Claire Amos

Yesterday I read Maurie's blogpost ' Time to Calm The Farm - Schools are not in chaos ' which provided a much needed reminder about the power we have to make to decisions in how we lead our schools and lead the narrative about education during a pandemic. It was a reminder also, that for many schools, teachers and learners that continuing to learn online was not the end of the world, nor was mandatory vaccinations, it was simply something we could, and for the most part, are managing just fine. It did however make me ponder what feels like a undercurrent of much of the push back and clickbait media headlines and stories, this idea that we are living through this massive and shocking disruption and that all of it is getting in the way of our much loved and lauded normality, which many still seem to think we may be returning to at some point. Even those of us who realise, in our most rational moments, the chances of returning to life as it was at the beginning of 2020 is real...

The "learning pack" sent to one family this week Link to the related article on RNZ  August 2021 marks 18 months since the arrival of COVID-19 in New Zealand and since then the country and regions has experienced a number of lockdowns. New Zealand's response has in many ways been phenomenal - articulate and calm leadership informed by science and research and supported by a compliant and committed "team of five million".   So why then do we let a digital divide persist? In a country with a government and leadership that prides itself on kindness and care I am confused and frustrated that we let a gaping digital divide mean that learning and connectedness during lockdown continues to be a school, decile and postcode lottery. Last year about 23,000 digital devices were purchased or leased by the government to supply to families that did not have one, the minister stating at the time that more than 100,000 children (about 80,000 households) did not have access to a...

Source Today marks the first full day at the Secondary Principals of Aotearoa New Zealand (SPANZ) conference.  Today we get to sit through the first three of five keynotes, all of which are men.  To put this into context, Principalship in New Zealand is dominated by men. In 2019 37% of secondary school leaders were female, this is in contrast to the secondary teacher workforce where 63% are women. Whilst we have made progress over the last thirty years going from 19%  to 37% female leaders, we are still very much under-represented.  Considering the influence and reach secondary leaders have and the important responsibility they fulfil in leading our young people what is the price we pay for this under representation?? Source: NZCER Above are the stats that are laid out in NZCER's Women becoming secondary school leaders: Barriers, supports, and enablers Report written by Cathy Wylie, Jo MacDonald, and Renee Tuifagalele and published in 2020.  In the report, ...