Refresh of the Action Plan for Pacific Education 2023

On this page

What has changed in the refresh
Investment for the 2023 Action Plan
Monitoring the Action Plan
Download the Refresh of the Action Plan 2023 (English, Pacific languages and alternate formats)
Ordering hard copies
Research publications

What has changed in the refresh#

The refresh of the Action Plan for Pacific Education 2023 includes the Government’s current investment, more actions and captures our focus on Pacific languages in education.

The 2023 refresh of the plan includes:

a strengthened focus on Pacific bilingual and immersion education and Pacific languages in education through a change to key shift 1 and a new section on Pacific languages in education on pages 34-39
the next set of Government actions that will contribute to achieving the vision and 5 key shifts for Pacific education success.

Read more about Pacific languages in education under related links.

5 key shifts#

The 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, including growing and supporting Pacific bilingual and immersion education pathways.
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.

Investment for the 2023 Action Plan#

The Action Plan includes the following new investment in Pacific education through Budget 2021, Budget 2022 and Budget 2023:

Pacific bilingual education in schools, including additional operational funding and curriculum resources.
Professional learning and development through Tapasā, the cultural competencies framework for teachers of Pacific learners.
Development of Vagahau Niue and Gagana Tokelau as NCEA subjects.
Introduction of a Pacific bilingual and immersion teaching remuneration allowance for teachers in primary schools.

Monitoring the Action Plan#

The Action Plan for Pacific Education Measurement Framework is intended to be used:

across the 10-year lifespan of the Action Plan
to facilitate monitoring of progress on the 5 key shifts by linking them to 14 identified indicators measurable with available data
to monitor and report on progress on the Government actions.

Since the Action Plan was launched in 2020:

we have delivered 21 of the 22 Government actions identified in the 2020 version of the Action Plan
we have been responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, supporting Pacific learners and families to access education
we have developed and released a progress report to show how the Action Plan’s 5 key shifts have been brought to life since it was launched in 2020.

Download the Refresh of the Action Plan 2023 (English, Pacific languages and alternate formats)#

Action Plan for Pacific Education for 2023

DownloadDOCX159KB

Action Plan for Pacific Education for 2023

DownloadPDF14MB

Summary#

Action Plan for Pacific Education

Refresh of the Action Plan for Pacific Education 2023

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.”

Alternate formats#

New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Action Plan for Pacific Education

New Zealand Sign Language: Action Plan for Pacific Education

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.”

DownloadMP37.3MB

Audio summary - Refresh of the Action Plan for Pacific Education 2023

Alternate format - Audio

00:00

Action Plan for Pacific Education 2020-2023
2023 Refresh | Summary

The Action Plan for Pacific Education 2020-2030 maps the Government’s commitment to transforming outcomes for Pacific learners and families. It signals how early learning services, schools and tertiary providers can achieve change for Pacific learners and their families.

The Action Plan aligns with the strategic commitments for Pacific Aotearoa success and the vision for education for all Aotearoa ākonga.

The 30 year vision and the education objectives form the core of our overall approach to education:

Whakamaua te pae tata kia tina – Take hold of your potential so it becomes your reality…
Whaia te pae tawhiti kia tata – Explore beyond the distant horizon and draw it near

We are descendants of explorers, discoverers and innovators who used their knowledge to traverse distant horizons. Our learning will be inclusive, equitable and connected so we progress and achieve advances for our people and their future journeys and encounters.

This Action Plan maps how we will achieve system change to better support Pacific learners and families in five key areas. This is critical to give life to the 30 year vision for all learners and families in Aotearoa, New Zealand and to the objectives of the Pacific Wellbeing Strategy and Pacific Languages Strategy.

The Vision for Pacific Education is that diverse Pacific learners and their families are safe, valued, and equipped to achieve their education aspirations.

The five key shifts are:

1. Key Shift 1: Work reciprocally with diverse Pacific communities to respond to unmet needs, including growing and supporting Pacific bilingual and immersion education pathways.

2. Key Shift 2: Confront systemic racism and discrimination in education.

3. Key Shift 3: Enable every teacher, leader and educational professional to take coordinated action to become culturally competent with diverse Pacific learners.

4. Key Shift 4: Partner with families to design education opportunities together with teachers, leaders and educational professionals so aspirations for learning and employment can be met.

5. Key Shift 5: Grow, retain and value highly competent teachers, leaders and educational professionals of diverse Pacific heritages.

Our work in education aligns to the objectives for Pacific Wellbeing Strategy:

Vaka Moana | Performance and Improvement.
Lalaga Potu | Pacific Cultural Values and Principles.
Fale Fono | Partnership and Governance.
Te Kupega | Capability.

You can find the Strategy online here

https://www.mpp.govt.nz/programmes/all-of-government-pacific-wellbeing-strategy/ [https://tinyurl.com/2s3eas6c]

Our work in education aligns to the objectives for Pacific Languages Strategy:

Key Objective 1: Raise the value of Pacific languages.
Key Objective 2: Strengthen pathways and resources to learn Pacific languages and learn through Pacific languages.
Key Objective 3: Create opportunities to use Pacific languages more in more spaces.

You can find the Strategy online here

https://www.mpp.govt.nz/programmes/the-pacific-languages-strategy-2022-2032/ [https://tinyurl.com/my757r7h]

Our work in education aligns to the overarching objectives for the Education System:

Barrier-Free Access: Great education opportunities and outcomes are within reach for every learner.
World class Inclusive Public Education: New Zealand education is trusted and sustainable.
Quality Teaching and Leadership: Quality teaching and leadership make the difference for learners and their whanau.
Learners at the centre: Learners with their whānau are at the centre of education.
Future of learning and work: Learning that is relevant to the lives of New Zealanders today and throughout their lives.

We also want to acknowledge the significant role that families and communities play in supporting their children and young people. We value and thank them for the contributions they make every day.

The guidance and resources provided in the full Action Plan for Pacific Education can also be used by families and communities to further support their children to achieve their aspirations.

You can find the full Action Plan for Pacific Education online, here:

https://www.education.govt.nz/our-work/overall-strategies-and-policies/action-plan-for-pacific-education/ [or here https://tinyurl.com/yvfbrx2n]

What is the Government doing?

We are continuing some actions from the 2020 Action Plan for Pacific Education. We are starting some new actions and have committed to some more new actions too. We have also completed some of the actions in the 2020 Action Plan for Pacific Education.

Some of the key actions we are continuing are:

Delivering the Ka Ora Ka Ako | Food in Schools programme to provide free schools lunches for learners in areas with high levels of disadvantage.
Delivering the Unteach Racism programme.
Providing funding for innovative programmes through the Pacific Education Innovation Fund.
Supporting Pacific families through the Talanoa Ako programme.
Helping Pacific early learning services strengthen their governance and management skills.

Some of the key actions we have started are:

Setting up new NCEA Pacific subjects, including Gagana Tokelau and Vagahau Niue
Implementing the Fakailoga Tino programme to support teachers to name, negotiate and navigate racism so they can better support Pacific learners, parents, families and communities.
Supporting teachers to teach Pacific learners through the Tapasā professional learning and development programme.
Delivering new resources to support Pacific learners to plan for study and training after high school.
Looking at what teachers need to teach in Pacific bilingual education.

Some of the key actions we will start are:

Supporting Pacific school leavers and their families to make informed study decisions through the Careers System Strategy and Tahatū.
Strengthening initiatives to make learning environments in schools safe and inclusive.
Supporting more teachers to teach Pacific learners through the Tapasā professional learning and development programme.
Delivering more supports to support Pacific learners to plan for study and training after high school.
Exploring opportunities to design initiatives to grow the number of Pacific language teachers with Pacific communities.

You can find more information on all of the actions in the full Action Plan for Pacific Education.

Growing Pacific Languages in Education

Our Commitment

Pacific languages have a special place within Aotearoa and within our education system.

We will support the growth of Pacific Languages in Education across early learning, schooling and tertiary education. This includes supporting the growth of bilingual and immersion education settings[1].

Our commitment is built off the place and benefit of Pacific languages and Pacific bilingualism in Aotearoa.

This new section will mean different things for the different groups of people in our education system.

For the Ministry of Education and partner agencies, this section sets out our commitment to grow Pacific language pathways by taking specific actions.
For teachers, leaders and educators, you can use this section to plan for Pacific language pathways in your service, school, institute and community and to understand what actions the Ministry of Education and partner agencies are taking.
For families and communities, you can use this section to work with services, schools and providers to grow and support Pacific language pathways in your community and to understand what actions the Ministry of Education and partner agencies are taking.

“Schools need to be open to the basket of knowledge that our children take in with them”
Tokoroa 2022

There is significant domestic and international evidence that learners who are supported in their community languages achieve improved education and wellbeing outcomes.[2] Learning and using your language creates a greater sense of belonging, a strong sense of identity and makes you feel safe and valued in your place of learning[3]. This research aligns with the goals of the statement of National Education and Learning Priorities and the Tertiary Education Strategy

Supporting Pacific Languages in Education will also make a significant contribution to the overall health of these languages, the vision of the Pacific Languages Strategy [Web link- https://www.mpp.govt.nz/programmes/the-pacific-languages-strategy-2022-2032/ [or here https://tinyurl.com/my757r7h] for thriving Pacific Languages to build a prosperous Aotearoa and the key objectives to strengthen pathways and resources for learning Pacific languages and learning in Pacific languages.

In this work, we acknowledge te reo Māori as the indigenous language of Aotearoa, a taonga of iwi, hapū and whānau Māori and an official language of New Zealand[4]. We will look for opportunities to strengthen connections between our focus on Pacific Languages in Education and te reo Māori.

Alignment with Pacific Languages Strategy 2022 -2032

The New Zealand Government has some specific responsibilities and commitments to Pacific languages. The first Pacific Languages Strategy was published in September 2022. It identified nine target languages and described the status, current health and aspirations for these languages in Aotearoa. It also described a tailored approach to different languages to recognise these circumstances.

We will tailor provision to reflect communities’ aspirations and circumstances.

“We need to provide opportunities for those children and those families that would thrive under a bilingual and immersion system.” Tauranga 2022

We’ve worked with Pacific communities and the education sector to understand their aspirations for Pacific languages in education. We engaged with communities in 2022, as well as learning from the conversations we had on the Action Plan for Pacific Education in 2018 and 2019 [Web link- https://conversation.education.govt.nz/conversations/action-plan-for-pacific-education/ [or here https://tinyurl.com/3khzvd75] and the Pacific Languages Strategy in 2021. We have also learnt from the Leo Moana o Aotearoa survey [Web link- https://www.mpp.govt.nz/programmes/pacific-languages-survey/ [or here https://tinyurl.com/mtsvf33u]in 2021.

What we have heard from communities and the education sector has shaped this policy statement. We’re committed to tailoring provision, based on what we know about community aspirations for different language pathways and on the three factors identified in the Pacific Languages Strategy: the current state of the language, the demographics of the population, and their relationship to Aotearoa.[5]

We will use the three categories set out in the Pacific Languages Strategy to guide us:

Urgent revitalisation

Te Gagana Tokelau

Vagahau Niue

Te Reo Māori Kūki ‘Āirani

This group is characterised by high levels of language endangerment, low numbers of speakers, low intergenerational transmission and strong constitutional ties to Aotearoa with specific constitutional obligations to revitalise these languages. The largest populations of these groups in the world are found in Aotearoa, often in concentrated communities.

Strengthening Transmission and Maintenance

Gagana Sāmoa

Lea Faka-Tonga

This group is characterised by their large populations and relatively high numbers of speakers but also their sharp decline in total speakers and intergenerational transmission rates. New Zealand has a special relationship with Sāmoa, as expressed through the 1962 Treaty of Friendship. This group is a high priority for retention and maintenance efforts.

Support Community-Led Action for Language Revitalisation and Maintenance

Te Gana Tuvalu

Fäeag Rotuḁm ta

Vosa vaka-Viti

Te Taetae ni Kiribati

This group is characterised by smaller, emerging populations of language speakers with some degree of formal relationship with New Zealand. There are smaller numbers of people from these communities who are New Zealand-born and varying levels of language endangerment.

We will tailor provision to reflect communities

There are many possible approaches to Pacific Languages in Education, including bilingual and immersion education, teaching Pacific languages within the New Zealand Curriculum and supporting community education[6]. These approaches can be actioned across early learning, schooling and tertiary education.

We will work with Pacific language communities to develop a pathway forward which best responds to their aspirations for Pacific Languages in Education, together with their community and sociolinguistic circumstances and relationships with the New Zealand Government. This work will be located within the context of our overall education system and will respond to the direction of the Pacific Languages Strategy.

In practical terms, we will have an initial focus on growing new and supporting current education pathways for gagana Sāmoa and lea faka-Tonga in secondary and tertiary, and for gagana Tokelau, vagahau Niue and te reo Māori Kuki ‘Āirani in early learning.

These pathways will include bilingual early learning services, bilingual and immersion provision in primary schools, opportunities for teaching these languages as subjects in primary and secondary education, including NCEA, and pathways into tertiary education.

We know there are high levels of demand for bilingual and immersion education within the gagana Sāmoa language community and we will have an early focus on responding to this demand. We will also work with the Ministry of Pacific Peoples to support community-led action for gana Tuvalu, Vosa vaka-Viti, te taetae ni Kiribati and Fäeag Rotuḁm that responds to local aspirations and needs.

We also recognise that there are other Pacific languages and communities in Aotearoa. We will work with the Ministry for Pacific Peoples to identify opportunities to support these communities in education settings.

Information about the learner populations from these language communities and current levels of Pacific Languages in Education provision is set out in the supporting evidence brief. It will be important for the Ministry to continue to grow its data about learners and the workforce and providers of Pacific Languages in Education.

We will use a range of levers to support Pacific Languages in Education

“Empower our knowledge holders in communities with the resources and tools, to share their wisdom”, Wellington 2022

The Ministry of Education and partner agencies will use a range of levers across early learning, schooling and tertiary education to support the growth of Pacific Languages in Education. Some of these levers have already been established, while some are still under development. We will work with Pacific communities to support their leadership of Pacific Languages in Education.

We will use the levers by progressing the key actions identified in this Action Plan. You can find out about the actions we are continuing and starting and the actions we will take to grow Pacific languages in education in the full Action Plan for Pacific Education.

We will measure and report on progress on a regular basis

The Ministry of Education will measure progress and reporting to Pacific communities on a two-yearly basis through the Action Plan Progress Reports and the reporting on the Pacific Languages Strategy.

The Education Review Office is developing a Pacific Bilingual and Immersion Education Quality Framework to provide clear and consistent guidance on best practice pedagogy to early learning services and schools. This will become the basis for its review of relevant services and schools.

There is more work to do

There is more work to do to support Pacific Languages in Education in Aotearoa. In this Action Plan, we have identified the first wave of actions to provide a platform for growth. It will be necessary to update these actions on an ongoing basis.

End of information: Action Plan for Pacific Education 2020-2030
2023 Refresh | Summary

This Large Print document is adapted by Blind Citizens NZ from the standard document provided by Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga | Ministry of Education.

The logo for Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga | Ministry of Education is placed on the top left corner of the front page of this document. Slightly to the right is the logo for Te Mahau.

[1] Pacific bilingual and immersion education means at least 1 Pacific language is the medium of education instruction for 51% or more of the time (or more than 12.5 hours per week).

[2] May, S. 2020. Research to understand the features of quality Pacific Bilingual Education: Review of Best Practices. Research to understand the features of quality Pacific bilingual education: Review of best practices | Education Counts.

[3] You can read more about these benefits here- Research to understand the features of quality Pacific bilingual education: Review of best practices | Education Counts and ERO’s quality framework and the supporting evidence brief, available online

[4] Te Ture mō te Reo Māori 2016

[5] See Page 33 of the Pacific Languages Strategy- Pacific-Languages-Strategy-2022-2032.pdf (mpp.govt.nz)

[6] For the purpose of this policy statement, ‘bilingual and immersion education’ is where a Pacific language is used as a medium of instruction for 51% of class time; ‘teaching Pacific languages within the New Zealand curriculum’ means teaching a Pacific languages as a subject or as a medium of instruction for less than 50% of class time; and ‘community education’ means learning provided by community organisations.

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Resources#

The action plan has resources and guidance for early learning services, schools, tertiary providers and families and communities, including planning templates.

Ordering hard copies#

Early learning centres, schools and tertiary institutions

To order hard copies of the 2023 refreshed action plan for early learning centres, schools and tertiary institutions, visit Down the Back of the Chair or email us.

Email: [email protected]

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