school’s progress is monitored. For example, the senior staff and the Principal may report to the board monthly.

If students are approvedExamples of SAC are: the use of a writer or computer, rest breaks, Braille or enlarged papers, or a reader. Find out more about special assessment conditions on the NZQA website. Includes information for Special Assessment Conditions (SAC), they are able to get extra help for their internalschools and external NCEA(National Certificate Educational Achievement) assessments. parents about applying. [LINK]

• Applying for SAC including timeframes
• Guidelines for heads of learning support or those in similar roles Guidelines for heads of learning support or those in similar roles about effective assistance for SAC
• e-learning module for reader/writers
• Further information

Applying for SAC

• You need to apply for special assessment conditions for your students. Go to the NZQA's guidelines for further information and to make an application .
• New applicants need to apply in October for the following year.
• Rollover and change applications apply in February for that year.

Go to the NZQA website for more details on timelines for SAC

GuidelinesNZQA for principals and school leaders

This guide is for heads of learning support or those in similar roles, to assist with designing school practices to support effective assessment of all students.

• Downloadthe guide

E-learning module for reader/writers

This self-paced online module introduces the reader/writers to the key skills, roles and responsibilities of the role in formal assessments. full timetable

Students, whānau and educators joined the Prime Minister and Associate Minister of Education, along with others, to mark the occasion in Rolleston.

Around 100 students started the school year at the $12 million Lemonwood Grove School, which is located on a 4 hectare site near the recently opened Rolleston College.

Earlier in the month Christchurch’s Year 1-13 Haeata Community Campus was also officially opened.

Ministry of Education Head of Education Infrastructure Service Kim Shannon says these projects are part of a large investment in education infrastructure in Canterbury.

“Lemonwood Grove School and Rolleston College have been built to cater for anticipated population growth in the Rolleston area,” Ms Shannon says.

“Haeata Community Campus is part of the Government’s $1.137 billion Christchurch Schools Rebuild programme. The programme includes building or redeveloping 115 schools in greater Christchurch, 23 of which are brand new schools. Eight of these have already been built.”

Ms Shannon says the three schools all have ‘state of the art’ facilities that will inspire learners and educators for years to come.

Inside Lemonwood Grove School

Lemonwood Grove School will cater for Year 1 to 8 students across 17 teaching spaces.

Around 100 students are currently enrolled at the school, however the current facilities will provide for up to 400 students. A future second stage of building will take capacity up to 750 students.

Facilities at the new school include a multi-purpose space, library, technology ‘maker spaces’ in each learning landscape, outdoor teaching spaces and an adventure play area.

The flexible learning environment focuses on students’ engagement and motivation, and creates space for learners to work independently or collaboratively.

Collaborative spaces extend to teachers who have access to resources in the administration building called The Grove, but otherwise share the learning spaces with the students.

As set out in the New Zealand School Property Strategy 2011 - 2021, we are working toward ensuring that all schools have good lighting, acoustics and ventilation, are a comfortable temperature and meet our ICT requirements.

Lemonwood Grove School was finished 6 weeks ahead of schedule. This is a feat largely attributed to the Innovative and collaborative way that the school, the Ministry, consultants, and local contractors worked together on the project.

The new school is located near the brand new Rolleston College and West Rolleston Primary School, which opened in January 2016.

Secretary for Education: Iona Holsted

Secretary for Education: Iona Holsted

Iona Holsted was appointed as Secretary for Education on 5 December 2016.

Prior to this, Iona was the Chief Review Officer and Chief Executive of the Education Review Office. She was appointed to this role in July 2014.

Between 2007 and 2014 Iona held 4 senior management roles at the Ministry of Social Development, most recently as Deputy Chief Executive, Students, Seniors and Integrity Services. In this role she was responsible for services to seniors (superannuation payments), Studylink, and the integrity of the benefit system.

Iona also spent 6 years as a Deputy Commissioner at the State Services Commission.

She started her career as a primary school teacher in Auckland, later becoming an advocate and researcher for the Public Service Association and then as General Manager of a community controlled primary health care organisation.

Iona has completed an executive leadership programme at the INSEAD Business School, and studied strategic leadership at Oxford University.

She has been a mentor with the New Zealand Institute of Management since 2007, a Member of the Executive Leadership Learning Network and has served on Barnardos and YMCA Greater Wellington Boards.

Iona has a Higher Diploma of Teaching from Victoria University of Wellington and trained as a teacher at Waikato College of Teacher Education.

Deputy Secretary, Sector Enablement and Support: Katrina Casey

Deputy Secretary, Sector Enablement and Support: Katrina Casey

Katrina is Deputy Secretary for Sector Enablement and Support at the Ministry, responsible for ensuring all support to the sector and operations and programmes provided directly to learners are focused on maximising learner achievement.

Katrina has extensive experience across a range of public sector settings. She was General Manager of Community Probation Services at the Department of Corrections, leading 2,500 staff across 220 locations to manage offenders serving community sentences and orders. Katrina joined Corrections as General Manager Strategic Development when it was formed as a new Department in 1995. She had previously worked in the Inland Revenue Department and the Ministry of Works and Development.

Katrina holds a Bachelor of Science from Canterbury University and a Masters in Regional and Resource Planning (with Distinction) from Otago University.

Deputy Secretary, Parent Information and Community Intelligence: Apryll Parata

Deputy Secretary, Parent Information and Community Intelligence: Apryll Parata

In July 2013, Apryll was appointed to the role of Deputy Secretary Priority Education Assignments. This group has been established to respond to urgent projects identified by the Secretary for Education.

Apryll has previously held two other Deputy Secretary roles within the Ministry. Deputy Secretary Māori Education in late February 2007, bringing a wealth of experience in education to this position. Deputy Secretary Performance and Change in April 2012. This group was charged with organisation-wide performance measurement, monitoring and improvement.

She has taught and held management positions in a number of secondary schools on the East Coast and in the Wairarapa.

Apryll has a BA in Māori Studies from Waikato University and a Diploma of Secondary Teaching. As well as being a teacher she has been Principal of Ngata Memorial College in Ruatoria, a Private Secretary to a Minister of the Crown and has also been the Director Education Practice at Gardiner Parata Ltd since 1997.

Some of her work as a consultant has included working in the area of Māori medium education, and facilitating reviews of planning processes at Te Puni Kōkiri.

Apryll has tribal affiliations with Ngāti Porou and Ngāi Tahu.

Head of Education Infrastructure Service (EIS): Kim Shannon

Kim is a highly experienced operational and policy leader, who has been with the Ministry since 2000. She has led significant change in the Ministry, specialising in building value, driving good business practice and high standards of public service.

She has led programmes to unwind bulk funding, bring together multiple policy teams into one group, and managed major staffing reviews. As Programme Director for the Schools Plus initiative, she led a cross-government approach to lift achievement in education by developing pathways between secondary and tertiary education.

Kim was involved in the early part of Christchurch’s recovery, driving the business case for the capital works programme through to Cabinet’s approval. As Head of EIS, Kim introduced the first new schools PPP (public-private partnership) in education.

In Kim’s role of Head of Education Infrastructure Service (EIS), she is responsible for ensuring New Zealand’s schools are safe and inspiring learning environments, and oversees management of a $23.5 billion property portfolio, with a $600 million annual property spend.

EIS also delivers school transport assistance to more than 100,000 students in rural areas and students with special needs, drives better use of technology in schools through improved ICT infrastructure and the upgrades of all school IT networks, and ensures accurate, on-time payment for state education school employees.

Kim holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Education and English and a Diploma in Secondary Teaching from Canterbury University. Prior to joining the Ministry, Kim worked at the Department of Internal Affairs and the State Services Commission.

Deputy Secretary, Graduate Achievement, Vocations and Careers: Claire Douglas

Deputy Secretary, Graduate Achievement, Vocations and Careers: Claire Douglas

Claire joined the Ministry on 1 May as Deputy Secretary Graduate Achievement, Vocations and Careers. Claire is from Wellington and has held a number of policy leadership roles in central government on education policy matters. Her most recent role was at the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. Prior to that Claire worked in the Treasury from 2004 to 2010 and as a senior manager in the Ministry of Education from 1990 to 2004. An earlier role held by Claire was in the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries as an Agricultural economist.

Claire has a Master's Degree in Public Policy from Victoria University and an undergraduate degree in Agricultural Science.

The Graduate Achievement, Vocations and Careers Group is responsible for tertiary education strategy, policy, sector performance analysis, youth guarantee and vocational pathways, and international education. We work in a variety of ways to ensure young people transition successfully into work or further study. We also help New Zealand compete internationally as a place to study.

Acting Deputy Secretary, Early Learning and Student Achievement: Karl Le Quesne

Acting Deputy Secretary Early Learning and Student Achievement: Karl Le Quesne

Karl was seconded to the acting Deputy Secretary Early Learning and Student Achievement in October 2016.

His previous role was Associate Deputy Secretary Early Learning and Student Achievement. He has led a number of functions in the Ministry including policy, funding, regulatory, Better Public Services, and ICT programmes, covering special education, early childhood education and other areas.

Karl has been with the Ministry since 2000 and has held a number of significant roles within the organisation such as Group Manager, Education Work Programme, Group Manager, Early Childhood Education, Director, Christchurch Earthquake Recovery Programme, Senior Manager, Education Management Policy, among others.

Karl has an Honours Degree in Geography from Victoria University of Wellington, and was a Leadership Development Centre Fellow in 2014.

Deputy Secretary, Education System Policy: Dr Andrea Schöllmann

Deputy Secretary, Education System Policy: Dr Andrea Schöllmann

Andrea took on the role of Deputy Secretary, Education System Policy, in November 2013.  She joined the Ministry of Education in 2007, and since then has held a number of senior management roles, in the tertiary, international and system policy areas.  Prior to this, Andrea worked at the then Ministry of Economic Development, in regional and sector development roles, for 7 years.

The Education System Policy Group is responsible for strategic policy advice on education system settings, including advice on the system’s ability to deliver material improvements for learners at all levels.  The group provides policy advice on early childhood education and schooling, and on the performance of the education system for Māori and Pasifika learners.  It also has a focus on strengthening the medium to longer term strategic focus of the education system, and manages the Vote Education Budget.  The group is also leading the development of a social investment framework for education.

Andrea holds a PhD and a Masters degree from Lincoln University, where she lectured for some years in tourism geography.  She emigrated to New Zealand from Germany in 1990, so she also holds a number of German qualifications in the area of business management and administration, and she worked in the private sector in Germany.

Deputy Secretary, Business Enablement and Support: Zoe Griffiths

Deputy Secretary Business Enablement and Support: Zoe Griffiths

Zoe was appointed Deputy Secretary of the Business Enablement and Support group on 16 February 2015.

The role is responsible for the Ministry’s organisational capability ensuring the critical people, processes, systems and infrastructure is in place to achieve the business strategies of the Ministry. The functions within this group include: IT, Finance, People Capability, Business Services and Procurement.

Prior to working for the Ministry, Zoe was seconded from the Ministry of Social Development to work as Director of the Ministerial Inquiry into Novopay. She was appointed to the Ministry’s Leadership Team as the Director of the Secretary’s Office on 1 June 2014.

Prior to this Zoe has held a range of senior roles in the Ministry of Social Development, including General Manager – Care and Protection Support in the Child, Youth and Family Service and General Manager Strategy and Service Development in Work and Income.

Zoe has a Bachelor of Laws from Auckland University.

Deputy Secretary Strategy, Planning and Governance: Ellen MacGregor-Reid

Deputy Secretary Strategy, Planning and Governance: Ellen MacGregor-Reid

Ellen started with the Ministry of Education as Deputy Secretary Strategy, Planning and Governance on 28 May 2015. In this role Ellen is responsible for; the update of the Education Act, the Review of Funding Systems,for business strategy, education system stewardship, planningstewardship, planning and governance, risk and assurance, legal services, communications, ministerial services and support for the Chief Executive.

Ellen joined the Ministry from the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC), where she was Deputy Director for the Policy Advisory Group and policy advisor to the Prime Minister on social sector issues. Prior to her 3 years with DPMC, Ellen had spent almost 5 years at the Ministry of Social Development (MSD).

At MSD Ellen held a variety of roles including General Manager Social Sector Strategy, General Manager Planning, Performance and Governance, and Deputy Director of the Chief Executive's Office.

Ellen began her public service career at the Treasury over 1413 years ago. She holds a Master of Arts in Geography from the University of Auckland.

Raukura/Chief Advisor Te Ao Māori: Kingi Matutaera Ihaka (Matu)

Matu has been appointed to a senior leadership role which works across the Ministry to ensure all our work helps us to lift Māori achievement. Matu supports the Secretary for Education and the Leadership Team by providing advice on policy issues and the Ministry’s capability and performance in cultural contexts.

Matu has been part of the Te Ao Māori team supporting the previous Chief Advisor, Te Rau Kupenga, working across the Ministry to support Māori achievement. He was contracting at the Ministry for Culture and Heritage, where he supported the refresh of their Māori Strategy, Te Arataki, and engagement with iwi/Māori. He has also contracted to the Ministry of Health supporting Māori Health Providers from Te Hāpua to Awarua (Bluff) and was recently a member of the National Health Information Technology Health Board Consumer Panel and Patients First Steering Group. Currently a member of the Royal NZ College of General Practitioners Quality Advisory Committee, Matu was a member of the Steering Group for Aiming for Excellence, a quality improvement framework for GPs throughout New Zealand, released in August 2016.

Deputy Secretary Evidence, Data and Knowledge: Dr Craig Jones

Deputy Secretary Evidence, Data and Knowledge: Dr Craig Jones

Craig was appointed to the role of Deputy Secretary, Evidence, Data and Knowledge in May 2016.

Originally from Invercargill and a graduate of Otago University, Craig has been involved in the New South Wales public service for most of his career. All of his roles have had a strong focus on research and evaluation to inform policy decisions with evidence about ‘what works’, for whom and under what conditions. He has held leadership roles in Justice and in the NSW Treasury and, most recently, at the Centre for Education Statistics and Evaluation within the New South Wales Department of Education. In his most recent role, Craig was overseeing the evaluation of major reform initiatives across the NSW education system and other strategic research projects to inform education policy decision-making. Craig holds a PhD in forensic psychology from the University of New South Wales.

• Tai Tokerau regional news
• Auckland regional news
• Waikato regional news
• Bay of Plenty - Waiariki regional news
• Hawke’s Bay / Tairāwhiti regional news
• Taranaki, Whanganui, Manawatu regional news
• Wellington regional regional news
• Nelson, Marlborough, West Coast regional news
• Canterbury regional news
• Otago regional news

Tai Tokerau regional news

Director’s message

Tēnā koutou katoa

Welcome to Step Ahead, a new education and care centre operating in Kamo, Whangarei. We look forward to getting to know your team.

Congratulations to Hurupaki Kindergarten for their recent ‘Very Well Placed’ category 4 ERO report. An earlier report had noted the confidence and competence of learners, the support given to children with learning needs and the effective teaching practice. These positive aspects have been maintained. This consistency is what is looked for when awarding a category 4 report. Well done to all involved.

Communities of Learning I Kāhui Ako continue to be set up in Tai Tokerau. Being a formal member of a Kāhui Ako in the early stages means a service could be directly involved in setting Achievement Challenges and drafting the Memorandum of Agreement.

ECE services me ngā kōhanga reo (early learning services), schools and kura may connect and work together at any time about the Kāhui Ako and Achievement Challenges, whether membership is formalised or not.

If you would like to know more contact one of the ECE team.

Whananaki Playgroup

The Whananaki Playgroup whānau have achieved one of their long-term goals and facilitated the building of a new outdoor playground area in the North Whananaki community. The playground will create wonderful experiences and opportunities for its whānau and tamariki, benefit the community week after week, and the holiday-makers who come from far and wide during the summer season!

The whānau of the Whananaki Playgroup were interested in buying outdoor equipment for the tamariki who attend it to extend their development and play experiences outdoors. After receiving funding from the Ministry of Education (Special Grant for Playgroups), the playgroup’s whānau decided they needed to aim even higher and create an outdoor space that could also be used by the wider community. They applied for other grants and funding in order to get a larger playground structure that would be a permanent fixture on the community grounds. As a whānau group they dealt with the council, funders and other community groups to see their vision into reality.

The playground was then gifted to the Whananaki community in an opening ceremony held on Thursday 23 February 2017 where The Rt Hon Winston Peters opened the structure, praising the capability of the small community to improve and empower each other towards creating and maintaining an improved environment for their tamariki. Community members attended with their tamariki and were very thankful to the whānau of the Whananaki Playgroup for their efforts and vision in creating such a wonderful space for the tamariki to play in. The playground is located next to the community hall where the playgroup is located and the local library.

Congratulations to the whānau of Whananaki Playgroup. We can only wonder what goal they will aim for next!

Hira Gage
Director of Education Tai Tokerau
Phone: 09 436 8914
Email: hira.gage@education.govt.nz

Auckland regional news

Ta'alofa and mālō ni

Learning Support changes

You will be aware that there has been a significant change in the way the Ministry of Education is now structured in the regions.

That change has resulted in Learning Support being managed along with other Ministry teams to achieve an integrated Ministry approach in each of the 10 regions including ours. In Auckland, an integrated Ministry approach means that our Learning Support Teams will be aligned with our 6 geographic Education Teams, which in turn are aligned around existing Communities of Learning | Kāhui Ako.

You will also be aware that a new Learning Support service model is being developed based on feedback received from the sector and parents during the Special Education Update consultation held early last year. The feedback identified several key issues and the new model is based on 4 key foundation goals aimed at addressing those issues:

1. A single point of contact for parents, whānau and the school to access Learning Support.
2. Local Learning Support Teams (LLSTs) to assess each learner’s needs and agree on the support they need. These teams might include RTLB, Ministry, Kāhui Ako staff, Special Schools and others as relevant.
3. A Lead Practitioner who will be the single point of contact for each child and young person.
4. Collection of individual student data related to Learning Support and achievement, so that over time we are able to ensure the services we provide are right for each student.

We plan to start by engaging with a small number of Kāhui Ako to develop the model with them. Over the course of the year we aim to engage with all schools and Kāhui Ako.

Children’s Team Update 

“Me ka moemoea ahau, Ko au anake, Me ka moemoea e tatou, Ka taea e tatou. One Team, One Dream, One place arriving together." Brownie Rauwhero, Counties Manukau Children’s Team (CMCT) kaumatua.

On 22 March the CMCT will celebrate its 1st birthday. Professionals and practitioners have been transforming the way we work together, adopting the Children’s Team approach. This means that there is one plan to ensure tamariki are thriving, engaged in education and belong to a successful, resilient whānau.

Over 330 children from Manurewa and Papakura have been referred and 31 Lead Professionals have been assigned to them. These professionals coordinate a Child’s Action Network (CAN), which is made up of the child, their parents or caregivers, practitioners and professionals involved with providing support and services. Membership of CAN has proven to be flexible and often changes to support the children and their family, all working to one plan.

Tying this all together is a centralised database. The sharing of key information has proved to be crucial in helping children and their family access the right support. The Vulnerable Kids Interface (VIKI) provides a forum for all professionals working with the Children’s Team to store and share the information, regardless of the agency they work for. Information about online training modules for those who need access to VIKI will be sent out soon.

Referrals from the education sector have increased over the year across all age groups, and any professional working in the sector can make a one. To make a referral, please contact the Vulnerable Children’s Hub on 0800 367 687.

For more information on the Children’s Team visit www.childrensactionplan.govt.nz.

This month’s manager profiles

Last year we highlighted changes in our Auckland office structure and began introducing our new managers. This month we continue with 2 more of our Education Managers from the West and North teams.

Grant Malins – Education Manager West Auckland

Grant started with the Ministry of Education in 2000 in the Waikato office for Special Education. Grant worked across a wide range of Ministry functions including non-enrolled and excluded students, Youth Justice and the Severe Behaviour Service.In 2007, he joined the Auckland office in the role of Service Manager, Severe Behaviour Service.

In 2010, Grant was appointed Manager, Regional Behaviour Services and led the roll out of the Positive Behaviour for Learning (PB4L) Action Plan. In 2016, he was appointed Education Manager, West Auckland.

Grant is married and has 3 children, 2 dogs and is a recreational fishing legend – in his mind at least!

Rachael Laurenson – Education Manager North Auckland

Before joining the Ministry, Rachael was involved in secondary school education for 20 years, including as Deputy Principal at Mount Albert Grammar and Avondale College. Just before joining the Ministry she worked for Team Solutions at the University of Auckland as Facilitator Māori Achievement and Community.

In 2013, Rachael joined the Youth Guarantee Team and in 2016 was appointed to the role of Education Manager North Auckland. Rachael is married and has 3 children aged between 7 and 25 years old.

Using Appreciative Inquiry to improve outcomes: a case study

SELO (strengthening early learning opportunities for children, whānau, families and communities) is a professional development programme for early learning. H-Education Ltd is one provider that the Ministry of Education contracts to facilitate SELO programmes with early childhood services. H-Education worked with 12 early childhood services in 2016, and this case study will profile their work, with YMCA Early Learning Centre Manurewa using a strengths-based approach for their professional inquiry/self-review process.

Appreciative Inquiry (AI) is a positive 4-stage approach to organisational change (The 4 D’s) that focuses on developing data-driven decision-making to create sustainable improvements to practice. This approach is a holistic, collaborative process that promotes deeper teacher inquiry. AI leverages the strengths and philosophy to create innovative improvements and solutions to enable better outcomes for children.

Shannon Keane, YMCA Early Learning Manurewa, describes the process from the perspective of the centre:

“We wanted to focus on enhancing risky play. The introduction of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 created an opportunity for us to review our policies at an organisational and centre level. Change is good, and we aimed to ensure that the experiences provided in our risk-taking environment were still challenging for our tamariki.

This was around the same time we were invited to participate with H-Education on an amazing journey using their AI review. We were able to achieve change at a revolutionary level, and the whole process released us from looking at what was going wrong but enhancing what we were doing well.

Teachers have released their fears of ‘cotton balling’ children and being ‘helicopter’ teachers by working with children to learn how to make safe choices for themselves and others. Rain, hail or shine … ‘There is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing.’ Children learn what they need in order to keep themselves and others safe and healthy in different weather. We discuss, negotiate and plan together.

Our proudest achievement is having our local bush visits in Manurewa. It’s a little secret place that our tamariki have called ‘our bush’. Every Tuesday you will find us there learning about how to be great leaders and extend our ideas around what it means to be a leader. With a leader-stick in hand we are discovering the joy of nature through playing games, problem solving, finding patterns in nature, hunting and gathering, drawing and writing about our experiences and truly connecting with everything available." 

Visit our website for more information about the SELO professional development programme.

Isabel Evans
Director of Education Auckland
Phone: 09 632 9333
Email: isabel.evans@education.govt.nz

Waikato regional news

E rau rangatira mā tēnā koutou katoa

Learning Support Update

Nationally, we’re making some changes to how Special Education and support for students with additional learning needs works.

Across the country, Special Education will be transforming into Learning Support. This change is being implemented progressively from the end of February 2017. The changes in the area of Learning Support are important for you and the children you work with because they are about being timelier in the service we provide and less bureaucratic. You can learn more about these changes on our website.

We’ve got a pilot running in the Bay of Plenty area which we will be able to learn from, but we will also begin to make some changes here in the Waikato based on what we have seen works and your feedback from the sector engagements in 2015. This is a really exciting period for the Ministry and broader education sector. If you have any questions about the Learning Support Update please email learning.support@education.govt.nz or phone 0800 622 222.

Have you looked at this exciting opportunity?

In last month’s He Pānui Kōhungahunga – The Early Learning Bulletin there was information about the Teacher Led Innovation Fund (TLIF). This fund supports teams of qualified teachers from early childhood education (ECE) services me ngā kōhanga reo (early learning services), schools and kura to collaboratively develop innovative practices that improve learning outcomes.

It is exciting that this fund is now available to early learning services and we hope to hear of successful applications in our region. All qualified early learning service teachers can now apply directly to the TLIF with their inquiry project.

This website link gives clear instructions about what the fund is for, how and when to apply, and a timeline for when applications need to be in by: ECE Teacher-Led Innovation Fund Opportunity.

Expressions of interest closed on 16 March 2017. Applications close on 17 April 2017.

Resource Consent / Compliance Schedule / BWOF / Certificate of Licence

We would like to alert you to the potential for some discrepancies between these documents in relation to building occupancy numbers.

All early childhood applications for a licence must be accompanied by evidence that the premises comply with the Building Act 2004, if this applies, in respect of their use as a centre (Reg 9 and PF 3).

Section 100 of the Building Act 2004 may also require a Compliance Schedule to be issued and then an annual Building Warrant of Fitness (BWOF) (s108). Note that:

• For new service applications: it is important to check that approved occupancy numbers for staff and children are aligned on both the Compliance Schedule and the Resource Consent and take note of this when you are submitting your application for a licence.

• For existing services: one of the requirements of the Amendments to the Building Act 2012 was to provide additional information on the Compliance Schedules. Every council was required to re-issue all their Compliance Schedules with as much information as was available and that information is required to be transferred onto the BWOF documents. Please check your current BWOF to ensure that any occupancy numbers stated on that document align with your approved Resource Consent and your current Ministry of Education Certificate of Licence.

You may need to refer back to application documents for Resource and Building Consent applications if there are no numbers stated on the BWOF.

If you have any concerns please call Mere Lawson-Nuri, Manager Education, on 07 858 8960 or 027 284 8686.

Paula Rawiri
Director of Education Waikato
Phone: 07 850 8924
Email: paula.rawiri@education.govt.nz

Bay of Plenty – Waiariki regional news

Talofa lava and kia ora koutou

Children’s Day

On Sunday 5 March 2017 the Rotorua Lakes Council organised for Children’s Day to be celebrated in the Redwood Forest. This was a great day and what a great place to hold such an event. In the afternoon I took my family of 5 children along to join in the activities. Many organisations, including the Ministry of Education, were represented. It was good to see children enjoying the many activities that were set up amongst the trees, which included hut building, painting and games. It was also a great opportunity for our staff to talk to children and their whanau about our role, early childhood and schooling.

If you have questions about anything in this Bulletin, don’t hesitate to talk with Aroha, Gina or Michelle in the first instance or contact me directly at the email address below.

Ngā mihi

Ezra Schuster
Director of Education Bay of Plenty – Waiariki
Phone: 07 349 8309
Email: ezra.schuster@education.govt.nz

Hawke’s Bay – Tairāwhiti regional news

Director’s message

Tēnā koutou

Ngā mihi nui Te Kapa Haka o Whāngārā Mai Tawhiti who were named the Te Matatini champions – so proud to have a group from our region win! I’ll make sure the Directors of Education in other regions take note. It was a privilege to attend for 3 of the 4 days of this competition. I was in awe of the calibre of all the performances, as well as the huge turnout of 50,000 people, many of whom visited our Ministry of Education stand.

Children’s Day

‘Connecting communities to help Gisborne families thrive’ was the theme for the Children’s Day extravaganza held in Gisborne. Our Ministry exhibition space was abuzz with interactive play and literacy activities.  Ministry staff were there to share information and answer questions about early learning and schools and distribute books to children and whānau. These were much appreciated and affirmed the value of reading in homes. A huge thank you to the local businesses and volunteers who got involved and helped make the day a celebration of our tamariki.

Learning Support changes

You will be aware there has been a significant change in the way the Ministry of Education is now structured in the regions. That change has resulted in Learning Support being integrated with other teams in each of the 10 regions including ours.

You will be aware that a new Learning Support service model is being developed based on feedback received from the sector, parents and whānau during the Special Education Update consultation held at the end of 2015. The feedback identified several key issues and the new model is based on key foundation goals aimed at addressing those issues:

• A local Learning Support facilitator who will coordinate access to services that best meet the needs of each child and young person, from across the Ministry, the Community of Learning | Kāhui Ako and other relevant agencies.
• A flexible, tailored and dedicated learning plan.
• The collection of individual student data relating to Learning Support and achievement.

We hope to start by engaging with a small number of Kāhui Ako to develop the model with them to support the achievement of at-risk learners. Over the course of the year we aim to engage with all Kāhui Ako.

Tips for Autism course

We are hosting a Tips for Autism course in Gisborne from 23-25 May. The course is an opportunity for teams to spend time together learning and developing plans for their children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The course is free for participants and available to teams supporting primary school-aged children with ASD. Applications meeting the criteria are accepted on a first-in, first-served basis, so teams are advised to get their applications in as soon as possible to secure a place on the course. To apply and for more information please see the attached application form. For queries about the course and team make up please phone 06 364 0545 or email team@tipsforautism.co.nz.

Finally, please read the Hawke’s Bay Child Interagency newsletter – Tamaiti tū, tamaiti ora.

Roy Sye
Director of Education Hawke’s Bay – Tairāwhiti
Phone: 06 833 6898
Email: roy.sye@ducation.govt.nz

Taranaki, Whanganui, Manawatu regional news

Ngā mihi maioha ki a koutou katoa

Learning Support Update

You may be aware that a new Learning Support service model has been developed based on feedback received from the sector, parents and whānau during the Special Education Update consultation held at the end of 2015.

We have started the next stage in our transformation journey in enhancing the support we provide to children, students, early childhood services, kura and schools with the integration of Learning Support into our regional structure.

Many of you will have worked with staff in Special Education who previously were part of the Central South. These staff now report through to the Director of Education.

This is a great opportunity for all of us to learn, grow and develop. I am really looking forward to working with you and our colleagues in other regions and the national office to work out how we can support you. Our strength comes from the combined expertise and commitment of our people and I would like to thank everyone for their support as we worked through the change process.

If you would like to find out more about the Learning Support Update visit the Ministry’s website.

Communities of Learning | Kāhui Ako

In Taranaki, Whanganui, Manawatu we began 2017 with 15 Kāhui Ako. Eight of these were approved by the Minister on 5 December. This includes 31,000 learners from 133 schools and 4 Early Learning Centres.

The Inglewood Kāhui Ako has 4 Early Learning Centres and it is expected that a 5th centre will join in the next tranche. Inglewood Play Centre, Inglewood Kindergarten, Inglewood Community Childcare Centre and Top Kids Inglewood have full representation in this Kāhui Ako. This representation includes a member from that the Early Learning Group being part of the Key Leadership Group, as well as on the selection panel for the Lead Principal recruitment. This Kāhui Ako is currently working on their Achievement Challenge. All of the challenges being considered are inclusive of the learners across the system.

Significant ECE engagement has also occurred in the Palmerston North East Kāhui Ako where the Ruahine Kindergarten Association is providing resources for Across ECE Teachers to work with the Across School Teachers. As has occurred with this Kāhui Ako, we are finding that there is increased engagement with the early learning sector once the Lead Principals have been appointed. This is providing a key contact person with the Kāhui Ako. Lead Principals are in a good position to collaborate with all types of ECE providers to consider the best strategies for Kāhui Ako engagement across the sector. Taranaki, Whanganui, Manawatu is expecting many more ECE providers to be members of their Kāhui Ako in 2017.

We are committed to working with you to support better outcomes for children and Kāhui Ako are very much the mechanism by which we see this happening. If you would like more information about, or support to engage with, Kāhui Ako please do not hesitate to contact your ECE Education Advisors or Jude Fawcett and Cathie Newton, the 2 Lead Kāhui Ako Advisors in Taranaki, Whanganui, Manawatu.

Nicole Hobbs, Education Advisor - nicole.hobbs@education.govt.nz
Leigh Owen, Education Advisor - leigh.owen@education.govt.nz
Jude Fawcett, Lead Kāhui Ako Advisor - jude.fawcett@education.govt.nz
Cathie Newton, Lead Kāhui Ako Advisor - cathie.newton@education.govt.nz

You can also find out more about Communities of Learning | Kāhui Ako.

Opportunities at the Ministry

Have you ever wanted to work at the Ministry? We have a number of opportunities for Education Advisors coming up. For a confidential enquiry please contact Marlene Clarkson (Marlene.Clarkson@education.govt.nz) for further information.

Bulletins

Do your staff know that they can receive He Pānui Kōhungahunga – The Early Learning Bulletin directly? They just need to email earlylearning.bulletin@education.govt.nz and ask to be added to the distribution list.

You may also be interested in reading the Bulletin for School Leaders | He Pitopito Kōrero which is published fortnightly on the Ministry’s website.

Jann Marshall
Director of Education Taranaki, Whanganui, Manawatu
Phone: 06 349 6352
Mobile: 021 229 7685
Email: jann.marshall@education.govt.nz

Wellington regional news

Director’s message

Tēnā koutou katoa, ngā mihi nui ki a koutou

It’s hard to believe we are now well and truly moving into autumn. Where did the summer go?

While keeping our tamariki healthy and safe is important all year round, the rise in illnesses (especially respiratory conditions) in the winter months brings this into sharper focus. With winter ahead, it is timely to be thinking about some of the things you can be doing in your service to help keep you and your tamariki well as the colder months approach.

Good ventilation and how to get it

I would like to thank our colleagues at Regional Public Health for providing us with the key messages about ventilation below as an effective way to help control the spread of infection in early childhood environments.

Having natural or mechanical ventilation that allows fresh air to circulate is a requirement of licensing criterion PF12. There must be adequate ventilation in every room in the centre that is used by children. Good ventilation is particularly important for sleep rooms, nappy change areas, bathrooms and rooms where unwell children are isolated and looked after temporarily.

Inadequate ventilation can result in a damp atmosphere in your service. Dampness allows infections to spread more easily and can exacerbate asthma in children or staff. It is really important that sleep rooms have movement of air. Without ventilation sleep rooms can become stuffy and airless, increasing the risk of respiratory infections and glue ear. Ventilation is still needed even in cold, wet weather.

• Have opening windows on opposite sides of the building.
• If windows and doors cannot be opened due to poor weather conditions then mechanical ventilation is necessary.
• Ceiling fans aid in air circulation. These can be reversible, so that air can be either drawn up to the ceiling (good in summer to remove heat) or the air is pushed down (good in cold weather to circulate warm air).

If you want more information about providing healthy environments for your tamariki (and staff), please contact the Early Childhood Public Advisors for the Greater Wellington Region at 027 8078 544. You can also visit Early Childhood – Regional Public Health.

I hope you all get to enjoy a well-earned break over Easter.

Suze Strowger
Director of Education Wellington
Phone: 04 463 8668
Mobile: 027 229 4009
Email: suze.strowger@education.govt.nz

Nelson, Marlborough, West Coast regional news

Nelson hospital early childhood service opening

Early in September 2014 Jane Kinsey (the then Service Manager of Child, Women and Youth) and Craig Vercoe (Senior Education Advisor for Nelson Tasman Kindergartens) met. They discussed the possibility of integrated services through the establishment of an early childhood facility within the hospital as a way of improving services for young children, especially in the paediatric unit.

A Memorandum of Understanding was developed and NTK would supply the staffing, professional practice leadership and policies, while NMDHB would provide the facility and utilities attached.

The Ministry of Education then supported the initiative with licensing and funding and Te Whare Manaaki opened in the paediatric ward at Nelson Hospital in late November.

Jane Kinsey said the health board had been working towards providing the service for the last 10 years, noting that a bad experience with the health system at a young age could often put a person off seeking treatment later in life.

Kinsey said she was not aware of any other health boards that had partnered with an early childhood education (ECE) provider in the same way. This partnership will help children develop skills to get through their health journey while maintaining their education. Children are able to spend time becoming more familiar with the hospital setting and relax before treatment.

Nelson Tasman Kindergartens have employed Sue Fahey, a fully qualified early childhood teacher, as the head teacher. She comes with a wealth of experience in both education and health. The role provides an amazing opportunity to use that experience to support children, families and clinical teams.

Often children in hospital are quite nervous before having treatment. Sue says, "We are hearing anecdotally from the nurses that already the children are more relaxed prior to theatre. They come in and see things that are familiar to their world in a really different environment."

This whole experience has been a wonderful display of cross-sector collaboration between health and education, which has already had a dramatic effect in improving outcomes for children and their families.

Erika Ross
Director of Education Nelson, Marlborough, West Coast
Phone: 03 539 1533
Email: erika.ross@education.govt.nz

Canterbury regional news

Director’s message

Kia ora

On 22 February we remembered the loss of life and devastation caused by the earthquake 6 years ago. I would like to pay tribute to all of you and acknowledge your support which helped so many children and families.

The February fires in the Port Hills have again tested the spirit of those who live in Christchurch, and yet again those involved in education have stepped up to the mark. A big thank you to all the early childhood services who provided support and care for affected families in their areas – I am deeply heartened by the incredible kindness shown by you all.

Support in the event of a traumatic incident

It may be helpful to remind you where you can access support when a traumatic incident or unexpected event occurs. The Ministry of Education have a number of tip sheets which can be downloaded on the Education website.

These have been written with an earthquake focus, but the key advice remains the same for any unexpected situation or event, whether that is for a manager of staff or information to support parents of children and young people.

The Ministry of Education also has Traumatic Incident Teams who can:

• help you develop appropriate processes for dealing with an incident to ensure the safety and well-being of your children/young people and staff and to return your ECE centre/school to normal operations as quickly as possible
• help you understand the emotional and psychological impacts of a traumatic incident and the effects such impacts can have on how people behave, and advise you on things you can do to support people who have been involved in a traumatic incident
• advise you on how to communicate about the incident appropriately with your children/young people, staff, parents and the community, including the media
• link you with other appropriate services where necessary.

Our staff do not provide counselling, but they may be able to help direct you to suitable counselling services.

To contact the team phone 0800 TI Team (0800 848 326).

The AllRight campaign also provides resources and psychosocial messaging for communities.

For those needing additional support the Canterbury Support Line on 0800 777 846 is available. For additional support for stress and anxiety (either for themselves or their child) they should contact their GP.

School enrolment schemes

Enrolment schemes are implemented by schools to prevent the risk of overcrowding. Decisions about enrolment zones are always made in the context of the wider network and involve consultation with neighbouring schools. We support this process by providing analytics and data on current and projected school rolls, as well as information on the expected impact of the enrolment zone on the local school network. This information is shared with all schools in the area to support a transparent decision-making process, and to ensure the scheme does not disadvantage any part of the community or other schools. Not all schools will have an enrolment scheme.

You can find a school’s enrolment scheme on the TKI website.

Futures Network

This network is open for anyone involved in early childhood education (ECE) and is attended by both centre leaders and teachers. Early childhood services or individuals can be added to the network database by emailing viv@evolutionece.com.

At the meeting on 1 March, Juanita Davidson (Service Manager – Learning Support) spoke about the update in the delivery of learning support for children enrolled in ECE services. She covered the vision for the update, how to make a request for support, and information about education support workers.

A new request for support form has been developed which can be used for all requests. If you need support you can phone our office on 03 378 7300 to ask for a form to be sent, or to talk to one of the Service Managers. For regional areas these are:

South East of Christchurch – Juanita Davidson
North West of Christchurch – Rachael Vink
Mid-Canterbury from Christchurch South - Bill Pullar
North Canterbury - Fiona Cook
South Canterbury / Timaru - Atholea Shanks.

Key features of the new service delivery model include solutions that are collaborative, flexible and tailored for individual children.

Please note that the dates and times for the Futures Network for the rest of 2017 are Tuesday 13 June, Tuesday 26 September and Tuesday 14 November – all 9.30am to 11.30am. Details of topics and venues for June will appear in the April Early Learning Bulletin.

Mā te wā

Coralanne Child
Director of Education for Canterbury
Phone: 03 378 7345
Email: coralanne.child@education.govt.nz

Otago-Southland regional news

Kia ora koutou and warm Pasifika greetings.

I am sure your staff and the children have appreciated some of the late summer weather, no doubt with water play, sand pits and sunhats in hot demand!

Learning Support changes

Learning Support now comes under our local Otago-Southland umbrella as of 27 February 2017. As the first stage of the update, a new leadership structure within the Ministry will support the subsequent changes in service delivery to be trialled over this year.

Gary McClintock has been appointed to the new position of Manager of Learning Support across Otago and Southland. He has been the Otago District Manager for the last 3 years and has extensive experience in the Ministry as an Educational Psychologist. As Head of Learning Support for 10 years at Motueka High School, and with teaching experience in primary, intermediate and secondary schools, Gary brings a practical problem-solving approach to his leadership. He is looking forward to meeting and working with principals, especially in building new relationships in Southland.

Julianne Watson (Service Manager Southland) and Christine Menzies (District Manager Southland) are both retiring. We will appoint a new Manager Site and Service Delivery in Invercargill, and a Performance and Quality Lead who will work across Otago and Southland. This will set the leadership structure in place for new ways of delivering Learning Support to the Otago and Southland Communities of Learning | Kāhui Ako, clusters of ECE providers and services. We hope to start by engaging with a small number of services and Kāhui Ako to develop the model with them to support the progress and achievement of at-risk learners.

New Strategic Advisor Māori

Paulette Tamati-Elliffe, Strategic Advisor Māori Otago-Southland

On 27 February we welcomed our New Strategic Advisor Māori, Paulette Tamati-Elliffe, to the Ministry. She brings a wealth of experience in community work, in Te Reo language revitalisation for Ngāi Tahu, and in supporting schools to develop culturally responsive engagement with tamariki and whānau. We are delighted to have someone with her knowledge of local tikanga and established iwi relationships working with us across the Otago-Southland region. Paulette is keen to meet with ECE representatives and visit centres and kohanga reo.

Please contact Paulette on paulette.tamatiellifffe@education.govt.nz if you would like to meet with her.

Clutha District Early Childhood Education (ECE) Project

For the last year, the Clutha District has had a higher number of children not attending early childhood education (ECE) than other areas of Otago-Southland. The ECE participation rate for the Clutha District is 94.7% compared with the Otago-Southland region of 98.1%. The reasons that families cannot access ECE can be wide and varied and include rural isolation, transport issues or limited ECE options in such a large geographical area as the Clutha District. The Ministry is focused on working alongside and within communities, gaining local intelligence and knowledge as a key to understanding what individual response is needed.

The Methodist Mission in Dunedin was contracted in 2016 by the Ministry to provide an individual service in the community for up to 10 families called the Clutha ECE Project. The service has engaged a local resident from Milton as coordinator. The coordinator, who works from the Tokomairiro Community Hub in Milton, links with ECE services, social services and (most importantly) the local community to identify, engage and support parents who may not have children attending ECE.

One of the major changes in today’s environment in engaging parents is using online opportunities such as Community Facebook pages. More and more families use social media as a way of keeping connected to their local community and therefore allowing direct links and connections from services to families’ needs. Currently the service has engaged 8 children who have been, or are currently being supported, into some form of ECE.

The coordinator supports the families to make the right choices for them on which ECE option they wish for their children. The coordinator is also a vital link between ECE services and school when a transition to school is required. The Clutha ECE Project is a valuable link to understand and support this community at a local level and enables the value of early learning to be shared with parents and children in their future educational pathway.

Right: Clare Healy, Coordinator; Middle: Charles Pearce, Practice Leader; Left: Sue Clarke, Operations Leader.

Please contact me if you wish to discuss any issues or ideas. I look forward to hearing from you.

Ngā mihi mahana

Julie Anderson
Phone: 03 471 5217
Mobile: 027 836 4846
Email: julie.anderson@education.govt.nz

• New ERO Publications
• Police vetting user charges start later this year

New ERO Publications

ERO has released several new publications recently. The following resources can be accessed on ERO’s website.

Extending their language – expanding their world: children’s oral language (birth–8 years)

Extending their language - expanding their world: Children’s oral language (birth-8 years)

Research evidence shows early in a child’s life is a critical time for the rapid language development that takes place, particularly in the first 2 to 3 years. This evaluation investigated how effectively young children’s oral language learning and development were supported in their early years of education.

Early learning curriculum: what’s important and what works

Early learning curriculum: what’s important and what works

This retrospective study synthesises findings from 17 national reports about curriculum implementation in early learning services, published over the last 10 years. Across these evaluations ERO has collected examples of effective practices by early learning services as they design, implement and evaluate the effectiveness of their curriculum.

Effective internal evaluation for improvement

Effective internal evaluation for improvement

This revised booklet is useful for any organisation interested in internal evaluation for improvement. This overview of the processes and reasoning involved in effective internal evaluation for improvement draws on a recently published resource Effective internal evaluation – how to do and use internal evaluation for improvement (2016). 

Communities of Learning | Kāhui Ako

ERO has released three resources to help support Kāhui Ako with a conceptual framework about what international evidence tells us about effective collaboration in education communities. It draws together what ERO knows about Kāhui Ako so far.

Communities of Learning | Kāhui Ako - ERO website

Collaboration to Improve Learner Outcomes is a synthesis of the research and evaluation about effective collaboration. This resource includes a framework that shows what the evidence suggests is important in developing collective capacity for improvement. The Building Collective Capacity for Improvement Framework consists of seven dimensions of practice. For each dimension, examples of effective practice are described.

Communities of Learning | Kāhui Ako uses the dimensions of the Building Collective Capacity for Improvement Framework as the basis for a set of progressions that describe what Kāhui Ako might be doing at different stages of their collaboration journey. The key questions and descriptions of practice can be used as an evaluation tool.

Communities of Learning | Kāhui Ako in Action draws together what ERO knows about Kāhui Ako as they move from establishment to implementation. This report is based on:

• information collected from schools (that are already members of Kāhui Ako) during their regular ERO evaluations
• information gained from the workshops ERO has conducted with Kāhui Ako
• findings from the in-depth work being done alongside Kāhui Ako.

To request or obtain more information on ERO’s resources, please email info@ero.govt.nz or follow them on Twitter@EducationRevNZ.

Sally Taylor-Phillips
Senior Communications Advisor
Education Review Office
Phone: 04 471 6642
Email: sally.taylor-phillips@ero.govt.nz

Police vetting user charges start later this year 

Police vetting is part of a broader safety check that education service providers are required to undertake, under the Vulnerable Children Act, for people who work with children. This safety check is about keeping children and young people safe.

Police have advised users of the police vetting service that Police will begin charging a fee to cover the cost of this service later this year. The Ministry and sector groups made submissions on the police vetting cost recovery bill, which was passed in November last year.

• The cost will be $8.50 (plus GST) per police vet request.
• We don’t yet have confirmation on timing, but it will be no sooner than 1 July 2017.
• There are some exemptions:
• Early learning services making 20 vet requests or fewer per year (1 July to 30 June) will not be required to pay. Please note the 21st police vet request will also incur charges for the previous 20 vets. This means that the first 20 police vet requests are not free, but organisations that request fewer than 20 per year (1 July – 30 June) are exempt from charges.
• Registered charities will also be exempt from charges.
• Police will provide more information in April.

There is information about police vetting cost recovery on the NZ Police website.

We have been working with the Vulnerable Children Sector Advisory Group and Police on a range of police vetting issues, including the need to significantly improve processing time. We have also identified areas where better guidance is needed to reduce the amount of duplication in vetting requests, and to clarify who needs to be vetted. We’ll have an update on this work in April and will also share any further information from Police about cost recovery.

Calendar of key Ministry dates to December 2017

Click on each item to bring up additional details. As new events are added or changes made, these will be mentioned in the Bulletin.

View the key dates calendar here or to import events into your own calendar view the download instructions for Outlook, Google Calendar etc. If importing to Google Calendar all events will appear at a different time. We've been unable to resolve this to date. 

Note: New events or changes we make won’t automatically update in your calendar. You will need to either download the full calendar again.

Colour key: purple - key dates | light blue - public holidays | dark blue - education conferences and events

If you wish to contact the bulletin team email  bulletin@education.govt.nz and they will be happy to help you.

Current Ministry Bulletin for School Leaders

• Issue No 67 2017 March 20Issue No 66 2017 March 6

• Issue No 67 2017 March 20
• Issue No 66 2017 March 6
• Issue No 65 2017 February 20
• Issue No 64 2017 February 7

• Staffing forms - includes teacher time allowances and emergency staffing
• Funding - includes forms for funding and changing bank account
• Roll returns - electronic attendance register