Hon Hekia Parata

Minister of Education
1 July 2016

Expert assistance for Communities of Learning

Education Minister Hekia Parata today announced that Communities of Learning are to get expert partners to work with them on their achievement challenges.

“Some 117 Communities of Learning have now been formed to focus on students’ whole education pathways from early learning to tertiary and the specific learning challenges of every child.

“Information and data is now available like never before and it is essential that the best use is made of it to lift learning,” Ms Parata says.

“Academics and expert practitioners will be contracted to work alongside the communities to strengthen their data analysis and problem definition and identify the professional learning and development opportunities that will most help their teachers to accelerate student achievement.”

Ms Parata has also recently announced that Communities of Learning are able to appoint their leaders as soon as they are established rather than waiting until their achievement challenges have been endorsed.

About 1,000 schools, teaching more than 320,000 children, have now formed themselves into Communities of Learning.

Of the Communities of Learning that have been established, 23 have had the achievement challenges they have identified endorsed and 15 have appointed COL leaders. In addition just over 300 teachers have been appointed to new teaching roles within Communities of Learning.

The communities, funded through the Government’s $359 million Investing in Educational Success initiative, receive additional funding to enable teachers and principals to share teaching and leadership expertise.

The expert assistance will be funded through existing education funding.

More information about Communities of Learning can be found here.

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