NZEI Te Riu Roa has welcomed recommendations that the Teachers Council be beefed up to become an independent organisation that can better provide leadership for the profession and support for high quality teaching.

The Primary Teachers’ Collective Agreement which covers 27,000 teachers has been settled after 10 months of negotiation between the Ministry of Education and NZEI Te Riu Roa.

NZEI Te Riu Roa has appealed to the Ombudsman after the Ministry of Education refused to release a list of groups that have indicated an interest in setting up charter schools.

NZEI Te Riu Roa says the interim support package for schools suffering from the Novopay debacle signals that the Government acknowledges the extent of the problems schools are facing.

The Government’s proposed Novopay support package to schools will be a first step in the right direction in compensating them for the ongoing debacle.