Articles for author: PPTA

PPTA

An end to streaming on secondary teachers’ conference agenda

“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 ...

PPTA

Employment woes – renewing your practising certificate

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 ...

PPTA

Secondary teachers welcome investment package but….

“COVID has taken a huge toll on rangatahi, particularly those who, for a variety of reasons, haven’t been able to keep engaged with their learning through such hugely disruptive times. More funding for supports to help these young people re-engage and get the skills and qualifications they need is absolutely the right thing to do. ...

PPTA

Catering for ākonga by ākonga

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is such a fan of Manurewa High School’s healthy lunch programme that she popped back for seconds recently. Sara Blackburn, the school’s Hospitality and Catering teacher, says during a visit to the school last year the Prime Minister wanted to see how the Ka Ora, Ka Ako Healthy Lunches Programme was ...

PPTA

It’s time to fix the secondary teacher shortage

A recent announcement from Associate Education Minister Jan Tinetti that we are going to recruit 700 teachers from overseas had all the optimism of a classroom teacher at the start of the year. While recruiting from overseas while we train our own sounds like a great strategy in principle, there are significant issues. The teacher ...

PPTA

Improvements needed to make the most of Learning Support Coordinators

“The intention behind this initiative is great, but the way these positions have been allocated unfortunately adds to the inequities among schools in Aotearoa New Zealand.”  The LSC roles were introduced in 2020 to improve schools’ response to the one in five learners who have learning support needs. The role is designed to add capacity ...

PPTA

Negotiations in full swing

PPTA Te Wehengarua and Ministry of Education STCA negotiatiors met kanohi ki te kanohi for the first time in late September. PPTA Te Wehengarua has received – and rejected – an offer from the Ministry of Education for settling the Community Education Collective Agreement (CECA), which would include coverage of the Out of Hours Music ...

PPTA

Literacy and numeracy pilot results show need for sharper focus

“The results released today of the first assessment event show we need more time to embed the new Literacy & Communication and Maths Strategy and Hei Raukura Mō Te Mokopuna to increase students’ readiness to complete the assessments.  Teachers have been telling us this, our annual conference called for this earlier this month and we ...

PPTA

Concerned about school attendance? Support Fair Pay Agreements

“I am a history teacher at James Hargest College in Invercargill, where I am raising my family. On a personal level, I have seen the impact of low wages in my community. I see it in the quiet desperation on people’s faces at the supermarket, and I hear the stress in their conversations as people ...

PPTA

Secondary teachers pencil in paid union meetings

“We have been in talks with the Ministry of Education for months and we have a few more days scheduled over the next few weeks, so we expect the Ministry will present us with an offer within the next month or so. “Whether it’s a good or bad offer – and we really hope it ...