Cultural leadership allowance
The cultural leadership allowance is open to eligible teachers who demonstrate Māori and/or Pacific cultural expertise and leadership skills. The allocation of the allowances is limited.
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Inform
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Eligible primary and area schools have been contacted about the process to allocate 1 allowance per school.
- Key information
- Purpose of the allowance
- Eligibility requirements
- Cultural leadership allowance matrix
- More information
Key information
Cultural leadership allowances will be allocated on a permanent basis (or for the duration of the employee's fixed-term employment) from 28 January 2024.
An allowance will be $5,000 each year and paid fortnightly at the substantive rate to both part-time and full-time teachers.
Only 1 teacher at an eligible school can receive 1 full allowance, however this can be split between 2 teachers where the employer agrees. In this case, the allowance and responsibilities will be equally split between 2 teachers at $2,500 each per year.
Cultural leadership allowance allocation
Eligible phase one primary and area schools have been contacted by the Ministry of Education on 22 February about the process to allocate 1 allowance per school.
Purpose of the allowance
In collective agreement negotiations for primary and area school teachers, the parties agreed to establish a cultural leadership allowance to recognise kaiako who hold cultural knowledge and expertise.
These people are often heavily relied up on as the 'go-to' cultural leader in their school or kura when students, colleagues and the wider school community need support and guidance on cultural matters.
The intended purpose of establishing the cultural leadership allowance is to:
- recognise individual teachers’ leadership and expertise in specific cultural settings, for example, te ao Māori and/or Pacific knowledge
- build the cultural capability required of all teachers
- help retain and further cultivate Māori and/or Pacific specialist expertise, knowledge and cultural leadership that already exists in schools and kura.
The introduction of a cultural leadership allowance provides the opportunity to recognise the mahi already being done in many schools and kura by those staff with extensive cultural knowledge and cultural capabilities.
Cultural leadership allowance for kindergarten
The cultural leadership allowance supports several sector initiatives to improve cultural capabilities across the education workforce:
- Tū Rangatira: Māori-medium educational leadership – Educational leaders website(external link)
- Te Tātaiako – Teaching Council NZ(external link) [PDF, 1.31 MB]
- Ka Hikitia
- Tau Mai Te Reo
- Tapasā – Pasifika TKI(external link)
- Action Plan for Pacific Education Plan [PDF, 1.4 MB].
Eligibility requirements
To be eligible, a teacher must:
- be employed in a permanent or fixed-term position of 6 months or more under the Primary Teachers' Collective Agreement 2023-2025, Area School Teachers' Collective Agreement 2023-2025 or an equivalent individual employment agreement (IEA) in a school which is eligible for a Cultural Leadership Allowance; and
- have been selected as the teacher in an eligible school to receive the allowance (note: only 1 allowance is available for each eligible school, but this may be equally split between 2 teachers); and
- have met the professional standards relevant to their current position; and
- be able to demonstrate to their employer they are providing cultural expertise and leadership across the following settings:
- school-wide leadership – supporting staff
- school-wide leadership – supporting students
- community leadership.
No minimum classroom teaching time required
Eligible, permanent staff and employees appointed to a fixed-term role for 6 months or more in both part-time and full-time teaching roles can apply. This includes those teachers employed in senior leadership roles other than principals.
A teacher can receive only 1 cultural leadership allowance where they may work across multiple schools. The allocated allowance in an eligible school does not follow a staff member to another role in a different school.
Cultural leadership allowance matrix
The following cultural leadership allowance matrix should be used by applicants and employers to determine eligibility for the allowance.
It has been designed using the real experiences of teachers who provide cultural leadership and expertise in schools and kura. It is very likely that each school already has suitable staff member doing this mahi.
Guidance framework
The matrix is intended as a guidance framework. It's not an exhaustive list of what constitutes cultural leadership and expertise.
It is expected that cultural leadership and expertise will look different across different school communities and specific to the different cultural contexts for which the allowance is applicable in Māori and Pacific communities.
Employers can use knowledge of their school context, including Māori and Pacific whānau and wider community needs to add to this framework as necessary.
Primary and area school teachers (Māori and Pacific) allowance matrix
Cultural leadership allowance matrices in list format
| School-wide leadership – Staff | School-wide leadership – Students | Community leadership |
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Organises and/or leads pōwhiri, mihi whakatau and/or Pacific cultural practices in school settings. |
Organises and/or leads pōwhiri, mihi whakatau and/or Pacific cultural practices in school settings. | Organises and/or leads pōwhiri, mihi whakatau and/or Pacific cultural practices in school settings. |
| Organises and/or leads noho marae and/or talanoa and fono with Pacific families. | Organises and/or leads noho marae and/or talanoa and fono with Pacific families. | Organises and/or leads noho marae and/or talanoa and fono with Pacific families. |
| Develops processes, guidelines, or examples to embed te reo me ōna tikanga Māori and/or to strengthen the use of Pacific languages in the context of their curriculum, pedagogy and wider school environment. | Develops processes, guidelines, or examples to embed te reo me ōna tikanga Māori and/or to strengthen the use of Pacific languages in the context of their curriculum, pedagogy and wider school environment. | Develops processes, guidelines, or examples to embed te reo me ōna tikanga Māori and/or to strengthen the use of Pacific languages in the context of their curriculum, pedagogy and wider school environment. |
| Demonstrates and builds capacity for staff in cultural skills and competency (including but not limited to development in a specific culture’s language and customs). | Tutors cultural performance groups (for example, Kapa Haka, PolyFest). | Connects/liaises with local cultural communities and/or leaders (for example, marae, hāpu, iwi, mana whenua). |
| Advises teachers and leadership team to ensure culturally responsive practice where necessary works with colleagues to support their capability to provide pastoral care for Māori and Pacific learners. | Provides pastoral care for a specific cultural group (for example, Māori, Pacific). | Leads community engagement hui with specific cultural groups (for example, leads talanoa or fono with specific Pacific groups). |
| Provides expert advice and guidance to teachers with a specific cultural lens. For example, te reo me ōna tikanga Māori, teacher has a deep understanding of Pacific protocols and traditions. | Supports teachers and works with whānau and/or Pacific families to address issues from a specific cultural background based on their own expertise and existing relationships. |
Best practice guidance for employers
Applicants will need to demonstrate to their employer how they provide cultural expertise and leadership in line with the matrix.
An employee does not need to meet the requirements in every element of the matrix to qualify for the allowance. The matrix has been designed to facilitate quality decision making within the school’s local context and is not an exhaustive list of what constitutes cultural leadership and expertise.
Applicants are encouraged to have support when applying for this allowance. This may include nominations for cultural leadership recognition in their school or kura coming from colleagues, parents and/or whānau members. This can also be applicants having whānau or wider community representation when explaining to their employer how they provide cultural expertise and leadership in line with the matrix.
To make informed decisions, employers are encouraged to use community networks, knowledge, and expertise where appropriate, particularly with local Māori whānau, hapū and iwi and/or Pacific cultural leaders.
Review
As per the terms of settlement for primary and area school teacher collective agreements, the parties agree that the criteria for accessing the allowance should be reviewed at the expiry of these collective agreements.
The purpose of this review will be to see whether the criteria and process to access the allowance that we have developed achieves the intended purpose of establishing the cultural leadership allowance, specifically to:
- recognise individual teachers’ leadership and expertise in specific cultural settings, for example, te ao Māori and/or Pacific knowledge
- build the cultural capability required of all teachers
- help retain and cultivate more Māori and/or Pacific specialist expertise, knowledge and cultural leadership that already exists in schools and kura.
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