Values, Aspiration And Choice

Hon Heather Roy speech to open the New Zealand Association for Christian Schools Leaders' Conference; James Cook Hotel Grand Chancellor, the Terrace, Wellington; Thursday, May 13 2010.

Tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou katoa.

Thank you, Association Chair and Principal of Middleton Grange School Richard Vanderpyl, for the warm welcome.  Good evening everyone.  Thank you for the invitation to speak to you tonight and officially open your conference.

As a Wellington-based Member of Parliament it is a pleasure to welcome you all to the capital city, especially our overseas guests.  I understand we have guests from Australia and further abroad, principals, educators, proprietors and trustees.  It is great to see such breadth from your sector - working together is part of the special character of your schools and a strength that you continue to build on as an association.

Your national network assists with these connections, and helps provide professional development.  I'm sure this has been a contributing factor to the growth of Christian schools throughout the country.

Those of you who are part of State-integrated schools have entered into an educational partnership with the Crown.  This strong relationship achieves our Government's aims and also preserves your schools' special character.

You all have Christian values and aspirations, and you want these to be reflected in your schools.  Your uniqueness as Christian schools calls for a flexible approach from the Government.  While the New Zealand curriculum sets out the competencies within a framework for all New Zealand schools it then allows the flexibility to decide the detail of individual schools vision, values and principles - and your schools have worked hard to make the most of the opportunities the curriculum offers.

As Associate Minister of Education, I speak with a lot of parents.  Many tell me they want greater freedom to send their children to the school of their choice based on educational quality, school ethos, and the needs of their children.

As a mother, I am well aware of the need for choice in education.  My own children have attended a combination of independent and State schools as my husband and I sought the best schools to meet their learning styles and needs.  We are grateful that we have had choices.

Providing choice means options for parents and students.  There is no ‘one size fits all' education to suit every child, and this highlights the importance of easy access to a range of education opportunities.

Your schools provide choice for parents in the Christian community, and it's clear that a growing number are choosing your schools - I note that around 13,000 students are currently attending Christian schools throughout the country.  One of your strengths is that you have each developed your own unique and distinctive character.

But we know that not all families are in a position to choose the school their child attends.  When it comes to the option of independent schools, many New Zealand families face the barrier of cost.

This is why I initiated the Aspire Scholarships.  These enable students from low-income families to choose an independent secondary school that best meets their child's needs and sets them up for an exciting future.

More than 400 students applied for a scholarship last year, and 127 scholarships have been taken up.  Recipients are spread across 34 independent schools throughout New Zealand, including members of this association.

Applications for the 2011 scholarships are now open.  I'd like to open choices and opportunities like those offered by Aspire to many more students across a variety of schools in the future.

It's really pleasing to see you discussing intentional leadership at this conference.  Leadership is the key dynamic for building high-quality schools that meet the needs of all students.  We know from research that after quality teaching, educational leadership has the biggest influence on student learning.

As educational leaders, you create the conditions for effective teaching and learning.  You lead the partnerships with parents, families and whanau that we know are so important, building relationships based on trust.  You also play a vital part in supporting the development of professional and leadership skills in staff members.

As leaders of Christian schools, you also ensure that the vision that informs your teaching and learning programmes, school activities and school culture fits within the Christian world-view. 

Evidence shows that leadership practices make a significant difference to student learning outcomes in schools.  Good principals and leaders not only promote, but directly participate with teachers in learning and development.  Effective principals and leaders plan, co-ordinate and evaluate teaching and the curriculum.  They are directly involved in the support and evaluation of teaching, are effective communicators and act on learning goals, standards and expectations.

Your strong educational leadership is also vital to bringing about the sustained changes this Government seeks in education, especially raising education standards.  We want our children and young people to fulfil their potential so they can participate productively in, and contribute to, our country. Too many students are leaving school without the qualifications and skills they need to succeed. 

At the primary and middle schooling levels, the Government is committed to clear expectations of what students should be able to achieve in literacy and numeracy, and reporting to parents in plain language.  These are part of National Standards.

At the secondary level, the Government is committed to ensuring every young person has the skills and qualifications they need to work, train or pursue further study.  For some this may be through the Youth Guarantee, trades academies, and service academies.

Your schools provide for the educational needs of Christian families.  Your Christian values and aspirations give perspective and meaning to what is taught and learnt in your schools.  And you foster compassionate communities that bring together church, family and school.  This three-way partnership provides an environment that encourages an expectation of strong achievement.  When expectations are high and clearly articulated students work to that standard.  So, too, do teachers.

Today's education environment is not without challenges.  Incidents like this week's stabbing of a Maths teacher, behaviour issues to deal with, and the fact that one in five of our young people leaves school without the necessary skills to get by mean there is plenty of work to do yet.

My challenge to you is to set high expectations and to reinforce these with strong leadership at all levels, whatever your role in educating students.

Your conference programme looks both inspirational and aspirational and I know that you will all return to your own schools filled with new ideas and renewed enthusiasm - that is the value of time spent sharing and exploring new ways of educating our young people.

With education and knowledge foremost in our minds I'll leave you with this thought from Ecclesiastes 7:12:

"For wisdom is a safeguard, as money is a safeguard, but the excellency of knowledge is that wisdom gives life to them that have it."

Enjoy your conference and my thanks again for the opportunity to speak to you this evening.