Podcasts about teaching council

There are a number of employment dispute avenues in New Zealand, dependent on what industry you’re in. If you’re one of the 114,000 registered teachers in this country – you have to appear before something called the “Teachers Disciplinary Tribunal”. Last year, there were 524 complaints, mandatory reports, and self-reports received by the Teaching Council - which is 0.5% of the total number of teachers who held a practising certificate. It’s more than 2023, which saw 462 -- that accounted for 0.4%. For the latest in our series looking at how different tribunals work, today on The Front Page we’re joined again by Open Justice reporter Jeremy Wilkinson. Follow The Front Page on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. You can read more about this and other stories in the New Zealand Herald, online at nzherald.co.nz, or tune in to news bulletins across the NZME network. Host: Chelsea DanielsSound Engineer: Richard MartinProducer: Ethan SillsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Now we've known for some time that New Zealand's once world class education system is no longer – that it is failing. And I really, really feel for the teachers. Education has been hijacked by ideologues who want children to share their world view and care little for the fact that our kids have no idea how to spell world or view. Our literacy is bad, our numeracy is even worse. According to international studies, we are now one of the least numerate countries in the developed world. In the 2019 Trends and International Maths and Science study, New Zealand's 9-year-olds, the Year 5s, ranked 40th out of 64 countries. Year 9s were even worse - their scores fell by the largest margin since the study began in 1994. Māori and Pasifika students ranked lowest of all. In 2021, a report published in New Zealand by the Royal Society of Mathematics Advisory Panel, which advised the Education Ministry, noted that 1/4 of preschoolers cannot count from 1-10. That's not on the ideological educators at the ministry, that's not on teachers, that is on parents. By Year 9, fewer than one tenth of students are working at their age-appropriate level. Massey University Distinguished Professor of Mathematics Gaven Martin described maths education in this country as a “goddamn mess”. Families with money or access to money or the desperation to find money from somewhere, anywhere, have been sending their kids to after school tutoring. The NumberWorks'nWords franchises and the Kip McGraths that you'll see around the country. One parent in a New Zealand Herald story from 2021 said if you have the money, the kids go to Kumon, which is a another one of those franchises, or NumberWorks, two to three times a week. It's like a form of wealth separation, he said, as only the wealthier families can afford it. And at around about $700 a term, they're right. The wealthy families will do it, but they seldom talk about it. The other kids just languish in the school system and remain at the bottom of the class. And so the gap between the haves and the have-nots gets wider and wider and wider. Now the Government has announced a form of after school maths tuition, but actually in school, and free. They're starting with intermediate students in terms 1 and 2 next year – around 2000 Year 7 and 8 students who are behind in their learning will take part in an intensive support program to bring them up to the required curriculum level in maths. The trial will use small group tutoring and supervised online tuition for 30 minutes, up to four times a week for each child. Basically, your Kip McGraths, Your NumberWorks, and what have you. There will be $30 million for high quality curriculum aligned workbooks, teacher guidance and lesson plans to be provided into every primary and intermediate School, $20 million for professional development and structured maths for teachers as well as (hip hip hooray) getting the Teaching Council to agree to lift maths entry requirements for new teachers. Education Minister Erica Stanford spoke to Heather du Plessis-Allan last night, saying intensive tutoring is one of the best things you can do if you're behind in maths. “We know that all of the international evidence tells us that if you are really far behind, especially in mathematics, one of the best interventions you can do is intensive tutoring in small groups to get up to where you need to be. Because a lot of our students have missed big chunks of their learning and mathematics, and we are particularly targeting those in Year 7 and 8 who are not going to see all of the benefits of our amazing new curriculum and all of our new materials and they're going to go off into high school and, you know, not be where they need to be. So we've had reading interventions in the past, we've never had one for maths, and my intention is that we put this trial up, see what it does and then roll it out.” Yes, yes, yes, yes and more yes! We know the tutoring works. Anyone who has sent their child to one of the expensive but efficient after school tuition programs knows that it works. You've got that one-on-one – and I'm quite sure that our teachers, if they had one-on-one time sufficiently with kids who were falling behind, would be able to raise them up as well, but they simply do not have the time or the resources. Now they will. To be fair to the previous administration, they understood that education was failing our children, they were not getting the education they deserved. The gap between the haves and the have nots, those who could and those who couldn't, was getting wider and wider and wider. In fact, I think we managed to top one aspect of the Trends in Science and Maths by having the biggest gap between those who were succeeding and those who were not. The vast majority of parents cannot afford that kind of one-on-one tuition, but we had Labour tinkering with the curriculum and bringing into Te Ao Māori into maths and science, and it was all very localised and communities could kind of pick and choose how they wanted to teach, with no resources teachers were left floundering as well. They basically had to do the work of the many thousands of bureaucrats and the Ministry of Education and come up with a curriculum. As Professor Elizabeth Rata at Auckland University said, the draft of the new curriculum, as devised by Labour, was a national disgrace. It's a curriculum without content, it's an ideological manifesto. Children in the Far North should receive the same education as children in the far south. It should not be left to chance. And that's what happened. That's exactly what has been happening now. We've got an Education Minister who is a) passionate about giving our children what they deserve and b) has ideas about how to make it happen. It shouldn't be left to chance, as Professor Rata says, it shouldn't be left to teachers to come up with some kind of vague curriculum which they have precious little time to do. And it shouldn't be left to parents to find $700 a term to shore up the gaps in our education system. It shouldn't be that those who can and those who have are able to circumvent our education system and be better and do better, leaving the others languishing. That is not the way we make a better New Zealand. That is not the way we make a productive of New Zealand and that's not the way we make a New Zealand that gives every child the opportunity to fulfil their potential. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A new survey reveals almost 1,000 teaching vacancies nationwide in primary and special schools as principals struggle to fill posts.The survey carried out by the Irish National Teachers' Organisation (INTO), Irish Primary Principals' Network and the Catholic Primary Schools Management Association, says principals have become increasingly reliant on personnel who are not registered with the Teaching Council to cover short-term absences.So, why are primary and special schools across the country struggling to find staff?To discuss, Andrea is joined by Siobhan O'Neill White from Mams.ie, Rachel Harper, Principal of St. Patrick's National School and Padraig Wilson McCarthy, teacher on a career break.

Who'd be a teacher?  Not many of us, apparently - the Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand says half as many Kiwis are signing up to become teachers than there were in 2010, and the number of students graduating as teachers has dropped by more than a third. The Deputy Chief Executive Clive Jones said if you look at the number of domestic students enrolling in teacher training programmes for the first time, that's dropped by 51% between 2010 and 2023. We're simply not producing enough teachers to replenish the teaching workforce. He said teaching was not the attractive career prospect it once was. Those who'd chosen it felt undermined, undervalued and underpaid.   But what about the holidays I hear you ask? Those teacher only days? The cushy 9-3 hours? Well, as anyone who has a teacher in the family knows, these are not long, lovely days of rest and relaxation, especially when the only constant in the education sector is change; changes to curriculum, changes to the way they teach, changes to the way children are evaluated and tested. Yes, it is annoying when schools close at the hint of a raindrop and yes, it causes eyebrows to raise when teacher only days happen on the last day before a public holiday, but anyone who has children or grandchildren in school, and anyone who has a teacher in the family knows that dedicated teachers are putting in the time and the nurturing and the professionalism that make our kids' lives better.   At the school that my little ones go to they've had school discos, and movie and pizza nights, and art exhibitions, and sports competitions, and Matariki festivals, and school productions (the production ran over a week), and that's just in the last couple of months. And that's on top of the hours spent in the classroom. And these are the teachers who are ensuring that they're a success, putting in their late nights away from their families and their friends to ensure the kids get an incredible experience at school, which is why they want to go to school. They're out of bed, leaping into their uniform, and they cannot wait to go to school, and that's because of their teachers.   So what is it about teaching that used to be attractive and why is it no longer appealing? The kind of good news is that it's not a specifically New Zealand problem, in fact, very few of our problems are.  Secondary Principals Association President Vaughan Couillault says there is a global teaching shortage.  “If you go into teacher training and you go on your first practicum, you know in the first half a day whether this bag is for you, and so it is a calling but also it's a global situation. So we're, we're pretty harsh in New Zealand looking at ourselves and going ‘good grief what're we doing wrong?' Actually, there's a global teacher shortage. I was talking to my offsider in Australia who does the same thing as me over there, they've got exactly the same conditions that we've got. I was talking to a guy in the UK recently, the teacher shortage in the UK is extreme, so it's a global phenomenon where people aren't going into teaching. It is becoming more challenging with regard to the non-curriculum based demands that are being placed on the school sector across the globe. It's a fantastic job.”  Well, it is. It is a fantastic job. Any job is fantastic when you love it, when you love going to work, when you want to do the job, and you feel a calling to do it. And I would agree with Vaughan that it is in fact a calling. It's more than just turning up, going through the motions and getting a paycheck. It's a service job, and maybe that's the problem. Are young people no longer interested in service jobs like nursing, like teaching, like social work? Because they want to be the next big thing on TikTok? They want to do hair and makeup because that's much more glamorous than wiping snotty noses and taking children to the toilet who haven't yet been toilet trained or being dissed and disrespected by teenagers. There has to be something above and beyond the job to make you want to be a nurse, a social welfare worker, a police officer, a teacher, the traditional service jobs.   Perhaps too, in the olden days like 2010, as a teacher you earned enough to pay the bills. These days, perhaps you don't. If you're a young teacher trying to look after a family, there would need to be another income coming in, and you certainly couldn't do it on one income – although I'm struggling to think of a job at the moment where you could just go just beyond one wage, especially living in the city. It might be okay if you are out of the main centres.   Is it the pay that's putting people off? Is it the fact that teachers have to be all of the service jobs I mentioned? Not only do they have the duty of teaching, they also have to be police officers, social welfare workers and nurses, psychological counsellors. If they were just allowed to teach and do what they trained for, would that be sufficient to get people back into the job? Or those who've left the profession to encourage others into it? Generally teachers follow teachers, follow teachers. You know, if you have a mother or a father that was a teacher, somebody in the family tends to follow suit. Is that what is happening within your family? I would love to hear from those of you who do have some experience of teaching either with children at school or a teacher in the family.   What is it that the profession needs to do to market itself as an attractive one for young people? Or are service jobs just not doing it for the kids anymore? They want the bright lights, they want a bit of fun, they want a bit of pizzazz, and teaching is not that. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealand doesn't seem to be the only country with a looming shortage of teachers.  The Teaching Council's highlighting data that shows the number of students graduating as teachers has dropped by more than a third.  Half as many people are signing up to become teachers as there were in 2010.  Secondary Principals Association President Vaughan Couillault told Mike Hosking he's been hearing similar reports overseas.  He says he's been told in Australia and the United Kingdom, exactly the same thing's happening.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealand's once world-leading education system is in a sorry state. Huge numbers of Kiwi kids are failing in key areas – with 4 out of 5 Year 8 students behind in maths. It's prompted the government to fast-track plans for a new maths curriculum for intermediate students, and it's tackling the teacher shortage by allowing those who were previously registered to be relievers. But can these solutions turn around a sector that is understaffed, under-resourced, and feeling burnt out? Today on The Front Page, we are joined by Dr Nina Hood found of the Education Hub and Clive Jones, deputy chief executive of the Teaching Council to discuss some of the issues facing a sector in crisis. Follow The Front Page on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. You can read more about this and other stories in the New Zealand Herald, online at nzherald.co.nz, or tune in to news bulletins across the NZME network. Host: Susie NordqvistSound Engineer: Paddy FoxProducer: Ethan SillsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Clare Teaching Council Representative is warning students not to be too hasty in accepting offers of college places just yet. At 2pm today, 83,500 people - including 47,000 students who sat their Leaving Cert this year - will be issued wih Round One CAO offers. It's estimated 60,000 applicants will receive an offer of a place today with more than half likely to be offered their preferred course and four out of five to get one of their top three preferences. Teacher at St. Patrick's Comprehensive School Shannon and Teaching Council National Representative for Community and Comprehensive schools Clodagh O'Hara has been telling Clare FM's Seán Lyons tensions can be even higher today than on Leaving Cert results day.

There's concerns from experts that new teacher training requirements will exacerbate workforce shortages. The Government's action plan includes teacher trainees needing to have achieved NCEA Level Two maths. Teacher Education Forum executive chair, Rosina Merry, says many enter the profession well after leaving school. She says the sector isn't against the Government working with the Teaching Council to increase entry requirements - but after some time and consultation. "We're not suggesting we put it off, we're suggesting slowing it down a little bit. The pace of change for teachers - and for the sector - is huge." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said he is prepared to see schools deferring arts and music curriculum to raise achievement in maths and reading. Speaking to Newstalk ZB's Mike Hosking Breakfast, Luxon said unions could complain about the Government all they wanted, but the Government was worried about parents and children. ”We are focused on outcomes: achievement in maths and reading and getting kids to school. “That may well mean we're going to defer our arts and music curriculum for now. But we're going to do everything to get those jobs done. “How on earth do you get a four-lane highway from Auckland to Whangarei with future generations that can't do maths. “How do you become the world leading in agriscience if we don't have our kids knowing how to do maths and read properly.” Yesterday, the Government announced an “overhaul” of the Education Review Office's reporting on schools as part of an effort to lift school standards in maths. Schools that need extra help will face intervention from the Ministry of Education “earlier and more often” than currently according to Education Minister Erica Stanford. Stanford announced the change today as part of a blitz of policy announcements, begun at the weekend, aimed at lifting maths achievement. “The Ministry of Education will intervene earlier and more often in schools which need extra support. The ministry will sharpen its approach to intervening in schools when student achievement is at risk, redirecting and targeting resources to schools with inadequate student achievement,” Stanford said. “There will be an overhaul of the Education Review Office's reporting, so it is focused on progress, achievement and assessment. There will also be clearer reporting to parents on what schools are getting right and what they aren't,” she said. Over the weekend, Stanford announced a suite of curriculum and workforce changes to lift maths performance. These include introducing a new Years 0-8 maths curriculum a year early, from Term 1 2025, with resources available to support teachers. She said the Teaching Council had agreed to lift maths entry requirements for new teachers and that $20 million had been set aside for professional development in structured maths for teachers. Stanford said data on performance had previously been hidden from parents. She promised clearer reporting for parents. Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said he agreed with many of the changes, some of which were in train under Labour, including the curriculum change. He said data on school performance was “still hidden” because the Government has not “published the data they are referring to”. “Overall in this area, including in the literacy space, there are only a few things they [the Government] are doing things slightly differently... broadly, the direction of travel is the same,” Hipkins said. “Overall, the issues around numeracy are quite complex and longstanding. We're not talking 10 years, we're talking 20 or 30 years in the making,” he said. New reporting from the Curriculum Insights and Progress Study published on Monday showed that in maths, just 22% of students at Year 8 were meeting curriculum expectations. This figure was 28% at Year 6, and 20% at Year 3. Curriculum Insights is an update on the National Monitoring Study of Student Achievement (NMSSA). It assessed a nationally representative sample of students at Years 3, 6 and 8 from English-medium state and state-integrated schools in reading and maths. While these figures are concerning the organisation that collates the study said that the Curriculum Insights and Progress Study as well as NMSSA “indicates that at Year 8, there has been no statistically significant change in mathematics achievement scores since at least 2013. On average, students scored about the same in 2013, 2018, 2022, and 2023″. One of the study leads, Dr Charles Darr, said “what we're seeing in mathematics is a change in curriculum and a new benchmarking process rather than a change in achievement”. “We've been tracking student achievement in mathematics at Year 8 for more than 10 years, and in that time, there has been no evidence for improvement or decline. We do have a new draft curriculum however, and the provisional benchmarking exercise we carried out indicates it requires a higher level of proficiency than the 2007 curriculum.” Thomas Coughlan is deputy political editor and covers politics from Parliament. He has worked for the Herald since 2021 and has worked in the Press Gallery since 2018. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government is putting more money behind a classroom-heavy teacher training method to try and better prepare graduates. Teaching Council chief executive Lesley Hoskin spoke to Corin Dann.

Many principals and teachers believe there is a disconnect between the reformed Junior Cycle and more challenging Leaving Cert which is leaving students and teachers underprepared for the demands of the senior cycle. Junior Cycle reforms were aimed at giving students greater ownership of their learning, boosting collaboration among teachers and reducing the emphasis on written exams. While the research findings show there is support for the aims of the reforms, there are concerns among principals and teachers over students' preparedness for the Leaving Cert, which is seen as requiring a greater depth of knowledge. To discuss this further, Alan Morrissey was joined by Professor Oliver McGarr, Faculty Of Education & Health Sciences, School Of Education at UL and by Clodagh O'Hara of St Patrick's Comprehensive, Shannon and new member of the Teaching Council.

Teaching Council CEO Lesley Hoskin speaks to Susana Leiataua about primary school teacher failing basic science and maths.

There's a view it's not all teachers' fault for low pass rates in high school.   New research has found a quarter of new primary school teachers failed maths and more than half failed science at NCEA Level One.   More than half who pursued Level Two maths also failed.  The Teaching Council's calling for more investment and widespread changes to how teachers are prepared for the classroom.   Chief Executive Lesley Hoskin told Mike Hosking that teachers have been let down by the structure and resources given to them while training.  She says we have to stop blaming teachers for the system we created, as this is a systemic failure over decades.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's little surprise a large number of Kiwi teachers didn't pass some high-school subjects.   New research has found a quarter of new primary school teachers failed maths and more than half failed science at NCEA Level One.   More than half who pursued Level Two maths also failed.   The Teaching Council's calling for more investment and widespread changes to how teachers are prepared for the classroom.   Auckland University Dean of Education Mark Barrows told Mike Hosking that they've known for a while people heading into primary teaching tend to be under-qualified in those areas.   He says providers need to think about how they can produce programmes that help students get past that.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One thing I know with absolute certainty is that I could never be a schoolteacher.  A few more people might be saying that today after the news that the behaviour of school kids in New Zealand has worsened over the past two years, making them among the worst-behaved in the OECD.  And I hope that parents around the country are hearing this news and thinking about what they can do to sort out this mess. Because, as far as I'm concerned, it all starts with us - the people who bring these kids into the world.   It's not the schools' fault. They just deal with what they're given. Just like it shouldn't be the schools who are left to come up with a solution to the problem being highlighted in this report out today from the Education Review Office - or ERO.   They're the crowd that go around schools, checking they're doing what they're supposed to be doing.  Back in the day, they used to call them the School Inspectors. These days it's a little bit more touchy feely. But, having been on a school board when ERO was on the way, they might not call themselves school inspectors anymore, but the schools still get a bit antsy about being under the microscope.  Today, though, ERO is speaking out on behalf of the schools - telling us about the nonsense teachers and principals have to deal with on a daily basis.  One stat in this report that caught my eye, is the 3-out-of-4 teachers who say they have students refusing to follow instructions every day. So, you imagine that - unless you're a teacher, and you won't have to imagine it.  But you imagine turning up at work everyday, knowing that you're going to have kids ignoring you or just outright refusing to do what you want them to do. It would drive me nuts and I'd probably end-up being hauled in front of the Teaching Council. Because I know I'd lose my rag.  But that's a daily thing for about 75% of teachers. Not to mention the violence, thieving, and vandalism going on.  I was talking to the principal of a school the other week, and he was telling me that he has full-school assemblies every week or so. And what he has to do there, is stand up and give the kids some sort of motivational talk.  He was telling me that he can really struggle with that sometimes. Because sometimes all he wants to do is get up in front of all the kids and say ‘for God's sake, stop smashing up the toilets'.   And that's the reality. Vandalism, violence, disrespect. And the Education Review Office says things need to change and something has to be done about it.  And if we think we can leave it to the Government and schools to sort out, then we're dreaming.   Because nothing is going to change if parents don't up the ante as well. And what I'm talking about here are simple things like making sure kids get to school and into their classroom on time. In fact, ahead of time.  Anyone who knows me will know that I'm terrible at being on time for things. But if you have a kid turn up at school late, they go into the classroom on the back foot, they start talking to other kids trying to find out what's going on, and the behaviour of everybody in the classroom spirals downwards from there.  Another thing is this easy-osey attitude that parents have to turning up at work since COVID. The old working-from-home thing has had massive repercussions around the world —not just here in New Zealand— with parents getting a bit slack about turning up when and where they should.   And that's coming through in parents' attitudes about the need for their kids to even actually go to school five days a week, let alone turn up there on time.  Then you think, well - what about the 75% of teachers who say they have kids refusing to do what they're asked, every day? Parents can't be blamed for that, can they?  Well, yes, they can actually. Because, unfortunately, too many parents have given up. Which probably sounds harsher than I mean it to sound, because I know full well that some kids are just out of control. And, for some parents, there seems to be nothing they can do to get their kids under control.  I've had parents call up and say they're at their wits end. They're good people these parents. But there are bad ones as well.  These are the parents who were probably the bad eggs when they were at school, and who have had no clue from the outset. And these are the parents who will have very low expectations when it comes to how their kids behave.  Problem is it's their kids who are going to go, have kids of their own, and repeat the cycle over-and-over again.  So, what do we do? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Most of the time when you see a young person on their phone, do you jump to the conclusion that they're just wasting time? Or maybe you assume they're planning their next ram raid or whatever. Well if that's you, then you will love National's plan to ban mobile phones in all schools. No ifs or buts. No phones at lunchtime. No phones during recess. No phones at school. That's what's going to happen if National is in government after the election in October. Which I think is one of those ideas that sounds great but what a nightmare to make happen. It sounds great - to someone like me anyway - because I'm as guilty as the next person of thinking that anytime a kid's on their phone, they're not doing anything useful. And that's what National is tapping into with this policy. It wants to appeal to the likes of me - and maybe you too. Because, if you've got kids at home - teenagers especially - you'll know how infuriating it can be when you see them smiling at something on their phone when you know they should be getting on with that assignment or studying for their next exam. Or maybe even doing something useful around the place. I reckon if they ever did research to find out what parents say to their kids most these days, it would probably be “put that bloody phone down”. So imagine what it must be like for teachers with 30 kids in the room and trying to get them to focus on what they should be focused on. Trickier for the teachers too because they'd be hauled off to the Teaching Council if they told a student to “put the bloody phone down”. National says the reason it wants to ban phones in schools is because it thinks it would help sort out the situation with fewer kids leaving school with NCEA Level 2 and above now, than 10 years ago. It's saying today that, if the kids weren't so distracted on their phones, more of them would be doing better at school. But I don't know if you could get a more simplistic view of the world if you tried. Because what about the kids who aren't doing well at school because they go home every day to a completely dysfunctional living arrangement? What about the kids who aren't doing well at school because the system has let them down time and time again and no one's clicked that they might be dyslexic or something. Or it was picked up so late that they're going to be playing catch-up forever. What about those kids? Banning phones at school isn't going to make any difference to them. Or the ones who had to go out and find a job during the pandemic because they're parents lost their jobs during the lockdowns - and, because of that, they've just dropped out of the system. I know for some people that's hard to believe. But that is reality for some kids and their families. And how rich would it be, do you think, for us to tell the kids they can't have their phones with them at school, when they see us staring into the things all the time ourselves? When they see us on our phones when we're doing things like driving? Talk about hypocritical. Another thing too is whether parents would be happy for the kids not to be contactable during the school day. Because, as a society, we've fallen for the line that being able to contact the kids all the time, anytime is a good thing. National says if phones were banned and parents needed to contact their kids during school hours, they could just call the school office. Can you imagine that? It would also be putting it on schools to determine how to enforce the no-phone rule. One of the ways it's suggesting is getting the kids to hand their phones in at the start of the day. But what would the likes of Burnside High School or Cashmere High School do with more than 2,000 phones?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Several headlines recently have sparked concerns about the state of our teaching pool.  Most notably, a man legally known as Taurapa has become the latest teacher found to have had a sexually inappropriate relationship with a student. Another case saw a teacher lose their registration for refusing to call a transgender student by their preferred pronouns.   What is the process for disciplining our teachers, and can we be reassured that the right people are educating our children?  Today on The Front Page, Damien speaks to Lesley Hoskin, chief executive of the Teaching Council and NZ Herald senior crime writer Sam Sherwood. Follow The Front Page on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. You can read more about this and other stories in the New Zealand Herald, online at nzherald.co.nz, or tune in to news bulletins across the NZME network. Host: Damien VenutoProducer: Shaun D WilsonExecutive Producer: Ethan SillsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A teacher has had his registration removed for refusing to recognise a transgender student's gender. The Teachers Disciplinary Tribunal says the student was transitioning from female to male and asked to be called a male name, but the teacher refused because of his religious beliefs. The student complained, prompting the teacher's resignation, which was followed by a mandatory report of potential misconduct. The tribunal says the teacher's defence of the charge was offensive and hysterical. Lesley Hoskin is the chief executive of the Teaching Council of New Zealand, and she spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.

A preschool teacher has managed to hang on to her teaching licence despite four drink driving convictions. In 2020 the woman was caught driving over the limit before entering her work. She'd already had three drink-driving criminal prosecutions, however the the Teaching Council's disciplinary tribunal decided not to terminate her teaching licence. Nick Mills asked callers if this was the right decision and spoke to Mary, who had to battled with alcohol for two decades. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sinn Féin's Education Spokesperson Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire joined to discuss teacher waiting times and how it is taking so long to register with the Teaching Council.

Sinn Féin's Education Spokesperson Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire joined to discuss teacher waiting times and how it is taking so long to register with the Teaching Council.

Last week on the show we discussed the ongoing teacher shortages and recruitment difficulties, and a number of people got in touch with us about their difficulties registering with the Teaching Council. Kevin Feeney is an English teacher who had to wait 3 years to register with the Teaching Council and Kevin spoke to Newstalk Breakfast.

Last week on the show we discussed the ongoing teacher shortages and recruitment difficulties, and a number of people got in touch with us about their difficulties registering with the Teaching Council. Kevin Feeney is an English teacher who had to wait 3 years to register with the Teaching Council and Kevin spoke to Newstalk Breakfast.

In our final part of the Story of Droichead, we reach 2017. With 91% of teachers voting to stop Droichead from entering our schools, you would think this almost unanimous vote of no confidence would finally put a stop to the INTO from trying to get Droichead over the line and put the Teaching Council back to the drawing board. However, as we'll see, in this part of our story of Droichead, that isn't what happened at all. A co-ordinated and carefully orchestrated set of plans was put in place beginning with the slightest of changes - just one word to change everything!

In our final part of the Story of Droichead, we reach 2017. With 91% of teachers voting to stop Droichead from entering our schools, you would think this almost unanimous vote of no confidence would finally put a stop to the INTO from trying to get Droichead over the line and put the Teaching Council back to the drawing board. However, as we'll see, in this part of our story of Droichead, that isn't what happened at all. A co-ordinated and carefully orchestrated set of plans was put in place beginning with the slightest of changes - just one word to change everything!

2016 was an interesting year in primary education, and for me, it was the year where our education system changed fundamentally. The NCSE published their new guidelines for children with additional needs paving the way for the disaster that we are seeing today. Sean Cottrell, the powerhouse of the IPPN announced that he was going to be retiring leading to a new direction for the organisation of partnership with the INTO and Department of Education. But even more importantly for the purposes of this podcast episode were two elections - The Teaching Council elections and the INTO presidency election. How would this affect Droichead?

2016 was an interesting year in primary education, and for me, it was the year where our education system changed fundamentally. The NCSE published their new guidelines for children with additional needs paving the way for the disaster that we are seeing today. Sean Cottrell, the powerhouse of the IPPN announced that he was going to be retiring leading to a new direction for the organisation of partnership with the INTO and Department of Education. But even more importantly for the purposes of this podcast episode were two elections - The Teaching Council elections and the INTO presidency election. How would this affect Droichead?

By 2015, it seemed like Droichead was going nowhere. The Teaching Council were doing their best to force schools to join their pilot, which almost nobody wanted to join and the INTO were doing their best to do the same. Already 3 years overdue, less than 5% of schools across the country had signed up. Something had to be done and many teachers on the ground had the answers. The thing was, would the Teaching Council listen?

By 2015, it seemed like Droichead was going nowhere. The Teaching Council were doing their best to force schools to join their pilot, which almost nobody wanted to join and the INTO were doing their best to do the same. Already 3 years overdue, less than 5% of schools across the country had signed up. Something had to be done and many teachers on the ground had the answers. The thing was, would the Teaching Council listen?

The story of Droichead is littered with twists and turns and all sorts of unexplainable changes that if it were a real bridge, it would have collapsed. While its foundation was fairly solid, it had a number of issues, not least the fact that it wasn't going to be properly resourced, and secondly that it was going to be very difficult to work from a HR and Industrial Relations point of view. However, the Teaching Council found itself with a very powerful ally - the INTO, the primary teachers' union. In a complete u-turn from its original NEVER NEVER mantra, the INTO leadership convinced almost all of its CEC reps to take on Droichead in their schools. For one of the first times in my memory at least, the INTO leadership stood in direct opposition to the vast majority of its own members. In this part of the episode, I am going to explore the reaction of teachers on the ground to the INTO's decision and what happened next.

The story of Droichead is littered with twists and turns and all sorts of unexplainable changes that if it were a real bridge, it would have collapsed. While its foundation was fairly solid, it had a number of issues, not least the fact that it wasn't going to be properly resourced, and secondly that it was going to be very difficult to work from a HR and Industrial Relations point of view. However, the Teaching Council found itself with a very powerful ally - the INTO, the primary teachers' union. In a complete u-turn from its original NEVER NEVER mantra, the INTO leadership convinced almost all of its CEC reps to take on Droichead in their schools. For one of the first times in my memory at least, the INTO leadership stood in direct opposition to the vast majority of its own members. In this part of the episode, I am going to explore the reaction of teachers on the ground to the INTO's decision and what happened next.

A couple of weeks ago I told you guys the story of the relief teacher censured and embroiled in court action, over removing an ear bud from a Year 10 student's ear because he refused to remove it himself, and the teacher had asked him to stop listening to music and pay attention. The student had been verbally abusive and refused to oblige and this relief teacher had had a gutsful. I pointed out that despite crying out for teachers, and not being able to get a relief teacher these days for love nor money, the Teachers' Complaints Committee and the Teachers' Disciplinary Tribunal had over reacted in siding with the student. I argued that, in my opinion, it fed a growing issue with a sense of entitlement among young people in classrooms, which in turn fed into disrespect of teachers, and that this guy being told his actions could ‘adversely affect their wellbeing' was basically over the top. Many of you agreed with me at the time. But the next day my producer received an email from the Media and Communications Advisor at the Teachers Council. He wanted to ‘share a statement' with me from the chief exec of the Teaching Council as they felt there was  “a lot of misunderstanding about the Teaching Council's roles and functions”.. they ‘hoped I would find the enclosed letter informative and share it with my audience'. Attached to the email was a two page typed up letter on Teaching Council letterhead, signed by a Lesley Hoskin, Teaching Council Chief Executive. Kia Ora Alexander, Tena Koe Kate, it began. FYI If you want to know more about who this woman is, and why teaching is where it is these days, be sure to listen back to NewstalkZB on demand on the ZB website if you didn't hear her interview with Mike yesterday on his show. It explains a lot about why we are where we are with the education system. I was surprised the Teaching Council was tuning in to Early Edition, I'm not so sure they were, I wouldn't be surprised if they have a google alert set up, but to dedicate time to typing up a two page letter to me, then having your media guy attach a covering letter and send that to my producer.. I mean really?  You don't have better stuff to do with your time when our education system is in the state it's in? It may not surprise many of you that the Teaching Council is anecdotally apparently not held in very high regard by the teaching body itself. That was reaffirmed yesterday by teachers who texted in after Mike's interview. That doesn't surprise me given the Teaching Council appears to be working against teachers, not for them. Having heard yesterday's interview it's almost like they're working against themselves too. We have record low literacy and numeracy rates, a teacher shortage, and these guys are hitting own goals by running teachers out of the profession for removing headphones from students, and now looking to make Te Reo competency mandatory, to retain your teaching certificate. Anyway the upshot of the letter I received was that the Teaching Council defended its decision over this relief teacher, and like all left leaning ideological bodies, they were just wanting to ‘educate me'.. the great unwashed, on how to think more like them I guess? This approach, this time wasting of typing up letters to radio hosts when you have way bigger fish to fry, sums up everything that's wrong with where teaching's heading.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Red rag to a bull. That's what the suggestion from the Teaching Council that te reo Māori may eventually become mandatory for teachers has been. But no surprises there. Because we live in a country where some people go nuts over some weather presenters on TV using what they consider to be too much of the Māori language and we live in a country where people get all hot and bothered about New Zealand being called Aotearoa. And where people talk a whole load of nonsense about boycotting Whittaker's chocolate because Whittaker's has got the nerve to print a bit of te reo on the wrapper of one of its chocolate bars. Which is one sure sign that civilisation, as we know it, is going downhill isn't it? Te reo on a chocolate wrapper. Well, it is as far as some people are concerned. And, in reality, the chocolate bar thing is probably the closest we're ever going to get to having the Māori language “rammed down our throats” - as some people like to say. Although, eating chocolate isn't mandatory, so I don't think we can even say that. So when you get an outfit representing the teaching profession saying that it's likely one day all teachers will need to know the Māori language, it seems to be natural for some people to start banging on about the kids needing to learn the basics first. And referring to te reo as if it's some sort of add-on or nice-to-have. “Stick to the Three Rs” - reading, writing, ‘rithmetic. That's a common one isn't it? Which I've always thought is a bit of an odd way of talking about education when one of the so-called “Rs” actually starts with “A”. It's A-rithmetic. Not ‘rithmetic. And another one starts with "W". But, anyway, you get my gist. Now, as far as I'm concerned, what the Teaching Council is saying makes perfect sense. Of course teachers are going to have to up their game on the te reo front. And that's not because it's the right thing to do, or because it's politically correct, or because it's fashionable. Or whatever other reason those anti it might want to throw around. Teachers are going to at least be proficient in all things Māori because it's not 1975 anymore and, in the years to come (if not already), te reo is going to be just as much a part of literacy in this country as anything else. Now I don't speak te reo. I did a course through work a few years ago - it ran for a few weeks - and, to be honest, I struggled with it. But it doesn't mean that I don't recognise the value of learning the language. And I probably did the course as much out of curiosity as anything else. But kids growing up today and the kids to come don't have that luxury. Te reo Māori is not going to be a nice-to-have in the years to come. It's going to be essential. It's a fact. You don't have to love the idea if you don't love it. But, at the very least, we all have to recognise that - in the future - if you want to be considered literate in this country, then sticking your head in the sand when it comes to te reo Māori isn't going to be an option. And that's why what the Teaching Council is saying shouldn't be a surprise to anyone. If anything, we should be applauding the Teaching Council for saying it. If your child or grandchild wants a job in the public sector, they'll go straight to the front of the queue if they speak te reo. If your child or grandchild wants to work for some of the big legal and engineering firms, or in the health sector, they'll go straight to the front of the queue if they speak te reo. If your child or grandchild wants to get into politics - again, they'll be at the front of the queue if they can speak te reo. If that wasn't the case, then you wouldn't have people like National Party leader Christopher Luxon learning te reo, would you? That's why the Teaching Council is saying what it's saying. It's just being realistic and saying what's going to be needed if we want a teaching profession that can truly prepare our kids for the real world of tomorrow. The sooner we get our heads around that, the better. Because, as far as I'm concerned, being literate in this country isn't always going to be about reading and writing and speaking English, and nothing else. It's also going to be about familiarity - at the very least - with te reo Māori which, I needn't remind you, is an official language of Aotearoa New Zealand.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Discussion over the level of te reo required by the country's teachers. The Teaching Council has told the Abuse in Care Inquiry, that competence in te reo Māori will eventually become mandatory for teachers. But there's no plan to make fluency in the language compulsory. Council Chief Executive, Lesley Hoskin, told Mike Hosking they are led by the profession and the profession has yet to suggest compulsory te reo is fair or reasonable. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Act party isn't interested in any move to make matauranga Māori and te reo mandatory for teachers. The Teaching Council has told a Royal Commission of Inquiry it believes that will eventually be the case. Act leader David Seymour says it will put people off the profession. He told Kate Hawkesby teachers already have enough on their plate, without having to worry about improving their te reo. He says the initiative is another example of something teachers have to do for the Government, rather than what students may want. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

By 2013, The Teaching Council were in a sticky situation. The inspectorate had told them they would no longer be probating teachers but the Union were steadfast that teachers wouldn't be doing instead. With chants of NEVER NEVER ringing in their heads, the Teaching Council needed to do something. In this part of the episode, I explore what happened next and how they managed to build that bridge and convince the INTO to come over it.

By 2013, The Teaching Council were in a sticky situation. The inspectorate had told them they would no longer be probating teachers but the Union were steadfast that teachers wouldn't be doing instead. With chants of NEVER NEVER ringing in their heads, the Teaching Council needed to do something. In this part of the episode, I explore what happened next and how they managed to build that bridge and convince the INTO to come over it.

Female teachers outnumber male teachers almost 3 to 1 in the Irish classroom. That's according to figures obtained by Newstalk Breakfast from the Teaching Council of Ireland.  Why is there still such a lack of male educators and how can we attract more men into the profession?  Ray Silke Former Galway Footballer and Secondary school teacher at Coláiste Iognáid spoke to Newstalk Breakfast. Listen and subscribe to Newstalk Breakfast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.     Download, listen and subscribe on the Newstalk App.    You can also listen to Newstalk live on newstalk.com or on Alexa, by adding the Newstalk skill and asking: 'Alexa, play Newstalk'.

Female teachers outnumber male teachers almost 3 to 1 in the Irish classroom. That's according to figures obtained by Newstalk Breakfast from the Teaching Council of Ireland.  Why is there still such a lack of male educators and how can we attract more men into the profession?  Ray Silke Former Galway Footballer and Secondary school teacher at Coláiste Iognáid spoke to Newstalk Breakfast. Listen and subscribe to Newstalk Breakfast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.     Download, listen and subscribe on the Newstalk App.    You can also listen to Newstalk live on newstalk.com or on Alexa, by adding the Newstalk skill and asking: 'Alexa, play Newstalk'.

Roger Grimes is an industry expert and the Data Driven Defense Evangelist for KnowBe4. In this episode, Roger and host Hillarie McClure discuss why the Ireland Teaching Council is being held responsible for a breach of nearly ten thousand teachers' data, as well as a bug on the non-fungible tokens (NFT) marketplace OpenSea that allowed at least three attackers to secure massive discounts on several NFTs. KnowBe4 is the world's first and largest New-school security awareness training and simulated phishing platform that helps you manage the ongoing problem of social engineering. To learn more about our sponsor, KnowBe4, visit https://knowbe4.com

Aisling Larkin, TV Chef, food writer, joins me today to chat all things food and given it's January it's a good time to remember food is powerful all year round not just nowAisling Larkin (MB-Eat, M.Sc, B.Ed ) is a top mindful eating coach, wellness advocate, founder of eatingmindfully,ie and resident TV chef on the Six O'Clock Show. Graduating with a Bachelors of Education degree from Trinity College Dublin and a first class honours Masters of Science in Food Product Development and Culinary Innovation Aisling is a member of the Teaching Council of Ireland and Eurotoques and has worked with many international brands on various food campaigns for television, digital and print media.Having founded and ran her cookery school at the Cliff at Lyons (formerly the Village at Lyons) , spoken and demonstrated at a most of Irelands top festivals and undergone training in molecular gastronomy in the UK Aisling has a passion for flavour and believes in a multi-sensory approach to food.Aisling also continues to develop her own mindfulness practice and teaching skills though workshops, retreats and teaching others.We had a brilliant chat about food, eating mindfully, the power of simplicity, gratitude, menopausal hormones and much moreThis is a great episode to keep things practical and simple in a month where we can often get lost and become too hard on ourselves. *Be warned we are not fans of diets You can follow Aisling and get all her fab recipes here on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aisling_larkin_/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The secondary teachers' union says there are serious questions to be asked of the leadership of the Teaching Council following a massive privacy breach. Details of complaints against dozens of teachers and principals held by the Teaching Council were accidently published online - where they were publicly available for two months. Post Primary Teachers' Association President Melanie Webber said the breach is a shocker - and the Teaching Council is not managing it well. She spoke to Corin Dann.

The secondary teachers' union says there are serious questions to be asked of the leadership of the Teaching Council following a massive privacy breach. Details of complaints against dozens of teachers and principals held by the Teaching Council were accidently published online - where they were publicly available for two months. Post Primary Teachers' Association President Melanie Webber said the breach is a shocker - and the Teaching Council is not managing it well. She spoke to Corin Dann.

The Teaching Council says it faces insolvency after losing a High Court battle. The court has dismissed the council's recent shift to teachers having to renew their practising certificates every year - rather than every three years. The council had warned that it faced significant financial problems if it lost the case, which was brought by teacher union, the Post Primary Teachers Association. The court dismissed those fears, saying the government would likely continue to support the organisation. Teaching Council board chair and principal of Spotswood College Nicola Ngarewa spoke to Susie Ferguson.

The Teaching Council says it faces insolvency after losing a High Court battle. The court has dismissed the council's recent shift to teachers having to renew their practising certificates every year - rather than every three years. The council had warned that it faced significant financial problems if it lost the case, which was brought by teacher union, the Post Primary Teachers Association. The court dismissed those fears, saying the government would likely continue to support the organisation. Teaching Council board chair and principal of Spotswood College Nicola Ngarewa spoke to Susie Ferguson.

A helping hand for teachers trying to tackle racism in the classroom.The Teaching Council's launched an 'Unteach Racism' campaign with resources available on a website and app.It aims to inform teachers about racism, offer advice on how to confront the issue and eventually - dismantling it.Chief Executive Lesley Hoskin told Heather du Plessis-Allan we often tell kids there's "no place for racism.She says it's a great statement, but it's a different challenge to work out how we actually address the problem.Meanwhile, the Government has a plan to improve emergency housing.They have announced it'll no longer have mixed-use motels for emergency housing in Rotorua, with plans to to the same nationwide.Housing Minister Megan Woods says they'll instead directly contract motels - and roll out social support to those in the accommodation.She told Heather du Plessis-Allan under the status quo, some motels were being contracted by the Housing Ministry.But she says people are also finding motels themselves, if they're given a Social Development Ministry grant.Woods says about 200 families with children are staying in motels in Rotorua.Listen above as Jack Tame and David Farrar discuss the day's news with Heather du Plessis-Allan on The Huddle

The Teaching Council is urging teachers to confront racism with a campaign it says some might find scary. The Unteach Racism programme aims to help teachers identify racism and address it. It says racism is not only an educational issue, but schools and early childhood education centres will either reinforce it or challenge it. Here's education correspondent John Gerritsen.

The Teaching Council is urging teachers to confront racism with a campaign it says some might find scary. The Unteach Racism programme aims to help teachers identify racism and address it. It says racism is not only an educational issue, but schools and early childhood education centres will either reinforce it or challenge it. Here's education correspondent John Gerritsen.

The Teaching Council is urging teachers to confront racism with a campaign it says some might find scary.It launched the Unteach Racism programme today with a video featuring film-maker Taika Waititi talking to an image of his school-age self about the racism he would encounter at school and in society."Forget about being accused of being a glue-sniffer, or stealing lunches, or that you're brown because you don't take baths," he says in the video."You've been made to feel you're not trustworthy, you're trouble, that you won't add up to much, but you'll prove them all wrong."He finishes by saying that young people cannot get advice from their future selves so it's up to teachers to deal with racism now."As teachers, you've got the real life ability to make a difference for kids in the face of racism. There are so many things their benevolent and successful future selves would love to go back and unteach them but you're the ones who can choose to do that in real time, now. You have the power to unteach racism - will you?"The campaign followed surveys of school-aged children that found racist taunts and attitudes were still a problem, and a teacher recently shared on social media how racism in a secondary school was affecting Māori students who told their teachers it was not enough to be non-racist, they needed to be anti-racist.Council chief executive Lesley Hoskin said it was not criticising teachers or calling them racist, but it had warned that some teachers might find its campaign scary."Acknowledging the difficult subject and the difficult content was really about saying, look, everybody agrees it's unconscious bias coming from an adult, teachers are not intending this, you know they don't come out of bed and come to work in the morning for anything other than wanting to do the best by the kids they work with."But the reality is many kids tell us, and we know this is a fact, that they experience racism," she said.Post Primary Teachers Association vice-president Chris Abercrombie said teachers dealt with racism on a regular basis and were well aware of their obligation to confront it."This is something that teachers have been doing, this is our bread and butter, it's not new ground for teachers," he said."Social science programmes will be dealing with racism or talking about racist issues, there's bullying issues and those kind of things and they're dealt with in schools."Abercrombie said it was useful to have another tool, but the union was not happy that teachers' registration fees were being used to fund training that the government should be paying for.The Unteach Racism campaign material said racism was a societal issue, not solely a teaching or education issue, but early childhood centres and schools could either confirm prejudice and bias or challenge it."Teachers all want the best for learners. Unfortunately, to help all learners succeed teachers face an extra challenge - society has already taught learners that some of them are less valued," it said.It said teachers had a good understanding of racism existing within people, but were less familiar with how it showed up in systems and processes."Teachers also indicated the need for support to have conversations about racism with colleagues and with their learners," it said.text by John Gerritsen, RNZ

WorkSafe is looking into "concerns about staff wellbeing" at Waikato prestigious private St Peter's school.It comes amid the absence of husband and wife executive principal Dale Burden and deputy principal Yevette Williams from the Cambridge school."WorkSafe has been notified of concerns about staff wellbeing at St Peter's School and is making inquiries," a spokesperson for the health and safety regulator said.It's unclear exactly when Burden and Williams were last at St Peter's School, but it's believed to have been before the end of the first school term.Parents have been left in the dark over the unexplained absence of the two key staff members.In the email sent on Monday evening, the school acknowledged queries from parents and caregivers about the two senior staff members but said it was unable to comment further due to privacy reasons.The Herald's questions were referred to a PR company last night, which said there was no comment due to privacy reasons.The school is now in the hands of chief operating officer Rob Campbell who today reiterated its stance of being unable to comment when approached again by the Herald.One parent was supportive of Burden and said the email sent out by the board had only "created more questions than answers"."The staff and parents that I know have all very much enjoyed working with Dale, and the heads of department that I have become close with."He has a big presence at the school and he's very engaging with the students."He's a very stand-up guy."Another parent said he was "shocked and bemused" by the pair's unexplained absence."It's an amazing school and the level of communication is amazing, you get a weekly newsletter and so for that [email] to come out on Monday, that was really odd."The Teaching Council this morning confirmed it hadn't been notified of any issues about Burden or Williams. 

Hundreds of teachers are not meeting a mandatory requirement to improve their knowledge of te reo and tikanga Māori. The Teaching Council says it is taking a cautious approach to the rule, which school and early childhood teachers must meet in order to renew their practising certificate each year. The council says nobody is refusing to comply, but some teachers say they haven't had time to work on their reo or are already fluent.  Education correspondent John Gerritsen reports. 

Hundreds of teachers are not meeting a mandatory requirement to improve their knowledge of te reo and tikanga Māori. The Teaching Council says it is taking a cautious approach to the rule, which school and early childhood teachers must meet in order to renew their practising certificate each year. The council says nobody is refusing to comply, but some teachers say they haven't had time to work on their reo or are already fluent.  Education correspondent John Gerritsen reports. 

Parents and former teachers have told the Ministry of Education that the owner and manager of a childcare centre in Feilding locked toddlers in rooms, fed children moudly food and smacked them. The Pitter Patter Education Centre had its licence suspended for three weeks in November while the Ministry investigated complaints spanning at least five years. The centre has since re-opened although the investigation is continuing and complaints have been passed onto the police. Charlotte Cook reports. [audio_play] The Teaching Council says it is in the early stages of considering the information about the childcare centre and is still deciding its next steps. It would not comment further.

More than 1000 student teachers can graduate with less classroom experience than usual after the Teaching Council lowered its minimum standards. The pandemic has hampered students' ability to go into schools and early childhood centres so the council has cut by a quarter the number of weeks of practical experience required for provisional teacher registration. Student teachers are worried they are being thrown in the deep end though the Education Ministry is organising additional support for them next year. Here's RNZ education correspondent, John Gerritsen.

The National Party is focusing its education policy on children with learning needs and is promising to invest almost $2 billion into education if it is elected.It says that would equate to the largest investment in repairing, rebuilding and redeveloping schools in a generation.National leader Judith Collins and education spokeswoman Nicola Willis unveiled the policy at a private school in Christchurch this afternoon."National will make the largest investment in repairing, rebuilding and redeveloping our schools in a generation, to make sure every child has the chance to learn in a fit-for-purpose education environment," they said.But it would again scrap the higher subsidies for preschools with 100 per cent qualified teachers which has been a policy that has yo-yoed for the last 15 years depending on the colour of the government.And it would reverse the Government's decision to draw up school zones on a regional basis and again return the responsibility to schools.As well, all primary and intermediate schools would have to offer at least one second language, removing school zones for families of a child with learning needs and build 25 new charter schools in three years.It would also pedal back the universality of Food in Schools so it was "more targeted".Highlights of the policy include:• Improving the adult-to-child ratio of children under age 2 in Early Childhood Education (ECE).• Have more spot-checks of ECE services and have more information available for parents about the quality of services .• Invest an additional $4.8b in school infrastructure, including $2b over five years for the Fix New Zealand's Schools Alliance and another $2.8b over a decade for new classrooms and schools.• Progressively reduce class sizes to reduce teachers' workloads.• Aim to establish 25 new partnership schools by 2023• Abolish teachers' $157 annual Teaching Council registration fee.Children with learning needsA large focus of the policy is on improving education for children with additional needs and National said it would do this by earlier intervention and investing $683 million over four years for more teacher aides and a learning support funding boost for every school.According to the Ministry of Education, about one in five Kiwi children need some kind of extra support for their learning, which might be because of a disability, learning difficulties, disadvantage, physical or mental health or behaviour issues.Willis called the current system of learning support was a "complex web of form-filling, hoop-jumping and uncertainty".This meant too many children going undiagnosed and those with mild-to-moderate needs often missing out on the extra support they need to succeed, she said."This unmet need is a drag on New Zealand's rate of educational achievement and takes a heavy toll on families, teachers and other students whose learning may be disrupted."National said it would address this with an eight-step plan:1 - Earlier identification of needsNational would bring forward the B4 School Check by a year to make it at age 3.This would be delivered by on-site by medical professionals at ECE centres to identify any developmental concerns, screen for trauma, brain injury and foetal alcohol syndrome.The check-up would be recorded in a Child Passport - a new version of the existing Well Child Tamariki Ora book.2 - Individualised learning plansChildren who need extra support would get individualised learning plans which schools would be required to update this at least annually and report against it to parents.These plans would follow children as they moved schools.3 - Spending $480m in four years to boost learning supportIt would spend almost half $1b to boost learning support then, once fully implemented, would ring-fence $160m a year.Schools could decide for themselves how they spent the funding, including sensory aides, educational psychologists or student counselling. Schools would need to report...

Articles featured on pages 10 and 13 of The Carlow Nationalist on September 1st 2020.

Principals and teachers are unhappy the government has made minimal changes to their ability to physically restrain violent students. They say after three years of debate about the problem, they were given just 26 hours to respond to a supplementary order paper to the Education and Training Bill before it was passed this week. Patrick Walsh from the board of the Teaching Council told our education correspondent, John Gerritsen, the government made small improvements but they are not enough.

Secondary teachers are at loggerheads with their own disciplinary body the Teaching Council and have given it a vote of no confidence. A letter to PPTA members says the Council's head should resign but now the union's President has disowned the letter even though it is in his name. RNZ education correspondent John Gerritsen reports.

It's a weird time in Australia. The country's on fire, people are being openly discriminated against in job listings and our famous bookstores are being turned into pick-up artist hunting grounds. That being said, it's pretty weird in NZ too with teachers attacking students over moustaches.  Normally on this strange show about strange people, we'd have a Patron-exclusive question. This week I've decided to keep that in for everyone to... enjoy? It's hard to figure out whether or not it's a gift or a curse for you considering it involves a pretty horrendous rendition of an NZ accent.  What in-store for you on this episode: ----- Australia Post job application discourages 'over-entitled millennials' Special thank you to Sam our Producer Patron for sending this one to me! An employer has defended a job advertisement discouraging "over-entitled millennials" after Seek forced her to remove the statement as it allegedly breached age discrimination requirements. Among common qualities such as being well-presented, eager to learn and proficiency with a computer, the listing stated: "unfortunately, the successful applicant will not be an over entitled millennial with an inflated sense of entitlement." The licensee of the Warilla Licensed Post Office, Angela Cramp, says the statement wasn't a joke. ----- Pick up artists target Australia's largest bookstore to give clients 'practical experience' Kinokuniya bookstore in Sydney has issued an open letter to customers after a “dating coaching company” was found to be using the store to give clients “practical experience” for their pick-up techniques. “It has come to our attention that a dating coaching company has been using our store to give their clients practical experience, much to our dismay,” the apology began. “We apologize to any of our customers who have been approached in the store or had the negative experience of someone trying “pick-up” techniques with them.” Kinokuniya has confirmed that they have contacted the pick-up artist company in question and have asked them not to return to the premises, making it abundantly clear to any of these “coaching” companies that they are not welcome in the store. ----- New Zealand teach punches student for teasing his 'pedo moustache' A New Zealand teacher has been charged with punching a student in the face after the 13-year-old said he had a "moustache like a pedo would". The unnamed male teacher was playing touch football while the student watched from the sideline. A statement from New Zealand's Teaching Council this week revealed that as “Teacher K” came off the field “Student B” accused him of having a pedo moustache. Teacher K then approached the student and asked him if he wanted a smack in the face—to which the student replied, “yes, right here” and pointed at his cheek. “Teacher K then punched Student B once with a closed fist,” the statement reads. ----- I hope you enjoy this episode! Thanks as always for listening and don't forget to share the show with a friend! I'll talk to you again soon. Love ya. Peace. Producer: Sam Instagram: @oneweirdpodcast Twitter: @oneweirdpodcast Facebook: @oneweirdpodcast

In this interview Pauline Barnes (General Manager, Teaching Council) and Alex Gunn (Chair of TEFANZ and Associate Dean of Teacher Education at the University of Otago) discuss the new requirements for initial teacher education programme approvals which were introduced in July 2019. Alex and Pauline explore why the requirements were developed, some of the ins and outs of the new approach to programme approvals, and the critical role providers and their partners have in shaping their programmes so that graduates can meet the Standards/Ngā Paerewa (in a supported environment) from day one in their new teaching career. A transcript of the interview is available here: https://teachingcouncil.nz/sites/default/files/ITE%20requirements%20interview%20trancript.pdf This is not an episode of Teaching Today podcast.

Sandra Wills recently retired as Professor and Pro Vice Chancellor of Learning and Teaching at Charles Sturt University, New South Wales, Australia. Sandra has as very broad experience across education spanning four decades and her work in multimedia, distance and e-learning is internationally recognised. Interview: https://episodes.castos.com/onlinelearninglegends/026-Sandra-Wills-Final.mp3 | recorded May 2019 Sandra’s profile: https://researchoutput.csu.edu.au/en/persons/swillscsueduau Nominated links (free to access): First Fleet Convicts database. First humanities software, distributed free to all Australian schools in 1982 on floppy disk, since 1999 available on the internet. A pioneering website of the time still used by millions of Australian school students: firstfleet.uow.edu.au Learning Designs Project, sharing best practice learning designs for online teaching: http://learningdesigns.uow.edu.auProject EnROLE. Encouraging role based learning environments, a follow up to the learning designs project focussed solely on online role play as the learning design: https://web.archive.org/web/20190312013547/https:/enrole.uow.edu.au/. See also:Wills, S. et. al. (2007). Encouraging role based online learning environments. In Atkinson, RJ, McBeath, C., Soong, S.K.A. & Cheers, C. (eds). ICT: Providing choices for learners and learning, Proceedings of ascilite Singapore 2007. Centre for Educational Development, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, 2-5 December. Paper available here. Wills, S. et. al. (1009). Encouraging role based online learning environments: The BLUE Report. Australian Learning and Teaching Council. Paper available here. Cloudworks follow up to Learning Designs Project and Project EnROLE researching multiple representations of the role play learning design: https://cloudworks.ac.uk/cloudscape/view/2344Promoting Teaching project. An international project to build parity of esteem for teaching-related activities in university academic promotion processes via an evidence-based approach – promoting teaching.com – and The CSU Academic, a follow up project in my university taking the principles of evidence-based promotion one step further to align all aspects of the academic role, including online teaching – https://www.csu.edu.au/divis

In soccer, everyone needs to know their position. One basic rule is that you can really only play in one position. In this episode I follow a yard time game of soccer and wonder what role does the union play in the team and argue that if I were the Minister for Education, I would remove all Union Involvement from Teaching Council

In soccer, everyone needs to know their position. One basic rule is that you can really only play in one position. In this episode I follow a yard time game of soccer and wonder what role does the union play in the team and argue that if I were the Minister for Education, I would remove all Union Involvement from Teaching Council

Social Media. What could possibly go wrong? The Teaching Council has recently  issued advice to teachers on their use of social media. I am going to try and argue that if I were the Minister for Education, I would Allow Teachers to use Social Media as They See Fit. A brief history of Social Media How teachers use Social Media How Guidelines can turn to Regulations How teachers around the world are being fired for things they do in their private lives.

Social Media. What could possibly go wrong? The Teaching Council has recently  issued advice to teachers on their use of social media. I am going to try and argue that if I were the Minister for Education, I would Allow Teachers to use Social Media as They See Fit. A brief history of Social Media How teachers use Social Media How Guidelines can turn to Regulations How teachers around the world are being fired for things they do in their private lives.

Anna O'Dixon joins me this week on the podcast. Anna is a Meditation/Mindfulness/Art Teacher, an Artist, Author and Acupuncturist Quantum Bio-Feedback Practitioner. She is a professional member of the Acupuncture /Traditional Chinese Medicine Council of Ireland, ACI/TCMCI for more than 20 years; a professional member of Visual Artists Ireland, VAI. A Fine Art Graduate of CCAM, GMIT, Galway & is fully registered with the Teaching Council of Ireland & works in adult education, part-time, with Mayo Educational Training Board. Dedicated to life long learning, Anna has been steadily pursuing a distance-learning, post-graduate Doctorate /PhD programme in Natural and Integrative Medicine with The International Quantum University of Integrative Medicine (IQUIM) since 2016. She hopes to have completed her dissertation and graduate by the end of 2020. Anna’s Acupuncture and Quantum Bio-Feedback Clinic is based in Claremorris Natural Therapy Centre @ Ahena Organic Farm near Claremorris, Co Mayo. www.ahenaorganicfarm.com

Our myth busters are Teaching Council lead advisor Christina Thornley and ERO manager of national projects Jane Lee. Together they demystify the appraisal process and explain how effective appraisal is a lever that drives up best practice in teaching and why it’s teachers and learners who reap the benefits. Transcript available here: https://teachingcouncil.nz/sites/default/files/Episode%201_appraisal%20transcript%20.pdf In the episode we mention heaps of useful resources available on our website for making sure your appraisal supports quality practice: https://teachingcouncil.nz/content/appraisal

Guest: Tomás Ó Ruairc Tomás Ó Ruairc, Director of the Teaching Council, tells us about the ways the teachers he met inspired him and set him on the educational path that shaped his career. Bio: Tomás started his career teaching Irish and history at Athlone Community College. He was head of the Irish Department in Froebel College of Education from 2000 for five years and Education Programme Manager at Foras na Gaeilge before becoming Deputy CEO in 2007. He held the post of chair of Meitheal Chinnireachta (Leadership Forum) and of the Network for the Promotion of Linguistic Diversity and sat on the Council of the NCCA from 2006-2009. In 2009, Tomás became a Director in the Department of Arts, Heritage and Gaeltacht before taking on his current role as Director of the Teaching Council in 2012. Music Credit: https://www.purple-planet.com

Presented and produced by Seán Delaney. On this week's programme, you can hear the second part of my interview with Tomás Ó Ruairc, the Director of the Teaching Council. On this week's programme he spoke about Droichead, registration with the Teaching Council, fitness to teach, teacher supply, and more.

Presented and produced by Seán Delaney On this week's programme I spoke to Lindsay Myers, the organiser of a conference on "The Art of Education in Steiner Waldorf National Schools" about Steiner Education. Lindsay Myers is also involved with Galway Steiner School. I also brought you the first of a two-part interview with Tomás Ó Ruairc, the Director of the Teaching Council. On this week's programme he spoke about the Féilte event, about Continuing Professional Development, and about research and teaching.

This interactive discussion touched on the following topics, and details from case studies were shared to frame the discussion of the internationalization of curriculum in US higher education. · Deeper understanding of what internationalization means · Interpretations of internationalization in different disciplinary and institutional contexts · Role of faculty in internationalization of the curriculum · Examples of internationalized curriculum development resources and processes This event was co-sponsored by AIEA and the Australian Learning & Teaching Council.