Advertise on podcast: The Principals (Aotearoa | New Zealand)

In this episode, we mark 100 episodes by hearing again from tumuaki across the motu about the realities of the job, then turn to anyone quietly wondering whether principalship might be for them. Our guests talk about what being ready looks like, how to prepare now, common misconceptions about the role, why governance matters and the questions to ask yourself before you apply. Hosted by Eleisha McNeill. Our guests are: Isaac Day, chief advisor in the Ministry of Education’s education workforce leadership team and former tumuaki of Enner Glynn Primary School in Nelson Kate Gainsford, immediate past principal of Aotea College and immediate past chairperson of the Secondary Principals’ Council Rebekah Watts, leadership advisor for the Ministry of Education in Central and East Auckland and former principal of Panmure District School in Auckland. Additional information Aspiring Principals Programme https://workforce.education.govt.nz/current-teachers/career-and-professional-development-opportunities/aspiring-principal-programme Govhub, governance support for school boards https://www.tewhakaroputanga.org.nz/our-services-2

In this episode, we speak with Billie Jean Potaka-Ayton, tumuaki of Kaiti School in Tūranganui-a-Kiwa Gisborne, about the work behind the school's improvement in student engagement and attendance. When data showed PB4L wasn’t working at Kaiti,  particularly for Māori boys, the school replaced it with a framework built around tipuna Māia. We discuss how that framework was designed with whānau, iwi and staff, what changed in classrooms as a result, and how the school lifted attendance after the cyclones.

In this episode, we visit Kaihere School, a rural school of 46 students on the western hills of the Hauraki Plains, where regular attendance in the term before Ngaire Harris started was sitting at zero percent. Eighteen months on, it's tracking at around 80 percent and the roll has nearly doubled. Ngaire talks us through her three-part plan of place, people and purpose: clearing nine horse float loads of rubbish out of the classrooms over the summer, reconnecting with the whānau and mana whenua who gifted the school its site in the 1940s, giving students a reason to walk through the gate, and a decision to take the school off devices. Hosted by Eleisha McNeill.

In this episode, we speak with Melissa Bell, former principal of Maniototo Area School, secondary school winner of the New Zealand Education Excellence Award for Student Engagement and Attendance. We discuss how her rural kura lifted regular attendance from 51.5% to 82.5% in just two years, how family responsibilities in a farming community shape school attendance, and the flow-on effect the changes made have had on co-curricular participation and NCEA literacy and numeracy results. Hosted by Eleisha McNeill.

In this episode, we continue the conversation with Regan, Lysandra and Jess on the practical side of AI. We discuss policy, staff training, how to work with the risks rather than shut things down, what advice they would give a principal who is only just starting out, and what a principal's role might look like in 10 years. Hosted by Eleisha McNeill. Our guests are: Regan Williams, tumuaki of Te Kura o Rotokawa in Rotorua Lysandra Stuart, tumuaki of Glenbrook School in South Auckland Jess Ward, tumuaki of Paraparaumu Beach School on the Kāpiti Coast Additional information ERO report: Ready or not: How are schools responding to Artificial Intelligence? Summary Report https://www.evidence.ero.govt.nz/documents/ready-or-not-how-are-schools-responding-to-artificial-intelligence-summary-report

In this episode, we meet three tumuaki who are already deep into using AI in their kura. They share how their interest began, what they have built, and how AI is changing planning, assessment and reporting in their schools. We also discuss what it means to keep humans in the driver's seat. Hosted by Eleisha McNeill. Our guests are: Regan Williams, tumuaki of Te Kura o Rotokawa in Rotorua Lysandra Stuart, tumuaki of Glenbrook School in South Auckland Jess Ward, tumuaki of Paraparaumu Beach School on the Kāpiti Coast Additional information ERO report: Ready or not: How are schools responding to Artificial Intelligence? Summary Report https://www.evidence.ero.govt.nz/documents/ready-or-not-how-are-schools-responding-to-artificial-intelligence-summary-report

In this episode, we sit down with Professor Stuart McNaughton ONZM to discuss his book Building on our strengths: Improving education in Aotearoa New Zealand. Rather than focusing solely on the challenges facing our education system, the book argues that understanding and building on what we already do well is key to improving outcomes for all learners. We explore what those strengths are, how they translate to the everyday work of school leaders, and what tumuaki can take from the research to strengthen their own practice and their communities. Hosted by Eleisha McNeill. Our guest is Professor Stuart McNaughton ONZM, Professor of Education at Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland, and former Chief Education Scientific Advisor to the Ministry of Education.

In this episode, we celebrate an NZEEA win in the Quality Teaching and Instruction, Junior category with the team from Sommerville School, New Zealand's largest specialist school. We discuss the four pillars behind their award winning workforce strategy and the systems that have helped lift staff retention significantly over the past two years. Hosted by Eleisha McNeill. Our guests are: Belinda Johnston, principal at Sommerville School Emma Cooper, associate principal at Sommerville School.

In this episode, we talk with Lyndy Watkinson, tumuaki of Avondale College in Auckland, winner of the NZEEA award for quality teaching and instruction at secondary level. Lyndy talks about leading one of the country's largest and most diverse secondary schools, and how that diversity shaped the school's professional learning priorities. She tell us about the the school's Teacher Growth Profile and the principles that underpin it, and how weekly timetabled PLD time has changed the way staff learn together.

Leading through the unthinkable: Blair Dravitski's story In this episode, we hear from Blair Dravitski, who was principal at Linwood Avenue School in Christchurch on 15 March 2019, when the mosque attacks took place 300 metres from his school gate. Blair talks about the six-hour lockdown, the decisions he made in real time, and the long work of supporting a community — including Muslim students and whānau — through grief, fear, and recovery. We then hear from all three guests in this series as they reflect together on what the education system needs to understand better about principals leading through and beyond crisis. Hosted by Eleisha McNeill. Our guests are: Blair Dravitski, tumuaki at Te Uru Tarata, Lemonwood Grove School, and former principal at Linwood Avenue School in Christchurch Catherine Bentley, leadership advisor at the Ministry of Education and former tumuaki of Hastings Girls' High School, Ngā Rau Huia Ākina, in Hastings John Bangma, former tumuaki of Mairehau Primary School in Christchurch.

Instinct and aftermath: John Bangma's story In this episode, we hear from John Bangma, who was tumuaki of Mairehau Primary School in Christchurch when the 22nd of February 2011 earthquake struck. Three classes of his students were in the CBD. John talks about how instinct took over, the hours of uncertainty waiting for those children to return, and the years of recovery that followed — including how the school adapted its environment and its programme to support children living through prolonged community trauma. This is the second in a series of conversations with three leaders who have each guided their school communities through significant crisis events. All three were present for this kōrero. Hosted by Eleisha McNeill.

When crisis hits home: Catherine Bentley's story In this episode, we hear from a tumuaki who found herself on both sides of a crisis at once. When Cyclone Gabrielle devastated Hawke's Bay in February 2023, Catherine Bentley was leading Hastings Girls' High School, Ngā Rau Huia Ākina, while simultaneously losing her home and navigating the trauma of her own family's displacement. Catherine speaks honestly about the decision to be visible at school while not being okay, about leaning on others through prolonged uncertainty, and about what the experience taught her about equity, community, and her own leadership. This is the first in a series of conversations with three leaders who have each guided their school communities through significant crisis events. All three were present for this kōrero. Hosted by Eleisha McNeill.

In this episode, we talk to the secondary winners of the New Zealand Education Excellence Award for Raising Student Achievement, Auckland Girls' Grammar School. Maree Flannery and Gavin Morgan discuss the moral imperative behind their work with Māori and Pasifika learners, the introduction of priority learners, and what happened when they removed streaming and reduced prerequisites for senior courses. We discuss their fortnightly extended leadership team meetings, the repositioning of deputy principals as leaders of learning, and their mentoring programme, as well as with the results that followed, including a rise in university entrance from 44 to 92 per cent. Hosted by Eleisha McNeill. Our guests are: Maree Flannery, acting principal (usually associate principal) at Auckland Girls' Grammar School in Auckland Gavin Morgan, acting associate principal (usually deputy principal, teaching and learning) at Auckland Girls' Grammar School in Auckland

In this episode, we talk to the winners of the New Zealand Education Excellence Award for Raising Student Achievement, Manurewa Intermediate. Callum Baird and Ben Nathan discuss how a shift away from inquiry based learning towards structured pedagogy, along with a deeper understanding of scale scores, changed the way staff track and target student progress. We talk about their three cycle reporting model and a cross-subject teacher check-in they call speed dating, their investment in learning support beyond their funded entitlement, and their results, including reading gains of 10.6 scale points, the biggest in ten years. Hosted by Eleisha McNeill. Our guests are: Callum Baird, deputy principal of teaching and learning at Manurewa Intermediate in South Auckland Ben Nathan, deputy principal of guidance and support at Manurewa Intermediate.

In this episode, we look at the more complex side of attendance management, exploring how principals can develop realistic plans for students with health, learning or social challenges without setting whānau up to fail. We discuss how to engage tamariki directly in the process, how to work with families who have had negative experiences of school, what external support is available, and how to communicate about attendance in ways that feel supportive rather than punitive. Hosted by Eleisha McNeill. Our guests are: Angus Woodhams, business lead for attendance management plans and the attendance programme at the Ministry of Education Brook Bowman, principal at Netherton School in Paeroa Ben Hancock, tumuaki of Tauhara College in Taupō