The Coalition Government wants every New Zealander to have access to a world-class education. That’s why we’re working towards developing a 30-year strategic approach to education in New Zealand.

Tens of thousands of Kiwis have already participated in Education Conversation | Kōrero Mātauranga and taken the opportunity to let us know their thoughts about the current education system and what it should look like moving forward. We value what everyone has to say and we know this feedback is crucial in developing an education system that is inclusive and fit for the future.

This is the same inclusive and collaborative approach we want to have with the State integrated schools sector, which has an important role in providing education throughout the country.  We acknowledge there are some challenges for the sector and we are committed to working through them together.

The Government values the choice and quality of education that State integrated schools provide, and overall we are addressing barriers and issues that students may face in education. This work will be influenced by that of the Independent Taskforce on Tomorrow’s Schools, which is currently considering the governance, management and administration of our school system and whether the needs and aspirations of all learners are being met.

We want to ensure that any future changes to the settings for State integrated schools are fair to students, parents and proprietors. This means collaborating and working together on what the future of the State integrated schools sector might look like. As the minister responsible for policy, funding rules and regulation in relation to State integrated schools, I want to build on these relationships as we look toward a system that works better for everyone.

Recently, as part of Kōrero Mātauranga I hosted extra meetings for Pacific people and ethnic communities who had low participation rates during the consultation period. Themes of equity, diversity, inclusiveness and connectedness with the community emerged from these meetings, which were also consistent with themes that came out of the Education Summit in May this year. We want all of these ideas to influence the Government’s work programme in developing an education system that delivers for New Zealanders into the future.

I am very much looking forward to engaging with proprietors on 25 October in Wellington. Your views are an essential part of delivering world-class education in Aotearoa.

Malo ‘aupito

Hon Jenny Salesa

Associate Minister of Education