Ngā mihi mahana ki a koe 

I’m extremely pleased to be so close to sharing Unteach Racism with you all. We’ve been sharing updates as this mahi has progressed, but just a little reminder. Since late 2018 the Teaching Council has been developing an education response to racism with support from so many talented and knowledgeable organisations (looking at you Human Rights Commission), teachers and professional leaders (too many to possibly name!). Please continue reading this newsletter for more information and keep a look out for all that is to come.  

Unteach Racism will be a ripple in the greater efforts to dismantle racism in Aotearoa New Zealand and it’s these ripples that build a current of change. In time, this initiative will help teachers to tackle the prejudices and bias that exist in our society.  

Lesley,
Chief Executive 

Unteach Racism: coming to you 13 May 2021

Racism grows when it goes unnamed and unchallenged. As teachers in a 107,000-strong profession you have an incredible power to lead change to dismantle racism in education. Your impact is profound and enduring in the lives of children and young people.  

We’ve created Unteach Racism to help teachers in Aotearoa New Zealand identify, confront and dismantle racism.  

Let’s be real – each of you are at different stages of your journey in this area. It might feel scary or uncomfortable at times but it’s more important than ever to forge ahead. Self-reflection and frank, open conversations grounded in Our Code | Ngā Tikanga Matatika is the first step. 

This work has been designed specifically for teachers, leveraging your unique skills and opportunities. It is not expected that you will teach leaners or complete all modules by a particular time. We want you to be confident you are in a safe learning space and so no individual data will be collected.  

Unteach Racism is currently made up of:

Thanks to Human Rights Commission, expert thought leaders, teachers and professional leaders who gave their knowledge and support to make this possible. 

While Unteach Racism aligns to commitments in Our Code, Our Standards | Ngā Tikanga Matatika, Ngā Paerewa and presents a professional learning opportunity for your Professional Growth Cycle, it is completely optional and is not required for your certification.  

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NZEI Te Riu Roa and the Teaching Council Matatū Aotearoa are working together to support beginning teachers in early childhood education with a series of webinars.  

This series will provide opportunities for new teachers to network with others, share experiences, and engage in learning on a range of topics.    

Each webinar introduces you to a wide variety of ECE expertise and invites you to contribute questions for the presenter. Each webinar is less than one hour long. 

First webinar: ‘Welcome to the professional world of teaching’

Date: Thursday 3 June at 6pm  

Presented by: Dr Alex Gunn, teacher and researcher at the University of Otago

Register for the first webinar

Kei te ipurangi a te Matatū Aotearoa te wātaka me te pānui o ngā tautopa ‘Te Tupuranga Ngaio’. Ko ēnei whakaaturanga mā ngā kaiako, mā ngā tumuaki o ngā kura Māori, kura kaupapa Māori. Ka āhei hoki ngā kaiwhakarato kaupapa whakangungu kaiako ki ēnei tautopa.  

Kei te ipurangi ngā whakamārama, ka mutu, ka tū ēnei hei te tīmatanga o te wāhanga tuarua 2021. 

Proposed changes to Teaching Council disciplinary processes

The Ministry of Education released proposed changes and want to hear what you think – by 16 June 2021.  We have been working on these changes for the last few years and have spoken to many of you about the current system and how it could be improved.  

The changes include three proposals that impact the Teaching Council:  

1. Streamline: the Disciplinary Tribunal was intended to deal with the most serious misconduct matters but is currently dealing with many less serious matters due to the current legislation requirements. The impact of this is that it draws out the time taken to reach an outcome for teachers. The proposed changes aim to enable the Complaints Assessment Committee, to take more cases so that the Disciplinary Tribunal can focus on the most serious cases. It is also proposed to remove the requirement for the Complaints Assessment Committee to reach agreement with the teacher and the initiator before it can impose a penalty. The Complaints Assessment Committee is made up of teachers and is less formal than the Disciplinary Tribunal.

2. Clarity: the second change proposed clears up some ambiguity in the legislation so that it is clearer that the Council can prosecute breaches of teacher registration and certification. The Council would then be able to hold to prosecute in situations where people are employed in a teaching position without a practising certificate - super important for child safety and quality of the teaching profession. 

3. Discretion: the third change clarifies that the Teaching Council must use its discretion, rather than relying on an objective test, when considering the recent teaching experience of professional leaders (and other registered teachers) in tertiary settings for the purposes of renewing their practising certificates. 

Several other proposals that do not necessarily impact the Council, but you might be interested in include changes to allow ERO to review professional learning services, changes to school board elections and more. 

The document and submission instructions are here, please read and have your say.

A heads up that the Ministry of Education is undertaking some implementation planning so there is a delay. 

We’ll continue to keep you posted. 

Helpful links

Log in guide – to apply online you first log into Hapori Matatū | Online Community 

User guide – everything you need to know about submitting an application online 

Endorser guide – how to endorse a teacher’s application (for professional leaders) 

Exploring new payment options for registration and certification 

The Council’s online platform, Hapori Matatū, passed a major milestone at the end of April with more than 30,000 teachers having submitted an online application in the new system since it went live in May 2020. Things are settling in well and analytics show that it most commonly takes 12 minutes for a teacher to complete their application online. 

We expect these times to further reduce for your future applications as unlike paper-based forms, the new system keeps all the information previously entered! 

Now that we’re fully online and no longer constrained by the need to support paper-based applications in our old registration system, over the coming months we will be looking at the feasibility of  including the ability to pay fees in weekly, fortnightly, or monthly instalments. 

At the April hui, your Governing Council:

• signed a relationship agreement with Ngāti Toa and Te Āti Awa based on a Te Waka Hou Rua model of working together (see photos above)

• received an Unteach Racism update 

• participated in a Te Tiriti o Waitangi Workshop 

• heard an update and recommendations from the Early Childhood Education Advisory Group 

• heard an update and recommendations from the Pacific Education Steerage Group.