Using available space throughout the school year for Kiwi Learning Hub - Year 1 students

We forecast New Entrant tamariki numbers in Term 3 for the following year. However, many whānau do not enrol their New Entrant tamariki in advance for various reasons. We can get new enrolments right up to each cohort start date. As such, we have to predict numbers based on enrolment patterns from previous years. These numbers can change depending on property development timelines and whānau moving in and out of our School Home Zone. Many of these changes are unpredictable, so we need to be flexible and strategic in our annual planning.

Due to the somewhat unpredictable nature of enrolments and that we are not provided with excess staffing resourced by the Ministry of Education, we cannot employ roll growth teachers (e.g. those that will begin teaching throughout the school year) and have them start teaching before students begin school. This means new teachers join our Kiwi Learning Hub throughout the school year. This is consistent with what other schools do, as we are all funded on teacher-to-student ratios in the same way.

Having to employ full-time new teachers throughout the school year to accommodate for school growth is one of the reasons we run a Kiwi Nest structure, where students move out of the Kiwi Nest into a classroom with a new teacher after a period of time at school. A permanent Marshland School teacher always teaches our Kiwi Nest. Historically, this has been the Leader of the Kiwi Learning Hub - Ann Gain.

The New Entrant teaching position requires specialist expertise, knowledge of the school, and relationships with other staff, parents and whānau. In addition, it helps New Entrant teachers to have met students previously through Early Learning Centre visits to successfully support their transition to school. The New Entrant teacher also needs time to meet, communicate and coordinate enrolments with parents and whānau. You can read more about our Kiwi Nest process by following the LINK.

The other pre-planning requirement relates to physical class placement, as the Kiwi Learning Hub grows by one to two classes throughout any given year. However, we do not have the privilege of excess teaching space in Learning Hub structures. In addition, a new class may not start until the beginning of Term 4.

One way to accommodate the increasing number of classes throughout the year (e.g. greater than five classes) we may move a Kiwi Learning Hub class to another physical space in the school part-way through the year. This might be in the adjoining Pūkeko Learning Hub if they have less than four classes that given year, or another physical space in the school. In other words, we may move a Year 1 class out of the Kiwi Learning Hub part way through the year if the number of classes is too many for the building to accommodate by the end of the year.

We tend to delay any moves until it is necessary, as it does impact the flexible use of other spaces for students across the school and allow the Kiwi Learning Hub to work closely together for the majority of the year.

If your tamariki is in a Year 1 Kiwi class and they are identified to move to another area of the school due to roll growth, we will inform you. However, we do not do this too far in advance, as it is dependent on New Entrant enrolments, so the timing may change. Moving to another learning space will not disadvantage your tamariki in any way and will not mean they are reclassified as a different year level. It is a decision related to physical space only.