Goodhew Jo: Education (Board of Trustee Freedom) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Goodhew Jo: Education (Board of Trustee Freedom) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:665;Page:13017] 
JO GOODHEW (National—Rangitata) 
: 
 I rise to speak on the Education (Board of Trustee Freedom) Amendment Bill and I say from the outset that National will oppose this bill. We heard from the previous speaker Sir Roger Douglas and I quote him that “My bill helps but it does not solve the problem.” and that in fact is exactly why National will not be supporting this bill. 
The purpose of this bill is to allow boards of trustees to have control over the employment of the teachers at their schools. It would see schools paying teachers’ salaries out of operations grants and allow boards to negotiate employment contracts with teachers. Now is not the time for us to be considering this. The National Government has a plan for the education of the 20 percent—although Sir Roger said it was 25 percent—of students who are failing to make the grade when they need to enter the workforce but the plan in this bill is not our plan. That is not what we want for education. 
I can speak with some authority on bulk funding having been the board chair of a large school that was bulk funded. I have been through the discussions with school principals and with boards of trustees and parents over bulk funding. It is quite a contentious issue. It is a battleground actually I say to Sir Roger; the member knows that it is. The bulk-funding battleground is not the battleground to be on at the moment. Having said that though boards of trustees could negotiate the employment of teachers on any terms and conditions of employment as they see fit. That clause would allow schools to offer different terms and conditions to different teachers with the effect that teachers could be paid based on performance. 
Sitting suspended from 6 p.m. to 7.30 p.m. 
JO GOODHEW 
: This bill is a return to bulk funding and it opens up performance pay for teachers. The National Government has said it will not support these measures and therefore it will not support this bill. Prior to the 2008 election the National Party campaigned on education being one of the top five most important parts of National’s policy planks but its plan for education was not this one and the National Government is delivering right now on its priorities for education. However National members will not be drawn into Sir Roger Douglas’ descriptions of us; we will say simply that we know in which direction we are heading and this is not it. 
The Government has announced a major new approach in education to focus on lifting student achievement. It is innovative and exciting for education in New Zealand. At least 50 expert practitioners will now be appointed to work closely with schools to lift student achievement and the response to that has been very very positive. Professional development for teachers and principals will be focused on how to lift students’ educational performance. This National Government is investing $36 million to help children who need extra support in reading writing and maths. This follows the identification of students needing help which was made through the national standards. The Government is continuing to help schools roll out national standards to make sure that parents receive clear plain-language reports so they know how their child is progressing against the standards. Parents said they wanted better reporting and that is exactly what national standards provides. 
As I go around the schools in my electorate of Rangitata and talk with the principals I am really heartened by the progress they are making. It has not been an easy time for them; they have told me that. I have fed their views to the Minister of Education and I have also been able to in effect answer some of their questions. I have also been able to celebrate with principals the feedback they are receiving from parents about how they are enjoying these plain-language reports provided against the national standards. We encourage parents to get in touch with their schools to discuss their child’s report so that they can see what it means for their child and to give feedback to the schools as this year is of course just an embedding year for national standards. 
Hon Member 
: They do anyway. 
JO GOODHEW 
: I just heard a plaintive little voice from across the other side of the House saying: “They do anyway.” Clearly they do not. Most of the schools I know are doing a fantastic job but when 20 percent of the children going through our schools are not achieving by the time they get to National Certificate of Educational Achievement level 2 then clearly there is room to do better and National aspires as a party and as a Government to do much better than we have been doing. 
We want to give children the best possible start in life. We want to give them the skills and opportunities they need to succeed. That is not too much to ask. We recognise that quality teaching is the key to achieving better educational outcomes and we are committed to supporting our schools and teachers. National has delivered more for education in Budget 2010 than ever before: $12 billion. It is a bitter pill for Labour to swallow—$12 billion for 2010-11 is the most ever. Therefore I conclude my speech by saying that we have a plan for the education of our students. We are working on that plan and this bill is not part of that plan.