The staffing crisis in Te Tai Tokerau Schools has gone beyond a joke, to a situation where the Health and Safety of Principals and Teachers are at risk.

Pat Newman, President of Te Tai Tokerau Principals Association says that the absolute lack of relievers to cover staff illness, to cover release time for our Teaching Principals, is a situation that needs proactive drastic action by the Ministry. We have waited far too long to have this happen, and we are now past crisis point”.

This is on top of dealing with floods, Covid, socioeconomic pressures and high needs behavioural students in many schools.

As an example of this is a plea from just one of those principals to their local Ministry Manager.

“Things have not got any better. As per my last email our school has not been able to find a suitable applicant for a teaching position. Tomorrow I am in the classroom with a group of 12 boys who have hit, sworn, hurt, disrespected peers/teachers etc. Our school has so many children who are "on the brink of special challenges" but because they don't meet criteria for funding of any sort, we have to suffer the consequences of their behaviour. This is happening across Te Tai Tokerau, on Friday I had a Kahui Ako Principal’s Hui, all Principals in the room were concerned about the lack of suitable applicants for jobs and many are having similar issues as we are. I'm fed up with not being heard and not receiving the additional funding we need to ensure we can do the best job.

To be honest even just writing this email is making me feel very annoyed, there is so much more detail I could add but I just feel that I have sung this song so often over the years and no change or support we need has been forthcoming. I appreciate the few IRF/Behaviour hours, but it is just not enough. Tomorrow, I have 3 more staff off with Covid, so things are just getting worse.

E mihi ana”

Pat Newman says it is time for MoE to be innovative. We need to establish, like they did in the 1980s, a pool of relievers attached to a school full time, but available to relieve at a days’ notice in adjourning schools. We need to make wages and conditions suitable to retain and attract these relievers. The current situation cannot continue, it’s a massive Health and safety Issue looming if not here already.”

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