Deidre Shea's guest appearances

Deidre Shea

The Mike Hosking Breakfast

Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

Vincent McAviney

Bindi Norwell

Jack Boyle

Israel Folau

Ron Mark

Nick Wilson

Sharon Zollner

Donna Demaio

Tony Blakely

Martin Dunn

Bernie Sanders

Joanna Pidgeon

Rod Carr

Grant Robertson

Kevin Bowler

OwlTail

Flight attendant Melissa Ezekiela always knew she'd return to teaching one day - she just didn't expect it would be this year.Like many other former teachers who have moved into different careers, the 40-year-old has found herself back in the classroom after being made redundant when the border closed in March.It's something that has come as a blessing for the profession which has seen the pre-Covid teacher shortage reduce dramatically.Ezekiela, who had been working as an Air New Zealand flight attendant for five years, is one of hundreds of New Zealanders who are returning to teaching from other jobs or from overseas, or deciding to train as new teachers, since the Covid recession hit.Statistics NZ says schoolteachers was the biggest single occupational group of returning Kiwis from April to August, accounting for 816 of the 13,303 NZ citizens who came home in those five months.Secondary Principals Association president Deidre Shea said the turnaround from pre-Covid teacher shortages was "exciting"."Many of my colleagues and I have experiences with people applying who, if it hadn't been for the events of this year, probably wouldn't have been returning to teaching," she said.Council of Deans of Education chair Professor Letitia Fickel said applications to enrol for teacher training next year have also jumped - by 36 per cent at her university, Canterbury, where applications have doubled in three years from 510 at this time in 2017 to 836 at this time last year, and 1139 today."Many of those expressing interest in the undergraduate programmes would be first-in-family to university and a bit more seasoned people - not 18 years old, they might be late 20s to early 40s," she said."They are often mothers who have decided to go into teaching after having children, or people who have left the private sector doing other jobs and have figured out that they are more than capable of doing university-level study."Ezekiela, a mother of two, worked as a teacher aide before training as a teacher, then decided to become a flight attendant after several years teaching."A friend of mine I had been to university with left teaching and flew with Air NZ and she encouraged me to do the same," said the mother-of-two."It was always something I wanted to do from a young age, and I thought if I'm going to do it I need to do it now."I loved it. When you love people, it's a good job for you. I genuinely enjoyed working with adults."Over five years she worked her way up to training the new crew and doing all the checks before takeoff and landing on domestic, trans-Tasman and Pacific Island flights."I knew that at some stage in the future I would come back to teaching, it was always an option for me," she said."But at that time, it wouldn't have occurred to me, because I loved my job. Air NZ is a great company to work for, they look after you."Then Covid hit. At first, it meant wearing masks and social distancing, which upset the ability to interact with passengers that had made the job enjoyable.When the border closed to all except NZ citizens on March 19, Air NZ made about 900 cabin crew redundant. Ezekiela opted to go on a "furlough" list, becoming redundant in July but available to be called back if needed.Meanwhile, she applied for a job as a teacher of new entrants at Stanhope Rd School in Mt Wellington - the same school where she once worked as a teacher aide.Principal Zane Wilson couldn't believe his luck."It's really hard to get experienced teachers for a new entrant class in Term 3. Most people who apply are first-year teachers, and you don't want someone fresh out of school for new entrants," he said.Equally, Ezekiela "felt very lucky that after being out of it for five years there was a school that was willing to take a chance on me". She started on July 20."At first, I have to say it was a little bit of a shock to the system. They are two very different working environments," she said."But it all started coming...

Flight attendant Melissa Ezekiela always knew she'd return to teaching one day - she just didn't expect it would be this year. Like many other former teachers who have moved into different careers, the 40-year-old has found herself back in the classroom after being made redundant when the border closed in March. It's something that has come as a blessing for the profession which has seen the pre-Covid teacher shortage reduce dramatically. Ezekiela, who had been working as an Air New Zealand flight attendant for five years, is one of hundreds of New Zealanders who are returning to teaching from other jobs or from overseas, or deciding to train as new teachers, since the Covid recession hit. Statistics NZ says schoolteachers was the biggest single occupational group of returning Kiwis from April to August, accounting for 816 of the 13,303 NZ citizens who came home in those five months. Secondary Principals Association president Deidre Shea said the turnaround from pre-Covid teacher shortages was "exciting". "Many of my colleagues and I have experiences with people applying who, if it hadn't been for the events of this year, probably wouldn't have been returning to teaching," she said. Council of Deans of Education chair Professor Letitia Fickel said applications to enrol for teacher training next year have also jumped - by 36 per cent at her university, Canterbury, where applications have doubled in three years from 510 at this time in 2017 to 836 at this time last year, and 1139 today. "Many of those expressing interest in the undergraduate programmes would be first-in-family to university and a bit more seasoned people - not 18 years old, they might be late 20s to early 40s," she said. "They are often mothers who have decided to go into teaching after having children, or people who have left the private sector doing other jobs and have figured out that they are more than capable of doing university-level study." Ezekiela, a mother of two, worked as a teacher aide before training as a teacher, then decided to become a flight attendant after several years teaching. "A friend of mine I had been to university with left teaching and flew with Air NZ and she encouraged me to do the same," said the mother-of-two. "It was always something I wanted to do from a young age, and I thought if I'm going to do it I need to do it now. "I loved it. When you love people, it's a good job for you. I genuinely enjoyed working with adults." Over five years she worked her way up to training the new crew and doing all the checks before takeoff and landing on domestic, trans-Tasman and Pacific Island flights. "I knew that at some stage in the future I would come back to teaching, it was always an option for me," she said. "But at that time, it wouldn't have occurred to me, because I loved my job. Air NZ is a great company to work for, they look after you." Then Covid hit. At first, it meant wearing masks and social distancing, which upset the ability to interact with passengers that had made the job enjoyable. When the border closed to all except NZ citizens on March 19, Air NZ made about 900 cabin crew redundant. Ezekiela opted to go on a "furlough" list, becoming redundant in July but available to be called back if needed. Meanwhile, she applied for a job as a teacher of new entrants at Stanhope Rd School in Mt Wellington - the same school where she once worked as a teacher aide. Principal Zane Wilson couldn't believe his luck. "It's really hard to get experienced teachers for a new entrant class in Term 3. Most people who apply are first-year teachers, and you don't want someone fresh out of school for new entrants," he said. Equally, Ezekiela "felt very lucky that after being out of it for five years there was a school that was willing to take a chance on me". She started on July 20. "At first, I have to say it was a little bit of a shock to the system. They are two very different working environments," she said. "But it all started coming...

Deidre Shea: How the teacher shortage is dramatically reducing post Covid-19

The Labour Party has promised to spend an extra $600 million over the next four years on boosting childcare teachers' pay if it is re-elected next month.The promise to "work towards pay parity" between kindergarten teachers and teachers in the rest of the early childhood education (ECE) sector is the centrepiece of Labour's education policy for the election, unveiled by Education Minister Chris Hipkins at a Porirua childcare centre today.It does not promise to achieve parity within its next term of government, but has earmarked $600m towards boosting ECE teachers' pay."If re-elected, Labour will ensure all 17,000 teachers working in education and care centres are paid what they deserve," Hipkins said."A significant pay gap has built up over time. The previous National Government stopped the practice of passing on increased kindergarten funding rates that met the cost of pay settlements to education and care services, as had been done previously."The lowest paid education and care teachers have already received a pay boost to bring them in line with kindergarten teachers' pay from 1 July this year."Labour's policy launch comes one day after the National Party launched its own education policy, which did not mention pay parity but promised to "continue to lift minimum pay requirements for qualified ECE staff".Labour has abandoned the centrepiece of its 2017 education policy - expanding fees-free tertiary education from one year in its first term to two years in its second term and three years in its third term."Labour will retain the first year of the fees-free programme, but not extend the programme into additional fees-free years," Hipkins said."We will be targeting our additional tertiary education spending in areas that are critical for the country's economic recovery in the post-Covid environment. Initiatives such as free apprenticeships and targeted areas of vocational training will be prioritised, supported by the reform of the vocational education system which we will be completing if re-elected."Labour has already implemented free access to apprenticeships and to many trades training courses over the next two years using Covid-19 funding. Its policy does not provide for continuing this policy beyond the next two years.The other spending commitments in Labour's policy are:$200m a year for free lunches for all children at the most disadvantaged quarter of schools by the end of next year.$400m over four years to reform the school system including creating an Education Services Agency within the Ministry of Education, setting up an independent complaints system, strengthening governance and leadership, establishing a Curriculum Centre, a more managed approach to approving new ECE centres and expanding the network of Maori-language schools.$320m over four years to replace the current decile-based school funding system with a new system based on an "equity index" measuring the social backgrounds of all students in all schools.$15m over four years to "make sure schools in all our communities are able to deliver quality online learning to all their students if we have another [Covid-19] outbreak".$10m over four years to "develop tools to better understand children and young people's learning progress" and implementing changes to the National Certificates of Educational Achievement (NCEA).

The Labour Party has promised to spend an extra $600 million over the next four years on boosting childcare teachers' pay if it is re-elected next month. The promise to "work towards pay parity" between kindergarten teachers and teachers in the rest of the early childhood education (ECE) sector is the centrepiece of Labour's education policy for the election, unveiled by Education Minister Chris Hipkins at a Porirua childcare centre today. It does not promise to achieve parity within its next term of government, but has earmarked $600m towards boosting ECE teachers' pay. "If re-elected, Labour will ensure all 17,000 teachers working in education and care centres are paid what they deserve," Hipkins said. "A significant pay gap has built up over time. The previous National Government stopped the practice of passing on increased kindergarten funding rates that met the cost of pay settlements to education and care services, as had been done previously. "The lowest paid education and care teachers have already received a pay boost to bring them in line with kindergarten teachers' pay from 1 July this year." Labour's policy launch comes one day after the National Party launched its own education policy, which did not mention pay parity but promised to "continue to lift minimum pay requirements for qualified ECE staff". Labour has abandoned the centrepiece of its 2017 education policy - expanding fees-free tertiary education from one year in its first term to two years in its second term and three years in its third term. "Labour will retain the first year of the fees-free programme, but not extend the programme into additional fees-free years," Hipkins said. "We will be targeting our additional tertiary education spending in areas that are critical for the country's economic recovery in the post-Covid environment. Initiatives such as free apprenticeships and targeted areas of vocational training will be prioritised, supported by the reform of the vocational education system which we will be completing if re-elected." Labour has already implemented free access to apprenticeships and to many trades training courses over the next two years using Covid-19 funding. Its policy does not provide for continuing this policy beyond the next two years. The other spending commitments in Labour's policy are: $200m a year for free lunches for all children at the most disadvantaged quarter of schools by the end of next year. $400m over four years to reform the school system including creating an Education Services Agency within the Ministry of Education, setting up an independent complaints system, strengthening governance and leadership, establishing a Curriculum Centre, a more managed approach to approving new ECE centres and expanding the network of Maori-language schools. $320m over four years to replace the current decile-based school funding system with a new system based on an "equity index" measuring the social backgrounds of all students in all schools. $15m over four years to "make sure schools in all our communities are able to deliver quality online learning to all their students if we have another [Covid-19] outbreak". $10m over four years to "develop tools to better understand children and young people's learning progress" and implementing changes to the National Certificates of Educational Achievement (NCEA).

Deidre Shea: Labour's $600m for childcare teachers' pay, replace decile system

Auckland University will admit students without University Entrance next year if they've been badly affected by the Covid-19 lockdowns but their teachers believe they can cope with university study.University vice-chancellor Professor Dawn Freshwater has written to Auckland high-school principals, reassuring them that good students can still go to university despite losing almost nine weeks of classes in the region's two lockdowns this year.Principals and final-year school students are relieved at the gesture.Luke Orbell, head boy of Manurewa High School where only 58 per cent of students have returned after the latest lockdown, said he was unable to submit any work in two of his subjects during heightened restrictions."I think it will relieve a lot of stress for people. It definitely relieves stress for me."Secondary Principals Association president Deidre Shea said it was "heartening" that universities understood the problems students faced this year."They will be listening to us if we say this particular person may or may not achieve the required grades, but we recommend them as being ready and appropriate for this course," she said.Some South Auckland principals have called for scrapping the external exams for the National Certificates of Educational Achievement (NCEA) in Auckland this year and allowing teachers to "derive" grades from students' previous work.Auckland Secondary Schools Principals Association president Steve Hargreaves wants to keep the exams but says Auckland students should be allowed up to four extra "bonus" credits on top of up to eight bonus credits available for all students sitting NCEA Levels 2 and 3 this year after the national lockdown between March and May.Asked about the principals' calls, Education Minister Chris Hipkins said: "We are constantly looking at that ... we are always getting feedback."The University of Auckland announced after the first lockdown that it would "place a stronger emphasis on Year 12 results than in the past" and would no longer require NCEA "rank scores" for entry to specific courses.All NZ universities also agreed that for 2021 they would not enforce the normal rule that students who do at least six months in Year 13 cannot apply for "discretionary entrance" based on their Year 12 results.Professor Dawn Freshwater told principals: "We are open to considering a recommendation from you as to their suitability for university study." Photo / SuppliedFreshwater told principals that "these changes, along with NZQA's change to the University Entrance requirement, will enable students on a track to access university study in 2021, to do so, despite Covid-19-related disruptions"."But we are also aware that there may be a small number of students whose programme of study has been so severely impacted by Covid-19 that they are unlikely to meet even these modified requirements for 2021," she wrote."For these students we are open to considering a recommendation from you as to their suitability for university study."She said the university would soon announce preparatory programmes for students to take over the summer if they have not achieved University Entrance (UE) or the specific requirements for their chosen courses.Manurewa High School students (from left) Florence Folasa, Luke Orbell and Janny Jones are relieved that universities will admit some students without University Entrance in 2021. Photo / SuppliedJanny Jones, another Manurewa High School Year 13 student who wants to study engineering at Auckland University next year, said she was not sure if she could achieve all the prerequisites."I need to put the time in," she said. "I personally have that time but I know, speaking for my school, a lot of people don't."Florence Folasa, also in Year 13 at Manurewa, wants to study social work next year but said the lockdowns had undermined her confidence."We have lost the self-belief in ourselves. We are all doubting ourselves, that we might not ma...

Auckland University will admit students without University Entrance next year if they've been badly affected by the Covid-19 lockdowns but their teachers believe they can cope with university study. University vice-chancellor Professor Dawn Freshwater has written to Auckland high-school principals, reassuring them that good students can still go to university despite losing almost nine weeks of classes in the region's two lockdowns this year. Principals and final-year school students are relieved at the gesture. Luke Orbell, head boy of Manurewa High School where only 58 per cent of students have returned after the latest lockdown, said he was unable to submit any work in two of his subjects during heightened restrictions. "I think it will relieve a lot of stress for people. It definitely relieves stress for me." Secondary Principals Association president Deidre Shea said it was "heartening" that universities understood the problems students faced this year. "They will be listening to us if we say this particular person may or may not achieve the required grades, but we recommend them as being ready and appropriate for this course," she said. Some South Auckland principals have called for scrapping the external exams for the National Certificates of Educational Achievement (NCEA) in Auckland this year and allowing teachers to "derive" grades from students' previous work. Auckland Secondary Schools Principals Association president Steve Hargreaves wants to keep the exams but says Auckland students should be allowed up to four extra "bonus" credits on top of up to eight bonus credits available for all students sitting NCEA Levels 2 and 3 this year after the national lockdown between March and May. Asked about the principals' calls, Education Minister Chris Hipkins said: "We are constantly looking at that ... we are always getting feedback." The University of Auckland announced after the first lockdown that it would "place a stronger emphasis on Year 12 results than in the past" and would no longer require NCEA "rank scores" for entry to specific courses. All NZ universities also agreed that for 2021 they would not enforce the normal rule that students who do at least six months in Year 13 cannot apply for "discretionary entrance" based on their Year 12 results. Professor Dawn Freshwater told principals: "We are open to considering a recommendation from you as to their suitability for university study." Photo / Supplied Freshwater told principals that "these changes, along with NZQA's change to the University Entrance requirement, will enable students on a track to access university study in 2021, to do so, despite Covid-19-related disruptions". "But we are also aware that there may be a small number of students whose programme of study has been so severely impacted by Covid-19 that they are unlikely to meet even these modified requirements for 2021," she wrote. "For these students we are open to considering a recommendation from you as to their suitability for university study." She said the university would soon announce preparatory programmes for students to take over the summer if they have not achieved University Entrance (UE) or the specific requirements for their chosen courses. Manurewa High School students (from left) Florence Folasa, Luke Orbell and Janny Jones are relieved that universities will admit some students without University Entrance in 2021. Photo / Supplied Janny Jones, another Manurewa High School Year 13 student who wants to study engineering at Auckland University next year, said she was not sure if she could achieve all the prerequisites. "I need to put the time in," she said. "I personally have that time but I know, speaking for my school, a lot of people don't." Florence Folasa, also in Year 13 at Manurewa, wants to study social work next year but said the lockdowns had undermined her confidence. "We have lost the self-belief in ourselves. We are all doubting ourselves, that we might not ma...