A vision statement
The working party agreed a vision statement:
“The Ministry, NZEI Te Riu Roa, New Zealand Kindergartens and Early Childhood Leadership share a vision for a high status kindergarten teaching workforce that delivers high quality leadership, teaching and learning, that advances every child’s success throughout their learning pathway”.
The working party built on from this vision to come up with some important core elements to guide the career development work.
The elements
“We achieve this [vision] through developing and delivering an enduring, high status, high quality career framework for Kindergarten teachers in Aotearoa New Zealand, that:
- honours Te Tiriti o Waitangi and our multicultural society
- fosters adaptable attitudes towards individual careers, enabling career choices that work for teachers and employers aligned with teachers' professional passions
- helps to create a positive public perception of careers in kindergarten teaching and leadership, building the value of this workforce
- will be nimble, adaptable and innovative to meet future needs and opportunities
- enables a diverse and inclusive workforce
- facilitates the mobility necessary to get the right people in the right place
- reflects the scope, complexity and expertise in teaching and leadership in the Kindergarten setting
- is underpinned by robust and appropriate appraisal mechanisms, linked to (Education Council) professional standards and ethics
- has clear and differentiated career opportunities for teachers and leaders (noting the role of the Education Council in setting standards for the profession) striking a balance between individual and system responsibility for career development
- is underpinned by effective initial teacher education, clear expectations for professional practice and growth, with multiple ways in which to develop and demonstrate competence
- enables kindergartens to work in collaborative ways across the system, for example in Communities of Learning | Kāhui Ako, as a feature of the system.”