Labour Puts School Curriculum Back at the Centre

Media Release September 14th 2011 – for immediate release

Attention: Education and Political Reporters

Labour Puts School Curriculum Back at the Centre - NZPF

‘School principals throughout the country will welcome the news that Labour’s education policy, released today, puts the New Zealand Curriculum centre stage again,’ said Peter Simpson, President of the New Zealand Principals’ Federation.

‘We know that the key to New Zealand’s education success internationally is our world class curriculum which has the breadth and depth to allow all children access to learning, no matter what their ability, ethnicity, gender or background,’ said Simpson. ‘It is because we put the child at the centre of the teaching and learning process that we have achieved such success on the world stage,’ he said.

Principals who have spent the last three years battling with the National party’s new ‘one size fits all’ assessment measures, the controversial National Standards, will be thrilled that a change to a Labour led government would see an end to the low trust, high stakes, accountability and assessment culture being heavily promoted by the current government.

‘Under Labour, schools will not have to implement National Standards’, said Simpson, which would be a huge relief for some 85% of school principals who have no confidence in them.’

‘Schools want to get on with progressing children’s learning not fighting political battles,’ says Simpson, ‘ and we know that parents want us to do that too. We have reliable assessments now to report children’s progress to parents, and report their next learning steps. That is what Labour says it would expect us to do,’ he said

Other good news in Labour’s education policy is that Labour would restore healthy relationships between professionals, parents and government for the benefit of children’s learning rather than have political ideologies dominating policy decisions.

‘The current government’s tactics to drive a wedge between parents and professionals and weaken the power of the school boards has not worked,’ said Simpson. ‘Parents have come out strongly in support of us with over a quarter of all school boards taking the unprecedented step of breaking the law and refusing to include National Standards in their charter targets,’ he said. We look forward to the day when we can again work in partnership with government for the betterment of New Zealand’s greatest investment – its children.’

ENDS

www.nzpf.ac.nz

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