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Judging your entries

Te whakawā

If your team has achieved outstanding results at your school, kura or early learning service, our judges will be excited to hear about your work.

Your entry will be judged on the extent to which it shows that a change in practice has resulted in improved and sustained outcomes for all children, young people and the broader community. The criteria for judging are drawn from the world-renowned Best Evidence Synthesis and supported by education strategies and curriculum documents developed in New Zealand. See the Resources section for more information.

Note that the judging process is completely independent. Neither the Ministry of Education nor the convenor has any influence on the judging panel’s decisions regarding the selection of finalists and winners.

Mēnā kua tino whai hua ā koutou ko tō tīma mahi ki tō kura, tō ratonga kura kōhungahunga raini, ka mate ā mātou kaiwhakawā kia rongo i ā koutou mahi.

Ka whakawākia tā koutou tono whakauru i runga i te āhua o ngā mahi i panoni kia puta mai tētahi painga mauroa mō ngā tamariki me ngā taiohi katoa me te hapori whānui. He mea ahu mai i ngā ariā rongonui o tēnei hanga e kīia nei ko Te Ariā Kete Raukura ngā paearu whakawā, ka mutu e tautokona ana ki ngā rautaki mātauranga me ngā tuhinga marautanga i waihangatia i Aotearoa tonu. Tirohia te wāhanga Rauemi mō ētahi atu kōrero.

Ka wehea atu kia noho motuhake te tukanga whakawā. He whakaaweawe kore tā te Tāhuhu, tā te Kaiwhakarite raini ki ngā whakatau a te Taumata Whakawā I ngā whiringa toa.

The Judging Process

Te Tukanga Whakawā

Step 1

TUATAHI

First, all entries received by the closing date will be assessed to make sure they’re eligible — so don’t forget to view the eligibility criteria (on the entry form) before you start.

Ka tirotirohia ngā tono whakauru katoa ka tae mai mua ā te rā aukati kia kitea ai pēnā raini ko ea te wāhi ki ngā tikanga māraurau — kaua e wareware ki te tirotiro ki aua tikanga ā mua i tō tīmatanga.

Step 2

TUARUA

An independent judging panel of New Zealand education leaders, academics and commentators will review the entries as outlined in the bullet points below.

The judging panel then meets to select up to four finalists for each category and for the Education Focus Prize.

Ka tirohia ngā tono e te taumata kaiwhakawā rātou ko ngā kaiārahi mātauranga, ko ngā pūkenga, ko ngā mātanga hoki i runga i te āhua o ngā kōrero e meinga ana ki ngā tongi matā o raro iho nei.

Kātahi ka hui te Taumata whakawā kia kōwhiria kia tokowhā, tokoiti iho raini, ki ia wāhanga, ki te Taonga Aronga Mātauranga hoki.

Step 3

TUATORU

The judging panel visits the finalists to see the case studies in action and speak with the team. After that, they convene to select each of the four category winners, the Education Focus Prize winner and winner of the Prime Minister’s Supreme Award.

Ka toro atu te paepae kaiwhakawā ki ngā whiringa toa kia kite i ngā mahi, ki te kōrero hoki ki te rōpū. Kātahi ka hui rātou ki te whakatau i ngā toa ki ngā wāhanga e whā, te toa o te Taonga Mātauranga, me te toa o te Tohu Nui a te Pirimia.

What the judges look for

We asked past judges how to write a successful entry. Watch the video to see what they had to say.

Tā ngā kaiwhakawā e kimi ana

I ui mātou ki ngā kaiwhakawā o mua mō te pēheatanga o tuhi tono kia angitu. Mātakihia te ataata kia rongo i ngā kōrero.

Visual

Green leaves on a bush shine on a sunny day as students walk along a path that runs between classrooms. A dark-haired woman wears a black top and large flower earrings with purple petals surrounding a yellow centre. A banner appears below her, reading: Steffan Brough, Expert — 2014 & 2015.

 

Audio

(Steffan): I don't think you need to start with a big idea to make an application. It could be something relatively small. For example, we had an application which involved a centre looking at how they were going to make the best possible provision for a child with a disability who was coming to join them.


Visual

A grey-haired man in a suit and tie sits beside a woman with short black hair who wears a top patterned in blue, green and white. A banner appears below the man, reading: Tom Parsons, Judge — 2014 & 2015. A group of school kids sit around a green table in a classroom, making circuits with wires, batteries and small light bulbs. A girl in a pink and white fleece hoodie smiles brightly as she attaches wires to her light bulb. A woman wearing glasses and a long-sleeve green jersey leans over a table, helping three kids with their circuit. A woman wearing black framed glasses and with her blonde hair tied back has a name badge on her navy blue top. She kneels down at a table between two boys in grey-coloured school uniforms. She shows them a work sheet and the boys smile and nod.

 

Audio

(Tom): I think the question that is often asked of the judges and the expert panel, ‘Do we need to get a professional scriptwriter to script the pages and the video?’ And that's not the case at all.

(Steffan): They need to look at multiple types of evidence, they need to think about student voice, parent/whānau voice and teacher voice. They need to look at outcomes for children – not just in terms of data, not just in terms of changes in achievement, for example – they need to look at outcomes such as changes in children's attitude, changes in the way that children engage, changes in skill and competency levels. All of those things need to be part of a picture that you paint for your entry.

 

Visual

A banner appears below the white-haired man in the suit, Tom, and the woman in the blue, green and white top. It bears her name: Arihia Stirling, Expert — 2015. Students in blue short-sleeved uniform shirts and ties wear safety goggles as they work with eye droppers and beakers at a science room table. Two of the students make notes as a woman in a black and white stripped top and a black vest speaks to them. The woman also wears safety glasses and one of the students cocks his head as he listens to her.

 

Audio

(Arihia): It's about any school that has a wonderful story to tell about how great their learning space is. That's what this awards is about – to make sure that those stories are told. And they do reside in all sorts of spaces – you know, rural schools, Māori schools, different types of ethnic environments.

 

Visual

In the early evening, a group of women sit around a table in a school staffroom. The table is covered in folders and laptops. A title page on the cover of a red folder reads: Waikirkiri School Reading Data Folder. The women all listen as a woman with short silvery hair and a moko on her chin speaks.

 

Audio

(Steffan): The connection between the Best Evidence Synthesis and an application really has to be made clear, and I think that's looking at what are those domains in the Best Evidence Synthesis? For example, you've really got to make a connection in your application between the ways in which teaching and learning have changed and the way in which that engagement with the child has changed.

 

Visual

A tiki design has been sketched on to some wood that’s ready to be carved. A man with a beard runs his hand over the wood, gesturing to an area where carving has already begun. A police officer stands at the front of a high school classroom. A pot plant sits on the desk in front of him. The rows of desks are populated by teenage boys in red and grey school uniforms. Outside, some students use blocks of wood to bang chisels into a pole that they’re carving.

 

Audio

(Tom): In the judging process, the importance of a variety of voices is very, very important. There has not been one instance a judge has gone out to a school and not wanted to talk to past pupils, Board of Trustees, Police, CYFs in some instances, past staff. It's all part of the package.


Visual

A group of adults sit around a table, talking and looking at their laptops. A woman with shoulder-length grey hair and wearing a grey scarf over her black top has a folder open and is looking at some brightly coloured pages with a boy in a red and grey striped hoodie. The pages in the folder contain photos of children setting up a toy racetrack in a classroom.

 

Audio

(Steffan): It would be a great idea if people actually look at those levers of learning and think about what they have done in relation to them. So looking at those educationally powerful connections, looking at ways in which leadership has either driven this or supported the development that you want and then looked beyond that to how have we sustained a cycle of enquiry so that we've got continuous real-time information that helps us shape our development in a way that's ultimately going to arrive at what it is that we want as outcomes.

(Tom): One of the things the judges look at quite closely is the sustainability. If you took a major player out in that whole excellence scenario, would it still be sustainable going forward?


Visual

Walls of a classroom are covered in photos, documents and pictures. Two women sit at a table, in discussion. Seen through a glass panel in a door, students in purple uniform polo shirts sit in chairs with two older women with grey hair. Inside the room there are other groups of students sitting with other older women.

 

Audio

(Steffan): When people are putting data into their entry, they need to show us the significance of it. Why is that data there and why is that data important and what is that data showing? It may be self-evident to them because they've been working with it, but we're new to that information. We need to be able to see how it connects through to the valued outcomes that they want for their children.

(Tom): The most important piece of advice I think I would give to any school would be to tell the story as it is. Don't dress it up, because the expert panel sees through that if it's cosmetic, and that's not what they're looking for. They did a great stocktake of how well you and your staff are doing against national criteria. It is a super innovation.


Visual

In a room with woven tukutuku panels on the walls, adults and students play a game where they have to keep rhythm while doing the correct hand movements. The adults laugh and clap as they mess up, ending the game.


Audio

(PEOPLE CHANT AND LAUGH)

The judging panel will review the entries to identify the extent to which each case study shows:

Ka arotakengia ngā tono e te paepae kaiwhakawā kia tautuhi i te meatanga a ia o ngā wānanga i:

  • change that reflects best evidence of what works to improve outcomes for children and young people
  • the use of curriculum and strategies developed in New Zealand
  • clear improvement in outcomes for children and young people – social, cultural and academic
  • that the improvements achieved are ongoing – i.e. that they were sustained over at least two years
  • evidence that your team’s entry has integrated the three elements of the Education Excellence Framework.
  • te kaha hiki i te whainga huanga ki tā ngā taunakitanga i kī ai mō ngā mahi whai hua mā ngā tamariki me ngā taiohi katoa
  • te whai i ngā marautanga me ngā rautaki i waihangatia i Aotearoa tonu
  • te huanga pai mai mō ngā tamariki me ngā taiohi katoa – ā-pāpori, ā-ahurea, āmātarunaga hoki
  • te ritenga tonutanga o ngā tutukitanga – ana, ko neke atu i ngā tau e rua e tautīnei ana
  • te taunakitanga e whakaatu mai ana i tā tō tīma whakaurunga pāhekoheko i ngā huanga e toru o te Papa Kairangi.

Meet the 2021 Judging Panel

Tūtaki mai ki te Paepae Kaiwhakawā 2021

Professor Graeme Aitken

Professor of Education, Director of Educational Initiatives, Office of the Vice-Chancellor, University of Auckland

Graeme began his career in education teaching geography, history and social studies at Waitakere College. Since the late 1980s Graeme has contributed to curriculum development at the national level as a member of advisory groups on the development of the Social Sciences Learning Area within the 1997 and 2007 national curriculum frameworks.  His doctoral thesis on the history of social studies curriculum design in New Zealand generated recommendations that continue to influence the design of curriculum not just in New Zealand but also other parts of the world.

Graeme transitioned from secondary teaching into teacher education in the 1990s. He established the inaugural secondary teacher education programme at the University of Auckland in 1997 for which he subsequently received a University Distinguished Teaching Award.  Over more than a decade as a teacher educator Graeme influenced the futures of a generation of new teachers. His thinking and writing about teaching effectiveness culminated in his co-authored 'Social Sciences: Tikanga ā Iwi Best Evidence Synthesis', and in the model of Teaching as Inquiry that features in the New Zealand Curriculum and that informs the practice of most New Zealand teachers.

Graeme has advised the Ministry of Education on the development of Standards for Graduating Teachers and the Teaching Council on the use of its Standards as part of the approval process for teacher education programmes offered by tertiary institutions.  He is a member of the writing team for the Aotearoa New Zealand histories development within the New Zealand Curriculum.

Graeme has held a number of major leadership roles at the University of Auckland culminating in his appointment as Dean of the Faculty of Education and Social Work in 2008. In that position he formed the initial partnership with Teach First NZ that enabled field-based teacher education to become established in New Zealand secondary schools. He also initiated and still leads the development of STEM Online NZ.  He currently chairs the University’s subject review panels.

Throughout his career Graeme has aimed to contribute insights into practice that help decision-making by policy makers, schools and teachers in the best interests of learners and learning.

Professor Graeme Aitken

Ahorangi o te Mātauranga, Kaiārahi o ngā Kaupapa Mātauranga, Tari o te Tumuaki Matua, Te Whare Wānanga o Tāmaki Makaurau

I tīmata a Graeme i tāna umanga mātauranga ki te whakaako i te mātai matawhenua, te hītori, me ngā tikanga ā-iwi ki te Kura Tuarua o Waitākere. Nō ngā tau otinga o te ngahurutau 1980 ko whāngai a Graeme i te whanaketanga marautanga ki te taumata ā-motu hei mema o ngā rōpū tohutohu i te whanaketanga o ngā Wāhanga Ako Tikanga ā-Iwi i roto i ngā pou tarāwaho marautanga ā-motu i te tau 1997 me te 2007.  Nā tāna tuhinga kairangi mō te hītori o te marautanga tikanga ā-iwi ki Aotearoa, i pupū ake ngā marohitanga e whakaaweawe tonu ana i te āhua o te marautanga, kaua noa ki Aotearoa, engari kē ia, puta noa i te ao.

I whakawhiti a Graeme mai i te whakaako kura tuarua ki te whakaako pouako i te ngahurutau 1990. I whakatū ia i te oroko hōtaka mātauranga pouako kura tuarua ki te Whare Wānanga o Tāmaki Makaurau i te tau 1997, me te aha hoki, nā tēnā i riro i a ia te Tohu Whakaaro Kairangi a te Whare Wānanga. Neke atu i te ngahurutau hei kaiwhakaako pouako, ko whakaaweawe a Graeme i te onamata o ngā uri whakaheke nei o ngā pouako hōu. Nā āna tuhinga me ōna whakaaro mō te painga o te whakaakoranga, ko puāwai mai ai te tuhinga tahingatanga o 'Social Sciences: Tikanga ā Iwi Best Evidence Synthesis', me te tauira o te whakaakoranga hei mahi tūhura e noho ana ināianei hei tino wāhanga o te Marautanga o Aotearoa, ā, e whakaaweawe ana i ngā mahi a ngā pouako whānui o Aotearoa.

Ka tohutohu a Graeme i te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga i te whanaketanga o ngā Paerewa mō ngā Pouako Hōu, me te Matatū i ā rātou whakamahi i ngā Paerewa hei wāhanga o te tukanga whakaaetanga mō ngā hōtaka mātauranga pouako e hoatutia nei e ngā whare wānanga.  He mema ia o te tīma tuhituhi mō te whanaketanga hītori o Aotearoa, o roto i te New Zealand Curriculum.

Ko mau i a Graeme ngā tini tūranga ārahi matua ki te Whare Wānanga o Tāmaki Makaurau, e tau nei ki tana tohu ki te Kaiārahi o te Wāhanga Mātauranga me te Mahinga ā-Pāpori i te tau 2008. I taua tūranga, i waihanga ia i te oroko piringa ki a Teach First NZ, nā tēnā i whakahohe i te whakatūnga o te mātauranga pouako ā-wāhi-kē ki ngā kura tuarua ki Aotearoa. Ko whakahohe hoki ia, ā, e ārahi tonu ana hoki i te whanaketanga o STEM Online NZ.  Ko ia te tiamana i tēnei wā o ngā pae wānanga arotake kaupapa a te Whare Wānanga.

Rā roto katoa i tāna umanga ko hiahia a Graeme ki te whāngai māramatanga ki ngā mahinga akoranga e āwhina ai i te whakatakoto kaupapa mā ngā kaiwaihanga kaupapahere, ngā kura me ngā pouako, hei tino painga.

Louise Ānaru

Principal, Kaitaia College

In late 2019 Louise was appointed as the principal of Kaiataia College.

Louise Ānaru was the principal of Flaxmere College which was the winner of the 2018 Prime Minister’s Education Excellence Awards Supreme Award.

Louise was the recipient of a Sir Peter Blake Emerging Leader Award in 2013. She affiliates to Ngāpuhi and Te Rawawa. Flaxmere College made good progress to achieve higher levels of equity and increased excellence in outcomes, with nearly all Māori students now gaining Level 1 NCEA and most achieving Level 2 and 3.

Louise has been actively involved in the National Aspiring Principals’ Programme and First-time Principals Programme, and is currently a Beginning Principal Mentor. She is also currently on the Professional Advisory Group providing advice on the NCEA review.

Louise Ānaru

Tumuaki, Kaitaia College

Nō te hiku o te tau 2019 ka kopoungia a Louise hei tumuaki ki te Kāreti o Kaitaia.

Ko Louise Ānaru te tumuaki o te Flaxmere Kāreti, ko ia te toa mō te Tohu Nui a te Pirimia i ngā Tohu Kairangi Mātauranga a te Pirimia i te tau 2018.

I whakawhiwhia a Louise ki te Tohu a Sir Peter Blake Emerging Leader i te tau 2013. He hononga ōna ki ngā iwi o Ngāpuhi me Te Rarawa. Inā te pai o te haere whakamua o Flaxmere Kāreti kia pai ake te whakawhiwhinga ōrite me hiranga hoki o ngā hua ako, ā, tata tonu te whiwhi o ngā ākonga Māori katoa i NCEA Taumata 1, me te nuinga i whiwhi Taumata 2 me 3.

Kei te whai wāhi hoki a Louise i te kaupapa ā-motu mō ngā Tumuaki Manawanui me ngā Tumuaki Hou, ā, ko ia hoki tētahi Taituara mō Ngā Tumuaki Hou. I tēnei wā kei runga ia i te Rōpū Tohutohu ā-Ngaiotanga mō te arotakenga o NCEA.

Carmen Dalli

Professor, School of Education, Victoria University of Wellington

Carmen started her academic career in the Department of Teaching the Early and Middle Years of the Faculty of Education at the University of Malta. She joined Victoria University of Wellington in 1986 where she teaches across undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, and is Director of the EdD programme.

In 1994, Carmen co-led the establishment of the Institute for Early Childhood Studies and served as its Director from 2011 to 2019. Between 2014 and 2017, she was also Associate Dean (Research) at the Faculty of Education.

Carmen has an international reputation for her research on early childhood (EC) teacher professionalism, EC policy, and infants and toddlers in EC services. Her policy work has included chairing the ministerial advisory group that co-developed the ten-year Early Learning Action Plan for New Zealand (2019-2029), being a member of the Ministerial Advisory Group on Quality for Under-Two Year-Olds in NZ Early Childhood Centres (2012), and a member of the NZ’s Ministry of Education Early Childhood Policy Researchers’ Forum since 2008. She has also provided advice on early childhood policy to the Ministry of Education and Employment in Malta, her country of origin.

Carmen co-edits the Springer book series entitled 'Policy and Pedagogy with Under-three Year Olds: Cross-disciplinary Insights and Innovations and Early Years – An International Research Journal'. Recent publications include: 'Under-three year olds in policy and practice' (2017 with E.J.White), and the Sage Handbook of Early Childhood Policy (2018 with L. Miller, C. Cameron and N. Barbour).

In 2020 Carmen completed a three-year Marsden-funded project called 'War and Peace in the Nursery: How do young children negotiate conflict to establish belonging and wellbeing in a multi-ethnic NZ early childhood centre?'

Carmen Dalli

Ahorangi, Kura Mātauranga, Te Herenga Waka

I tīmata a Carmen i tāna umanga mātauranga ki te Wāhanga Whakaako i ngā Tau Tīmata, o Waenga hoki ki te Wāhanga Mātauranga ki te Whare Wānanga o Malta. I hono atu ia ki Te Herenga Waka i te tau 1986, inā ko ia e whakaako ana i ngā hōtaka paetahi, pōkairua hoki, ā, ko ia te Kaiārahi o te hōtaka EdD.

I te tau 1994, i ārahi tahi a Carmen i te whakatūnga o te Kura mō ngā Akoranga Mātauranga Kōhungahunga, ā, i noho hei Kaiārahi mai i te tau 2011 ki te 2019. I waenga i te tau 2014 me te 2017, ko ia hoki te Tumuaki Tahi (Rangahau) ki te Wāhanga Mātauranga.

He hau ā-ao tō Carmen i tāna rangahau i ngā ngaiotanga pouako kōhungahunga (EC), ngā kaupapahere EC, me ngā ratonga EC mō te pēpi me te kōhungahunga. Ko āna mahi kaupapahere ko tae rā anō ki te noho hei tiamana o te rōpū tohutohu minita e whakawhanake tahi i te Mahere Hohenga Akoranga Kōhungahunga (2019-2029) ki Aotearoa, te noho hei mema o te Rōpū Tohutohu Minita mō te Kounga o ērā e Tamariki Iho i te Rua Tau ki ngā Puna Kōhungahunga ki Aotearoa (2012), me te noho hei mema o te Wānanga a ngā Kairangahau o ngā Herenga o tā Aotearoa Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga Puna Kōhungahunga nō te tau 2008. Kua whāngai āwhina hoki ia mō ngā herenga kōhungahunga ki te Tari Mātauranga me te Whiwhinga Mahi ki Malta, tōna oroko whenua.

Ka whakatika tahi hoki a Carmen i te kohinga pukapuka Springer i tapaina ko 'Policy and Pedagogy with Under-three Year Olds: Cross-disciplinary Insights and Innovations and Early Years – An International Research Journal'. E tae rā anō ana ngā whakaputanga tata nei ki: 'Under-three year olds in policy and practice' (2017 rāua ko E.J.White), me te Sage Handbook of Early Childhood Policy (2018 rātou ko L. Miller, ko C. Cameron, ko N. Barbour hoki).

I te tau 2020 i whakaoti a Carmen i tētahi hinonga toru-tau i whāngaia e te pūtea Marsden i tapaina ko 'War and Peace in the Nursery: How do young children negotiate conflict to establish belonging and wellbeing in a multi-ethnic NZ early childhood centre?'

Wendy Lee

Director of the Educational Leadership Project (ELP)

Wendy Lee is the director of ELP Ltd, which provides professional learning opportunities for teachers in the Early Childhood Education (ECE) sector in New Zealand.  Over the past two decades, her team has provided professional learning for teachers interested in the application of Learning Stories in many other countries including England, Germany, the USA and especially China.

Wendy started her career as a kindergarten teacher and was then a head teacher before becoming a lecturer in ECE at the North Shore Teachers Training College, Auckland. Later, she was a manager at the Waikato Kindergarten Association before leaving to form her own company, providing professional support for all teachers in the New Zealand ECE sector.

Her passion for ECE resulted in her becoming national President of the Kindergarten Teachers Association and then, as a mother, her strong advocacy for the role of mothers and children in society led to community work and ultimately to her role as a Councillor for the Rotorua District Council.  

Wendy's strong belief in life-long education, social equity and the key role of the ECE sector in achieving this, led to her increasing collaboration with Professor Margaret Carr over a range of ECE research projects emanating from Te Whāriki. These included co-directorship of the National ECE Assessment and Learning Exemplar project resulting in the Kei Tua o the Pae books on assessment.

More recently she has assisted Margaret in the co-authorship of several books on Learning Stories. Her determination to provide all ECE teachers with practical tools that are deeply embedded in the principles of the Whāriki is reflected in the development and application of Learning Stories for both assessment and professional learning.

Wendy Lee

Kaiwhakahaere Matua: Educational Leadership Project

Ko Wendy Lee te kaiwhakahaere matua o ELP Ltd, e tuku kaupapa ako ngaio mō ngā kaiako i te rāngai Kura Kōhungahunga (ECE) i Aotearoa. I ngā rua tekau kua hipa atu kua kawea e tana tīma ngā kaupapa ako ngaio mō ngā kaiako e kaingākau ana ki te whakataki i Ngā Pūrākau Ako, i ētahi whenua atu o te ao, pērā i Ingarangi, i Tiamani, te Huinga o ngā Taiwhenua o Amerika (USA), i Haina anō hoki.

I timata a Wendy i tana huarahi mahi hei kaiako kura pūhou, ā, nāwai, nāwai ka tū ko ia te kaiako matua i mua i tana tū hei pūkenga ki te Kāreti Whkakangungu Kaiako o te Raki Paewhenua i Tāmaki Makaurau. Nō muri mai ko ia anō te kaiwhakahaere o te Tōpūtanga Kura Pūhou o Waikato, kātahi ka wehe atu ia ki te whakatū i tana kamupene ake, mō te tuku tautoko ngaio mō ngā kaiako katoa o te rāngai Kura Kōhungahunga i Aotearoa.

Nā tōna ngākaunui mō ngā Kura Kōhungahunga ka puta ia hei Perehitini ā-Motu mō te Tōpūtanga Kura Pūhou me te mea hoki he māmā ia, nā tana kaha tautoko me te kōrero mō te wāhi ki ngā māmā me ngā tamariki i te porihanga ka uru ia ki ngā mahi hapori, ā, ko te mutunga atu ko tana tū hei Kaikaunihera mō te Rohe o Rotorua.

Nā tana kaha whakapono ki te mātauranga ako tūroa, te whiwhinga ōrite me te wāhi nui o te rāngai Kura Kōhungahunga hei whakatutuki i tēnei, ka whai wāhi ia ki te mahitahi me Ahorangi Margaret Carr mō te whānuitanga o ngā kaupapa rangahau e hua mai ana i Te Whāriki. Ko tētahi o āna mahi ko te tū hei kaiwhakahaere takirua o te kaupapa ā-motu mō  ngā Tauoaromahi Aromatawai me te Ako, ā, ko te hua i puta ko ngā pukapuka Kei Tua o Te Pae mō te aromatawai.

Nō nātata nei ka āwhina ia i a Margaret Carr ki te tuhi i ētahi pukapuka e pā ana ki ngā Pūrākau Ako. Ka kitea tōna manawanui ki te tuku mōhiotanga e taketake ana i ngā mātāpono Te Whāriki ki ngā kaiako Kura Kōhungahunga katoa i roto i ngā Pūrākau Ako nā rāua i waihanga mō te aromatawai mō te ako ngaio hoki.

Helen May

Emeritus Professor, College of Education, University of Otago

Helen May taught for nine years as a primary school teacher in the junior classes. Later, when Helen had her own children, she worked in childcare including five years as the Coordinator of the Victoria University of Wellington crèche.

In 1987 Helen began work in teacher education at Hamilton Teachers' College and later the University of Waikato. During the early 1990s she was the co-director, with Margaret Carr, of the early childhood curriculum project that led to the development of Te Whāriki, the first national curriculum guidelines for early childhood in New Zealand.

In 1995 Helen was appointed to the first New Zealand professorial Chair in Early Childhood Education at Victoria University of Wellington. In 2005, she was appointed as Professor of Education and Head of Faculty of Education at the University of Otago, and was the foundation Dean of the University of Otago College of Education after the merger with Dunedin College of Education.

Helen retired from Otago in 2017 and was appointed an Emeritus Professor. As well she became an Adjunct Professor at Victoria University of Wellington and is now living in Wellington. She has spoken and published widely in the field of early childhood curriculum and the history and policy of early year’s education. Her book 'Politics in the Playground' (2019, 3rd ed.) tells the post-war story of the growth of early childhood services including current times and the release of the government’s Early Learning Action Plan 2019-2029: He Taonga Te Tamaiti.

Helen was a member of the Minister’s Reference Group during its development. In 2020, she contributed to a co-authored book, 'Reimagining Teaching in Early Twentieth Century Experimental Schools'. Helen has served on the judging panel for the 2018 and 2019 Prime Minister’s Education Excellence Awards.

Helen May

Ahorangi o Mua, Te Whare Wānanga o Ōtākōu

I whakaako a Helen May hei pouako kura tuatahi mō ngā tau e iwa ki ngā akoranga tēina. Whai ake nā, i te whānautanga mai o ā Helen tamariki, i mahi ia hei kaitiaki kōhungahunga, tae rā anō ki ngā tau e rima hei Kaitohutohu o te puna kōhungahunga ki Te Herenga Waka.

I te tau 1987, i tīmata a Helen i tāna mahi mātauranga pouako ki te Kāreti Pouako ki Kirikiriroa, ā, ki te Whare Wānanga o Waikato whai ake nā i tērā. I ngā tau tuatahi o te ngahurutau 1990, ko ia te kaiwhakahaere, rāua tahi ko Margaret Carr, o te hinonga marautanga kōhungahunga i para i te huarahi ki Te Whāriki, arā, ngā kupu arataki marautanga ā-motu tuatahi mō te mātauranga kōhungahunga ki Aotearoa.

I te tau 1995 i meinga a Helen ki te Tūranga Ahorangi Mātauranga Kōhungahunga tuatahi ki Aotearoa ki Te Herenga Waka. I te tau 2005 i meinga ia hei Ahorangi Mātauranga, me te Ūpoko o te Wāhanga Mātauranga ki te Whare Wānanga o Ōtākou, ā, ko ia hoki te oroko Tumuaki o tō Te Whare Wānanga o Ōtākou Kāreti Mātauranga i muri ake i te hononga ki te te Kāreti Mātauranga o Ōtepoti.

I tāoki a Helen i a Ōtākou i te tau 2017, kātahi i karangatia hei Ahorangi o Mua. Me te aha hoki i meinga ia hei Ahorangi Āpiti ki Te Herenga Waka, ā, e noho ana ia ki Te Ūpoko o te Ika ināianei. Ka kōrero ia, ka whakaputa whānui hoki i te ao marautanga o te puna kōhungahunga, me te hītori, ngā kaupapahere hoki o te mātauranga i ngā tau tuatahi. Ko tāna pukapuka 'Politics in the Playground' (2019, putanga tuatoru) e kōrero ana i te pūrākau i muri i te pakanga mō te tupuranga o ngā ratonga kōhungahunga, tae rā anō ki ngā wā o nāianei, me te whakaputanga o tā te kāwanatanga Mahere Hohenga Akoranga Kōhungahunga 2019-2029: He Taonga Te Tamaiti.

He mema a Helen o tā te Minita Rōpū Tohutoro i tāna whakawhanaketanga. I te tau 2020, i whāngai ia i te tuhinga tahitanga o tētahi pukapuka, 'Reimagining Teaching in Early Twentieth Century Experimental Schools'. Ko mahi a Helen ki te taumata whakawā mō ngā Tohu Mātauranga Kairangi a te Pirimia i te tau 2018 me te tau 2019.

Linley Myers, MNZM

Partner, Myers Bruce Leadership

Linley Myers has a Master of Education with first class honours, in which she researched the impact of teaching practices for students identified as Gifted and/or Talented.

After many years teaching and in senior leadership positions she worked with the Education Advisory Service as a leadership adviser and as a reviewer with ERO.

Linley was principal of Maungawhau School in Mount Eden, Auckland for six years and at Royal Oak Primary School for 10 years. She was lead principal for the Nga Manu Awhina RTLB cluster and was a member of the principals' national executive for RTLB. She was the inaugural lead principal for Te Iti Kahurangi, Kāhui Ako.

Linley recently received a Distinguished Fellow award for her services to the Auckland Primary Principals' Association. She is currently an independent Educational Consultant.

Linley Myers, MNZM

Hoa Pakihi, Myers Bruce Leadership

Kua whai a Linley Myers i te Tohu Paerua mō te Mātauranga, taumata kairangi hōnore, mōna i rangahau i te pāpātanga o ngā mahi whakaako ki ngā ākonga Pūmanawa nui.

Whai muri i ōna tau e hia nei e whakaako ana, e kawe ana hoki i ngā tūranga kaiārahi ka mahi ia me te Ratonga Kaitohutohu Mātauranga hei kaiārahi, ā, hei kaiarotake hoki i Te Tari Arotake Mātauranga (ERO).

Ko Linley te Tumuaki o Maungawhau School i Maungawhau, Tāmaki Makaurau anō mō ngā tau e ono, me te Kura Tuatahi o Royal Oak me ngā tau tekau. Ko ia te Tumuaki kaiārahi o te huinga o Ngā Manu Āwhina Kaiako Āwhina: Ako me te Whanonga (RTLB), ā, he mema hoki ia o te Rūnanga Tumuaki ā-Motu mō ngā RTLB. Ko ia anō te tumuaki kaiārahi tuatahi mō te Kāhui Ako o Te Iti Kahurangi.

Nō nātata nei ka whakawhiwhia a Linley ki te tohu Distinguished Fellow mō āna mahi i roto i te Rōpū Tumuaki Kura Tuatahi o Tāmaki Makaurau. I tēnei wā he Kaitohutohu Mātauranga Tū Motuhake ia.

Soana Pamaka

Principal, Tāmaki College

Soana Pamaka became Principal of Tāmaki College in 2006. She is the first Tongan to become a secondary school Principal in New Zealand. Prior to her appointment as principal, Soana was head of History, a Dean, and a Deputy Principal at Tāmaki College.

Away from the College, Soana is a Rotarian and is involved with a number of governance roles, which over the years have included the ASB Community Trust, Teach First NZ, Tāmaki Regeneration Company, Te Papa, Wellington and more recently she has been appointed to the Pasifika Futures Board under the Pasifika Medical Association Group.

Soana is married to Samiu and is the mother of Havea, Paul, Sela and Seini-Mino.  She works closely with students, staff, the community and her church. She is a highly respected leader in her community.

Soana Pamaka

Tumuaki, Te Kāreti o Tāmaki

 tohua a Soana Pamaka ki te tūranga Tumuaki o te Kāreti o Tāmaki i te tau 2006. Ko ia te oroko Tumuaki kura tuarua ki Aotearoa nō Ngāi Tonga. I mua kē mai i tāna tohuanga hei Tumuaki, ko Soana te ūpoko o te Hītori, he Kaihautū, he Tumuaki Tuarua hoki ki te Kāreti o Tāmaki.

Ki wāhi kē atu i te Kāreti, he mema o te rōpū Rotary a Soana, ā, e hono ana ia ki ngā tini mahinga ārahitanga i ngā tau ko taha ake nei, tae rā anō ki te ASB Community Trust, Teach First NZ, te Tāmaki Regeneration Company, Te Papa Tongarewa ki Te Ūpoko o te Ika, ā, inātata nei, ko tohua ia ki te Poari Pasifika Futures, ki raro i te Rōpū Huihuinga Rata Pasifika.

Ko moe a Soana ki a Samiu, ā, ko ia te whaea o Havea rātou ko Paul, ko Sela, ko Seini-Mino.  E mahi tata ana ia ki ngā ākonga, ngā kaimahi, te hapori me tana whare karakia. He rangatira rongonui ia ki tōna hapori.

Kate Shevland

Former principal

Kate was Principal of Orewa College for more than twenty years and has strong links across the education sector. She was on the executive of the Auckland Secondary Principals Association and led the Orewa Community of Learning for its first four years. She is Trustee of the Pathways to Employment programme.

She has previously been on the Board of Rodney Economic Development Trust, Auckland Secondary Schools Headmaster’s Association, Harbour Sport, Chair of North Shore Secondary Principals Group, and on many local educational advisory committees. She was on the Ministerial reference groups for the RTLB review and Twenty-First Century Learning.

Kate is currently on the New Zealand Qualifications Authority Board. She is a strong advocate for relevant future-focused learning, responsive to student and societal needs.

Kate Shevland

Ko Kate te Tumuaki ki te Kāreti o Ōrewa neke atu i ngā tau e rua tekau, ā, he hononga kaha puta noa i te ao mātauranga. I noho ia ki te rōpū whakahaere o te Huinga Tumuaki Kura Tuarua ki Tāmaki Makaurau, ā, i ārahi i tā Ōrewa Hapori Akoranga i ōna oroko tau e whā. He Kaiwhirinaki ia o te hōtaka Ara Whiwhinga Mahi (Pathways to Employment).

He wā ōna i noho ki te Poari Whirinaki Whakawhanaketanga Ohaoha ki Rodney, ki Te Huihuinga Tumuaki Kura Tuarua ki Tāmaki Makaurau, ki Harbour Sport, hei Tiamana o Te Rōpū Tumuaki Kura Tuarua ki North Shore, ki ngā tini komiti tohutohu ā-rohe i te mātauranga. Ko ia tērā i noho ki ngā rōpū tohutoro mō te arotake RTLB, me te Akoranga Rautau Rua Tekau Mā Tahi.

I tēnei wā tonu, kei te Poari Mana Tohu Mātauranga o Aotearoa a Kate. He kaihapahapai kaha ia o te akoranga onamata, e hāngai ana ki ngā hiahia o te ākonga me te pāpori.

Georgie Ferrari

CEO, Sustainability Trust

Georgie is the CEO of Sustainability Trust. They are the leading environmental social enterprise in the Wellington region. Part of Georgie’s role involves running environmental education programmes for children and young people both in school settings and in the community.

Georgie has been with the Trust for just over 12 months, but has a long history in the not for profit sector, both in Aotearoa and in Australia.

Before joining Sustainability Trust, Georgie was the CEO for the Wellington Community Trust, a funder that provides grants in the Wellington region to community organisations, including many environmental groups. While there she established the Climate Action Fund that will distribute $2.1m to environmental groups working on climate change actions in the Wellington region.

In Australia, Georgie was the CEO of the Youth Affairs Council, a not for profit, youth peak body that advocates for children’s and youth issues. She was also the Chair of the Community Services Panel for the Churchill Fellowship Trust, selecting fellows for the international study programme. She has sound experience in both assessment and selection of awardees for grants, prizes and scholarships.

In her spare time Georgie likes learning te reo Māori, riding her bike and going on adventures with her nine-year-old son.

Georgie Ferrari

Tumuaki, Sustainability Trust

Ko Georgie te Tumuaki o te Sustainability Trust. Ko rātau ngā umanga pāpori tiaki taio mātāmua i te rohe o Te Whanganui-a-Tara. Ko tētahi o ngā mahi a Georgie he whakahaere i ngā kaupapa mātauranga tiaki taiao mā ngā tamariki me ngā taiohi i rō kura me te hapori. Kua neke atu i te 12 marama a Georgie e mahi ana mā te Tarahiti engari kua roa ia e mahi ana i roto i te rāngai kaupapa aroha, i Aotearoa me Ahitereiria.

I mua i tana uru ki te Sustainability Trust, ko Georgie te Tumuaki mō te Wellington Community Trust, he kaituku pūtea ki ngā whakahaere hapori o te rohe o Te Whanganui-a-Tara, tae atu ki ngā rōpū tiaki taiao maha. I a ia i reira i whakatūria e ia te Tahua Āhuarangi, he $2.1m ka tohaina ki ngā rōpū e hāpai ana i ngā mahi tiaki i te āhuarangi i te rohe o Te Whanganui-a-Tara.

I Ahitereria, ko Georgie te CEO o te Youth Affairs Council, he rōpū kaupapa huamoni-kore, taiohi hoki e taunaki ana i ngā take tamariki me te taiohi. Ko ia hoki te Heamana o te Community Services Panel mō te Churchill Fellowship Trust, e tohu ana i ngā pūkenga mō te kaupapa rangahau taiao. E tino matatau ana ia ki te aromatawai me te tīpako i te hunga ka waimarie ki ngā takuhe, paraihe me ngā karahipi.

Ko ētahi atu mahi pai ki a ia ko te ako i te reo Māori, te eke pahikara me ngā haerenga mātātoa me tana tama e iwa nei ōna tau.

Henrietta Bollinger

Writer and disability rights advocate

Henrietta is a writer and disability rights advocate who has worked both for Government and Non-Governmental organisations. Her academic work has a particular focus on disabled students’ experience of Sexuality Education. She has published in The Journal of Youth Studies and Disability and Society. She contributed a co-authored chapter to the book 'Belonging: Rethinking Inclusive Practices to Support Wellbeing'.

She has also had poetry published in Starling, Mimicry and Scum magazines as well as plays performed in New Zealand, Australia and the UK. In 2018, she was appointed to the Guardians of the Education Conversation, a Ministerial Advisory Group providing oversight of the 30-year vision for New Zealand Education.

Henrietta Bollinger

Kaituhi me te kaitaunaki tika hauā

He kaituhi a Henrietta me te kaitaunaki tika hauā, kua mahi ia i roto i ngā whakahaere Kāwanatanga, Kāwanatanga-Kore hoki. E aro ana ana mahi mātauranga ki ngā wheako o ngā ākonga hauā o te Mātauranga Hōkakatanga. Kua whakaputa tuhinga ia i roto i te The Journal of Youth Studies and Disability and Society. I tuhi takirua ia i tētahi upoko ki te pukapuka Belonging: Rethinking Inclusive Practices to Support Wellbeing.

I whakaputa rotarota anō ia ki ngā moheni Starling, Mimicry and Scum me ngā whakaari i whakaaritia i Aotearoa, Ahitereiria me Piritana Nui. I te tau 2018, i tohua ia ki Ngā Kaitiaki o te Kōrero Mātauranga, he Rōpū Tohutohu ā-Minita e ārahi ana i te tirohanga whānui 30 tau mā Mātauranga ki Aotearoa.

George Ihimaera

Māori Achievement Collaborative (MAC) Kaihoe Mātauranga

George has recently joined the Māori Achievement Collaborative as a facilitator for the Tāmaki and Waikato areas. He is a passionate educationist and has been in the profession for nearly 30 years. During this time he has taught in a variety of schools in the Primary sector, ranging from junior to senior classes as well as in bilingual and total immersion Māori units. He has also held senior management positions as a Deputy Principal in a number of schools before becoming Tumuaki at Kererū Park Campus in Papakura for 10 years.

As a lifelong learner, he is still involved in study and has completed a postgraduate diploma in Educational Leadership and Management and a Te Ara Reo Level 5 Diploma in Te Reo Māori. In 2018 George completed a certificate in proficiency in Te Reo Māori through Te Wananga Takiura o Aotearoa.

George is a strong advocate for Māori education and was the President of the Auckland Māori Principals Association, Aka Tāmaki. George was also an executive member of Te Akatea, the New Zealand Māori Principals Association and was involved in many Ministry panels advocating for Māori as part of this role.

George Ihimaera

Kaihoe Mātauranga

Kua hono mai a George ki te Kaihoe Mātauranga hei kaitakawaenga mō ngā rohe o Tāmaki Makaurau me Waikato. E ngākaunui ana ia ki te mātauranga, ā, neke atu i te 30 tau ia e mahi ana i roto i te mātauranga. I roto i aua tau i whakaako ia i roto i ngā tūmomo kura i roto i te rāngai kura tuatahi, mai i ngā akomanga pīpī heihei ki ngā tamariki pakeke, tae atu ki ngā kaupapa arareo Māori, reo rua hoki. I roto anō ia i ngā tūranga tumu whakahaere hei Tumuaki Tuarua i ngā kura maha i mua i te urunga atu hei Tumuaki i te Kererū Campus Park i Papakura mō te 10 tau.

Hei ākonga pūmau, kei te whai tonu ia i te mātauranga, ā, kua tutuki i a ia tōna tohu pōkairua paerua i roto i te Kaiārahi Mātauranga me te Tumu Whakahaere me tētahi Tohu Pōkai Te Ara Reo Taumata 5 i roto i Te Reo Māori. I te tau 2018 i tutuki i a George he tiwhikete mō Te Reo Māori mai i Te Wānanga Takiura o Aotearoa.

He kaitaunaki a George mō te mātauranga Māori, ā, ko ia te Perehītini mō Aka Tāmaki i mua. He mema tumu whakahaere anō ia nō Te Akatea, ā, i runga anō ia i ngā rōpū tohutohu maha o te Tāhuhu hei kaitaunaki mō te Māori i roto i tēnei tūranga.