The Tomorrow's Schools Review Taskforce report is out and suggests far-reaching changes to our schooling system.

The report by the Tomorrow’s Schools Independent Taskforce Our Schooling Futures: Stronger Together \ Whiria Ngā Kura Tūātinitini was released in December 2018. The Independent Taskforce is now very keen to receive feedback from as many people as possible to help complete their final recommendations.  You can read the report here. 

 You can read a summary of the 8 key issues and recommendations from the Group here. There are both opportunities and challenges in the proposals, which include:

• Establishing around 20 regional education hubs to take over most legal roles of school boards. Hubs would oversee a collaborative approach to benefit all students in the hub.

• Hubs would assume many of the ‘business’ governance responsibilities currently held by school boards, while also providing specialist educational support to build good teaching and learning for all their students.

• Hubs would provide professional teacher support for curriculum and assessment, and leadership advisers to work with principals

• Hubs would employ principals, although school Boards would have veto over appointments; principals would move between schools in hubs on five year terms and could also be seconded into the hubs

• Improving student transitions by replacing intermediate schools with junior colleges (yr 7-10) or full primaries (Yr 1-8) and providing a learning support coordinator for every school

• Ditching the decile system for an equity index

• Transforming current education agencies by putting curriculum at the heart of a smaller Ministry and replacing ERO with an independent Education Evaluation Office to monitor at hub level 

Public consultation on the report is now open and we really encourage school staff, board members, PTA members, parents, whanau and the wider school community to have their say on the future of our schooling system....

The Taskforce will be holding public consultation meetings around the country, starting on Thursday, 14 February and finishing on the 27th March. We really encourage everyone to come along to these events and find out more about the report and its proposals. The full schedule is now available on the website (venues will be added for events as they are confirmed) https://conversation.education.govt.nz/tsr  and you can register below for teh Canterbury meetings coming up soon.

An online survey which canvasses opinion on each of our 32 recommendations is now available and will remain open until 31 March 2019 https://consultation.education.govt.nz/tsr

Postcards: for students, families and anyone that just wants to briefly ‘have their say’ on a recommendation or the full report. Postcards will be available at the public meetings.

An 0800 for Oral submissions will be available from 11 Feb. Call 0800 FOR TSR to leave your thoughts on the future of our schooling system.

Formal written submissions about our report can be sent to: tomorrows.schools@education.govt.nz

Consultation closes 7 April 2019. We want everyone to have their say and we want to do our very best to listen carefully to what is said.

PUBLIC meetings are also being held near you soon - come and hear more and ask any questions you may have. These are important meetings for our communities to hear about the proposed reforms, ask questions and give ideas. Thursday, 21 February - Addington Raceway.  

Register4-6pm https://www.eventbrite.co.nz/e/christchurch-tomorrows-schools-review-consultation-meetings-tickets-56308310673

Register 7-9pm https://www.eventbrite.co.nz/e/christchurch-tomorrows-schools-review-consultation-meetings-tickets-56308461123

From the Independent Taskforce
Bali Haque (Chair), Barbara Ala’alatoa, Mere Berryman, John O’Neill and Cathy Wylie