Posts by Debra Harrington
Resourcing, rights and behaviour management
New guidelines and support for dealing with extreme behaviour have been released after revelations that some schools had been forcing challenging students into locked seclusion rooms. The guidelines were issued in November last year following the Education Minister’s ban on the use of seclusion rooms. They set out to provide school staff with safe ways…
Read MoreThe growing role of SENCOs and why it needs resourcing
Carterton School parent Jayne Bryant has spent years tracking through the difficult and complex pathway of special education. Her son Liam, who’s now seven, suffers from epilepsy and is on the autism spectrum. Jayne marvels at the time and care shown to Liam by his school and its special education needs coordinator (SENCO), Wendy Taylor.…
Read MoreTe Mata teachers peak on performance
New entrants’ teacher Brenda Skelton was gutted to find that she was the only one of her teaching colleagues who failed to get ACET registration two years ago. Along with four other colleagues from Te Mata School in Havelock North, Skelton had spent months working on her application. It had been a supportive collaborative effort,…
Read MoreStretch the envelope!
“James and I have the same dopey sense of humour,” says Te Atatu Intermediate School Principal Noelle Fletcher as she and Arohanui School principal James Le Marquand attempt to explain their easy rapport. The principals sit in Fletcher’s office going over the plans for a new block of classrooms at the intermediate, where two on…
Read MoreAnother Novopay debacle causes budget stress for school support staff
Novopay has cut the pay of around 6000 school support staff in what NZEI Te Riu Roa is describing as an unfair and illegal move. This is causing huge amounts of stress for some of the lowest-paid people in the education system. We’re hearing stories about staff who are already scraping by on very tight…
Read MoreSuccess in more than one size
Thirteen-year-old Jack Hudner sits calmly at the crowded round table in his principal’s office at Gisborne Intermediate. He thoughtfully answers questions about how today’s class trip to the Eastwood Hill Arboretum went. The wildlife – especially the peacocks – were impressive. Three weeks earlier, Jack enjoyed an Action Week in the Waikato where he played…
Read MoreTPPA threatens quality public education in New Zealand
New Zealand public education will be seriously undermined once our government signs the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA). NZEI Te Riu Roa National Secretary Paul Goulter says the deal puts at risk the rights of sovereign nations to enact laws and regulations that stop foreign edu-businesses from setting up in New Zealand, maximising their profits…
Read MoreWhen are we going to see action to tackle child poverty?
The latest report on child poverty (Child Poverty Monitor, Children’s Commissioner) would be no surprise to anyone. It seems every year the findings of highly-researched studies are released and they all point out what we already know. The studies give weight to what teachers, principals, health professionals, budgeting advisors and so on have been saying…
Read MoreEducation Inc. How money and politics are changing schools in the US
“All I got to do is pass this test, you don’t teach me much but that’s ok, I’ll learn what I need another day,” sing the children. And so begins the story of Brian Malone’s search to find what’s going on in education in the US. It begins with a school board election in Colorado…
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