Tolley out to sell national standards

Education Minister Anne Tolley says 'It's very difficult to get over the heads of the union to individual teachers.' Photo / Supplied

Education Minister Anne Tolley is preparing her own political offensive to sell the national standards policy to counter a campaign beginning next week by the primary teachers' union, the New Zealand Educational Institute.

Mrs Tolley will travel the country holding meetings with school boards of trustees, teachers and communities to explain the policy.

The NZEI begins a bus campaign next week in Bluff and Kaitaia to campaign against the policy.

Tolley hinted yesterday that the Government would put in place extra monitoring in the policy than is planned, with a promise to change it if necessary.

But she rejected any notion of a trial, as academics and teachers want, before implementation begins this term in 2000 schools.

Prime Minister John Key called standards expert Professor John Hattie of Auckland University to the Beehive on Wednesday to discuss concerns over implementation.

Mrs Tolley also attended the meeting, where Professor Hattie suggested improvements.

Mrs Tolley said yesterday that she expected to make a further announcement in the next two weeks.

"What hasn't been clear to people was the ongoing evaluation and monitoring that we are putting into place.

"The results of that are going to be posted publicly and we are asking the [education] sector to keep an eye on those and if we need to make changes we will make them based on the outcome of that evaluation."

The technical experts group would continue to keep an eye on the policy, too. Mrs Tolley said she was keen to convince teachers but it was "very difficult to get over the heads of the union to teachers".

National standards is a flagship National policy and was part of its 2005 and 2008 election manifestos.

It sets specific standards in reading, writing and maths for children at various primary and intermediate levels and promises to let parents know whether their children meet the standard, exceed it, fall below it or fall well below it. The specifics were released in October.

Mr Key would not comment on what Dr Hattie said but said he had huge respect for him.

"I think he has been a major architect of change in New Zealand education and he is a leading light in that areas and so if he has got concerns, I take them seriously.

"While he has some concerns about implementation risk, for the most part he is extremely supportive ..."

NZEI president Frances Nelson said yesterday that the union's bus tour would last for the whole first term and she would be on the Northland bus at least next week and the week after meeting communities.

She said the invitations that she had had from boards of trustees was to present a professional view of the national standards, not political spin. The NZEI opposes the standards and is calling for a trial.

Asked about the Government's mandate to implement a policy it was voted in on, Frances Nelson said: "I think we got a new Government because people wanted a change. They didn't vote for these national standards at all; they voted for a notion of knowing what their kids were up to and to make sure everything was fine, but nobody had a clue what that actually meant at that time."

The reality was that teachers had always worked to standards.

Some schools thought it would be no change, though that was not yet clear.

She had no meeting planned with Mrs Tolley but was willing to meet to get it sorted.

Professor Hattie did not return calls yesterday.

Meanwhile, the New Zealand Principals' Federation yesterday released the results of a survey taken of more than 600 principals before school break-up last year.

Federation president Ernie Buutveld said 49 per cent of all boards had serious misgivings or some disquiet about standards.

He said only 3 per cent of the respondents had been prepared to back the standards unanimously.

He also said that school leaders were being "supported by their boards to stand up for their children".

"The Government," he said was "not given the mandate to wreck a world-leading education system. Democracy does not stop at the ballot box and poor policy is not improved by something called a mandate."