Still a way to go but getting there says Parata
New Zealand still has a way to go in providing every student with the quality of education they need and deserve, the
Minister of Education told school trustees this weekend, but we are closing in on it.
The biggest challenge for school boards and principals in trying to meet the government’s target of 5 out of 5 students
achieving was to take the step from talking about collaboration to actually practising it.
“Practising collaboration means not just collaborating with the people you already get on with, but with those you
don’t,” she said.
Statistics show that students are already starting education earlier, staying longer, and leaving better qualified than
they used to, and boards of trustees are critical in making that happen. At the same time, more work is needed.
Schools are funded for an average of 1 teacher for every 21 students and teacher numbers have increased significantly
faster than student numbers over recent years. The most valuable thing we can do now is to invest more in the teachers
we already have, said the Minister. At the same time, the government has recognised the need to also provide more
resources to support boards of trustees and trustees are already seeing better access to professional development and
employment advice as a result.
Tools like National Standards and 6-monthly plain language reporting to parents still need more work, but we are now
producing real-time information for parents and boards of trustees so they know what is happening in their local
community and for their children.
The Minister was addressing almost 900 people at the NZSTA 25th anniversary conference in Auckland.
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