Hipkins Chris: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeHipkins Chris: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 25 June 2014. Volume:699;Page:18869. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]10.CHRIS HIPKINS (Labour—Rimutaka)to the Minister of Education: Is she satisfied that the $359 million Investing in Educational Success Programme is the most effective way to invest that money to lift student achievement; if so why?Hon HEKIA PARATA (Minister of Education):Tēnā koe Mr Speaker. Yes; evidence shows that quality teaching and school leadership have the greatest in-school influence on student achievement as the member is on record agreeing.Chris Hipkins: What specific evidence does she have that removing great teachers from their own classrooms and replacing them with relievers while they go off to work in other schools will raise student achievement?Hon HEKIA PARATA: I can refer the member to a wealth and a body of evidence up on the Ministry of Education website. We know that professional collaboration—Chris Hipkins: Name one.Hon HEKIA PARATA: Well Professor Fullan has talked at length about the point of collaborating. Professor Stuart McNaughton has talked about how to raise achievement in difficult areas. We have evidence in the best evidence synthesis that says in a meta-analysis of 800000 pieces of evidence the two biggest in-school effects are quality teaching and quality leadership.Chris Hipkins: Why is she confident that the policy can even be implemented when 69 out of 73 regional principal representatives at a recent meeting voted total no-confidence in the policy or does she expect the applications for the new roles to materialise out of thin air?Hon HEKIA PARATA: The president of the New Zealand Principals Federation in reporting on that particular meeting said that there were 72 members there and with a show of hands they said that they felt it was unworkable. Since then they have continued to be members of the working group—Chris Hipkins: Brilliant—69 out of 73.Hon HEKIA PARATA: Well Mr Hipkins there are 52000 people in the full-time workforce and 100000 in the part-time workforce. We are beginning planning for negotiation with the teacher and principal unions and we will wait for their views on that. In the meantime we have had reports of support all around the country.Chris Hipkins: In that case will she rule out legislating for the policy’s implementation in the event that teachers and principals vote against it during their bargaining; if not why not?Hon HEKIA PARATA: In response to the member for the New Zealand Educational Institute can I say that—Mr SPEAKER: Order! That sort of commencement of an answer will not help the order of this House.Hon HEKIA PARATA: We will not predetermine the outcome. We are looking forward to hearing back from teachers and principals and what we are hearing is very positive.Chris Hipkins: Has she seen the comments by John Prescott president of the North Otago Principals Association who has argued that the policy will do little if anything to raise student achievement and he also said it was fraught with difficulties and unworkable; if so why does she continue to press ahead when those who are supposed to do these new jobs are clearly saying they do not think they will work?Hon HEKIA PARATA: No I have not seen those particular comments. But can I point out to the member—[Interruption] Those particular comments. But can I point out to the member that there will be no compulsion for people to apply for these 250 principal positions out of a pool of 2500; or for the 5000 lead teacher positions out of a pool of about 100000; or for the 1000 expert teacher roles out of that same pool.