E ngā mana, e ngā reo, e ngā hau e whā.  Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa. 

Thank you for your warm welcome, and for inviting me to speak with you today.

It is an exciting time to be Minister of Education.  It is exciting to be part of a Government with such a strong commitment to, and a real passion for, education, and a strong mandate for change. 

Since we were elected in November last year, there have been many changes. There have also been many challenges. 

I'd like to acknowledge Frances Nelson, Irene Cooper, Ian Leckie and all NZEI  delegates here today.

You all contribute to an education system in which we can take much pride. Our students achieve as well as or better than students from other countries in core areas such as reading, mathematics and science.  New Zealand's top students are among the best in the world. 

However, our system continues to under-perform for specific groups of learners.  While we compare well internationally with other OECD countries, we have greater disparities between our high and low achievers, and the gap is getting wider. Attainment gaps start at a young age, and persist as students progress through the school system. 

Around a third of school leavers fail to obtain NCEA Level 2 qualifications or higher, and our education system consistently under-performs for our Māori and Pasifika students. 

Our Government's overarching priority is to lift educational achievement and progress for all students in New Zealand. We have six priority outcomes in education, all focused on lifting student achievement.

All of these work towards equipping our nation's children and young people with the knowledge, skills and values to be successful citizens in the 21^st century.

We want to ensure:

• That every child has the opportunity to participate in high quality early childhood education


• That every child achieves literacy and numeracy levels that enable their success


• That every young person has the skills and qualifications to contribute to their and New Zealand's future


• That relevant tertiary education is provided to meet student and labour market needs


• That Māori enjoy education success as Māori


• and that the Ministry is capable, efficient and responsive in achieving education priorities.

All of our education priorities and initiatives focus on students, and that is how it should be.

Government is concentrating on what will work better for our students. We need to raise achievement and improve results, if we want to lift the performance of our economy.

We all know that taking action early is the best way to raise achievement, so I'd like now to discuss a key initiative which will make a difference to your work - the introduction of National Standards in literacy and numeracy. 

The foundation for learning throughout our schooling and our lives are skills in reading, writing and maths. 

At the moment too many of our students are not getting the literacy and numeracy skills they need.  This includes a high proportion of Māori and Pasifika children and children from poorer communities.

National Standards will help us get the best possible results for our children.

We want to see all students start secondary school with excellent numeracy and literacy skills; more students leaving school with higher qualifications; and parents, families and whānau having a clear picture of how their children are doing at school. 

Government is committed to implementing National Standards in primary and intermediate schools, starting with English-medium schools next year. National Standards will lift student achievement by providing clear expectations of what students should be able to achieve in literacy and numeracy and by when, and will help inform teaching and learning.

The Standards are due to be published and distributed to schools next month. 

Schools will be required to assess students using a variety of assessment tools and, from next year, report in plain language to parents about their child's progress and achievement in relation to the standards. 

Information will be available for principals and teachers in late 2009 and early 2010 to explain how the National Standards align with The New Zealand Curriculum and specific exemplars will be provided.

A recent report by the Education Review Office shows that 98% of schools have begun preparations to implement the new curriculum. The report shows that in Terms 1 and 2 this year, 63 percent of secondary and 56 percent of primary schools were either well underway or ready to implement the curriculum in 2010.

I congratulate you all on that readiness and acknowledge the work you are doing on this. The National Standards will be a valuable tool for schools and teachers to support the delivery of a broad, balanced curriculum.

The standards set high but attainable achievement expectations.  Students who achieve the standards year-by-year will be equipped to meet the reading, writing and mathematics demands of the Curriculum. 

Students who maintain this rate of progress can expect to achieve at least a level two on the National Qualifications Framework, which is important given the changed world our young New Zealanders face, with a minimum of level 2 NCEA as a requirement for a modern apprenticeship.

The Ministry consulted widely on National Standards, between May and July this year. 

Across the country, more than 11,000 people attended sector and parent meetings or gave written submissions.  Again, I thank those of you who took part.

Feedback has been carefully considered to inform our development and shaping of National Standards, and our implementation planning. 

Having listened to the sector's concerns, I decided that schools won't have to begin submitting data to the Ministry of Education until 2012, against targets set for National Standards achievement in their 2011 charters.

This will give schools time to develop their 2011 charters next year, and it will also allow us to work together on addressing other issues, such as how the data is presented and used.

Sector feedback has also influenced a closer alignment between standards and The New Zealand Curriculum, and the revision of some standards to make the learning expectations clearer.

Having listened to the wishes of parents, students' performance against the Standards will be reported to parents in plain language twice a year from 2010. There had been calls for reports to be sent home 3 or 4 times a year, but I believe that twice a year is about right.

Feedback from parents showed strong support for National Standards. Over 2,000 parents and family members were involved in face-to-face discussions, and 3,000 made written submissions. 

We know parents want the information about how their children are doing. As one put it, they want to know "the good, the bad and the ugly".

They want to know more about what is going on in schools so they can support their children's learning.  They would also like practical assistance and advice from schools on how to support their children.

A document summarising all feedback and the Ministry's response to it, together with NZCER's report and a Ministry analysis of the parents/whānau meetings, is available on the Ministry's website.

I am confident that the standards are robust.  New Zealand's leading numeracy, literacy and assessment experts have had close involvement with the development of the standards.  Teachers and school literacy and numeracy leaders have also provided input.

The standards describe reference points or ‘sign-posts' of achievement at each year level. 

They are supported by documents which describe learning progressions in greater detail, such as the Literacy Learning Progressions, the Number Framework, and the mathematics and statistics learning area of The New Zealand Curriculum.

An important aim is that students make progress against National Standards as well as achieving against the standards.  Using high quality assessment information and tracking achievement over time will allow schools to analyse whether students are getting the teaching they need to keep progressing in their learning.  

Students who struggle to meet the standards must be identified early and given the help they need to catch up, and the Government is providing $36 million over four years, to be allocated from 2011. 

It is also important that the Ministry of Education has accurate information about student achievement in relation to National Standards to be able to target support or interventions to the schools that need it most. 

The Ministry of Education will be providing a range of support and resources to help you to implement the National Standards.  While the majority of this will be provided in 2010, we are aware some schools may appreciate information now in order to prepare for next year.

As the end of the year can be a busy time, we are offering flexible options for supporting you in 2009.  These include web seminars (or webinars) with a range of dates and times, and opportunities to participate in or set up your own regionally facilitated information sessions.  This support will be led by the Ministry's regional offices.

Working together, we can ensure that National Standards make a difference for our younger students.

I want to briefly mention Ka Hikitia, the Māori Education Strategy. As Education Minister, I am committed to lifting the education system's performance for and with Māori.

It's relevant to everyone in education because a concerted, collaborative effort is needed.

Māori students, indeed all students, have immense potential for success.  Our schools and our system must be culturally responsive to the diversity of the learners who participate in it.

Evidence tells us that Maori students do well when their language and culture are valued and respected, and they have a good relationship with their teachers.

Lifting Māori achievement is an urgent issue for the future of the students, the education system, and our country. 

As we strive to lift achievement we are also facing the challenge of a global economic recession.  

Our Government inherited an economy that was already in trouble.  The national economy was under considerable stress from imbalances built up over the past decade.

Government spending had increased 50% in the past five years but the economy had only grown 25%.

And we are now confronted by one of the most challenging economic environments in over 60 years. We are currently borrowing $400 million a week to meet the financial requirements of government expenditure.

The effects of the global recession mean the government is facing 10 years of budget deficits, which is why we need to focus on reducing Government expenditure and on increasing New Zealand's  productivity.

Everyone across the public sector is receiving the same message - further pay increases, over and above those received in recent years, are out of line with realistic expectations, and with the realities of the economy.

I am passionate about lifting the performance of our education system and I am committed to this goal. However, in the current economic climate, we need to find ways to work smarter, better and make every dollar count.  That challenge rests on all of us.

The natural consequence of this environment is very tight economic constraints in all Government portfolios.

So we have to consider how we can make the biggest difference for our most important investment. 

And our most important investment is our children and young people. Hence Budget 2009 saw a $300 million increase in the education portfolio, with increases targeting specific areas of vulnerable students like Special Education, Maori and Pasifika and student engagement. 

Which brings me to student behaviour, an issue which concerns us all.

It must be said that the behaviour of most of the children in our schools is as good as any other generation of students.

There will always be incidents that are the actions of a small minority.  These incidents dominate the headlines because they are so rare in this country.

Typically, these incidents are unpredictable and unrelated to the schools' practices. Typically they have their origins beyond the school gate. 

We clearly need a far more radical, effective, and overarching approach to address the underlying challenges.

A number of these issues were addressed as part of the Taumata Whanonga in Wellington earlier this year, which some of you may have attended.

I have asked the Ministry to work with the NZEI and other sector groups in developing implementation of the Positive Behaviour for Learning Action plan, which will be rolled out from the beginning of next year.

The draft plan was presented to me in June, but I believed it needed a tighter focus, so asked the Ministry and sector groups to have another go. The redrafted plan came to me last month, and while the sector working group finalises the details I am working on aligning the funding required, ready for implementation from the start of next year.

There is no magic wand for student behaviour - it's important to get things right. 

A programme of prevention is at the heart of this Plan. This means more effective programmes for more children, more parents and more educators.

I intend to reprioritise $45 million in spending over the next five years to support the implementation of this plan.

The outcomes of what we propose will see parents in at-risk families supported in lifting their parenting skills, teachers receiving training in effective classroom management, and schools having the opportunity to participate in a Positive Behaviour for Learning initiative.

The aim is to reduce disruptive behaviour and improve student engagement and student achievement by supporting fewer evidence based programmes with better access to funding.

The most important factor in improving educational outcomes for every student is effective teaching.  I know that as an organisation you are focused on this. 

The work you do on a daily basis is crucial.  

Schools must be able to employ well-trained and qualified teachers, and they must be able to manage their resources to achieve the lift in performance we need. 

We need to create an environment which has the ongoing learning and development of teachers and principals at its core.

We need a workforce which meets the education needs of every student, and focuses on effective teaching and continuous improvement.

I am looking at how that can best be supported, within the current economic reality. 

I know that, like me, you are passionate about lifting the performance of our education system. I have high expectations for every young New Zealander.

In the current environment, we must find ways to work smarter, to work better and we must not lose sight of what is most important.

That is the future of our young people and the future of our country.

Finally, I'd like to encourage you to make the most of your time together for the remainder of your conference. 

Your collective expertise and your willingness to make a difference is absolutely vital to meeting our education goals.

Thank you.