Early childhood education (ECE) services should ensure they read the NZQA assessment of overseas teachers’ qualifications before offering them a teaching position. Many overseas qualified teachers have gained their teacher registration through primary and secondary teaching overseas but now wish to work in ECE in New Zealand. Just because they have registration and a current practising certificate doesn’t mean they meet the licensing requirements for ECE teaching qualifications.

Employers need to understand that there is currently no Education Council approved postgraduate diploma early childhood teaching qualification that satisfies the licensing requirements. One way to check what is an ECE teaching qualification is to look at the TeachNZ ECE qualifications on offer.

• Financial reporting due 30 June
• ECE operational funding key dates for the July 2016 payment

Financial reporting due 30 June

If your early learning service was open for a full financial year in 2015 and received over $80,000 (including GST) from the Ministry of Education, you need to submit your audited financial statements by 30 June 2016.

If your service operated for only part of the financial year and/or you received less than $80,000 (including GST) from the Ministry, you will need to complete and submit a declaration form by 30 June 2016.

Statements and forms can be sent by email to resourcing@education.govt.nz or by post to Ministry of Education, Resourcing Division, PO Box 1666, Wellington 6140.

Funding may be withheld if your financial statements are overdue or if your statements do not meet the financial reporting requirements as outlined in Circular 2016/01.

For more information on submitting your financial reporting to the Ministry, please see our FAQs.

Please note: The financial report you are submitting needs to be for the correct financial year and include all documents, including your independent auditor’s report.

ECE operational funding key dates for the July 2016 payment

The key dates for the upcoming July 2016 payment are as follows:

Correctly completed RS7 returns received after Thursday 9 June 2016, but before Tuesday 6 July 2016, will receive funding overnight on Wednesday 20 July 2016.

Funding payments are based on the information provided via the RS7 return. The July 2016 payment includes:

• wash-up for February to May 2016; and
• advance for July to October 2016.

The wash-up payment for June 2016 will be made in November 2016.

If you wish to discuss any early childhood education (ECE) funding issues, please contact the Resourcing Division Contact Centre on 0800 ECE ECE (0800 323 323) or email resourcing@education.govt.nz.

For all other queries, please contact your regional office.

Advice notices: Funding advice notices are sent to services on the payment date. The Ministry does not provide confirmation of payment amounts before this date.

Re-submissions: Re-submissions are available to correct genuine errors or oversights that come to light at a later date. They should not be considered a normal part of the process. Early childhood education (ECE) services are expected to do all they can to ensure the accuracy of all data submitted. Re-submissions may be audited by the Ministry of Education’s Monitoring Team to verify their accuracy before they are processed. Forms relating to prior periods that are more than 12 months old will not be processed.

For all other key dates, please look at the ECE Funding Key Dates Calendar 2016.

• Checking ECE qualifications when employing a person responsible
• New booklet for families starting early learning

Checking ECE qualifications when employing a person responsible

A ‘person responsible’ must be both a registered and certificated teacher as well as having a recognised early childhood education (ECE) qualification.

When education and care and home-based services are employing people to the position of person responsible (or coordinator/visiting teacher), it is essential that the candidate’s qualifications are checked as well as their teacher registration and certification status.

A person responsible must have at least a Diploma of Teaching (Early Childhood Education) or an equivalent ECE qualification. Part of the rationale for requiring an early childhood teaching qualification is the practical requirements in various early childhood settings, early childhood pedagogy, and learning and development theory, all of which are applied in practice at level 7 of the NZQA framework. 

Candidates with other teaching qualifications cannot be employed to the position of person responsible.

New booklet for families starting early learning

A new booklet is available for all parents and caregivers who are thinking about starting their child at an early childhood education (ECE) service or kōhanga reo, as well as those whose children are already enrolled.

The Early Learning Years: Quality Education for Infants and Toddlers is produced by the Education Review Office (ERO) and you can find it on their website.

The booklet includes information on expectations that parents can have of a quality service, questions to ask about a child’s care, how to settle a child into an ECE service or kōhanga reo, and how to support learning in the home.

You may find this information helpful when talking with parents who are visiting your service, in your conversations with families who are already enrolled, or as part of the wider relationships you have with your community.

The Ministry of Education has more information for parents on how to choose a service and early learning more broadly. This includes a booklet, Choices, which explains the different ECE options available in New Zealand.

Visit the parents’ website to find out more.

• Tai Tokerau
• Auckland
• Waikato
• Bay of Plenty-Waiariki
• Hawke’s Bay, Gisborne
• Taranaki, Whanganui, Manawatu
• Wellington
• Nelson, Marlborough, West Coast
• Canterbury
• Otago, Southland

Tai Tokerau regional update

Kia ora koutou

Congratulations to the Harinui Early Childhood Learning Centre in Kerikeri for receiving a category 4 Education Review Office (ERO) report. The ERO found the Centre’s philosophy highly evident in practice, with features being a sense of wellbeing and belonging for people, and care and respect for the natural world. Well done to all involved at Harinui.

Measles

Please all stay aware of the signs and symptoms of measles. A special Early Learning Bulletin was sent out this month with details around this. Northland is one of the areas with more confirmed cases than we would like. Please report any incidents to the Ministry of Health. If your service needs to close after directions from this Ministry, or children need to be absent for more days than fit the absence rules, then contact your Ministry of Education Advisor.

Strengthening early learning opportunities towards inclusive practice

When given great opportunities that are in the interest of the sector, results can be positive for all children.

For the last 6 months Autism NZ has been running a SELO 2 professional development contract with the Te Tai Tokerau Ministry team. Working across a cluster of 10 early learning services within the Whangarei/Kaipara area, Autism NZ trainers worked with educators. The aim was to enhance inclusive practice focusing on individual programmes for children, including positive transition times.

This SELO 2 contracting model ran cluster hui, and all involved early learning services were followed up with individual service visits between the clusters. The team at Autism NZ were able to provide a programme that was based on children with autism, but empowered services to use tools that were transferable to other special education areas they may be facing. This enhanced inclusive environments. The team at Autism NZ were able to meet with teachers, tamariki and whānau on their visit days and have true insight into the programmes and transition times at the services.

Feedback from all the services has been very positive and the team at Autism NZ were able to give some truly effective feedback, tools and tips to staff and whānau during the visits. The aim is to continue to run this contract in the next round and anyone interested should email their interest to: irene.iwikau@education.govt.nz.

Tip of the month from our Special Education team:

Kids with grit

• Dr Leila Masson suggests spending 10 minutes at bedtime talking through the day and allowing your child to reflect on challenges and conflicts.
• The brain is like a muscle explains Michele Morrissey-Brown. It gets better with use. Don’t remove all the barriers to success for your child. Allow them to work things out for themselves.
• Encourage your children to try new things, with no expectation that they will be ‘good’ at them.
• Watch how you speak to your children because it is powerful. Children hear tone as much as words.
• Praise effort and perseverance, not achievement. For example: “I love this painting. I especially love how you worked on it all afternoon and decided to turn the mouse into a tree when it wasn’t working out.” NOT: “I love this painting. You are a genius. You don’t even have to try, my little Picasso.”
• Resilience has a physical component: get your children moving. Activities that develop balance and coordination are especially powerful.

Ngā mihi

Hira Gage
Director of Education Tai Tokerau
Phone: 09 436 8914
Email: hira.gage@education.govt.nz

Auckland regional update

No update this month

Waikato regional update

Emeritus Professor Anne Smith

We were saddened to hear of the passing of Emeritus Professor Anne Smith recently. Anne worked tirelessly for quality early childhood education (ECE) in New Zealand and will be remembered for her wide range of contributions and great advocacy for the rights of women and children. We pay tribute to her lasting legacy. E te whaea, moe mai, moe mai, moe mai rā.

Communities of Learning

On 10 May 2016, the Minister of Education announced the next group of Communities of Learning. Congratulations to the 4 Communities of Learning that have been endorsed in the Waikato – Matamata, Waitomo, Melville and Waikato Catholic schools. This is a great step forward and it brings the Communities of Learning in the Waikato to 14 and includes 128 schools and kura with 37,118 learners.

If you’d like to talk further about Communities of Learning in your part of the Waikato then please get in touch with our Education Advisor Phillippa Clarkson (Phillippa.Clarkson@education.govt.nz).

Many people have asked what the achievement challenges look like for various Communities of Learning. I encourage you to read about the latest achievement challenges for some existing Communities of Learning.

Engagement forums on the review of funding for schooling and early learning

We are undertaking a review of education funding for early childhood services and schooling and locally we’re organising sessions for you to learn more about this and to have your say. The sessions across the Waikato are given below. In addition to these sessions, if you have a forum or meeting coming up and would like us to attend please let me know. You can contact me at paula.rawiri@education.govt.nz.

McKenzie Centre reflections and celebrations at the conclusion of a successful TAP project

The McKenzie Centre is an early intervention centre in the Waikato for children aged from birth to 6 years old with special needs and disabilities. These special needs range from delays in language and mobility to more chronic conditions and syndromes, which can affect all aspects of development including intellectual, physical, sensory and behavioural.

In 2014, the McKenzie Centre completed a long-wished-for building renovation and extension project, which provided for extra capacity to support more families. It required extensive fundraising, and the Ministry of Education provided significant financial support through a Targeted Assistance for Participation (TAP) project to increase our roll by 15 children.

The TAP project has enabled the centre to trial a new innovation, a Tuesday ‘Playgroup’ session. This has proven very successful in ensuring children and families are receiving early intervention a few weeks after they have made initial contact. This timely and responsive approach has many benefits for the entire family.

Enjoying playing together – Jasmine King with her children Anaya White, Tahuroa King and Roman King.

The big truck is a hit with Marley Farmer.

Sometimes parents of children with special needs can have huge anxiety about how their child might cope in early childhood within their own communities. Working with these families to give them the confidence to participate in those settings is a very important part of the work at the Centre.

The positive results from these initiatives have encouraged the Centre to continue with the Tuesday ‘Playgroup’. One family has commented:

A bouquet ...

New Zealand Sign Language Early Childhood Award made to Yoshie Akasaka, Campus Creche, Hamilton

The New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) awards this year were held at Te Papa on 14 May and recognised outstanding contributions in the field of NZSL across 10 categories. The awards this year also celebrated 10 years since the official recognition of NZSL as one of our 3 official languages.

We are very proud to congratulate Yoshie Akasaka on being presented with the 2016 NZSL Early Childhood Education Award. This award recognises an ECE provider / teacher who shows commitment to NZSL by promoting it in the curriculum.

Yoshie, with her award at the ceremony, and on the right signing “Aotearoa” with some of the children at Campus Creche.

Top row from left: Brooke Murray, Milly Paenga, Ian Du and Macleay Bennett.
Bottom row from left: Leighton Jacob, Yoshie Akasaka, Sienna Murray and Grace Craig-Dyer.

Yoshie says:

Sue Bennett, the Director at Campus Creche, is understandably incredibly proud in congratulating Yoshie and the team who she says are dedicated and committed to their work teaching the children NZSL. Sue says this is a truly fantastic opportunity for the children and their families.

Special Education courses – speech and language development

Please see the link below for 3 upcoming courses being run by Ministry staff in August and September 2016.

Plan to attend – enrol now.

Ministry of Education Waikato courses

Paula Rawiri
Director of Education Waikato
Phone: 07 850 8924
Email: paula.rawiri@education.govt.nz

Bay of Plenty–Waiariki regional update

Talofa lava and Tēnā koe

Ezra Schuster

Winter has definitely arrived, with frosty mornings and beautifully sunny days.  Long may these sunny Bay of Plenty days last.  As always, take the time to read the notices in this Bulletin as well as my updates below. Important to note this month is the invitation to the information sessions on the Review of the Education Funding Systems for ECE and schooling.

Invitation to the Review of Education Funding Systems for ECE and schooling (the Review)

Following an invitation I sent last week, below are the details for the information sessions where I will talk through the Review and outline the proposed directions for change. At these sessions you’ll also have the opportunity to share your ideas and discuss the proposals with colleagues from across the education system.

Each session is approximately 2 hours and you only need to attend one in an area or venue convenient for you.

Please RSVP as soon as possible to Alison Jones by phone 07 571 7804 or email alison.jones@education.govt.nz with your availability to attend one of the above sessions. Lunch and light supper in the evening will be provided.  It is important you RSVP as space at the venues is limited - and for catering purposes.

Your views are important to me. If you are unable to attend these information sessions, I welcome the opportunity to meet with you at a later date to discuss the Review and any of the proposals that are of particular interest.

You can find more information about the funding review on our website, this includes the membership of the Advisory Group. In the meantime email funding.review@education.govt.nz with any questions.

Prime Minister’s Education Excellence Awards

I am extremely proud of the 3 finalists from our region for this year’s Prime Minister’s Education Excellence Awards – Te Kōhanga Reo ki Rotokawa, Aorangi School and Rotorua Boys High School. It has been our office’s privilege to support these 3 finalists while they have been judged and filmed.  Te Kōhanga Reo Ki Rotokawa is a finalist in the Excellence in Engaging – Atahāpara Award – this is a real credit to the kōhanga especially as there are much larger learning centres than the kōhanga competing in this category.

By the time you are reading this bulletin, the winners will have been announced. I’m looking forward to cheering on all finalists but especially ours. There are some amazing things you and your staff are doing to raise achievement and I’d love to see more of you submitting entries in 2017.  You can find out more about the awards and all of the finalists PM Awards website

ANZAC Commemorations

On that note congratulations to all of you who used the resources that were sent to all early learning centres prior to ANZAC day.  Ohana Kindy in Owhata (Rotorua) sent in this picture of children creating their poppies for their Field of Remembrance.

From left to right: Kalicia Pohatu, Jovan Ratema-Harris, Eden Gray

New Manager Education

It’s my pleasure to introduce the latest addition to the Ministry and regional leadership team, Carol Ngawati, as one of our education managers for the Tauranga, Moana and Whakatane areas. Carol started work on Monday 16 May 2016.  Carol is based in our Tauranga office and will work alongside Graham Parker who will transition the work he has been involved in, to her. Graham hasn’t left us and remains as part of my leadership team leading the integration of our teams and Communities of Learning. Carol will be attending several sector meetings in the next few weeks and I know you will enjoy working with her. Her email is carol.ngawati@education.govt.nz.  Cheryl Bunker remains the Manager Education with the ECE Portfolio with Jon Dimock supporting Cheryl in that role. 

Carol Ngawati (Ngāti Porou)

Ko Hikurangi te maunga
Ko Waiapu te awa,
Ko Ngāti Porou te iwi,
Ko Whānau-a-Ruataupare, Ngati Ira, Aitanga-a-Hauiti nga hapu.

I was born in Auckland, but my parents returned to the East Coast when I was a baby. My parents moved to the Bay of Plenty when I started school, then to Tirau, where I attended Matamata College. I have had a varied and interesting educational career. My teaching journey began in Turangi, at Hirangi Primary, whilst my husband Gerard worked on the Rangipo Underground Power Station - a wonderful community to be a part of.

I returned to West Auckland and have had various teaching roles in primary, a special needs unit, and being part of the Ranui community that established a bilingual unit. I moved into special education in West Auckland as an RTLB (Resource Teacher Learning and Behaviour) Māori, working across Kura Kaupapa Māori and mainstream schools – primary and secondary schools. This included being part of the Te Kotahitanga Research project and I taught special education for RTLB training at the University of Auckland.

In the last six years I’ve had the opportunity to work in the tertiary sector at Unitec in Auckland. This involved being the Director, Maia Māori Centre and a short secondment with the Ministry as a senior advisor with the Achievement, Retention and Transition (ART) team.

I am committed to educational excellence – all tamariki/rangatahi deserve the best education we can provide. I believe that anything is achievable and I look forward to supporting the aspirations of local communities, hapu and iwi in the rohe of Mātaatua/Te Arawa and Tainui waka. I am especially blessed with 3 daughters and mokopuna, who are heavily involved in all manner of sport, kapahaka and especially enjoy being together as a whānau.

Ezra Schuster
Director of Education Bay of Plenty – Waiariki
Phone: 07 349 8309
Email: ezra.schuster@education.govt.nz

Hawke’s Bay, Gisborne regional update

No update this month

Taranaki, Whanganui, Manawatu regional update

Kia ora

Ngā mihi maioha ki a tātou

Prime Minister’s Education Excellence Awards

A special warm Pasifika greeting to Malamalama Moni Aoga Amata EFKS, Palmerston North for being selected as a finalist for the Prime Minister’s Education Excellence Awards, the Atakura Award for Leading.

They were one of 14 finalists selected from more than 200 entries. The winners were announced at a ceremony on 13 June 2016.

Whanganui sector forum – self-review (internal evaluation)

Dr Jenny Poskitt from Massey University was the guest speaker for the Whanganui sector forum. Dr Poskitt posed questions to the group of over 100 early childhood education (ECE) professionals who attended: What is self-review? Why do it? and What are the benefits?

Dr Poskitt encouraged discussion amongst participants and provided valid and practical information on ways to manage self-review. She highlighted the importance of services using rigorous self-review to ensure children are receiving high quality education.

She got the group thinking about ‘Self-review as an ongoing and continuous process of quality improvement’ and how best to achieve consistent effective internal evaluation through the process of Why?, What?, How?, Who?, all with a quality ECE lens. Dr Poskitt referenced the Ministry of Education document Ngā Arohaehae Whai Hua / Self-Review Guidelines for Early Childhood Education as this has been specifically developed to encourage and support ECE services to adopt a process of self-review. 

Newly certificated playgroups in Taranaki, Whanganui, Manawatu

Marton Samoan Methodist Playgroup

The Marton Samoan Methodist Playgroup has been established in the heart of Marton and is operating 3 days per week. This playgroup is supporting the wider Pasifika community in the Rangitikei area. A feature of the playgroup is that the children are in a multi-cultural learning environment where they have the opportunity to hear a range of Pasifika languages and interact with children from the Pacific basin and aiga.

This playgroup is receiving a Strengthening Early Learning Opportunities (SELO) contract to support them to provide a range of learning opportunities and experiences for children and their families.

Eden Explorers Playgroup

The Eden Explorers Playgroup operates from the Life Point Church in Feilding. The playgroup was established by Eden Christian Kindergarten. It operates one day a week with the intention to extend their days of operation to meet the demand of the community.

A teacher from the Eden Christian Kindergarten coordinates the playgroup session.

Please contact me on 021 229 7685 or email jann.marshall@education.govt.nz if you wish to discuss any issues or ideas. I look forward to hearing from you.

Ngā mihi

Jann Marshall
Director of Education Taranaki, Whanganui, Manawatu
Phone: 06 349 6352
Mobile: 021 229 7685
Email: jann.marshall@education.govt.nz

Wellington regional update

Director’s message

Tēnā koutou

Welcome to the June Wellington regional update.

I am pleased to profile a story that reinforces the importance of collaborative and supportive ways of working and building respectful relationships with parents. One of these stories is about an early childhood education (ECE) service, Kids Count, which supports He Huarahi Tamariki, a teen parent unit based in Linden.

This story demonstrates how the Ministry of Education supports teen parents in their own educational journey, as well as ensuring they have access to quality ECE for their children.

I value all the work you are doing to ensure that children have access to high quality ECE. I hope you enjoy this story and look forward to sharing more in the future showing Te Whāriki in action.

Kids Count supporting teen parents and their children

Kids Count was successful in an open tender process to provide an ECE service to He Huarahi Tamariki – a teen parent unit based in Linden. This came into effect on 18 April 2016.

He Huarahi Tamariki (A Chance for Children) was established in 1994. He Huarahi Tamariki is a school for teenage parents in the greater Wellington area. It was the first of a unique group of schools in New Zealand that provided a ‘second chance’ education to students who were unable to complete their basic formal education because of pregnancy or childbirth while of school age.

In partnership with Te Kura, the Correspondence School, and a number of other providers, He Huarahi Tamariki focuses on high academic achievement as well as offering strong pastoral support. Students have individual learning programmes in line with the New Zealand curriculum. Fundraising, volunteers and community interest continues to support and enhance all programmes.

Students have graduated in Science, Humanities, Medical Science, Early Childhood Education, Social Work, Business Studies, Applied Arts, Automotive Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Nursing and Legal Studies amongst others. One former student is studying for her PhD in Science at Victoria University while others are completing studies in Humanities, Nursing, Education (Early Childhood). Students have also joined the workforce with a range of responsible and interesting positions.

The school motto is “of course you can do it” and the He Huarahi Tamariki family has proved that of course they can. For more information visit: www.hht.school.nz.

Nikki (right) with her son Kane (left) is aiming to complete her NCEA level 2 this year. Her goal is to be an accountant or a banker.

Justin Toru, ECE teacher. “I just love my job and love being a positive role model to the children, and a support to the mums.”

A mural situated in the heart of He Huarahi Tamariki.

Ngā mihi

Suze Strowger
Director of Education Wellington
Phone: 04 463 8668
Mobile: 027 229 4009
Email: suze.strowger@education.govt.nz

Nelson, Marlborough, West Coast regional update

Upcoming information sessions for the Review of the Education Funding Systems for ECE and schooling

Venues and times as follows:

Marlborough Forum:

Tuesday 28 June, 2pm for school sector and 6.30pm for early childhood and parents/caregivers at Marlborough School Library, 5 Stephenson Street, Blenheim.

Nelson Forum:

Thursday 30 June, 1.30pm for school sector at Victory School Hall, Vanguard Street and 6.30pm for early childhood and parents / caregivers at Ministry of Education, Haven Road, Nelson.

West Coast Forum:

Tuesday 2 August, 2pm for school sector and 6.30pm for early childhood and parents / caregivers at Greymouth Main School Hall, Joyce Crescent, Greymouth.

The importance of playgroups in our community

Nelson, Marlborough, West Coast is a large geographical region which includes urban and rural communities. For many of our rural and isolated communities, playgroups provide the only option for children to experience face-to-face early learning. In rural communities, families are able to build social and supportive networks as they work together to operate the playgroup sessions. Playgroups are a great way for communities to get involved in their children’s education.

The Ministry of Education is aiming to ensure children have the opportunity to participate in quality early learning. Maruia Playgroup is an example of a rural community working together, with the support of the Ministry of Education for the benefit of children and their families. The visiting Education Advisor can see the parents have an understanding of how children learn and how to support that learning.

Maruia Playgroup children and their families collected autumn leaves which they used for creating window art. This links to Te Whāriki strand Communication / Mana Reo: “Children experience an environment where they discover and develop different ways to be creative and expressive.”

This notice on the playgroup wall reminds parents and caregivers how to recognise the learning that is occurring for children through their play.

Erika Ross
Director of Education Nelson, Marlborough, West Coast
Phone: 03 539 1533
Email: erika.ross@education.govt.nz

Canterbury regional update

Director’s message

Kia ora

It is incredible how quickly the term is going. With so many fantastic events filling our calendars already, I encourage you to check the updates and information in this bulletin as well as our regional updates. The bulletin provides key Ministry-wide information for you in one place. We use it to keep you informed and up to date with what is going on.

Emeritus Professor Anne Smith

I was saddened to hear of the passing of Anne Smith on Sunday 22 May. There would not be too many of you who have not been inspired by her research and/or referenced her in your academic assignments. Anne spent over 40 years working towards and promoting the provision of quality early childhood services. Her death leaves a huge gap in the early childhood and the Dunedin research field. My condolences go out to her family and whānau. For a tribute by Helen May see: Te Rito Maioha website.

Advisory Group – education funding systems

Recently, the Minister of Education announced the establishment of an Advisory Group as part of the next step in the review of education funding systems. The group will work with us to test and refine a set of proposed directions for change. The directions focus on how the funding system could be shifted so that all children and young people, especially those who are at greatest risk of educational underachievement, get the best possible education.

The details for the information sessions are as follows:

Please advise Erin King, Executive Assistant, on 03 378 7587 or email erin.king@education.govt.nz your availability to attend the session by Friday 22 July 2016.

Please indicate which session you will be attending

Your views are important to me. If you are unable to attend this information session, I welcome the opportunity to meet with you at a later date to discuss the review and any of the proposals that are of particular interest.

On 17 June 2016, more information about the review, membership of the Advisory Group and proposed directions for change became available on the Funding Review page of the Ministry’s website.

In the meantime you can email funding.review@education.govt.nz if you have any questions.

Please note that engagement closes on Wednesday 31 August and any feedback you have will need to be received by then.

I look forward to seeing you at the information session.

Communities of Learning Canterbury

Investing in Educational Success (IES) is a government initiative intended to raise the learning and achievement of all our children and young people. As many of you will be aware one of the strategies of IES is the formation of Communities of Learning.

Communities of Learning are groups of schools, kura and early childhood education (ECE) services that come together to raise achievement for children and young people by sharing expertise, supporting each other and working collaboratively around a child’s journey through the education system. Communities of Learning usually include around 10 schools / kura and local ECE services that represent the pathway for students and are geographically located. Communities of Learning set shared goals based on information about their students’ educational needs and work together to achieve them.

Earlier this month Education Minister Hekia Parata approved new Communities of Learning. Currently there are 15 in Canterbury, benefiting 134 schools and early childhood services and 38,407 students. Thank you to the schools, kura and ECE services that have come together to share expertise in teaching and learning and to support each other. By working together, we can make a child’s journey through the education system easier.

As more Communities of Learning form it is timely for you to be discussing within your own ECE service whether this is something that your ECE might want to be a part of. Information on Communities of Learning is available on the Ministry website.

At the August Futures Network (see the notice later in this newsletter) Communiites of Learning will be the topic for discussion.

If you would like further information please contact your ECE Education Advisor.

New te reo Māori resource

A new resource to help early childhood teachers better implement te reo in their centres has been launched, with more than 3,000 books expected to be gifted to centres around the country free of charge.

The book Te Reo Māori: He Taonga mō ā Tātau Mokopuna aims to include te reo Māori in everyday learning and incorporate it in more natural ways.

For more information on Te Reo Māori: He Taonga mō ā Tātau Mokopuna go to the NZ Tertiary College website. The resource is available for purchase through the College by emailing books@nztertiarycollege.ac.nz.

If there is anything you wish to discuss don’t forget you can contact me directly any time.

Mā te wā

Coralanne Child
Director of Education for Canterbury
Phone: 03 378 7345
Email: coralanne.child@education.govt.nz

Teaching and Learning Research Initiative (TRLI) – Literacy and Narrative in the Early Years: Zooming In and Zooming Out

In the March 2016 Early Learning Bulletin we included an item about a Teaching and Learning Research Initiative (TLRI) being undertaken in Christchurch centres called ‘Nurturing and Encouraging Young Children’s Identity, Language and Culture in the Early Years’. The TLRI seeks to enhance the links between educational research and teaching practices to improve outcomes for learners. This month we have a report about another TLRI project being undertaken in a South Canterbury kindergarten and schools.

This TLRI project is exploring children’s storytelling in their early education experiences so that we can learn more about the opportunities available. The 3-year project involves university researchers, Amanda Bateman, Alex Gunn, Margaret Carr and Elaine Reese, who began the research in partnership with kindergarten teachers from Roskill South Kindergarten in Auckland and Hanan Kindergarten in Timaru in the project’s first year. In 2014, they began to follow 12 children who were in their last year of kindergarten (6 children at each setting). The project has remained with the children as they have transitioned into and worked within their first year at primary school.

The Southern research team now also involves teachers from Timaru South School, Bluestone School Timaru, St Joseph’s Primary School Timaru and Barton Rural School. The Auckland team involves Dominion Road Primary School, Waikaowhai Primary School and Marshall Laing Primary School. One of the benefits of being able to follow the same children for 3 years is working with all of their teachers along the way. This is especially in the Story Telling Advisory Group (STAG) meetings where kindergarten teachers, primary school teachers, parents and children all gather together to talk about storytelling opportunities that occur.

The research approach has helped identify how storytelling is happening across the different educational settings of kindergarten and primary school classrooms, including how people and physical resources mediate story events.

It has been such a privilege to observe the children, to have captured examples of their early imaginative use of story, and to note their increasing proficiency with more formal storytelling, reading and writing opportunities across the first year of school. From the project the plan is to: make storytelling more visible to teachers; draw attention to how teachers might engage more consciously with storytelling in their teaching; and increase awareness of the value of storytelling for literacy learning in the early years.

Futures Network – Wednesday 24 August

Time:

9.30am – 11.30am

Venue:

Hannan Centre, St Augustine’s, 5 Cracroft Terrace, Cashmere

Agenda:

• What’s on top
• Communities of Learning – Vanessa Goodwin, Lead Advisor
• Communities of Learning, Ministry of Education
• Time to socialise

Please bring a plate for sharing – tea/coffee etc will be provided.

Please RSVP to barbara.madden@education.govt.nz. If you have an issue you wish to discuss in the ‘What’s on top’ item, please indicate this when you RSVP.

Teachers' Refresher Course

‘Everybody in: Supporting the learning, participation and success of children and young people with disabilities in education’ is to be held on 26-28 September at the University of Canterbury Dovedale Campus in Christchurch.

This course, run in partnership with the University of Canterbury, is for all teachers and leaders working in early childhood, primary and secondary settings with a desire to recognise and support all children and young people to be the learners they are and can be.

Tungia te ururua kia tupu whakaritorito te tupu o te harakeke: “Set the overgrown bush alight and the new flax shoots will spring up.”

Inclusive education requires us to transform how we think and what we do in response to difference and diversity in education and society.

This course will provide a safe, respectful and collaborative space for professional development and learning. Participants will be challenged and supported to extend their own knowledge, networks and understanding of how they can enable 'Everybody in' in their classroom, school and ECE setting.

View full programme details, on the Teachers’ Refresher Course Committee [PDF; 541kb] website.

You can also view course information, costs and accommodation details.

Go the website to register

For more information you can also call 0800 872 211 or email info@trcc.org.nz.

Otago, Southland regional update

Kia ora koutou and warm Pasifika greetings.

Funding review

We are reviewing the 0-18 years education funding to better direct funding to the size of the educational challenge faced in ECE services, schools and Communities of Learning. This is aimed at shifting the focus to growing the learning and achievement of all children, and particularly those at risk. The ECE system funds both places and children, so funding is not always directed to where it is most needed. Also the funding system can be complex and administratively burdensome.

Following work to understand the problems, Ministers have now asked the Ministry to test a number of high-level directions for change with the sector through to the end of August 2016. This will inform decisions on high-level policy principles for any proposed changes. The detailed policy will be fleshed out over the next 2 years, working closely with you in the sector. It is anticipated that any changes will not be rolled out until 2020.

Some of the proposed directions for change include a standard per child payment and an additional payment for children most at risk of educational under-achievement.

I invite you to attend an information and discussion session in the last 2 weeks of June. Here is the timetable and location for the engagement sessions for ECE services, principals and boards of trustees. I look forward to your input into the discussions.

The Ministry has published an update of funding review information on its website, including the power point from the Cross Sector Forum. You can reach it from the funding review page on our website. The material will be updated later in June and I will send the more detailed information out to you prior to our meetings.

Ngā mihi mahana

Julie Anderson
Director of Education Otago-Southland
Phone: 03 471 5217
Mobile: 027 836 4846

Email: julie.anderson@education.govt.nz

Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori takes place on 4 July 2016. The kaupapa is Ākina Te Reo – Give te reo Māori a go! It’s all about using te reo Māori to support people, to inspire, and to cheer on.

In the week starting Monday 27 June you can expect to receive a pack of resources to help your school, whānau, Board of Trustees, and community to ‘ākina te reo – Give te reo Māori a go!’. You will receive a calendar, posters, bilingual flash cards and fun phrases to learn which have all been designed by Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori, the Māori Language Commission.

We are committed to providing a range of resources to enhance quality teaching and learning in support of Te Aho Arataki Marau mō te Ako i Te Reo Māori - Kura AurakiCurriculum Guidelines for Teaching and Learning Te Reo Māori in English-medium Schools: Years 1-13.

Please note Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori no longer produces hard copy resources for schools but you can download everything from their website http://www.tetaurawhiri.govt.nz.

Te Wiki o te Reo Māori is an important and fun opportunity to celebrate and learn te reo Māori. In doing so you are helping to secure its future as a living, dynamic, and rich language.

Watch this space for more information on Te Wiki o te Reo Māori from 4 July 2016.

The $14.9 million project was funded by the Ministry of Education, and the School has been designed to accommodate up to 300 students.

The school, which opened its doors to students at the beginning of this term, had been operating from 2 sites since 2014.

“It’s great to see the students and staff together on the one site,” Ministry Head of Education Infrastructure Jerome Sheppard says.

“The local community has been patient and supportive throughout the construction process, and we are confident that they now have a comfortable, attractive and fit-for-purpose school.”

Principal Diana Feary says the Lyttelton School community loves its new buildings.

“They’re a dream come true,” she says. “The environment is great, we’re loving everything about it.

“The kids absolutely love the spaces and how they can now work in them.”

Lyttelton Primary School has flexible spaces which support an innovative learning environment and a range of other modern facilities. Due to a tight and complex site the main school buildings has two stories.

The School’s brand new theatre is being shared with the Loons Theatre Trust in a unique partnership arrangement. The internationally known theatre company was left without a home following the Canterbury earthquakes.

The Trust contributed additional funds to the school’s new performance space to bring it up to the level of a professional theatre, and they are continuing to provide performance education at the school. The students have access to a professional-level performance space, and the Loons are able to continue their artistic contribution to the community.

The school is built on Lyttelton Main School’s former site, which was also the site of Lyttelton Borough School, originally built in 1874.

The school first opened its doors to students at the start of 2015 and now the innovative new facilities have been officially opened with the unveiling of a plaque.

Ministry Head of Education Infrastructure Jerome Sheppard says Shotover Primary School is a great example of a 21st century school with modern, bright and flexible learning spaces.

“Shotover Primary School was built to meet the education needs of a rapidly-growing community,” he says.
“There is a lot happening in the Queenstown and Lakes area, and we are working hard to ensure we keep up and provide the schools that are needed.”

The $18.5 million school was built in 3 stages and includes 20 teaching spaces, an administration block and a library.
With the assistance of Queenstown Lakes District Council a large, multi-purpose hall was also built, which will also benefit the wider community.

The school has achieved a 5 star design rating from the New Zealand Green Building Council for its use of modern technologies. These include underfloor heating, natural ventilation and sunlight. Students can monitor energy and water use and carbon dioxide emissions.

The school is part of the Wakatipu Basin Community of Learning, which involves all 8 schools in the Queenstown area working together to raise student achievement.

The community engagement is all part of work being done by the Ministry of Education to plan for future growth in the area. This is particularly important as in recent years the rate of growth has exceeded school-age population projections.

There is significant potential for further development within the Wakatipu Basin, but less certainty about the rate that these will be developed, and whether they are likely to include large numbers of school-aged children.

Julie Anderson is the Director of Education for Otago/Southland:

“For the purposes of the engagement process, we have focused on what the potential numbers of students could be across the district, to take a more strategic, longer term view.  This will help us understand the potential number of students we may need to accommodate in schools, so we can plan to have the right amount of space, in the right areas, to meet demand.”

The Ministry’s contracted facilitator, Dr Gabrielle Wall, has been leading the community engagement:

“I met with 122 people over the course of the face-to-face workshops, including high school students, parents, representatives from ECE, schools and tertiary, and representatives from community and other agencies.”

She continues: “Participants spoke with passion about what they value about the Wakatipu area, with some of the themes being the importance of community and the natural environment, as well as a sense of urgency about getting underway with identifying and implementing options.”

Work is already underway on the new site for Wakatipu High School. Earthworks are taking place to prepare the ground for the foundations, which are scheduled to be put in place in October.

The new school site in Remarkables Park, Frankton means the Year 9 – 13 school will be able to expand its growing roll from around 840 to 1,200. The new facilities are also being designed to allow future expansion that could cater for up to 1800 students on the site.

The Ministry of Education recognises that further planning needs to take place to anticipate future roll growth. The aim of the survey is to identify the preferred ideas raised at the workshops.

You can take part in the survey https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Wakatipu-engagement  which closes on 15 July.

Dr Wall will combine the results of the survey with information from the face-to-face engagement to form a report to the Ministry about the future of schooling in the Wakatipu Basin.

New Zealand’s ranking in adult literacy has improved significantly to fourth in the OECD.

The number 4 spot is a significant improvement on the survey result in 1996 when New Zealand ranked 12th in the OECD.

The Survey of Adult Skills, shows Japan first in adult literacy followed by Finland, the Netherlands and New Zealand.

The result is great news for our economy and our society. A more highly skilled, highly qualified workforce is essential and that must include good literacy skills across the board.

New Zealand is also amongst the world leaders in problem solving using technology – a skill that’s been tested for the first time in the OECD survey.

We rank fifth for this important skill and have the highest proportion of adults with moderate to high problem solving skills using computers. These are skills increasingly called for in today’s working environments.”

Adult numeracy skills have remained steady since 2006 and New Zealand is ranked 13th in the OECD, ahead of Australia, Canada and Singapore and the OECD average.

The survey results follow years of intensive focus by the Government on improving adult literacy and numeracy, particularly in the workplace.

The numbers of adults accessing help with their literacy and numeracy has quadrupled between 2010 and 2013 from 36,200 to 175,000. We’re also seeing earlier identification of problems with literacy and numeracy through use of the adult literacy and numeracy assessment tool.”

In 2015 alone, the Government invested $248 million into tertiary courses with literacy and numeracy embedded within other subjects. Another $48.5 million is available for courses specifically for adult learners to improve their literacy and numeracy and/or learn English.

Literacy and numeracy received a further boost in Budget 2016. $14.6 million will be provided over four years so that foundation education at Levels 1 and 2 on the New Zealand Qualifications Framework (NZQF) is completely fees-free (these courses always include literacy and numeracy). Another $11 million is being provided for 600 more places for the Workplace Literacy and Numeracy Programme and around 900 places more places from 2017 onwards compared with 2015.

About the survey

The Survey of Adult Skills is conducted in 33 countries and measures the key skills needed for individuals to participate in society and for economies to prosper.

The Survey of Adult Skills interviewed more than 6,000 New Zealand adults aged between 16 and 65. The survey also collected information on participant’s education, employment and use of skills at work and at home.

As of 30 June, there are 80 confirmed measles cases linked to the outbreak.

The majority of recent cases have been directly linked to an event for school-aged participants held in the Waikato, but cases have also been reported in the Mid Central region, Northland, Nelson, and Wellington. Some children have required hospital treatment.

Measles is highly infectious.  The illness starts with a fever, cough, runny nose and/or sore eyes, followed a few days later by a rash.  People are infectious from 5 days before to 5 days after the rash appears. In the current outbreak those aged 10-19 years in particular have been spreading the disease.

Immunisation remains the best way to prevent infection and spread within the community.  It is important that people attending inter-school events are fully immunised with 2 doses of the measles/mumps/rubella (MMR) vaccine.  Immunisation for measles is free to New Zealand residents who require it.

Unimmunised people exposed to measles will need to be isolated for at least 14 days. This will mean missing school, work, training and inter-school events or competitions for staff, parents, and other event participants.

The Ministry of Health is recommending schools strongly advise that all participants in interschool events are fully immunised and to either exclude unimmunised participants or record the names of participants who are not immunised.  This will enable public health officials to quickly identify those at risk, should the need arise.

Go to the FindMyPath webpage on the Youth Guarantee website to use the tool and find out more about it.

Since 1975, Te Wiki o te Reo Māori has provided all New Zealanders with a special opportunity to focus on enjoying, learning and using te reo Māori.

The theme for this year is Ākina te Reo – give te reo Māori a go! It’s all about using te reo Māori to support people, to inspire, and to cheer on others. Join in with people who are giving te reo a go in schools, early childhood education services, in homes, at work, on the sports field and throughout the community.

Try out some of the 50 easy to learn phrases that Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori (the Māori Language Commission) has put together. Next time you’re standing on the sideline cheering on your team – have a go at encouraging them in te reo Maori. 

Download the 50 easy to learn phrases.

Events are taking place up and down the country during the week. One of the biggest is the Te Wiki o te Reo Māori national launch parade being held in Wellington on 4 July. Close to 4000 local schools, ECE services and kohanga reo are coming out to show their support for the Maori language.

By now schools should have received a pack of resources to help them get involved in the week. Packs include a calendar, posters, bilingual flash cards and fun phrases to learn.

Te Wiki o te Reo Māori is an important and fun opportunity to celebrate and learn te reo Māori. In doing so you are helping to secure its future as a living, dynamic, and rich language.

Further information

Go to our Facebook page for some easy to use phrases in te reo 

Education Minister Hekia Parata has today announced the change to the New Zealand Curriculum at the NZTech Advance Education Technology Summit in Auckland.

Formally integrating digital technology into the curriculum is intended to support young people to develop skills, confidence and interest in digital technologies and lead them to opportunities across the IT sector.

It will be included as a strand of the Technology learning area in the New Zealand Curriculum, and as a whenu within the Hangarau Wāhanga Ako of Te Marautanga o Aotearoa.

The decision is an outcome of the Government’s Science and Society Strategic Plan ‘A Nation of Curious Minds: Te Whenua Hihiri i te Mahara which reviewed the positioning and content of digital technology within the New Zealand Curriculum and Te Marautanga o Aotearoa.

From now until the end of 2017, the Government will consult with stakeholders, design new curriculum content, and develop achievement objectives across the whole learner pathway.

 It will be fully integrated into the New Zealand Curriculum and Te Marautanga o Aotearoa in 2018.

The books have been funded by the Ministry of Education in association with the Alan Duff Charitable Foundation.

Students from the more than 500 schools in the Duffy Books in Homes programme will be presented with the books. They have been able to choose from a selection of popular books including some written in te reo Māori.

More than 11 million books have been given to Kiwi children since the Duffy Books in Homes programme started in 1995.
The programme’s vision is to break the cycle of booklessness in New Zealand by inspiring a love of books in Duffy children, so they become adults who inspire a love of reading.

Students from the schools registered in the programme get 5 free books of their choice each year. These are funded by the Ministry of Education and either by the schools themselves, or by other sponsors of the programme.

During Government Book Week many schools invite their local Member of Parliament to an assembly where students are presented with their books.

Lauren Donnan, the leader of national network Young Carers NZ, says New Zealand has a large population of young carers. She is part of an advisory group supported by not for profit Carers NZ which is building awareness of young carers, and creating a support network for them.

She is also a student at the University of Auckland, currently writing her PhD on the experiences of these young people.
For her thesis Laure interviewed 40 former or current young carers from throughout the country.

She also drew on her own experience of caring for her autistic and intellectually disabled older brother Beefy during her teenage years.

Lauren Donnan, the leader of national network Young Carers NZ, with older brother Beefy.

Lauren was just 15 when her mother passed away. Due to her father's work as an international flight attendant he would alternate between working away and being home with the family.

Lauren took on the household chores and day-to-day care for Beefy when her father was away. She says her other brother, who is also older, cared for her by dropping her at school and providing other support.

“I was still going to school as normal" she says. "People knew my mother had passed away but they just assumed there was somebody at home looking after me.”

Lauren now has the tentative results of her PhD research.

The young carers Lauren spoke to all had different stories, but they all faced challenges in other parts of their lives because of their roles as carers.

“All of the young carers I spoke with said that being a carer impacted on other parts of their lives, including school, their social life and their work life,” Lauren says.

Some of the young carers Lauren spoke with missed a lot of school.

“They didn’t want to be missing school but they felt they had no option,” she says. “Sometimes support services would fall through or they would struggle to get services to help them.

“Others were responsible for people with episodic illnesses, such as manic depression or alcoholism. The people they care for are fine for a long time and then need help very quickly, so the young carer has to drop everything else at the last minute.
“Even if they go to school and they seem fine they might be going home to care for a loved one until the early hours of the morning and then getting up and going to school again.”

Lauren Donnan and brother Beefy square-off in a game of Connect Four.

Lauren says many young carers struggle to maintain a good social life.

“A lot of people said they struggled to make friends,” she says. “They didn’t have the opportunity to go out to people’s houses and almost all young carers said they never had friends over to their houses.

Some young carers experience their own mental health issues because of their responsibilities as a carer.

Lauren says there is a positive side to being a carer and often young carers relish the responsibility their role brings.
“These kids often want to be carers and they do have some amazing times,” she says. “However, they don’t get training and don’t have help so it can turn into a negative experience.

“Young carers want to be supported and taken seriously.”

Asked what support young carers need from their teachers and school community, Lauren says they want people to know they exist and what young caring is all about.

“If teachers and schools can just do small things to help it would make a massive difference,” she says. “Give them somewhere to do homework after school or give them an extension on their assignment.

“Teachers need to be informed about young caring so that they have awareness and can identify those students who may have a caring role," Lauren says.

“Often young carers are written-off as ‘bad kids’ or truants, most of the time they just need somebody to care.”

Working with partner organisations and school service providers, including Network for Learning (N4L), we have notified all affected schools to alert them to the issue. We are providing ongoing advice and support to the schools on how they can remedy the situation and ensure affected servers are made safe, as well as recover data from backups where necessary.

The website selling the server details has now been shut down.

Our immediate focus is on ensuring affected school servers are made secure and that schools have adequate protection in place. Once the current situation is resolved, we will be looking into how and why the servers became at risk and what information we can use to help schools improve their security in the future. We are also asking schools to contact us if they have been the victim of a cyber attack.

We provide information to all schools around digital citizenship and cyber-safety through the Enabling e-Learning website as well as our online digital technology guide.  We also fund NetSafe to actively support schools with online safety advice and guidance on cyber security, along with a range of specialist organisations that can offer specialist ICT safety and security tools to schools.

Whilst the protective measures being taken by schools to keep their data secure are highly effective, global cyber attackers are constantly finding new ways to work around these measures. We are constantly working with partner organisations to do our best to support schools to stay ahead of these new and emerging cyber threats, including advice on how they can ensure their internal servers are well-protected.

If you have any concerns about cyber security we recommend you speak with NetSafe for further help, advice and guidance.

The new resources include a trilingual digital book, which has been designed by Kiwa Digital and Core Education for deaf Māori students but is accessible to all deaf students.

The Story of Rūaumoko is the first-ever digital book for deaf Māori students. It tells the story of Rūaumoko, the god of earthquakes and volcanoes, narrated by students from Kelston Deaf Education Centre in te reo Māori, New Zealand Sign Language and English.

Also being released are Paekupu, a website that will house all Māori medium dictionaries, created by He Kupenga Hao i te Reo; and Hou Mai, a video series featuring whānau talking about their journey learning te reo Māori and committing to their children participating in Māori medium education, created by Blue Bach Productions.

The new resources will support and encourage more students, teachers and parents to ‘Give te reo Māori a go’, which is the theme of this year’s Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori.

Māori language and culture are becoming more and more visible in classrooms and homes across the country. Between 2010 and 2015, the number of children and young people learning te reo at school grew from around 133,000 to almost 155,000.

Further information

The $22 million project will see a new school built on the site of the old school, which was demolished earlier this year.

Many of the old teaching spaces at The Gardens School were affected by structural and weathertightness issues.

Principal Susannah Fowler says she, her colleagues and the students are all looking forward to the new facilities their school will have.

"We have worked with Moaa Architects and the Ministry of Education to design a school that is quirky and we have maintained a focus on it being 'a place for kids'," she says. "We want it to be fun."

Susannah says the old buildings were made up of single cell classrooms, while the new school has been designed as innovative learning environments.

"We’ve developed a strategic approach to changing the teaching pedagogy of our staff, to enable them to be ready for these new learning environments.

"As a result of this deliberate planning, there has been enormous movement in staff thinking, practice and a willingness to try new methods of teaching."

During construction a number of temporary classrooms have been placed on the school field to accommodate students and teachers.

A new school hall will be constructed, which Susannah says will help boost the strong culture and feeling of connectedness at the school.

A prominent spot on the school site will be occupied by a new library.

"We’re very excited about the concept of our library being a community space and we hope we will have more community engagement through this space."

The new school will be three storeys high to accommodate a growing roll and help preserve outdoor space. The new facilities at The Garden School will cater for 700 students, an increase from its current roll of 530 children.

Construction is expected to be completed by the end of 2017, meaning students will begin the 2018 school year in their brand new learning spaces.

Further information:

• The Gardens School

The schools will be built through a public private partnership (PPP), the third that the Ministry has initiated.

The successful tenderer will build primary schools at Scott Point, Kumeu and Flat Bush in Auckland, and at Sylvester in Hamilton, and rebuild Shirley Boys’ High School and Avonside Girls’ High School, and co-locate them on a new site in Christchurch.

Jerome Sheppard, Head of the Ministry’s Education Infrastructure Service, says he was pleased with the high level of interest in the third PPP, and the high quality of the consortia which have been shortlisted. They are:

These 3 consortia will now proceed through an interactive tendering process and final bids will be submitted in November this year. 

Under a PPP, the design, construction, maintenance and financing is provided under a single contract with a private contractor comprised of multiple specialist service providers. The property maintenance services are provided to specified standards for 25 years, so that school leaders can focus on raising student achievement. In other schools, the school is responsible for property maintenance.
Go the Public Private Partnership (PPP) page for more information about PPP.

“The successful tenderer will need to demonstrate high quality design, construction and facilities management as well as overall value for money,” Mr Sheppard says.

The schools are intended to be open in time for the 2019 school year.

Further information

email media@education.govt.nz

Following the rebuild the school will have capacity for 600 students. The new facilities will include a new learning block, library, administration building and Rumaki Whānau Ata, the school’s Maori Immersion Unit.

The new learning block will be an innovative learning environment, which will have flexible learning spaces.

The school's board of trustees is contributing $1.2 million towards a new multi purpose hall.

Freemans Bay School acting principal Janis Powley says staff, students and parents are thrilled that the school's redevelopment is now under way.

“It will be a carefully phased development that will result in buildings designed to support the 21st century teaching and learning style that we are already delivering.”

During the summer holidays pre-construction work was carried out on site and earlier this week the site was blessed by local kaumatua.

Work is expected to be complete by the end of 2017, ready for students to begin the 2018 school year in their new facilities.