Search

The Government will invest around $5.7 million towards the redevelopment of Northcote Primary School on Auckland’s North Shore, Associate Education Minister Nikki Kaye announced today.

“This redevelopment will see the construction of a brand new, two-storey teaching block,” says Ms Kaye.

Minister Kaye made the announcement at the school this morning with local MP Dr Jonathan Coleman.

“Northcote Primary School has a number of old classrooms which are in poor condition and need replacing,” says Ms Kaye.

Education Minister Hekia Parata visited Waiheke Island today to announce just over $40 million for the rebuild and upgrade of Te Huruhi School and Waiheke High School.

“This announcement is the result of more than two years’ work and completes an important phase in what is one of our most complex redevelopments,” says Ms Parata.

Brand new buildings will be provided for Te Huruhi School in a new position on the school grounds. Most of the buildings at Waiheke High School will be upgraded, although some will need to be rebuilt.

Education Minister Hekia Parata has today released figures that show student stand-downs, suspensions and exclusions are at their lowest levels since records began 16 years ago. At the same time the number of students skipping school is also going down.

“These figures are really positive for our young people. They show that students are spending more time in class, which is vitally important for their future prospects,” says Ms Parata.

Education Minister Hekia Parata and Associate Education Minister Nikki Kaye have welcomed today’s Supreme Court decision about the Ministry of Education’s case against Carter Holt Harvey over leaky school buildings.

In 2013, the Ministry started legal proceedings, on behalf of schools, against Carter Holt Harvey and others, alleging the supply of defective building products.

“Today’s judgement is a major victory for New Zealand taxpayers as it upholds the entirety of the Ministry’s position and awards legal costs,” says Ms Parata.

Education Minister Hekia Parata has announced that Halswell Residential College in Christchurch will become fully co-educational from next year.

Since 2014, the boys’ school has been able to take up to five girls, or 40 percent of its roll. The school has a waiting list of female students whose families wish them to attend a co-educational school.

“Making Halswell Residential College fully co-educational will make its services available to more of our young people with the highest needs,” says Ms Parata.

Education Minister Hekia Parata has today congratulated 30 highly-accomplished Māori and Pasifika student teachers who have been awarded Kupe Scholarships.

The prestigious scholarship aims to attract Māori and Pasifika high achievers to the teaching profession and support them to become inspiring teachers and role models in early childhood, primary and secondary education.

“I’m delighted by the outstanding calibre of scholars that the Kupe Scholarship continues to encourage into a teaching career,” says Ms Parata.

A Gisborne principal has today become acting principal of an Adelaide school as part of the first-ever South Australia/New Zealand Principal Exchange programme, says Education Minister Hekia Parata.

Steve Berezowski, Principal of Te Wharau School, has swapped places with Tracey Davies, Principal of Richmond Primary School, for the duration of term three.

At least $8.7 million will be invested in the redevelopment of Newmarket School in Auckland, a project that will involve building the first ever four-storey block in an Auckland state school, Associate Education Minister Nikki Kaye announced today.

“Like many schools in Auckland, Newmarket School needs more classrooms to accommodate a growing roll,” says Ms Kaye.

“This project will see the school provided with eleven extra teaching spaces. The school’s existing hall and administration facilities will also be replaced.”

Speech to New Zealand School Trustees Association 27th Annual Conference

Introduction

Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.

Thank you Lorraine for your kind welcome and for the opportunity to take part in your 27th Annual Conference.

I want to take a moment to acknowledge you personally. You are so hard working and a great person. Thank you for your many years of service.

I would like to acknowledge the crucial role that the NZSTA plays in supporting Boards of Trustees.

Construction work is set to begin on the $19.2 million redevelopment of Auckland’s Freemans Bay School, Associate Education Minister Nikki Kaye announced today.

“Yesterday, local kaumatua buried a mauri stone and blessed the construction site, so construction workers can now pick up their tools and get cracking,” says Ms Kaye.

“This is a big milestone for the school, which needs a significant rebuild to accommodate roll growth and remediate leaky buildings.

Education Minister Hekia Parata has set aside her interim decision to close Redcliffs School and discussion has been initiated on relocating the school to an alternative site in Redcliffs.

Ms Parata says at the same time as that discussion is taking place further specialist advice will be sought about the possibility of negative psychosocial effects for children attending school on the original Main Road site.

Associate Education Minister Nikki Kaye today announced that Lepperton School in North Taranaki will be entirely rebuilt in a different location on the existing school grounds.

“This represents a significant upscaling of the redevelopment project for the school which I announced last July,” says Ms Kaye.

“It was originally planned to replace a number of existing classrooms and remediate other buildings.

Construction work has begun on the $22 million redevelopment of The Gardens School in Manurewa, Auckland, Associate Education Minister Nikki Kaye announced today.

“This is an exciting project which will essentially see a new school constructed on the same site as the old school, which was demolished earlier this year,” says Ms Kaye.

“Many of the old teaching spaces were affected by structural and weather-tightness issues, so this is about creating a safer, modern and inspiring learning environment for students.

Digital technology is to be formally integrated into the New Zealand Curriculum and Te Marautanga o Aotearoa, Education Minister Hekia Parata announced today at the NZTech Advance Education Technology Summit in Auckland.

“This is the first change to the New Zealand Curriculum since its introduction in 2007 and reflects our Government’s commitment to championing 21st century practice in teaching and learning,” says Ms Parata.

Around 90,000 New Zealand children will receive a free book as part of Government Book Week which begins today, says Education Minister Hekia Parata.

Government Book Week is run by the Duffy Books in Homes programme. Each student at the 500 schools in the programme receives five free books of their choice every year, which they can take home and keep. The Ministry of Education funds one of these books during Government Book Week.

In celebration of Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori (Māori Language Week) 2016, Education Minister Hekia Parata has announced the release of three new resources to support te reo Māori in the classroom.

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

Education Minister Hekia Parata today announced that Communities of Learning are to get expert partners to work with them on their achievement challenges.

“Some 117 Communities of Learning have now been formed to focus on students’ whole education pathways from early learning to tertiary and the specific learning challenges of every child.

“Information and data is now available like never before and it is essential that the best use is made of it to lift learning,” Ms Parata says.

Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Minister Steven Joyce and Education Minister Hekia Parata have today announced the launch of ‘FindMyPath’, a new website to help young people explore qualification pathways and figure out what they should study to achieve their career goals.

Associate Education Minister Nikki Kaye today announced that around $14.5 million has been approved for the redevelopment of Clayton Park School in Auckland.

“This announcement is the result of several years of work and completes an important phase in what is one of our most complex school redevelopments,” says Ms Kaye.

“The school has experienced issues with aged and leaky buildings and asbestos.

Around $37 million will be invested in school property in Otago and Southland, say Education Minister Hekia Parata and Associate Education Minister Nikki Kaye.

This investment includes:

Associate Education Minister Nikki Kaye today formally opened Shotover Primary School in Queenstown.  

“The new school provides innovative and inspiring learning environments and is a welcome addition to the Queenstown community,” says Ms Kaye.

“The Government has invested $18.5 million in the school, and after visiting this morning I was pleased to hear that students and teachers are really enjoying the new flexible ways of learning that the school offers.”

The new $14.9 million Lyttelton Primary School was officially opened by Education Minister Hekia Parata today.

The school, which opened its doors at the beginning of this term, is the result of the merging of Lyttelton Main and Lyttelton West schools. It is built on Lyttelton Main School’s former site and will accommodate up to 300 students.

“Lyttelton Primary School’s new teaching spaces will support a wider range of effective teaching practices and a lift in achievement for kids,” says Ms Parata.

Education Minister Hekia Parata has announced that 46 innovative teaching projects involving 114 schools and 6 early childhood education providers have won funding worth a total of around $3.6 million over the next two years.

Ms Parata says the Teacher-Led Innovation Fund supports teams of teachers to develop innovative teaching practice to raise achievement for kids.

Education Minister Hekia Parata has paid tribute to a generous bequest and a special partnership between Shirley School, Ngāi Tahu, Massey University and the Ministry of Education.

Ms Parata says the partnership is behind the implementation of ­Hangaia Te Urupounamu Pāngarau Mō Tātou­, a new culturally responsive maths programme for Shirley School.