Children focus of education gathering

BANDING TOGETHER: New Zealand educators are in Rotorua for the NZEI Te Riu Roa annual conference. PHOTO/ANDREW WARNER

Teachers, principals and support staff from around New Zealand have gathered in Rotorua to share best practice and discuss ways to overcome issues faced by the sector.

More than 350 educators are in the city this week for the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa annual conference.

The theme of the conference is "It's Got To Be About The Child", emphasising the importance of putting the best interests of children and their learning at the centre of any education system changes.

NZEI Te Riu Roa campaigns director Stephanie Mills said vigorous discussion and debate was expected over the four-day conference.

"It has been a tumultuous 12 months in education, including the introduction of the Education Council, freezing of early childhood education funding, and developments in the NZEI-Ministry Joint Initiative.

"The conference is about educators getting together and looking at how they can best do their jobs in the face of these obstacles while keeping the child at the centre."

Ms Mills said local students were invited to speak as part of this year's conference theme.

"This is a good opportunity to hear from the students directly about the influence of teachers and how they were encouraged to reach their full potential."

Rotorua Girls' High School Year 13 student Te Aumihia Hapeta spoke at the conference, along with Rotorua Boys' High School student Arona Kerei and Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Rotoiti's Perez Kerei.

Te Aumihia told the Rotorua Daily Post she was scared of speaking at the conference at first but enjoyed sharing her perspective.

"What I really wanted to stress is how important it is as a teacher to build relationships with students. It's a two-way street and if a student feels like their teacher believes in them, they are more likely to succeed.

"All it took was one teacher telling me I could do it for me to actually step out of my comfort zone and give it a go."

The conference will run until midday tomorrow. For more information, go to www.nzei.org.nz