Ogilvy Bernie: Estimates Debate — In Committee 
Ogilvy Bernie: Estimates Debate — In Committee 
[Volume:627;Page:22148] 
BERNIE OGILVY (United Future) 
: 
 I rise to speak in this estimates debate particularly on the issue of teachers. The largest line item in the estimates concerns teachers. Because of the largeness of the monies allocated in the estimates in that regard I would like to talk a little about teachers. Teachers do matter. I do not think anyone would deny that teachers matter but we are talking about quality teachers. Quality teachers matter. This morning one or two of us including the Minister were at Newlands Intermediate for the launch of a national school strategy. That school promotes its teachers and the quality of those teachers. I was impressed by that event and I know that a lot of really good work is going on in schools around this nation. 
In order to get well-qualified quality teachers we need to bring at least three matters into the equation. I would like the Minister and others to realise that we need to have more strategic direction in teacher recruitment in order to attract quality candidates into the profession and support them throughout their careers. When it comes to strategic recruitment we need to have a system that will look at increasing the numbers when there is a shortage of teachers. Right now there is a shortage in the early childhood area and in some parts of the secondary school sector. At the same time we need an ability within the ministry to see that the number of funded places is reduced when there is an oversupply. I think that is the case at present in the primary sector. So a juggling in the strategic recruitment balance needs to take place. 
We want to help hard-to-staff schools to attract teachers. They need them and I think one of the ways of looking at that—and I am not sure whether this is in the projections in the vote—is to pay more in order to attract those quality teachers. May I also suggest that United Future recognises there is a huge difference or that a huge difference can occur when principals are properly recruited especially for those schools we know are struggling at the tail of the educational queue. Offering higher salaries and making positions more attractive for exceptional candidates to lead those schools are issues that I think need to be targeted in these estimates. United Future feels that one of the ways through that for teacher trainees is to bring in a bonded scheme whereby they are recruited and bonded through scholarships and student loan write-offs—through those types of programmes. 
We must make sure that the trainees recruited for schoolteaching are quality trainees. When the Science and Education Committee looked at that issue and at the teaching profession last year we noted that the minimum entry standards require aptitude as well as suitability for teaching. We noted I believe that we need to raise the esteem of the profession by appealing to high-performing graduates. Having stated that in that report the evidence regarding the importance of teacher aptitude is we noted far more compelling and clear than any existing evidence about teacher training as such. We heard many discussions from many providers as to what makes a good teacher training programme but there was a commonality that teacher aptitude was one of the issues that should be developed as part of the assessment of trainees. The pre-service programme should give greater recognition to prior learning as well.