Te Kura in the news

You may have heard a report on Radio New Zealand last Friday 8 June about Te Kura. The report was incorrect on several points and we feel it is important that members of our school community – students, supervisors, whanau and other education providers – are provided with the correct information.

You’ll be aware that Te Kura’s roll has expanded and diversified since the school was set up as a provider of distance education to students who lived in remote areas.  This has occurred gradually over time without full consideration of the position of Te Kura in the overall education network. 

We have been working with the Ministry of Education on a piece of work designed to improve the achievement of those students currently underserved by the sector, a large number of whom enrol with Te Kura after struggling to achieve in their local school.

Although this work is called a review, it is very different from other reviews of the school that have occurred in recent years.  The Ministry has held discussions with senior management of Te Kura and our Board of Trustees, as well as representatives from organisations we work with to support at risk students. Te Kura staff have been kept informed during this process and we intended to advise our school community through the Chief Executive’s message in the July issue of Link Up.

Unfortunately we are unable to provide detailed information on the content of the review report because it has yet to be considered by the Minister of Education. But we can tell you that the main focus of the report is on enabling schools to work collaboratively to support students’ needs and raise student achievement.

We will keep you updated via our website and Link Up. But please be assured that this review is not proposing wholesale changes to the way Te Kura operates nor is it a restructuring of the school. We hope it will lead to a more collaborative role for Te Kura within the education network and to real improvements in student achievement.

Viv Rogers
Acting Chief Executive