Hon Trevor Mallard Speech Notes
Thank you for the invitation to be here today.
A year ago, immediately after I spoke to this forum, I got in a car and drove to Taupo to take part in the Hui Taumata
hosted by Tuwharetoa.
I want to begin today by talking about the progress made in this area. Remember that the hui came at a time when the
Government had been under intense pressure from an opposition party backlash against our ‘closing the gaps’ work. But we
made a conscious decision that we would ignore that pressure and carry on with a work programme that I consider will be
some of the most significant in my time as Education Minister.
Following the February hui we spent a lot of time taking the recommendations around the country and discussing them at a
regional level. We met nationally again in November and a work plan is being developed.
I personally feel very optimistic about the progress that is being made and I also sense optimism among the people that
we are meeting with.
We all know that there is no easy solution. There is, however, a matrix of ideas that will lead to improvement. I bet
that every single person in this room knows an education initiative that has excited them. One that they see as having
real potential. The hui taumata process is helping us define our priorities, share ideas about what works, identify the
gaps, and work towards making a difference.
And sitting behind everything we do is the absolute belief that Maori children can succeed in education.
I want to talk to you about the results of the Early Childhood Primary Link research released late last year. The
Picking up the Pace report, is the most exciting that I have read since I became Minister of Education. It has given me
hope. If you haven’t heard of it, please take the time to read about it.
Through a careful mix of initiatives, reading and writing results for six-year-olds in Otara and Mangere schools
improved so dramatically they are now close to the national average.
The work shows that with appropriate support within a classroom setting, children from poorer backgrounds can learn to
read and write well. It shows that the key to improvement is lifting teachers’ expectations. It shows that the many
excuses for poor performance are not valid and in fact there are no excuses for failure.
It also backs up my long-held belief in the importance of quality early childhood education. And government is focusing
on early childhood education this year – including our response to the strategic plan. This may not impact on you
directly, but I have little doubt that the positive impact will filter into your schools for years to come.
Already we have made a start on our aim to have more children from all communities taking part in quality early
childhood education. In particular, next week we’ll be announcing details about the implementation of equity funding for
the early childhood sector. In last year’s budget, we set aside nearly $30 million over four years for this purpose.
I await with interest the response from the National opposition to our plan. I don’t know what they think about equity
funding for early childhood education, but I found their comments on decile funding in schools quite disturbing. And
while I don’t want to be too political in this forum, I will make a few comments.
I am sure that everyone in this room supports the principle of equity funding. We believe that with the right support,
we can make a difference for children from disadvantaged backgrounds. The fundamental role of equity funding is to
provide that support. Remember that equity funding is only about four per cent of all school funding. It makes up about
16% of operational funding. Also bear in mind that all schools have received an increase in funding since 1999. For
example, the basic per pupil funding of the operation grant has increased, by 15-20% - and that makes up more than half
of all operational funding.
Mr English wants to make the 90% of schools that receive equity funding more accountable. Or perhaps he only wants to
make some of those 90% of schools more accountable. In which case, where is he going to draw the line? Which boards and
principals will he not trust?
Tomorrow’s Schools has had a mixed result. Giving greater autonomy to parents is a wonderful concept that has really
enhanced New Zealand schools. But handing over that responsibility means that sometimes schools will do things, within
the regulations, that I don’t necessarily like and that other politicians don’t like.
The relativities of decile funding may change from year to year. But I am not considering a fundamental change to the
system. Nor am I prepared to place a cloud over all the wonderful work in many of our low decile schools because of one
example that National is critical of.
I would also point out, that increased accountability for schools is already something this Government has introduced as
part of the Education Standards Act.
One of the major aspects of the Act is the change in what and how schools are required to plan.
You will have all received some information about this through various forms and more detailed information is on its way
in the next couple of weeks.
I think it would be fair to say that so far your sector has given this proposal a 'wait and see' response. What is
pleasing though is the number of schools – more than 120 - prepared to take part in the trial this year to test the
system. About the same number again requested copies of the CD Rom and many more have downloaded material from the
internet.
Early feedback shows that principals think strategic planning is important. They’re pleased to see that we’re focusing
on planning for student achievement - rather than the mere production of paper plans. Most principals are more than
happy to be accountable for providing students with a good education. It is, afterall, your bread and butter. That
understanding is critical to this process.
Officials congratulated one principal on his strategic planning. They thought it was outstanding. Yet the principal
hadn't consciously thought about it as strategic planning. He said: "As long as you look hard at where you need to
improve, it's just common sense." That to me, sums up what being strategic in education means. What does the data tell
us? Where do we need to do better? What are we going to do about it?
I know it’s not easy. Principals are telling us that analysis and finding the right strategy is something they find
quite difficult. That’s why we need your input into making sure the tools and support we provide are really helpful.
They need to help schools identify their priorities for improvement. They need to provide useful information to schools
and teachers to help with planning and development. They need to help the school provide useful information to parents
about their child's progress.
They need to help schools provide good indicators in order to help government make sound policies and determine
priorities. They need to save us all time.
It is a big wish list. But the planning and reporting tools are on their way.
I'd like to thank the schools that are helping in the trialing of these. We want these to be easy to use and your
feedback is essential to that.
We've got the advisory service gearing up to provide help with analysis and planning. And the Ministry is shortly to
appoint people in its local offices whose job will be to work with schools in their planning, target setting and
reporting.
Another new thing this year that I’m pretty excited about is the Principal Leadership and Management Development
initiative.
You’ll remember we announced this in last year’s Budget with a commitment of more than $27 million over four years. $19
million of this was new funding.
The step up to being a principal is an enormous professional challenge – particularly at the primary level. Many
principals have described to me the struggle of the first few years. I am sure many of you look back on your first years
as a principal and think: “If I knew what I know now, it would have been a lot easier.” I believe that if principals are
better prepared, we will have better schools and better learning.
The support for first time principals will not provide all the answers but I am confident that we can ease the strain
considerably. I think it is something that should have been done years ago.
The next few months include a number of milestones for this initiative. At the beginning of next month, the first
residential courses for newly appointed first time principals will take place. They’ll be followed by courses in July
and September. This term facilitators will be visiting first-time principals in their schools.
Next week we start the distribution of the laptop computers. Those laptops will, of course, be covered by the Microsoft
deal that we have negotiated to provide all schools with free up to date software!
Over the next five months 1200 laptops will be distributed, a further 800 next year, and the remainder the year after so
that all principals are covered. We are prioritising based on newer principals first followed by principals in remote
and rural areas and principals in kura kaupapa.
We intend to replace these laptops every three years. I think this has the potential to improve both school
administration, particularly in small schools, as well as teaching and learning. And ever mindful of the old saying,
“You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink” I urge you to use them.
We are hoping that you will want to drink – especially using the “LeadSpace” portal. That is currently in the final
stages of its initial development.
Through LeadSpace you will have easy access to information, support and facilitated guidance. Trials have started and
the portal will go live in April. I’ve had a bit of a peek at what’s proposed and it does look good.
Work has also begun to appoint and then train facilitators to moderate online discussions. This aspect of the plan will
be of particular help to principals in small and rural schools, who are more likely to experience professional
isolation. But all principals will have access to more of their colleagues’ ideas - more discussion on issue resolution,
education and educational leadership.
Communicating online will allow principals to share and gain support for learning through working with other people. It
will give principals the freedom to do this at a time, a place, and a pace that suits. The discussion part of the
network is a ‘principals-only’ environment. It will be confidential to registered members, appointed facilitators, and
guests who may from time to time be invited into the network by facilitators to discuss specific issues with members. We
want to ensure the forum is frank, honest and reflective. I think that will help make it more successful.
I will know if this works when, later on in the year, and in coming years, I travel around the country and hear people
talking about things that they have learnt from this site.