Focus On Professional Leadership

Media Release

To: All Education Reporters

Date: 23 November 2006

The Teachers Council Accelerates Its Focus On Professional Leadership

The 2005-06 Annual Report of the New Zealand Teachers Council reveals a definitive shift in focus towards providing leadership for sound educational outcomes for all learners.

Council Chair, Joanna Beresford, said “that focus would accelerate throughout
2006-07, as would the raft of activities underway to enhance the capacity and standing of the teaching profession.

“In 2005-06 the Council completed two major research projects in partnership with the Ministry of Education and launched a range of new professional development initiatives. These included programmes aimed at strengthening the quality of teacher education graduates, supporting the induction of beginning teachers, and promoting quality teaching. Each initiative has involved close consultation with the profession.

“Developing graduating teacher standards is proving to be a particularly exciting project. The new standards will describe the Council’s expectations of what a graduating teacher will know, understand, and be able to do at the point of graduation from a teacher education programme.

“Consistent with its focus on quality teaching, the Council has reviewed several key policies. An example is its revision of the Language Proficiency Policy to ensure that all teachers, particularly those who have been recruited from overseas, have the appropriate level of proficiency in English and/or Māori. In so doing, the Council has consulted extensively with key stakeholders and received detailed feedback.

“The 2005-06 year was the first full year of operation of all the Council’s regulatory processes. The tiny proportion of complaints lodged attests to the high quality of New Zealand’s 80,000 teachers. The fact that the large majority of those complaints against teachers are satisfactorily resolved by the Complaints Assessment Committee has contributed to a gratifyingly low number of formal Tribunal hearings and favourable reports from teachers and employers.

“The Council has gained real traction in building an organisation that articulates the aspirations of the teaching profession and contributes to a safe and high quality learning environment for children and young people.”

Ends

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