Having recently moved here with his family from the UK, Chris Hall reflects on sending his two young children to school in New Zealand for the first time as well as the sacrifices that were made along the way. After my girlfriend and I dropped our children off for the start of school two weeks … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: School year beginning with added challenges, Mahuta moves against petitions opposing Māori wards, and fishing company could lose vessel over illegal trawling. Schools are beginning to go back after a summer break, and into a year that will present some deep challenges. That’ll be true whether … Read more
Good morning and welcome to the first regular season Bulletin of 2021. In today’s edition: High alert as woman in Northland tests Covid-positive, house price inflation races ahead unabated, and schools grappling with new year after last year’s disruptions. Ministers and health officials were keeping their options open yesterday afternoon after a new case in … Read more
Do your childhood memories include being randomly attacked by your classmates? Josie Adams and Duncan Greive look back at the strangely violent schoolyard culture of dead arms, noogies, tabletops and more. Illustrated by Toby Morris. They say your school years are the best of your life. Remember being nine, playing marbles, and swapping your fruit … Read more
Voting is under way in the New Zealand general election. Explore the main parties’ pledges at Policy.nz, but here’s a whistlestop tour of what’s on offer in the world of education. Read more two-minute policy wraps here Education accounts for the third-biggest portion of government spending, so it’s crucial parties have clear directives for this … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: New sexuality and relationship education guidelines announced, things happen and announcements made on campaign trail, and reason for massive health funding shortfall in South Auckland revealed. New guidelines for sexuality and relationships education in schools have been released, with the aim of making them more … Read more
Politics is a contest of ideas, and ahead of the 2020 election, we want to hear yours. Question Time at parliament sometimes resembles an unruly classroom – and on a bad day, the comparison is unfair to classrooms. While creating the Policy tool, we wondered: could classrooms set an example for Question Time? Policy makes … Read more
A push for greater digital access in schools can have its positives and also its negatives, as Julie Cullen explains. Recent articles in The Spinoff have examined digital inequality, and highlighted an initiative to increase digital access in a Māngere primary school. These articles raise valid points. Technology is used for so many activities now, … Read more
They’ve been through it all before, so how are Auckland students and teachers coping with the second move into level three? And how are other schools preparing for the possibility they’ll soon be doing the same? Last time the country went into level three lockdown, on March 24, schools had less than a day to … Read more
Good habits start young, and with Money Week this week, now is a great time to look at how we can support and nourish our kids’ financial journeys writes Banqer’s Simon Brown. For some reason, a lot of people see money as a boring topic. But the fact is, it’s a construct we operate within … Read more
This month, the Ministry of Education’s Creatives in Schools programme received a $4 million boost. But leading arts educators say the scheme fails to create lasting change for a system in crisis. New Zealand has led the world in this area before, writes Mark Amery. From the 1880s through to the 1930s, influential American philosopher … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Billions needed to fix poor state of hospital infrastructure, colonial era statues in the spotlight, and major problems emerge in modem rollout to students. Dozens of hospital buildings are in a poor condition, a new stocktake has found.Radio NZ’s Phil Pennington has a detailed report on … Read more
Primary schools around New Zealand have asked parents to consider new rules that would prohibit classroom drop-off and pick-up. Some parents think it will hinder communication between parents and teachers, but many teachers believe it helps the children become more independent. “Over the last three weeks our children have developed great self-management skills and independence … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Religious groups struggle with level two limits, many more kids going back to school today, and further cellphone tower attacks over the weekend. Another weekend has passed with strict attendance restrictions on religious gatherings, despite the country moving into level two. The vast majority of worship … Read more
Amid the budget hype on Thursday, the New Zealand Teaching Council announced it would be increasing teacher registration fees twofold. Teachers and teaching groups say the decision shows their opinions aren’t valued. The Teaching Council’s move to more than double registration fees is “unacceptable” and amplifies teachers’ mistrust in their professional body, Post Primary Teachers’ … Read more
Under alert level three, school doors are open to students up to Year 10 who need to attend. Initial signs are that only a trickle are heading through the gates. Five weeks after they closed their doors as New Zealand went into the strict lockdown of alert level four, schools across the country are reopening … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Spotlight on the Pacific and Covid-19, health minister in yet another spot of bother, and schools reopening to very limited numbers. For a lead today, I thought it would be useful to check in on our nation’s neighbours in the Pacific, and how they are … Read more
The country has been asked to prepare for a shift back to alert level three, which will entail the reopening of schools and early childhood education centres. Educators are worried lack of clarity around the reopening of schools could risk student and teacher safety. On Thursday, Jacinda Ardern laid out guidelines for a relaxation of … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: New report paints dire picture for freshwater, outline of life in level three given, and bad times looming for property investors. The latest major report on freshwater quality has shown our rivers and lakes are still in a perilous state. As the NZ Herald reports, the stats revealed … Read more
The government has just unveiled more detail about what life will be like for New Zealanders under level three restrictions. What will it mean for schools, business and day-to-day life? The first point – we still don’t know when we’ll move to level three. That has not been announced today, and an update won’t be … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Questions over how environmentally friendly Covid-19 recovery will be, consistent daily updates of new cases, and repatriation flights from India organised. There has been an increasing amount of commentary about the state of the environment during and after the pandemic. Air quality in cities has improved dramatically, … Read more
Emily Writes speaks to children throughout the country about how they’re feeling right now and what advice they might have for grown-ups. The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is funded by The Spinoff Members. To support this work, join The Spinoff Members here. About one third of New Zealand households have children. And today those … Read more
With New Zealand moving to the highest Covid-19 alert level within 48 hours, here’s how schools and early childhood facilities will be affected. What in the world is going on? With New Zealand’s first cases of community transmission confirmed, the prime minister has announced an immediate lift in the Covid-19 alert status from level two … 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
Every scholarship exam and approximately every two external assessments are wrapped in their own single-use plastic bag. We’re asking the NZQA to cut it out, writes year-13 student Sophia Honey Every year after an exam, I see the same conversation happen. Friends turn to each other, talk about how difficult that question was, and then … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: MPs weigh in on upcoming student climate strikes, backpackers speak out about NZ work conditions, and sex crime reports still not resulting in charges. Some of New Zealand’s MPs have little good to say about the upcoming school strikes around climate change. Demonstrations will be taking place … Read more
How will schools respond to their students walking out on strike later in March? The actions of two Auckland schools show competing visions on how to deal with the activism, with one Principal coming out in full support, reports Alex Braae. Schools are at odds with each other over how to respond to upcoming student … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Second language in schools bill gets cross party support, overseas investment still thriving, and be on the lookout for scammers posing as the IRD. An opposition bill to teach primary school children second languages has won cross party support, reports the NZ Herald. National MP and former education minister … Read more
A new study reveals self-confidence among people in Australia can significantly differ because of their month of birth, and it’s down to when you start at school. Researchers Lionel Page, Dipanwita Sarkar and Juliana Silva Goncalves explain their findings (Spinoff editor’s note: In New Zealand, children start school between the age of five and six, typically following … Read more