Ei-iE

Trade unionists and the Ministry of Education have agreed to work together on a new initiative that supports children’s education at every level of their learning.

The initiative allows the NZEI and ministry to begin working with teachers, principals and support staff to develop and enhance initiatives that support genuine collaboration, and give all students the opportunity to succeed throughout their learning pathway.

Judith Nowotarski, the National President of NZEI Te Riu Roa, affiliated with Education International (EI), welcomed this initiative, calling it “a great win for children and for good education policy”.

Nowotarski said that the agreement reached on 9 December represents “a positive way forward” and has come about because teachers and principals kept true to the union’s values of quality public education for all children.

“Instead of a top down, one-size-fits-all initiative which is the Investing in Educational Success (IES), we will be going out to schools and early childhood education centres and actively finding out what works,” she said.

The agreement plans for the focus to be on the child’s learning pathway, and how successful collaboration can support that, as well as successful transitions between early childhood education, primary and secondary schooling. For teachers, any new roles will be linked to existing career pathways and be negotiated into collective agreements.