Open Letter From Franklin Region Schools To Minister Of Education, Hon Erica Stanford

Hon Erica Stanford

Minister of Education

Parliament Building

Wellington

Tēnā koe Minister Stanford,

As the collective voice of school leaders across the Franklin region named below, we write to you out of deep professional concern and a profound duty of care to our ākonga, whānau, and communities. The scale of reform currently being driven across the sector is unprecedented. While its ambition is significant, the pace, sequencing, and lack of authentic consultation are already undermining the reform’s intent. Such far-reaching change demands urgency balanced with wisdom, and direction strengthened through genuine partnership with those who will be responsible for implementation.

At present, the rapid and overlapping expectations placed on schools are creating pressures that are neither sustainable nor educationally defensible. Our schools remain steadfast in our commitment to equity and excellence, to robust teaching practice, and to delivering the very best for our children. However, these commitments cannot be upheld when change is rolled out faster than it can be understood, resourced, or meaningfully embedded. Without adequate time, clarity, and support, the system risks superficial compliance rather than lasting improvement.

As leaders responsible for the learning and wellbeing of thousands of tamariki, we are calling for decisive action. We call for a pause on the reform programme, a full review of the timelines, and genuine consultation with the profession to ensure that the changes ahead are sustainable, coherent, and in the best interests of all learners across Aotearoa.

Pause the Reform Programme:

We request an immediate pause on further mandated roll-out until the implications of current change, and the capacity of schools to absorb it without compromising other critical work, are better understood. A temporary pause is not resistance, it is responsible system stewardship.

Schools need stability and time to implement well. Without this, the sector risks superficial compliance rather than deep, meaningful change.

Review the Timelines in Full:

A careful review of all deadlines and sequencing of reforms is required. Schools need realistic timeframes that allow for reflection, professional growth, adaptation and community voice. The current timelines place schools in an untenable position. This pressure is most acute for our rural and small schools, many of whom have only one or two teaching staff, limited release time, and no access to in-school curriculum or leadership teams. Schools simply do not have the staffing, specialist expertise, or resourcing required to meet compressed deadlines for curriculum design, assessment alignment, or the implementation of new teaching standards.

The reality is stark: without adequate time, support, and resourcing, many of our schools and especially rural and small schools, will be disproportionately disadvantaged by the current settings.

Establish Genuine Consultation With Those Who Will Implement The Change:

Consultation must be more than informing the sector. It must be authentic! Co-design must sit at the heart of reform so that change is sustainable, contextually responsive and grounded in the realities of schooling in Aotearoa. Principals and teachers are the professionals who will bring this reform to life, and their insights are invaluable. We call for structured engagement with principals’ associations, NZPF, Māori leaders, and local communities to ensure that national policy aligns with local realities.

Importantly, the voices and needs of all school types including rural country, town, faith based and kura kauapapa schools must be included, as all our our contexts differ significantly from larger urban settings. Franklin is the very example of this.

Our Unwavering Commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi:

Regardless of recent legislative changes, Franklin Principals Association reaffirms our absolute commitment to giving effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi across our motu. This is not optional work; it is foundational to who we are as a nation and essential to the success of all tamariki and tamariki Māori. Our partnerships with our mana whenua, our embedding of mātauranga Māori, and our commitments to equity and belonging remain steadfast.

This position is not political, it is principled, ethical, and grounded in our responsibility as educational leaders.

A Call for Partnership, Not Pressure:

Minister, the Franklin Principals’ Association stands ready to collaborate. We are experienced, solutions-focused, and united in our goals for lifting outcomes for all young people. What we seek is not a halt to progress, but progress that is strategic, coherent, and achievable for schools of every size and context.

Reform will only succeed when those closest to the work, principals, teachers, whānau, iwi, and communities, are heard and their voices embedded in decision-making. We urge you to lead this moment with us, not ahead of us and not without us.

We look forward to hearing from you to discuss a more sustainable and equitable pathway forward.

Nā mātou,

Ms Lysandra Stuart

President: Franklin Principals’ Association

Principal: Glenbrook School stuartl@glenbrook.school.nz

Franklin Schools:

Glenbrook School Onewhero Area School View Road School Te Hihi School

Pukekawa School Valley School Puni School Patumahoe School Te Paina School

Waipipi School Bombay School Ararimu School Mauku School Paerata School

Harrisville School Tamaoho School Sandspit School Waiau Pā School

Waiuku Primary School Pukeoware School Tuakau Primary School Maramarua School

Mangatangi School Mangatawhiri School Awhitu District School Buckland School

St Joseph’s School Akaaka School Otaua School Pukeoware School

Pukekohe North School Pukekohe East School Pukekohe Hill School Paparimu School

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