In the second part of a new series sharing the stories of families learning from home during lockdown, Charles Anderson tries to impose some order on his household and learns that disorder is OK too. It was somewhere between week two and three of level four lockdown when Ivie Anderson, aged 5, began to have … Read more
In the first part of a new series sharing the stories of families learning from home during lockdown, Emily Writes watches her sons hold on to connections in isolation. I think when I look back on this time as a parent one of the things that will stick with me is my seven-year-old son desperately … Read more
The low-down on the lockdown educational TV channels, which launch tomorrow. We’re still in lockdown, but term two begins this week. What’s the story with the new TV channels? This week sees the launch of two new television channels dedicated to broadcasting educational programmes for school students during the Covid-19 lockdown. The first is Home … Read more
The Ministry of Education must clarify its support for voluntary withdrawal of children from early education and care. And to ensure immediate financial support for staff, businesses and community organisations, writes Dr Mike Bedford, a specialist in health and wellbeing in early childhood education. The Covid-19 event really has no precedent. We’ve never had a … Read more
The government’s reform of 1989’s Tomorrow’s Schools legislation has been announced today, and it’s promising changes for students, teachers, principals and boards. What is “Tomorrow’s Schools”? In 1989, the government introduced the Tomorrow’s Schools reforms, which meant all schools became much more independent, giving Boards power over almost all school decisions, including those to hire … Read more
Children with special education needs and disability aren’t even getting the education they’re legally entitled to, let alone the one they deserve, and it’s about time the Minister of Education took ownership, writes Jai Breitnauer. I’m writing this from my kitchen table, not my office, because my ASD child has once again been stood down … Read more
Shane Te Pou looks at the Ministry of Education’s plans to close down the current charter school model, and what it means for Māori education. Unleashing the Rogernomics revolution on New Zealand without warning and without care for the short-term consequences was Labour’s greatest shame of the 20th century. More recently Labour shamed itself with the … Read more
A new consent education programme for secondary schools is well-intentioned, but it’s $18 million that would be better spent on teachers, argues health education specialist Katie Fitzpatrick ACC have just announced they will spend a further 18.4 million dollars on a programme called Mates and Dates for secondary schools. Mates and Dates was launched in 2016 and … Read more