2020-2030 Action Plan for Pacific Education

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What is the 2020-2030 Action Plan for Pacific Education
Designing the 2020 Action Plan for Pacific Education
Why we need an Action Plan for Pacific Education
Using the Action Plan
Action Plan response to COVID-19
Difference with previous plans
The role of Te Tiriti o Waitangi in the Action Plan
Ka Hikitia and Tau Mai te Reo
Download the Action Plan in English and Pacific languages

The Action Plan for Pacific Education 2020-2030 has a vision that diverse Pacific learners and their families feel safe, valued and equipped to achieve their education aspirations.

Action Plan for Pacific Education 2020-2030

Launch video 2020

Opening scene:

(Different shots of Pacific children and young people with their eyes closed, dreaming about their future followed by teenage girl looking directly at the camera)

Voiceover: Practices of Pacific People have navigated oceans.

These practices have been left behind by the education system.

It’s time for the education system to catch up with these innovative practices of our Pacific communities. Now it’s time to make a shift

Scene 1

(Preschool child and parent walking along holding hands)

Voiceover/text on screen: Shift: Let’s partner with our families and our young people to plan for their future

(Images of a preschool with kids, parents, teachers then Cook Island preschool teacher talking in Cook Islands Māori to the camera)

Text on screen: Toru Fetu Kindergarten – Porirua. Prime Minister’s award for excellence in strong relationships with families.

“Learning is something we all do together. It’s about creating space for families to dream and plan with their children.

Scene 2

(Primary school kids in a rural primary school running to class)

Voiceover/text on screen: Shift: Let’s get more great Pacific teachers and leaders and look after the ones we have.

(Images of a pacific teachers teaching in a classroom and 6-year-old girl talking to camera in her class)

Text on screen: Tokoroa North Primary – Tokoroa. Pacific teachers lead innovative teaching practices for all children

“Miss Ieti, is a role model. She teaches me to believe in myself.”

Scene 3

(Teenage girl studying at her home and her mother brings her a cup of tea)

Voiceover/text on screen: Shift: Let’s work together with local communities to respond to local needs

Text on screen: Aigagalefili Fepulea’I Tapua’i. Head Girl, Aorere College.

“Covid showed us how strong our community is. We need all our communities to collaborate for change. Now. It’s time to shift.”

Scene 4

(A teenager talking to a class in high school. He is speaking in gagana Samoa)

Voiceover/text on screen: Shift: Let’s confront racism and discrimination in our education system.

Text on screen: Okirano Tilaia – Christchurch. Cashmere High School Head Boy (2019). Okirano led the student response to the terror attack in Christchurch.

“Let’s work together to stop racism and discrimination. It starts with you.”

Scene 5

(A pacific class with students sitting on a Tongan mat with Tongan language teachers and a Palagi teacher then speaking to the camera in lea faka Tonga)

Voiceover/text on screen: Shift: Let’s support great teachers who can sustain the cultures of our children.

Text on screen: Lea faka Tonga Community / Christchurch Boys High School. In partnership with Christchurch High Schools they deliver Tongan Language NCEA standards.

“When our learning connects to our culture, it becomes more powerful.”

Closing scenes

(Fast, intercut images of kids running, teenage boy looking up, teenage girl with the sun behind her, young girl with eyes closed, then opened)

Voice over: It’s time for our education system to catch up with the innovative practices of our Pacific communities.

(A group of kids, of different ages and Pacific ethnicities take turns to talk to camera)

“Enable me, enable us, my community, all our communities, my family, your family - so we can grow our potential.”

(Montage of Pacific children and young people of all ages followed by teenage girl speaking directly to the camera)

“When Pacific learners and their families all across Aotearoa feel safe, valued and equipped to achieve their education aspirations, we know we have made the system shift in the right direction.

(A group of children in a hall, standing as a group)

Narration: “If you’re an educator, a parent, a family member, a community leader, a policymaker or a decision-maker, download your copy of the Action Plan for Pacific Education.”

What is the 2020-2030 Action Plan for Pacific Education#

The Action Plan for Pacific Education (Action Plan) sets out the Government and Ministry of Education’s commitment to improving outcomes for Pacific learners and their families so they are safe, valued and supported to achieve their education aspirations.

Developed through engagement with Pacific communities, the Action Plan was co-designed with the education sector, including NZQA, ERO, TEC, the Teaching Council and the Ministry for Pacific Peoples, through an interagency working group.

Launched in July 2020, the Action Plan replaces the Pasifika Education Plan 2013-2017. It outlines five key system shifts and guides early learning services, schools and tertiary providers to deliver meaningful change.

The Action Plan is regularly monitored and updated to reflect ongoing Government action.

Designing the 2020 Action Plan for Pacific Education#

The Action Plan was co-designed with Pacific learners, families, teachers, leaders and communities through a series of fono in 2018 and 2019.

They shared what matters to them in education:

an education system that is free from racism
an education that values Pacific children, young people and families as leaders of learning
an education that supports them to feel safe, valued and equipped to achieve their education aspirations.

We know that some things matter even more now because of COVID-19 like access to education, and meaningful pathways that lead to employment, learner and family wellbeing.

5 key shifts#

The Action Plan identifies 5 key shifts and a set of actions that are needed to achieve this vision:

Work reciprocally with diverse Pacific communities to respond to unmet needs, with an initial focus on needs arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Confront systemic racism and discrimination in education.
Enable every teacher, leader and educational professional to take coordinated action to become culturally competent with diverse Pacific learners.
Partner with families to design education opportunities together with teachers, leaders and educational professionals so aspirations for learning and employment can be met.
Grow, retain and value highly competent teachers, leaders and educational professionals with diverse Pacific whakapapa.

Why we need an Action Plan for Pacific Education#

Effective practice exits where Pacific identities, languages and cultures are valued.
Collaborative learning and strong family to community connections support Pacific learner success.
Pacific communities strongly value education and hold high aspirations.
Ongoing issues persist despite repeated engagement, causing frustration.
Communities want a more coordinated, culturally responsive approach.
The Action Plan aligns system-wide action and invests in Pacific-led solutions.

Using the Action Plan#

Early learning services, schools and tertiary providers play a key role in shaping the experiences of Pacific learners and families.

The Action Plan provides practical guidance, resources and suggested action to support Pacific success. This includes planning templates to help you understand what is happening for Pacific learners in your setting and how to put the Action Plan into practice.

Supporting materials are available in the full Action Plan document.

You might start by:

using the template (pages 76-79) to assess experiences and outcomes for Pacific learners and families in your community
referring to Talanoa Ako - Make it HAPPEN: Have an Action Plan for Pacific Education resource to help prioritise focus areas.

Talanoa Ako - Make it HAPPEN: Have an Action Plan for Pacific Education – Tāhūrangi

The guidance can then support you to identify resources and actions that respond to learner and family voice.

Families and communities can also use the Action Plan to reflect on education experiences and priorities. The Action Plan includes guidance, resources and a community planning template (pages 80-81) to support this reflection.

Action Plan response to COVID-19#

Developed before COVID-19, then adapted as the pandemic disrupted learning nationwide.

COVID-19 intensified inequities for Pacific learners and families, including financial barriers and access to learning.

The Action Plan shifted to working reciprocally with Pacific communities to address urgent and unmet needs (2020-2022).

Key actions included:

expanding Food in Schools in high disadvantage areas
delivering the Pacific Education Innovation Fund
delivering the Pacific Education Support Fund.

Difference with previous plans#

Previous plans	Action Plan for Pacific Education (2020 – 2030)
5-year Pacific Education Plans – have not given sufficient time and support for change to happen.	This Action Plan has a 10-year vision and 5 key shifts needed to realise the vision. Actions will be updated every two years to respond to current needs and aspirations. This means that actions must be formulated off of unmet needs to see real change.
Previous plans have focused solely on Government actions with the Ministry of Education and other agencies as the main users.	This Action Plan maps actions of the Government and education partners and also provides tools for places of learning and communities so that they can create their own actions.
Previous plans have been national level plans.	The implementation of this Action Plan will involve the development of local regional plans that can respond to the unique and diverse needs that each region has.
Previous plans were not monitored frequently and findings were not systematically used to inform changes to the plans.	We aim to regularly monitor and report on the Action Plan. Where possible, findings will be used to inform new actions and investment.
Ministry of Education data usually focuses on Pacific as one group and previous plans had actions that were not ethnic-specific.	Where possible, this Action Plan will seek to use data that is ethnic specific so that actions and regional plans are responsive to the experiences and aspirations of diverse groups.
Previous Government actions for Pacific education have often been fragmented and have not been the core focus of broader Government strategies.	Many of the actions in the Action Plan will be undertaken as part of core Ministry business and information gathered through monitoring will be shared broadly across the Ministry to make sure all Ministry actions are supportive of Pacific success, as well as keeping communities, schools and agencies informed and involved in the next phases of implementation.

The role of Te Tiriti o Waitangi in the Action Plan#

Te Tiriti o Waitangi (Te Tiriti) is a key framework for Pacific people in New Zealand and for the education system. Throughout our fono, many Pacific communities expressed their commitment to Te Tiriti and tino rangatiratanga for tangata whenua.

We acknowledge tangata Māori as tangata whenua and acknowledge Te Tiriti o Waitangi as the guiding foundation for Aotearoa. We acknowledge te reo Māori as the indigenous language of Aotearoa, a taonga of iwi, hapū and whānau Māori and an official language of Aotearoa New Zealand. We honour and commit to Te Tiriti o Waitangi. We acknowledge the past, present and future unique and familial relationships between tangata whenua and tagata moana nui a Kiwa (Pacific Peoples).

Te Tiriti is the guiding document for Pacific peoples in New Zealand and for the education system. Throughout our 2018 and 2019 education fono series, many Pacific communities expressed their commitment to Te Tiriti and tino rangatiratanga for tangata whenua. Diverse Pacific communities are reflected in Te Tiriti through their position as tauiwi. Achieving equitable outcomes in education as tauiwi is an essential part of working in partnership with Māori because it honours the intent and articles of Te Tiriti.

Ka Hikitia and Tau Mai te Reo#

Ka Hikitia and Tau Mai te Reo, like the Action Plan for Pacific Education, are cross-agency strategies for the education sector. Ka Hikitia and Tau Mai te Reo sets out how we will work with the education sector to achieve system shifts in education to support Māori learners and their whānau, hapū and iwi to achieve excellent and equitable outcomes, and to grow te reo Māori through education and grow education through te reo Māori to protect and promote the Māori language for future generations.

The Action Plan for Pacific Education maps how education agencies can achieve the 30-year Vision for Education for Pacific learners and families by setting 5 key system shifts to achieve equitable outcomes for Pacific learners.