Despite being a ‘super Pollyanna’, PPTA Te Wehengarua President Melanie Webber says she is struggling in the face of the huge challenges facing secondary education at the moment. Speaking at the launch in Tāmaki Makaurau of PPTA’s Collective Agreement campaign, Invest in Teachers, Invest in Aoteaora, Melanie Webber said teachers’ workloads are increasing. “Wellbeing is ...
I completely understand the reluctance to use your personal device for school purposes …. however, I heard all about cyber-attacks in schools and that feels like even more of a risk. – Melanie Webber, PPTA President Cyber crime does not know boundaries and cyber criminals do not look for victims, they look for opportunities.[1] In ...
Secondary teachers have a vital role to play in steering students away from violent extremism Critical thinking is a crucial element towards reducing violent extremism and secondary teachers’ role is vital, Rebecca Kitteridge, Director of the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service (SIS) told participants at the recent PPTA Te Wehengarua National Leadership Summit. “Having a ...
Hon. Aupito William Sio at the Pasifika Fono “As a matai I have a clear vision of what I want our children to achieve. I’m calling on you to Tū Toa, stand strong as warriors and learn from your ancestors to help you navigate the challenges you face.” That was the message from Hon. Aupito ...
At the recent PPTA Te Wehengarua annual conference delegates, representing 20,000 secondary teachers around the motu, acknowledged the historic and present harm caused to rangatahi Māori and Pasifika students through the practice of streaming and will advocate for more resourcing to enable schools to move away from streaming by 2030. “Research shows that streaming creates and ...
“Research is increasingly finding that streaming in schools is educationally harmful particularly for Māori and Pasifika students, lowering expectations of them and denying them opportunities given to other rangatahi,” says Melanie Webber, President of PPTA Te Wehengarua. The conference paper recommends that PPTA advocate for the removal of streaming by 2030. Streaming is one of ...
Kate Gainsford, principal of Aotea College and Chair of the Secondary Principals’ Council. told the PPTA Te Wehengarua Annual Conference last week that the current staffing formula, developed 80 years ago, fails as a resourcing model in a modern school system. “The formula is not based on the actual needs of schools. For example, schools ...
PPTA is aware that there are possibly large numbers of teachers who have difficulty gaining access to a full practising certificate because they cannot meet the requirement for recent satisfactory teaching experience. Recent satisfactory teaching experience is defined in the Teaching Council registration policy as being “at least two years uninterrupted teaching in the last ...
There are around 1200 adult and community education and out of hours music and art staff working in Aotearoa New Zealand. Adult and community education workers usually teach night classes and out of hours music and art staff teach younger students, usually on Saturday mornings. Melanie Webber, President of PPTA Te Wehengarua, said the offer ...
WOMEN WILL RISE! – Recalling the Working Women’s Charter Eds. Gay Simpkin and Marie Russell 2022 (Steel Roberts Aotearoa) As I watched a large march heading towards the American Embassy in Wellington at the beginning of July, protesting at the US Supreme Court’s overturning of the right to legal abortion, enshrined for the last 50 ...