An Auckland principal has expressed concerns regarding the lack of detail in the Tomorrow's Schools proposal.
Education Minister Chris Hipkins announced today the Government's reform will put more frontline support closer to schools to give every child the best chance to succeed.
The proposed reforms include new curriculum and leadership services, more support for principals and teachers and possible changes to school zones.
But Otahuhu college principal Neil Watson told Newshub there are no specifics around what resources are available to the centre of leadership, or how it might look and work.
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Watson said until there is more detail, then it's very hard to think it is anything significant. Watson has been a principal for 12 years and currently has just under 1000 teenagers attending Otahuhu college.
Watson expressed his concerns that the ministry is not concentrating their attentions on a good flow of good quality teachers coming into the occupation.
"At the moment, the ministry needs a clear purpose, making sure there is a good pipeline of teachers coming into the profession. It is a concern that in the report that came out, the ministry doesn't have a pipeline and progress."
"There is a crucial teacher shortage at the moment, being able to track, attract and retain people needs to be a priority for the ministry," he said.
Watson also expressed his concerns about the lack of detail around funding.
"There needs to be concrete detail behind the proposal, it would be great to have leadership support, but what is the quality, how is that going to be funded?"
He believes the issue of institutions losing the power to set their own school zones will prove a challenge as "different schools suit different families and students".
Watson believes parents should have the right to choose.
Deidre Shea, president of Secondary Principals Association NZ (SPANZ) is positive about the Ministry of Education's proposed changes.
She told Newshub "what has been released today is quite high level in terms of where the government wants to go, with some detail."
"The changes we are setting out today acknowledge that the way schools are led and supported continues to work well in many cases."
Shea believes Hipkins made it clear he wants to work with the sector to develop some of the proposals with individuals, rather than making a deliberate direction immediately.
"The detail is yet to be worked out, that is where a lot of what is being proposed will succeed or not," she said.
In terms of school zones, Shea thinks the logic is understandable and will need to be worked through.
Shea believes the Ministry of Education's success depends on how their ideas are implemented.
The reformed Tomorrow's Schools system offers the key points...
- the Ministry of Education will be "redesigned" to provide new curriculum and leadership services
- new independent dispute panels will be set up for parents and student
- there will be more support for principals and teachers through a new centre of leadership
- the management of property will be transferred from boards to the Ministry of Education
- school enrolment zones will be "managed locally" instead of by each school more frontline support is planned for schools through the ESA.
Newshub.
