Consequently, Te Ao Mārama School will be CLOSED on Thursday, March 16th.

It’s the last thing educators wanted to do, and the decision was not taken lightly. We fully appreciate that this will be an inconvenience to our
families, but also feel strongly that change and action is urgently needed in order to support our learners and our teachers.

Principals and teachers have considered at length offers from the government to settle our respective collective agreements. The offers did not meet our expectations, nor make sufficient steps towards the changes we need for our children to succeed.

This information is in no way intended to be political; it does however show the determination and passion we have to ensure that we can support our kids as best as we can. There are a range of important factors impacting on our ability to do the best for your children and our students.

Support for learners with special needs: Our school currently receives just $30,000 specifically tagged funding to provide additional support for students with learning, social, behaviour and/or health needs. As a school we have to be extremely proactive in applying for additional funding/support, and also contribute over $100k of our own school funding to try and cater for the diverse needs of our learners.
The current offer does not include adequate release to support teachers and leaders in planning and designing personalised programmes, meeting with support agencies and meeting with families/whānau. We are desperate for additional assistance with learning needs, and access to guidance counsellors (something that secondary schools have as of right)
Recruitment and Retention: Due to increased expectations and a declining value for the profession of teaching, fewer students are training. A decade ago we used to get 100 applicants for a teaching job and Principals could choose the best candidates to meet the needs of their school. Now, we see many vacancies having no applicants at all. Note: Fortunately at Te Ao Mārama School, we haven’t experienced these issues, but it is a very real issue across the sector.
Release time: Currently secondary school teachers receive 5 hours per week (equivalent to 10 days every term) to plan for the needs of students. Primary teachers receive only 2 days every term. This release time is critical; allowing teachers to personalise learning, work with small groups or 1:1 with students, visit other schools, meet with parents or support agencies, and engage in professional development.
Pay: To ensure we recruit and retain teachers, pay DOES need to be part of the consideration. While teachers are absolutely “in it for the kids”, they too have families to support. A beginning teacher working an average of 45-50 hours per week earns an hourly rate barely above the
minimum wage. Teachers have not had a pay raise for 2 years, and with the rising inflation rate and cost of living, it is increasingly difficult for them.

Our children deserve the best quality teachers and we need to attract the very best and brightest school leavers. Salaries need to be part of this equation to ensure we are competitive with other university degrees and options.

Therefore... we ask for your support as we take action on March 16th. We really do understand the inconvenience and impact on parents/whānau. However... we can assure you that this decision is not taken lightly.

Our teachers love what they do, but not enough funding for schools means that we don’t have the time and resources we need to support all kids to thrive. YOUR children (OUR students) deserve the very best. We care about them immensely, and we are determined to ensure we get a better deal for them.

Ko koe ki tēna, ko ahau ki tēnei kīwai o te kete
You at that, and I at this handle of the basket.
(By working together we move forward)

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