The Inquiry’s first report was released recently and the recommendations for education make interesting reading.
The New Zealand education system faced significant challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. Pre-existing inequities in access and outcomes for Māori and Pacific peoples were exacerbated by the shift to remote learning. Many students, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, struggled with online learning due to lack of digital access and support.
The government responded with significant funding to support the transition to remote learning and to mitigate the social and economic impacts of the pandemic on education. However, the effectiveness of these measures varied, and many students and teachers experienced challenges with remote learning.
While some groups, such as Māori and Pacific peoples, were disproportionately affected by the pandemic, others, such as essential workers, also faced significant challenges. The pandemic highlighted the importance of preparedness and resilience in the education system, and the need to address existing inequities to ensure that all students have the opportunity to succeed.
(A summary overview of aspects of the report related to education via Google Gemini.)
The Inquiry’s Phase One report is available to read in full here.
Recommendations from the Inquiry for the schooling sector:
“Continue to coordinate planning work within the schooling sector (including peak bodies) which will allow schools and places of education to remain open as much as possible in a pandemic – by, for example, pivoting to remote learning, flexibility of the curriculum, teacher capability for teaching in online and hybrid learning environments, and planning for student access to digital devices and connectivity.“
My emphasis. There is so much work to do in developing a post-covid resilient schooling system that has not happened! We really need to make changes now so we are not in the same position next time.
Read our submission to the Commissioner that outlines our experience during and after the pandemic and recommendations to support a resilent schooling system to be better equipped to meet the challenges and uncertainties of future disruptive events.