9th June 2026
Today is about Clarity - connections and collaboration
MOE - Mel and Jane
See slide deck
Share required, required, encouraged
Principal Panel
"We are on a journey to improve outcomes for learners"
The things that are coming from the top down are not internal changes. Attendance Management plans are a bit different in the South. What is important for our school? How can we tuck it in behind but still be at the forefront?
We have to make the "why" of our kura the most important thing.
Where is my vision and my strategy, and how are these policy shifts affecting these? It's a long term plan, are there some quick wins?
What are the opportunities for the team to get the small wins?
What are we doing well now? Where do we want to head, and then where are the gaps?
What strategies have maintained staff morale?
- Bring everyone on the journey together, natural conversations about what is happening
- Communicate often about what is working for you (Put this on the team hui?)
- It's not about communicating quickly; it's about managing how the information is getting to staff.
- It's ok to not be on top of it, and that we are on a learning journey together, be vulnerable, and honest.
- Knowing the team is so important, what gets them excited? Who are the early adopters? Who are the rocks? Invest time in those who are ready to shift. The middle of the curve will shy away from the new things.
- Celebrate the early wins! Make it solid and show them the data.
Be the chief reminder of all the shifts happening.
Keeping everyone in the decision meeting, but in their own lane.
Keep them off the NZ teachers' Facebook page
Never underestimate the people that you employ, as they become your team.
Every change is different and can make you feel like you're still a beginner principal.
Coconstruct a literacy and maths statement - What does literacy/maths look like at Waitati School?
What resources are we using?
What does it look like when we walk into a classroom?
Came up with 10-12 key practises - if you walked in, then these are what it would look like.
Then look at the assessment - what makes a difference for the learners?
How is this sustainable? How is it going to stay? How does it continue? (SL, Math and Deeper learning?)
Making it visible in the school - what strikes us as making it seen or sustainable?
Take the curriculum - what does it look like in teacher/student speak? We need the children to understand it. Making it manageable.
The change is constant - there is always a time of change - we need to come up with what is important for the students. Takeaways for the graduate profile and what we want the Waitati tamariki to look like?
Make it intentional to celebrate the values - make sure that we get the community buy-in and that this is what they want.
It's a long-term journey - it's not quick, but it's a collaborative process. What do the parents want to read in their children's reports?
How do we keep team morale up?
The school's values and my leadership values guide where we are headed, especially when it comes to change.
Don't carry the change yourself. Who are the early adopters?
How do new people know how we do things at Waitati School? Where can someone find that?
Create those statements that are visible and available to the team. Make sure that you are measuring the change.
Resourcing people with time - this will help them.
Sense Making - Block Two
What does this mean for me as a leader?
From National Policy to local leadership -
Consider how you will enact these new requirements.
- Send a letter to the parents regarding the changes.
- Holding an online hui to tell the team more.
- Discuss with the kaiako, and then create a sheet with the new and old side by side, so that there is no confusion.
- Use the new descriptor rubrics next to the ones that we are already using, to triangulate the OTJ
- New reporting template created with these descriptors
- 3-way conferences to discuss the assessment data.
Next steps:
- Could create a timeline for the website and the team.
The values that we display in our leadership show the team who I am. Am I showing the values through this process that I want to be shown? What do people want to see in my leadership? Am I showing this?
- Walking alongside - bringing everyone along on the journey. What will the stakeholders see as I roll out this reporting system? Are they going to see what I want them to see?
Work through this as the next module - Leading change.
How do the school values align with the reporting change?
What are the short-term wins this time around?
Make a plan and have clarity about it. Planning template in the leading change section. Not having a plan is taking a risk. The planning model can be used across everything.
Use this planning template to create the change management plan for the school's strategic plan over the next three years.
Looking ahead:
Complete the following statements:
- One implication for my school is...
- One leadership priority I need to focus on is...
- One conversation I need to have soon in...
- One area where I need further support or planning is...
What are my deliberate acts of leadership taking the school further?
- BP ILP
Create a clear line of sight -
- Vision and mission
- Values
- Strategic & annual planning
- Budgeting and resourcing
- PLD
- Teaching and Learning
- Assessment
- Reporting
- Evaluation
You have to quieten the noise in education so that things link to my values. Having a line of sight is so important so they can work toward the ultimate goals.
Your BP goals should be those of your PGC. Have fewer goals so that they are achievable - be careful about what you are working towards.
Clarity creates coherence, and coherence reduces overwhelm.
The power is not in doing more, but in leading what matters most.
Leading with the community: Stakeholder Engagement
How to bring people with you on the journey of change
Light the mind, fire the heart and engage the whānau
Kotahitanga, Rangatiratanga, Manaakitanga and Turangawaewae
Strategic plan - keep it simple
One statement of a vision - where do we want to go? Keep it simple
Values - our key values
Before you start reviewing the strategic plan, do we have a clear vision and statement?
In a small school, keep it at 2 or 3,
What does our vision mean to the chn when they start and when they leave?
1. Collaborative trust
The engagement reality
The cost of isolated leadership - take the team with me on the change, so that they are on the journey with me.
1. Why is stakeholder engagement critical in leadership work?
2. Approaches to stakeholder engagement that you have seen or been part of?
Not just assuming what the community wants, co-construct things, and make sure the staff is all on board.
It's the BOT to set the strategic plan -
- Chn at the gate iPads to get their idea on.
- Give the parents things to jot down ideas.
- Google forms
-
Setting time frames for starting the strategic plan.
Term 2
- Set the stakeholders
- Do we need to change the vision and values?
- It needs to be embedded into the Kura
Typical key school stakeholders:
- Staff
- Whānau and iwi
- Students
- School BOT
- Playcentre/high schools/intermediate
- Community groups
- Cultural groups
- Local businesses
- Library
Anything that the school community has access to should be a part of it.
What is the purpose of engaging these stakeholders? Sometimes the voice is valuable, but sometimes it has a bias that suits them, not you. Why would they engage?
Core
Involved
Supportive
Periferal
What is the purpose of engaging these stakeholders?
Why would they engage?
What is their influence?
How can they contribute?
How do you move from one layer to another? A parent is an important stakeholder, but they can move to another layer.
What engagement strategies can you use?
We need to make it clear which layer they are in when you ask them: are you asking them as a parent, or in a supportive role?
Are there certain groups that have a stronger voice than others, and how will you ensure that everyone feels heard?
1. High influence/high interest - Partner and co-design
- True collaborative leadership - don't present them with the polished ideas. It's co-constructed. Highly interactive and face-to-face.
2. High influence/low interest - Consult and met needs
- Keep satisfied and aligned. Reading what they are putting out and then doing it.
3. Low influence/High interest - Involve, consult & Empower (heartbeat of the school)
- Empower and value them. Talk to the student regularly about it. Where is our vision?
4. Low influence/Low interest: Inform and monitor
- Weigh the value of the voice up. Where do they sit?
Monitor and push minimal low-cost information.
Culturally responsive practice:
NotebookLM - helpful for bringing out the key points.
Put in the 2027 strategic plan about community consultation around the vision
Understand why our vision is what it is.
How are we going to do this as a team? BOT, kaiako and tumuaki.

