Nayland College teachers joined a nationwide strike on Thursday 16 March.

Dear parents/caregivers

Yesterday Nayland College staff (who are members of the PPTA) joined 50,000 teachers from kindergartens, primary and secondary schools across the country in taking industrial action. This action was a last resort for the union who have made no further progress with negotiations after being offered what has been described as effectively a pay cut compared to current inflation rates. As an example, a first-year teacher with a student loan, now effectively earns the same as an employee on minimum wage.

As a principal, I know and can see that teacher concerns and workforce issues are much more complex than just rates of pay. I have seen first-hand teacher exhaustion, not only from three years of one disruption after another, but from the emotional roller coaster that goes alongside responding to learners with increasingly complex learning and social needs. Teachers by nature are creative professionals, but the energy levels required to continue to innovate and engage in a myriad of different ways takes a huge toll on teacher resilience.

As a school, we are incredibly lucky to still have such a dedicated and talented group of teaching professionals. The school has carefully managed our finances to ensure our physical resources are never a major barrier to learning. We employ additional teachers (on top of our government allocation), to keep class sizes more manageable and to ensure we can continue to offer a wide curriculum and many different pathways for learners. However, the situation is tenuous. Over the past three years Nayland College and the teaching profession have lost teachers that have had their reserves depleted. They have left teaching behind them and are now enjoying less-stressful lifestyles without compromising their financial positions. I believe the government can and should do more to support schools to attract and retain good staff, including: 

• Renumerating teachers appropriately.
• Decreasing class size by increasing funding ratios.
• Increasing planning time provision for teachers.
• Ensuring equity of access to resources such as Learning Support Coordinators (LSCs). Nayland College do not get funded for LSCs, yet other similar schools do, for no apparent good reason.
• Ensuring all students that need Learning Assistant (Teacher Aide) support are funded.  The threshold is set way too high. 
• Funding schools the full amount for students that require Learning Assistants.  At the moment only 75% of the cost is covered. 
• Training more teachers.  Allow schools the flexibility to train teachers 'on the job', not just at schools that have a high Equity Index (low decile schools).

I want to ensure Nayland College remains a successful and inspiring place of learning, and I hope that you stand with me in supporting our amazing teachers.

Ngā mihi nui

Daniel Wilson
Principal