Kia Ora All

This year, teachers and principals in primary and area schools are negotiating their next collective agreement.

After 9 years of a government not interested in prioritising your children’s needs it is time for change. The New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa this morning announced that primary teachers and principals will strike for the day on August 15. The decision follows an online ballot. It's the first strike in 24 years for educators,

We want to:

• make teaching an attractive and valued profession again

• reinstate the profile of our profession to ensure current and future generations have high calibre teachers and young people are attracted to teaching as a career

• better resourcing to enable teachers to provide more support for children with different or challenging learning needs.

We have a crisis in recruitment and retention of teachers and principals.

​Enrolments in teacher training have dropped 40% between 2010 and 2016, while there are growing school rolls and an aging existing teacher workforce.

Since the early 2000s teacher salaries have dropped significantly relative to the median NZ salary from 1.8 times the median (for experienced teachers on the top of the pay scale) to just over 1.5. In effect, this means jobs that used to earn less than teachers now earn more.

Failure to win the battle to reinstate the profile of our profession is a guarantee to designate future generations of children to an inferior ​standard of education.

​New Zealand has a problem.

What you possibly didn’t know:

• is that the government currently only provides 25% of funding we (Halswell School) currently allocate for supporting children with different or challenging learning needs. Without increased government funding we may struggle to maintain our current level of support in future years.

I will be available in the stadium from 9am on Friday 3 August to answer questions, provide further information and explain to you how you can help our cause.

Parents will need to make alternative arrangements for 15 August

You might like to write to our local MP

Contact Hon Ruth Dyson

Port Hills electorate office

Phone: 03 376 4512

Fax: 03 376 4514

Email: porthills.mp@parliament.govt.nz or ruth.dyson@parliament.govt.nz