Support Staff

Kia ora e te whānau,

Today I would like to acknowledge some of the most amazing people at Maungaraki School. Our Support Staff are an incredible asset to our school and often do not get recognised for the incredible work that they do.

The way in which our support staff care for our learners is incredible. This group of people are kind, thoughtful and always have the best interests of children at heart. I have seen countless times where these wonderful people have supported students to feel safe and comfortable as they take risks with their learning. They fix bumps, help guide, encourage, set goals, motivate and engage our children.

Our support staff are experts in the classroom. Our support staff work seamlessly across our classrooms running a wide array of programmes to support learning. They deserve to also see this acknowledged in their wage. We simply could not educate our students without them.

The Support Staff here work in a wide range of ways to help the school run the way it does. The range of roles they carry out is amazing. On any given day they hold crucial roles in the education of our students.These roles are often unseen and are compounded by a school funding system that makes it difficult to pay them fairly.

The current funding system provides us with a challenge to deliver certainty for schools over time, making securing quality learning support for your children a challenge. We are extremely lucky at Maungaraki School as we have incredible people, however this isn't a sustainable model over time as it relies on good will too much. With over 90% of the teacher aides earning below the living wage it is time to support these people who make such an amazing difference to children. 

Without this special group of people Maungaraki School could not be the place it is. Government funding is essential to making it possible for schools to retain these amazing people and help our children succeed. 

I would encourage you to read more about their current campaign 'Fair's Fair' to find out more about how you can support them. campaigns.nzei.org.nz/support-staff

Nga Mihi Nui,
Shane Robinson
Principal