Secondary and area school leaders wellbeing research released

An interesting read for my Kiwi readers to finish the day.

School leaders wellbeing research released  

You are receiving this email because you are a PPTA Te Wehengarua member principal

Tēnā koe,

Today we have released the results from the Deakin University wellbeing research on Secondary and Area school leaders.

We would like to again thank all of you who participated in the 2020 research, in difficult circumstances.

The research reflected that school leaders have a strong sense of commitment to our roles and find our work very meaningful.

We experience significantly high levels of trust, social inclusiveness, organisational justice, and self-efficacy in our workplaces. Not only are these results positive in relation to our own health and wellbeing but they reflect the commitment and contribution that we make as school leaders to creating these positive cultures for the school community.

The research does highlight significant issues of concern. School leaders experience very high demands at work, particularly in the sheer quantity of work, the hours of work and the tension of not being able to focus enough on teaching and learning.

The highest cause stress for school leaders that related specifically to students was managing mental health issues of students. We know that there are complex difficult issues in this space that have been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Secondary Principals’ Council has made recommendations in response to the report for, improved access to professional support, co-ordination of government changes, improved management and pastoral staffing and improved supports for students with mental health needs. The link to these recommendations is at the end of this email.

The Secondary Principals’ Council in partnership with the PPTA Te Wehengarua is committed to doing its bit to support members in your mahi, this includes:

• Ongoing funding of the Deakin University wellbeing research for all school leaders and principals.
• A professional supervision and learning group pilot for PPTA Te Wehengarua member senior leaders and principals.
• Professional learning opportunities for PPTA Te Wehengarua member senior leaders to upskill in employment relations skills and knowledge.
• New models for PPTA Te Wehengarua member principals to access direct support on personal employment issues from dedicated legal professionals – launching in term 3 2021.
• Staffing summit 2021 to highlight innovations and challenges in secondary and area school staffing.
• Advocacy at a national and policy level as part government and ministry forums including the wellbeing sub-group of the accord, the professional advisory group (PAG) to the Minister of Education, the National Education Leaders group (NELP), and the National Advisory Group for the Leadership Advisory Service.

You can read the full research report here:

NZ Secondary Principal Occupational Health, Safety and Wellbeing Research (PDF)

You can read the recommendations of SPC here:

Principal wellbeing study – key points (ppta.org.nz) 

Ngā manaakitanga

Kate Gainsford
Chair, Secondary Principals’
Council of Aotearoa

Thank you for being an important part of the PPTA. We value your time.

This message is sent from a no-reply address. If you wish to contact us please use the contact form at ppta.org.nz
Contact us (ppta.org.nz) 

Post Primary Teachers’ Association Te Wehengarua
Level 5, 60 Willis Street
Wellington

You are receiving this newsletter because you are a PPTA Te Wehengarua member principal

PPTA Collective News – Promise to New Teachers, eLearning taskforce, PLD co-ordinator vacancy

An item for my Kiwi readers.  Note the details around the eLearning advisory group.

PPTA Collective News

Latest update – 31/03/2021

You are receiving this email because you are a PPTA Te Wehengarua branch chair or secretary.
Please share it with your branch members.

Relaunch of Promise to New Teachers 

The Promise to New Teachers is a way for boards of trustees, principals and school communities to show responsibility for the future of the profession. By signing this promise  your school community demonstrates a shared mutual commitment to new teachers in your school.

The Promise was originally developed in 2017 at a time when 77% of new teachers were employed on temporary contracts. The number of new teachers in temporary contracts has decreased to 61% in 2019, which is a good start, but the problem is by no means fixed.
​
The purpose of the relaunch is to ask schools who signed in 2017 to re-commit and for those who have not yet signed to join the community of schools committing to this kaupapa of care for beginning teachers.  Visit our website for further information and resources.

The Promise to New Teachers (ppta.org.nz) 

eLearning advisory group – call for nominations from eLearning networks

The main work of this taskforce will be to help develop provisions for eDeans and eTeachers in the STCA, and for ePrincipals in the SPCA, and to consider best practice guidelines for eLearning and/or remote learning policy.

The taskforce will operate in 2021 and will consist of representatives of the following roles in eLearning networks:

• ePrincipals,
• eDeans, and
• eTeachers (at least one of whom will hold both eTeacher and eDean roles).

The taskforce members will represent to the greatest degree possible geographical spread and different kinds of schools.

Nominations close at 5 pm on April 9, 2021. 

A nomination form is available at the link below:

eLearning advisory group – call for nominations (ppta.org.nz) 

Please email shaugh@ppta.org.nz for further information.

National Coordinator – Professional Development Fund for Secondary School Teachers

PPTA Te Wehengarua is seeking a national coordinator for the Professional Development Fund for Secondary School Teachers.

This is an exciting opportunity to lead an important initiative between NZPPTA and the Ministry of Education.

The position is based in the association’s national office in Wellington and is to provide co-ordination of, and leadership in, the PLD Fund.  This is a fixed-term position, as the government funding was provided, in 2020, for a four-year term.

Applications close 5pm, April 23

Further information is available on the PPTA Te Wehengarua website at the link below:

National Coordinator – Professional Development Fund for Secondary School Teachers (ppta.org.nz) 

For a job description and application form email cmcnicol@ppta.org.nz

For queries about this position contact PPTA Te Wehengarua general secretary Michael Stevenson  mstevenson@ppta.org.nz

This message is sent from a no-reply address. If you wish to contact us please use the contact form at ppta.org.nz 
Contact us (ppta.org.nz) 

Thank you for being an important part of the PPTA. We value your time.

Post Primary Teachers’ Association Te Wehengarua
Level 5, 60 Willis Street
Wellington

PPTA Collective News – Teaching council court action update, Education Conference 2021, NCEA teacher only days, School Guidance Counsellors National Conference and more…

An item for my Kiwi readers.  Note the item about Te Kura near the bottom.

No images? Click here You are receiving this email because you are a PPTA Te Wehengarua branch chair or secretary. Please forward it to your branch members. Teaching council court action update  Last week we were pleased to announce that PPTA Te Wehengarua, with the support of our brave member plaintiff Evan Jones, is taking a judicial review against the 2020 Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand decisions. The judicial review has now been filed in the High Court of New Zealand, with an application for urgency so the matter can be resolved before the February 1, 2021 fee increases take effect. Unfortunately the teaching council’s lawyer has objected to the matter being heard under urgency and instead suggested a much longer timeframe. We will keep you updated. PPTA Education Conference 2021 – registrations open!   Whakatairangatia! Advancing the dream of public education. When:  Monday 19 April – Wednesday 21 April 2021 (finishing about midday) Where: InterContinental Hotel, Wellington. Registrations are open for the PPTA Te Wehengarua biennial education conference. The conference will focus on public education – what it means and how it is achieved. For information on keynote speakers and registration forms visit: Whakatairangatia! Advancing the dream of public education There will be workshops run by teachers, sharing ideas for use in the classroom and researchers sharing their latest findings. If you would like to run a workshop or present a research paper, please register your interest below. Call for research papers Please note the Subject Association Forum will be held on 22 and 23 April after the Education Conference. More details to follow soon. NCEA changes The first of the Accord Teacher Only Days have been held this week across four regions with the rest to come next week. We’ve been hearing of some rich conversations as the impacts of changes to teaching, learning and assessment programmes and school systems are unpacked. We encourage you to use the full day to focus on NCEA.  It’s great that the materials from the TODs will be available throughout the process and also pleasing to see the Ministry of Education launch a new website dedicated just to NCEA. Watch this space also to find out how PPTA Te Wehengarua will continue to support your mahi particularly over the next three years heading towards implementation. There will be opportunities to share with other members how you are involved and how your expertise is feeding in to the changes that are taking place. The ministry is seeking feedback on the draft English-medium Literacy & Numeracy Assessment Standards that have been developed as part of the NCEA Change Package. The standards will guide the design of the external assessments that will be used to assess the literacy and numeracy standards as a co-requisite to the NCEA qualification from 2023. An online feedback form is available on the Ministry’s Citizen Space website until 18 December 2020. School Counsellors National Conference  Mauri Ora 2021, the National Conference for School Counsellors, will be held at the Harbourside Function Venue in Wellington in November next year. The conference aims to bring together 300 school counsellors from throughout the country to learn, reflect, collaborate and network as a community. The kaupapa is Mauri Ora: strengthening wellbeing within Aotearoa, and supporting our taiohi/ young people and whānau to thrive. Hybrid and virtual attendance options are also being investigated to ensure a safe and rewarding event can be delivered in a fluid Covid-19 environment. Early Bird rates are available until the end of 2020 and there may also be PPTA Te Wehengarua funding available to support members to attend: Grant to attend subject association conferences (ppta.org.nz)   For more information and conference registration visit: School Guidance Counsellors 2021 National Education and Learning Priorities On Friday November 13 the Minister of Education published the National Education and Learning Priorities (NELP) which will apply to all licensed early learning services and schools. From 2021, the ministry will be supporting schools to incorporate the NELP into their plans and everyday practice over time. PPTA Te Wehengarua supports the priorities but is concerned that in the light of the Tomorrow’s Schools recommendations that ‘adherence to Te Tiriti o Waitangi’ was not identified as a key priority. We are also concerned how, in the absence of the Education Service Agency (ESA), schools will be supported to integrate the priorities into their practices. National Education and Learning Priorities (PDF) We welcome any feedback on the NELP to aneyland@ppta.org.nz Call for Komiti Pasifika nominations 2021-2023 Nominations are invited for six vacancies on Komiti Pasifika for the term 1 February 2021 to 31 January 2023. The Komiti Pasifika advises PPTA Te Wehengarua on the needs of Pasifika teachers and Pasifika students.  The Komiti generally advises the PPTA Te Wehengarua national executive on Pacific issues and concerns, as well as bringing a Pacific outlook to PPTA Te Wehengarua policy. One of the Komiti Pasifika members is also a member of the PPTA Te Wehengarua national executive. The Komiti has six members, who are elected by Pasifika members of PPTA Te Wehengarua.  Only Pasifika members who are listed on the electoral roll held at PPTA Te Wehengarua national office are eligible to be nominated and vote in elections. Nominations close December 4, 2020  For more information and nomination forms email Julie Elliott jelliott@ppta.org.nz Day relievers – please update your details  Kia ora day reliever members – please make sure we have up-to-date contact details for you so we can get your input into your collective agreement claim development. This goes for all PPTA Te Wehengarua members. Please make sure we have the correct information to get in touch with you. If you details have changed, please email membership@ppta.org.nz. You can also update your details via the members only side of the PPTA website. Te Kura Summer School  Te Aho o Te Kura Pounamu’s summer school will shortly be taking its first registrations for this year. More than 1800 students took advantage of Summer School last year to top up their credits for NCEA and University Entrance, enabling them to go on to further study, training or employment. It’s the sixth year Te Kura has offered summer study and the message every year is that overwhelmingly ākonga find out about Summer School from their own schools and teachers. Courses are delivered online and offer a range of internal standards at NCEA Levels 1, 2 and 3.  The following links are available to help you inform students about Summer School. Te Kura Summer School (tekura.school.nz) Te Kura Summer School flyer (PDF)  Bruce Mason centennial year 2021 – remembrance festival 2021 marks 100 years since the birth of influential playwright, critic and social reformer Bruce Mason. Drama groups throughout the country, and particularly secondary schools, are invited to take part in a celebration of his works, by putting on a play or acting out scenes. “There is no need for a school to think only of a complete play season. Excerpts could provide material for a variety evening or a single assembly performance,” organiser Ronald Thomas said. TheatreNZ, Playhouse and Actors Equity will all be supporting the programme. For any enquiries, please contact ronaldt@inspire.net.nz  Leaving teaching? Please fill in our survey  PPTA Te Wehengarua has an ongoing survey to provide annual information from secondary teachers and school leaders on why they leave teaching in New Zealand schools. This information is not collected by the New Zealand Ministry of Education or any other organisation from those who leave. We believe this information is essential in planning for the future. The survey is for all teachers in classroom, leadership or other roles in state and integrated schools who are leaving the New Zealand secondary teaching force. It can be completed in five minutes and responses will be anonymous. For more information and access to the survey visit our website Leaving teaching? Please fill in our survey (ppta.org.nz)  Post Primary Teachers’ Association Level 5, 60 Willis Street Wellington You are receiving this newsletter because you are a PPTA branch chair, please forward to your branch members.   Share    Tweet    Forward

PPTA Collective News – Level 3, Covid 19 Information And Support, Distance Learning And More…

An item from my Kiwi readers to begin their week.

No images? Click here

You are receiving this email because you are a PPTA branch chair or secretary.
Please share it with your branch members.

Kia ora and welcome to the first Collective news of term 2

Today the prime minister announced detail about what work and life will look like and we move through different alert levels. Here is some initial advice.

PPTA is meeting with the Ministry of Education tomorrow to get answers to your questions and our executive is meeting on Monday evening to decide on our position as we move forward into an as yet unknown future.

We will be monitoring implications for the education sector closely and advocating for the health and safety of members, students and communities.

The prime minister’s announcement 

Under Alert Level 3 schools will be open for students up to and including year 10.

However the prime minister has made it clear that students and teachers who are able to, should remain home.

The decision about whether we will move to level 3 will be made on Monday, and schools will not reopen immediately.

If schools are to open on 29 April, as foreshadowed by the Minister of Education last week, they will have time to consider how many and which teachers do come in to staff the school and supervise the students who attend.

We understand you have many questions about how this might work. Schools will need time to work on this and we will need to get clarification on some aspects from the Ministry of Education.

Vulnerable teachers and bubbles with a vulnerable person

The Director General of Health has said that the safety of the people in your bubble is paramount. We support his guidance and will support any member who is unable to physically be present at school due to either being vulnerable themselves or in a bubble with a vulnerable person.

In the meantime, here is some information you may find useful about Covid-19, working from home and your local field office contacts.

A one stop Covid-19  advice shop 

PPTA has put together a collection of advice and resources to help members navigate working during the pandemic. You can find this on the front page of the PPTA website.

COVID-19: all our advice in one place (ppta.org.nz) 

Working from home 

By now you will all be getting into distance teaching and learning. The feedback we’ve had so far is that many of you are enjoying connecting with your students again, despite the challenges posed by distance and technology.

Here at PPTA national office, we’ve been working hard with the Ministry of Education to make sure everything possible is in place to support you in your work.

Keeping students engaged in their learning and connected to their teachers and classmates while they are at home is an important task, and we know it won’t be business as usual for teaching and learning. Methods, workloads and expectations will all need to be adapted to fit the unprecedented situation we find ourselves in and PPTA will support you in making the changes you need to. More information is available on our Covid-19 advice page.

Working from home (ppta.org.nz) 

PPTA field officer changes for Wellington, Wairarapa, Central Plateau and Manawatu/Whanganui regions

If you are in the Wellington, Wairarapa, Central Plateau or Manawatu/Whanganui regions, your field officer contacts have changed. They are now:

Wellington – Paul Benefield 
Wairarapa – Derek Morris 
Central Plateau, Manawatū-Whanganui Ahmad Osama:

Who is my local field officer?

The field service provides advice and support for regions, branches and individual members and is based in Auckland, Hamilton, Palmerston North, Christchurch and Dunedin. You can find the contact details for your local field officer on the Contact us page of the PPTA website

Contact your local PPTA field office (ppta.org.nz) 

PPTA member hotline

PPTA is operating a member hotline where you will be able to direct your enquires to PPTA field officers and national office staff.

The hotline number is 0800 778 243

Kia kaha and keep in touch

This message is sent from a no-reply address. If you wish to contact us please use the contact form at ppta.org.nz 

Contact us (ppta.org.nz) 

Post Primary Teachers’ Association
Level 5, 60 Willis Street
Wellington

This is sent from a no-reply email address. If you wish to contact us, please use the contact form at ppta.org.nz

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