Education – Youth deserve a plan that lasts

Term 3 has finished and across the Coast senior learners are preparing for their NCEA examinations and results, while younger learners are looking ahead to finishing the year well and taking their next steps.

In between, we have a general election.

Education will be part of the campaign, but for the young people in our classrooms, this is more than a debate about policy. The decisions made after November will shape what they learn, where they learn, and the support available when they need it. I would like to hear candidates answer three questions.

Firstly, will you stay the course on curriculum and qualification change? Schools and teachers have already put considerable work into understanding the refreshed curriculum and preparing for new qualifications. Our current Year 9 learners will be the first to encounter the Foundational Award in 2028, followed by the new Year 12 and 13 qualifications in 2029 and 2030.

These learners need certainty. Changing direction, slowing the work or pausing it now risks leaving an entire year group caught between systems. That does not mean every detail is beyond improvement. It means listening to teachers, resolving problems promptly and giving schools the resources to do the job well. A curriculum becomes real through the lessons teachers plan, the resources they create and the relationships they build with learners. Their expertise must be central to what happens next.

Secondly, how will you provide enough space for the Coast’s growing school communities? Our secondary schools are already bulging. The new classrooms coming to Whangaparāoa and Ōrewa Colleges are welcome, but they meet immediate demand. They don’t answer the longer-term question of how schools will accommodate future learners, and our families deserve an infrastructure plan that anticipates growth and gives communities confidence in the future.

Thirdly, who will support the learners with the greatest needs? Schools do remarkable work for young people facing complex challenges, often on very limited budgets. Teachers, counsellors, learning support staff and school leaders bring enormous commitment to that work. Commitment alone, however, cannot create the hours or specialist help that are missing.

Investing in people would help schools respond earlier and more effectively. It would ease the difficult choices we face when several learners need help at once and the support available cannot stretch to everyone. 

Elections invite big promises. For education, I would value something more enduring: a commitment to finish what has begun, build for the community that is coming, and back schools to care for every young person in front of them.

Our learners cannot put their education on hold while adults change direction. They need us to plan for their future and follow through.