New Zealand Post Primary Teachers' Association / Te Wehengarua (PPTA) advice to members who have discovered problems with their pay.

Email Minister Joyce about your Novopay

Novopay problems? Advice to PPTA members on how to read and check their payslip (548 KB, 20 pages) Error in payscale step 4 corrected 17 April 2013

Fix my novopay postcards - available from your branch chair

Media release - PPTA launches group legal action over Novopay

Teachers to sue over Novopay

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Download Novopay impacts report (59 pages, 619.89 KB)

Novopay help list

• If you have a query about your pay make sure the authorised user in the school contacts Novopay and gets a “ticket number” — always send this to PPTA if you need further support, along with your MOE number and relevant payslips/emails.

• Even though the new system can be difficult for staff in your school to deal with that’s not a reason for teachers (or other staff) to go unpaid, or be underpaid. It is OK for you to request that you be paid correctly and on time.

• You can contact your PPTA field office at any time if you have any questions or concerns about your pay. You don’t have to wait until things become terrible.

The November - December 2012 issue of PPTA News: the newsletter of the New Zealand Post Primary Teachers' Association / Te Wehengarua (PPTA).

PPTA News v.33 (9) Nov-Dec 2012

Table of contents

Collegial spirit is our power - President's viewpoint p.3;
Capitalising the classroom (Education Amendment Bill no.4) p.4;
Double bunking : cosy or claustrophobic? p.4;
Principals could take desperate measures p.5;
Using professional judgement online p.6;
Facebook as a study aid p.6;
Ratify or reject? Either way a fight's brewing p.7;
Novopain: Your guide to straightening pay problems p.8;
Fighting a "feeding frenzy' of anxiety (2012 PPTA Annual Conference)  p.9;
Are schools being told "sink or swim"? (Annual Conference) p.9;
Charter schools: the New Orleans lesson (Karran Harper Royal, Annual Conference) p.10;
Angry birds and happy people (Pasi Sahlberg, Annual Conference) p.11;
Cross-party panel gives political ray of hope (Annual Conference) p.11;
Flash mob kicks off parental leave campaign in Auckland (Annual Conference) p.12;
Speaking out (Bullying) p.14;
Short-order Shakespeare p.15;
Introducing the Digital Citizenship Project p.15;
Teaching history: the times, they have a-changed (Letter) p.16;
Staffing whoops not quite an apocalypse (re short term relief costs - staffing entitlement) p.16;
Sharpen up or shut up (re North and South October 2012 article " Why kids should take over the classroom") p.17;
Book reviews - Professional Capital (Hargreaves & Fullan) and History Matters (Harcourt & Sheehan eds) p.18;
Sub standard deviations (Longstone's dubious statistitcal claim re socio-economic status) p.19;
Focus on NCEA alignment p.20.

The September - October 2012 issue of PPTA News: the newsletter of the New Zealand Post Primary Teachers' Association / Te Wehengarua (PPTA).

PPTA News v.33 (8) Sept-Oct 2012

Table of contents

The government spins out of control p.3;

Analysis from the Ministry of Catch-Phrases p.4;

Wellington joins campaign for a living wage p.5;

New label, same threadbare suit of ideas p.6;

Your vote counts (Presidential team elections) p.7 - 9;

Boundaries with boarders - the limits of the STCA - Field officers' advice p10;

Charter schools may reject science - Letter p.10;

Downplaying NCEA success p.11.

Download the Sept / Oct 2012 issue of the PPTA News (1.5MB)

Tweet

PPTA News article responding to comments made by Principal youth court judge Andrew Becroft at the New Zealand School Trustees Association conference.

Should schools be a hub for social services?

Principal youth court judge Andrew Becroft is calling for more at-risk students to be kept at school and YouthLaw legal advocates recommend an independent appeal panel be set up.

Behaviours that lead to suspension and exclusion need early intervention

PPTA president Robin Duff welcomed the increased interest in the welfare of at-risk students but felt the advice offered by both parties was somewhat off the mark, given the issues created by Tomorrow’s Schools and the lack of resources and support available for those students.

Duff also felt the complex social issues discussed were being over simplified.

“Both parties focus on the issues affecting young people who are excluded from school but not the issues that lead to them being excluded in the first place,” he said.

Becroft spoke to a recent New Zealand School Trustees Association conference about reducing the rates of stand-downs, suspensions, exclusions and expulsions and argued that staying in school was a hugely important protective factor against crime. This prompted Duff to write to the judge.

School 'choice' and competition work against keeping disruptive children in school

“PPTA strongly advocates for a safe and inclusive public education system but there are competing tensions between these goals. Balancing this is one of the more difficult roles of boards of trustees and school leaders and increasingly it is becoming clear that the market pressures of Tomorrow’s Schools has contributed to this,” Duff said.

Becroft believed schools should become a hub for social service provision for those at-risk students.

Schools as a social service hub is a great idea but NZ must first move away from a market approach to education

Duff recognised the wider social good of this ideal but said it was quite a different goal from what many parents wanted for their own children.

“Our research shows that over 70% of parents are concerned about disruptions to their children’s learning from other students.

Teachers’ experience is that parents’ first priority is the academic success of their own children.”

In light of this Duff believed the real focus of Becroft’s message should be parents and communities.