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Professional learning & development

5 Feb 2025

ECE and support staff scholarships

Did you know NZEI Te Riu Roa awards over $30,000 worth of scholarship funds each year to ECE teachers and support staff? Ako spoke to some of the 2024 recipients about how they used the funds and the impact it has had on their mahi.

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5 Feb 2025

Jared Lambert: 2024 scholarship recipient

ECE kaiako Jared Lambert received a scholarship from NZEI Te Riu Roa in 2024 and used the funds to help complete his Master of Psychology. He answered some questions about his experience of the scholarship.

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5 Feb 2025

Victoria Goode: 2024 scholarship recipient

Teaching assistant Victoria Goode facilitates a Nurture Group at Nelson Central School. She received a Support Staff scholarship from NZEI Te Riu Roa in 2024 and used the funds to train with Nurture International in the UK. She answered some questions about her experience of the scholarship.

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5 Feb 2025

Paul Hartland: 2024 scholarship recipient

Teacher aide Paul Hartland received a Support Staff scholarship from NZEI Te Riu Roa in 2024 and used the funds towards his study to become a qualified counsellor. He is now working as a counsellor at Pukekohe High School. He answered some questions about his experience of the scholarship.

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5 Feb 2025

Michelle Dons: 2024 scholarship recipient

Michelle Dons is kaiako matua at Matangi Āwhio kindergarten in Whakatū. She received an ECE scholarship from NZEI Te Riu Roa in 2024 to further her studies in how to promote and support emotional regulation in tamariki and kaiako in kindergarten. She writes about her experiences of the scholarship.

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1 Nov 2024

Enhancing the mana: cultural leadership in Taranaki

Last year, NZEI Te Riu Roa won an allowance for existing teachers who hold cultural knowledge and expertise to recognise the work they are already doing in kura, schools and kindergartens. It came into effect this year and the applications for the funding were overwhelming.

Ngāmotu-based writer Emma Hislop (Kāi Tahu) sat down with a few of the kaiako who received the Cultural Leadership Allowance in Taranaki, to find out about their roles – and what receiving the funding meant to them.

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6 Aug 2024

Diary of a head teacher sabbatical 

Last year, NZEI Te Riu Roa kindergarten members won a new addition in their collective agreement: ten-week-long paid sabbaticals for up to 20 head teachers each year. We are honoured to share excerpts from a generous and insightful diary written during one of the first sabbaticals earlier this year, thanks to Shelley Shennan, the head teacher of Parihaka Kindergarten in Whangārei.

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Mark Potter standing in front of blurred green background, smiling
Summer 202323 Feb 2023

Learning from others

It is a pleasure to bring you the latest edition of Ako journal. As the new national president, I know I have a lot to learn, so the theme akoranga is not without relevance to me.

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Hands weaving a korowai made of black and red feathers.
Summer 202322 Feb 2023

Whiria te tāngata

Staff and students at two Te Tai Tokerau kura have been learning the challenging skill of tāniko and other weaving techniques. Ako finds out how this akoranga is supporting hauora and weaving the school community together.

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Summer 202322 Feb 2023

Learning for life

Professional learning and development (PLD) is a critical part of practice for all educators. But how do they ensure their ongoing learning has the best impact for ākonga? These personal stories showcase some outstanding PLD experiences that benefit students, educators and whole communities.

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Spring 202214 Sep 2022

Teachers of the future

Initial teacher education plays a crucial role in our education system. But is it up to scratch? Ako talks to education professionals who are reimagining how we grow new teachers.

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Autumn 202218 Mar 2022

History can hurt

In interviews with practitioners Ako asks how kaiako can prepare for difficult conversations in the classroom that might arise when teaching Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories.

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