2023

Pay Parity Funding Review (23 May 2023)

While we agree that there is a benefit of pay parity in the ECE sector we disagree with the approach that the Ministry is proposing.  We are extremely disappointed that the Ministry is creating yet another band-aid rather than undertaking a first principles review of early learning funding that we (and others in the sector) have been requesting for several years.

The model proposed provides no incentive for services to operate above minimum teacher:child ratios, operate for more than 6 hours per day or cater to children aged under 2 years of age, creating barriers of choice for whānau and tamariki in accessing ECE

We note that the funding under review does not include Equity Funding or Targeted Funding for Disadvantage. We ask if this will lead to both complication in how this funding is claimed and additional work for services in making multiple funding claims under different systems. Has the Ministry considered impacts on ELI systems, and the potential costs that may flow to providers from this.

Conduct and Competency Process (14 April 2023)

Our submission is on a number of proposed Rules  and Rule changes.

2022

Strategic Plan Refresh (3 June 2022)

We commend the Teaching Council on the work completed to date including the new requirements for ITE programmes and the streamlined registration process including moving online.
We submit that there is more to do around the pathways for enrolment in initial teacher education and registration for speakers of Pacific languages.
We agree that teachers | kaiako need to be more actively engaged and committed in their professional organisation. This has recently come to the fore in teachers’ lack of understanding of what the Teaching Council does for them when the consultation on Fees and Levies was carried out earlier this year.

Fees and Levies (1 April 2022)

We value the work of the Teaching Council in upholding professional teaching standards and we understand its financial need after a decade of no increases or additional Government funding.
We commend the Teaching Council on providing comprehensive information on what they are mandated to do in their expanded remit as well as the reasons for the increase in fees and the levy.
As a membership organisation of ECE services and kaiako, we’re hearing genuine concern from members whose budgets are stretched to the limit.

2021

Teacher refresh requirements for renewing practicing certificates (3 September 2021)

Satisfactory recent teaching experience in Aotearoa is important to ensure that our kaiako are culturally relevant and understand our pedagogical and theoretical approaches. This is particularly important in ECE where overseas pedagogies, values and teaching styles are vastly different to those outlined in Te Whāriki. We need to strike the balance between addressing teacher shortages and not lowering the quality of our education system.

Education and Training (Teaching Council Fees and Costs) Amendment Bill (18 August 2021)

We are in support of the proposed Bill. These changes give some validity to the Teaching Council’s role and why they exist. One of the challenges the Teaching Council has in trying to deliver their mandate is that they have no influence over their current funding. This Bill will enable that. For the Teaching Council to remain fit for purpose and deliver high quality services to the profession, they need to be able to set fees, and/or other revenue opportunities that adequately fund their functions as stated in the Education and Training Act.

We strongly support in principle the Education Council’s move to align the Teacher Registration and Certification Policy with the Code of Professional Responsibility and the Standards for the Teaching Profession, and to strengthen the teaching profession’s commitment to tangata whenuatanga and bicultural partnership and practice.  There are a few specific aspects of the changes proposed that we provide comment on for the Council’s consideration.