Innovations fund to help school alliances

Education Minister Trevor Mallard is inviting schools to make use of a new $1 million annual fund designed to encourage alliances between schools, and to support innovative new ways of learning.

The Collaborative Innovations Fund will provide funding and support to consortiums of schools which want to develop new styles of teaching and learning that will improve educational outcomes.

“In order to help schools work collaboratively on innovative new ways of teaching and learning, the Ministry of Education will advise them on how to take advantage of existing policies. In some cases the ministry will also help schools develop tailor-made solutions for their initiatives,” Trevor Mallard said.

“In many cases, schools can progress these types of initiatives by themselves but additional financial support may be needed to clear away barriers to progress or to help sustain initiatives in the early years. The Government will provide close to $1 million to projects that are in the interests of a network of schools and are sustainable from existing school resourcing in the long term.”

Trevor Mallard applauded the success of recent collaborative exercises such as the Christchurch College of Computing.

The College is the result of all the Christchurch secondary schools working together to promote an idea for the benefit of students across the city of Christchurch he said.

“For too long schools have tried to go it alone rather than form alliances with other schools. I applaud those schools and their professionals who are providing new opportunities for students through working collaboratively with others and I am keen to support more schools doing the same thing.”

Interested schools are being asked to approach the Ministry of Education with collaborative ideas for improving student achievement.

Further information is available on the Ministry’s website http://www.minedu.govt.nz.

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