Alwyn Poole: Erica Stanford’s solutions to the problems posed by her inner circle have positive aspects …

But they are not the highest priority problems.

I have a son who is a professional fire-fighter. I would imagine that they most basic advice they receive is to point the hose at the fire.

Stanford has done almost nothing on what all data and research show to be the most important aspects for the education of our children and young people. There is barely any water going on the flames.

These are the absolute key areas for the contribution of education towards our future.

1. How to support parenting so that the vast majority of 5 year olds arrive at school ready to fully engage and with the basics of a love of learning, good behaviours, as well as numeracy and literacy in place. This includes parents reading to their children and being fully informed of key aspects of development from conception until 5 years old (at least).

2. Massively improving school attendance. She has allocated just 0.7 of 1% of VOTE education to improving this aspect – that remains in deep crises.

3. How to significantly close the gaps between those who achieve – and those who don’t (concentrated among poorer families, Maori and Pasifika). 2024 school leavers data shows that the proportion of school leavers with no qualifications has risen to 16% for all ethnicities. This is the worst in a decade and it well-and-truly under her watch. It is now 28% for Maori youth. Appalling – but I do not see a single ounce of effort from Stanford on this. Let this statistic land … 28% of Maori youth are leaving school with no qualification. Will the proposed qualifications changes improve this? What are the future consequences?

4. Improving the quality of outcomes of every high school. There is actually some low hanging fruit here with an easy to implement programme. NZ only has 460 high schools. To have every one of them create a 5 year improvement plan for outcomes – aims and how to achieve them – is easy and can be highly effective. I have already been working with some schools on this in a private capacity.

5. Improving the quality of teachers. While there has been some emphasis on this – the impact of poorly consulted curriculum changes, and barely consulted qualifications changes, will have massive work conditions implications for teachers (i.e. chaos). While teachers remain in a collective contract that restricts the ability to reward high contributors – the prospect for true change remains low.

6. The huge hand-brake of a massive and inept Ministry of Education has barely been challenged by Stanford. National/ACT promised to reduce the employment numbers in the Ministry to 2,700 (pre-Hipkins) but it remains near 4,000. Even one of Stanford’s best friends, Tim O’Connor of Auckland Grammar – recently stated that the Ministry serves little purpose and should be disestablished. Stanford has not even been able to appoint a new Secretary for Education – nearly a year after the previous one left.

As someone who fully evaluates the outcomes of our education system each year … the current changes will do nothing to halt the decline – except that students from high performing schools, and privileged demographics, will have a better qualification to get themselves into international study.

Alwyn Poole, a well-known figure in the New Zealand education system, he founded and was the head of Mt Hobson Middle School in Auckland for 18 years. This article was published HERE

Breaking Views Update: Week of 3.8.25

Saturday August 9, 2025 

News:
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The Education Ministry has canned a reader for junior children because it has too many Māori words, infuriating Te Akatea, the Māori Principals' Association.

The association's president Bruce Jepsen said the decision not to reprint "At the Marae" was racist and white supremacist.

Insights From Social Media:

Division by race isn’t justice, it’s regression - Dean Melkesideck

Ethnicity-based governance, even framed as consultation, undermines equal citizenship and national unity. Democracies succeed through shared identity and equal laws—not tribal division.

Chris Lynch: St John to axe volunteer hospital programmes.....

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Peter Williams: Blurred Lines

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Cam Slater: Labour’s Fiscal Fiasco - Treasury Exposes Ardern’s Economic Sabotage

This report is a wake-up call. Labour’s Covid tyranny wasn’t just about masks and mandates; it was about fiscal vandalism on an epic scale.

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David Farrar: Labour hypocrisy exposed

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David Farrar: The Press found to have breached Media Council rules with its school lunches article

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Mike's Minute: The Treasury report shows why Labour won't win the election

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Plus, the Opposition remain the same people who stuffed the place a year and a half ago and the pain of that, the closeness of that, is still real for too many of us.

Friday August 8, 2025 

                    ⇩

Ryan Bridge: the treasury's told us what we knew all along

The $66-billion question hanging over Labour's head has been answered.

This new Treasury report tells us what we all already knew about Labour's Covid response.

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When Treasury advised them to pull back, they didn't they kept going.

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Matua Kahurangi: The nerve of Hipkins

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Peter Dunne: Labour and Capital Gains Tax

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Matua Kahurangi: Erica Stanford - Teachers will no longer mark student work

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Kerre Woodham: On the face of it, the RUC announcement makes sense

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Tony Orman: Call to stop the Emission Trading Scheme’s ‘Green War’ on New Zealanders

The Conservative Party has called on the government to repeal the Zero Carbon Act and end the Emissions Trading Scheme and all other climate-focused taxes, subsidies and regulations.

Party leader Helen Houghton made her comments following the resignation of Molesworth Station manager Jim Ward over the uncertainty of the control of wilding pines on the iconic high country station.

Ele Ludemann: RUCs inevitable

Petrol tax will be replaced with electronic road user charges:

. . . Key legislative changes the Government is progressing include: