Ministry Bulletin for School Leaders | He Pitopito Kōrero Issue
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Ministry Bulletin for SCHOOL LEADERS He Pitopito Kōrero ISSUE No. 103 | 2019 FEBRUARY 4 In this issue Message from Iona Holsted Kia ora koutou katoa Welcome to 2019! I hope you all managed to enjoy a bit of sunshine and time with whānau over the holiday season. I know that many of you will have been working hard to get new teachers into classrooms and ensure they’re well prepared for the new school year. It’s been good to see some of the uptake and progress made through the new teacher supply initiatives - including encouraging New Zealand trained teachers to return to and stay in our classrooms with 1,200 teachers enrolling in the Teacher Education Refresh programme, the use of the Voluntary Bonding Scheme, 230 National Beginning Teacher Grants allocated, and active marketing here and abroad. Meanwhile, the overseas recruitment campaign has seen more than 1,000 qualified overseas teachers screened and ready for schools to interview, with over 220 of these teachers already accepting roles here. For any of you who have remaining teaching vacancies that you would like help to fill, please get in touch with us or visit the TeachNZ website to find out about the range of supply initiatives your school could benefit from. Of course, measures like bringing in more teachers from overseas are just short term fixes, not long term solutions. We are continuing to work with sector representatives on the bigger picture for workforce planning, through the development of an Education Workforce Strategy. You can read more about the Strategy in my recent Education Gazette story, or on the Education Conversation website. Speaking of the bigger picture, many of you will have had a read of the Independent Taskforce’s report on the review of Tomorrow’s Schools. The Taskforce’s proposals cover a wide range of policy and structural changes to the compulsory schooling system. It’s important to remember these are proposals only – they are not decisions and they are not final. The Taskforce, which is independent from the Ministry, is now leading consultation on its report so that all stakeholders have the opportunity to have their views heard before the Government makes its decisions. This consultation runs until 7 April 2019. Critical need to know and action | Heads up | General Information | Regional news | Archives | Send us feedback Email [email protected] Contact us at [email protected] Page 2 ISSUE No. 103 | 2019 FEBRUARY 4 Critical need to know and action | Heads up | General Information | Regional news | Archives | Send us feedback My very best wishes for the year ahead. Nāku noa, nā Iona Holsted Secretary for Education X Critical need to know and action 1. School planning and reporting for 2019. Your charter and analysis of variance is due by 1 March 2019. Read more… 2. Annual reporting and school audit processes will start soon. Read more… 3. If you use Symantec antivirus software version 12, you should upgrade to version 14 before 3 April 2019 as software bug fixes will no longer be available for V12 and your school will need to cover 20% additional support charges after this date. Please forward this information to your school IT administrator and email Datacom or call ICT Helpdesk 0800 225542 if you need support to upgrade. 4. Changes to ENROL. Read more… 5. March Roll return: List of Student Management Systems (SMS) approved for 2019 roll returns. 6. 2018 Notional Lease information is now available through the Property portal [when you click on Notional Lease it will download a PDF]. Read more… X Heads up 1. School uniforms and requests for payments by parents. Read more… 2. The report released by the Tomorrow’s Schools Independent Taskforce in December 2018 is now open for consultation. Read more… 3. The Every Day Matters initiative for Term 4, 2018 has begun. Read more… 4. Proposals for the Teacher-led Innovation Fund are due by 27 February. Regional workshops available. Read more… 5. Applications are open for the New Zealand Principal Job Shadow Pilot and close 11 March 2019. 6. Grants available to top-up pay for Limited Authority to Teach teachers. Read more… 7. Revamped inclusive education website – approaches for supporting students with learning support needs. Read more… 8. Change in supplier for the professional learning programme to support students with autism. Read more… 9. Local curriculum support for 2019. Read more… 10. Professional learning and development for principals, and teachers new to the profession or Critical need to know and action | Heads up | General Information | Regional news | Archives | Send us feedback Email [email protected] Contact us at [email protected] Page 3 ISSUE No. 103 | 2019 FEBRUARY 4 Critical need to know and action | Heads up | General Information | Regional news | Archives | Send us feedback new to teaching in New Zealand. Read more… 11. The Advanced Classroom Expertise Teacher process to recognise exemplary practice in primary teaching is open. Read more… 12. Revised guidance for funding overseas travel. Read more… 13. Insurance cover changes for Risk Management Scheme. Read more… 14. Managing temperatures in schools during summer. Read more… 15. Family Planning Health Promoters available. Read more… 16. Digital Skills Forum is hosting a hui in Wellington on 27 March. Read more… 17. As you know, all schools are required by legislation to be open for a set number of half- days. Read more… 18. The first ever School Data Champions Conference will be held on 8 April in Wellington. Read more… X General information 1. Safer Internet Day is Tuesday 5 February. Coordinated in NZ by Netsafe, it’s an opportunity for people, schools, industry and organisations to unite to raise awareness and start conversations about online safety. 2. VLN Primary School - Online Programmes in 2019 Registrations are invited from schools wishing to participate in the VLN Primary School. There are a wide range of online language programmes as well as extension maths, literacy, digital technology, astronomy, visual arts, web design, life skills, health and the Over the Back Fence Project. Find out more and register your interest or email [email protected] 3. Māori Education Trust 2019 Scholarship Programme The Māori Education Trust 2019 Scholarship Programme is open and includes scholarships of up to $1000 for Māori secondary school students who meet the respective scholarship’s criteria. All applications must be received by 4.30pm, Friday, 1 Poutū-te-rangi (March) 2019. 4. Oranga Tamariki’s Social Workers in Schools newsletter Read the first issue of Social Workers in Schools (SWiS) [PDF], a new quarterly newsletter. This issue includes case studies from SWiS social workers working within school settings and information on new guidance materials, including in te reo Māori on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. 5. Royal NZ Air Force School to Skies programme, 12-18 April Applications are open to Year 13 girls studying NCEA Level 3 maths and science subjects to attend the School to Skies Programme, a tech and aviation camp. All costs (except for travel to and from the RNZAF Base Woodbourne) will be taken care of by RNZAF. Applications close 1 March. 6. Board of trustee elections Schools are reminded that the common date for this year’s triennial board of trustees Critical need to know and action | Heads up | General Information | Regional news | Archives | Send us feedback Email [email protected] Contact us at [email protected] Page 4 ISSUE No. 103 | 2019 FEBRUARY 4 Critical need to know and action | Heads up | General Information | Regional news | Archives | Send us feedback elections is 7 June. All elections must be held on a date of a school’s choosing between 17 May and 21 June 2019. The New Zealand School Trustees Association will be sending a survey today to board chairs to help assess their schools’ readiness for the elections. X Regional news q Tai Tokerau q Auckland q Waikato q Bay of Plenty,Waiariki q Taranaki, Whanganui, Manawatu q Hawke’s Bay, Tairāwhiti q Wellington q Nelson, Marlborough, West Coast q Canterbury, Chatham Islands q Otago, Southland X Communications/Events q Ministry key dates calendar q Events q Ministry newsletters q Education related websites q Early Learning Bulletin Critical need to know and action | Heads up | General Information | Regional news | Archives | Send us feedback Email [email protected] Contact us at [email protected] Page 5 ISSUE No. 103 | 2019 FEBRUARY 4 Critical need to know and action | Heads up | General Information | Regional news | Archives | Send us feedback Critical need to know and action Schools’ Planning and Reporting for 2019 Your charter and analysis of variance is due by 1 March 2019. Submitting your documents You can submit these documents through the School Data Portal. You will need an Education Sector Logon (ESL) to get into the Portal. We encourage you to check your login details before you try to submit your documents. Click here for assistance logging into the Portal or email [email protected] or phone 0800 422 599 for help. You will receive an automatic email from the Portal to acknowledge your documents have uploaded successfully. Developing your planning and reporting documents Visit our website for guidance on developing your planning and reporting documents. You can also contact your local Ministry education advisor for any support you may need in developing or submitting your documents. Annual reporting and school audit processes will start soon Payroll information will be provided to help you prepare your 2018 annual report. The following reports will be available on 7 February for download from Novopay Online. To access these reports, authorised users should log in to Novopay Online using their username and password.