Slowly a new future for Christchurch is unfolding. Times are difficult. Futures are uncertain. There are still many unanswered questions. What are the implications for our schools? We know that with reduced student numbers there will be a review of the school network, that less teachers will be needed and schools will be faced with some difficult decisions.
Little has been said about the future of education in this city. The Land Report maps carefully show schools sites as ‘white’ meaning that their individual futures have yet to be decided. Given the complexity of the situation this is not surprising. While the Ministry of Education has an important role in the future of our city’s schooling we cannot leave it up to them to provide vision and direction. Our principals are key players in the future of our city. Our community must also play a part. Development of a vibrant, future focused education system must be one of the key strategies for Christchurch – driven by local needs.
Our secondary schools have had the opportunity to share sites, to rethink timetabling structures and to explore other ways of curriculum delivery. While this has been stressful it has also helped school communities to think differently and find ways of making education work. As we move to a new phase of Christchurch’s redevelopment let’s maintain and grow some of these new ideas. As schools move back to their own sites, or to newly established sites, there are opportunities to deliver education more flexibly, to share school expertise, to collaborate and to move learning forward.
Good schools know that it is not wise to build a new building on the school grounds without having a whole school improvement plan in place. It’s not good enough to see a gap and put a new classroom on site just because that is where the gap is. It requires strategic vision for the future and a plan to get there. The plan needs to be flexible and acted on. On a bigger scale this is what must happen across the network of schools if we are to thrive in the future. As the picture for a new Christchurch emerges we must ensure we are future focused in terms of educational possibilities.
Last year Core Education ran a two day workshop Building Future Focused Schools, leading up to the ULearn Conference. Derek Wenmoth and I hosted this workshop, calling on expertise from around the country and the experiences of international experts from the UK and Australia. The workshop themes were vision, planning and governance; pedagogy and space; curriculum infrastructure; and buildings and architecture. There were many key ideas developed during these two days. Some of the ones that stand out for me are the importance of investing in capability development; to think collectively and respectfully; and to develop governance committed to the vision. Above all leadership is key.
One example of leadership that has led to educational transformation comes from Knowsley, not far from Liverpool, England. In 2001 the Knowsley borough decided to transform its model of education, following a review of school provision. Called Future Schooling in Knowsley, this initiative looked at the whole system of education, not just at the individual schools. They aimed to create something much more, where schools were at the heart of the community and where the traditional roles that schools had had with students were redefined.
The new initiative saw eleven secondary schools replaced with seven new Centres of Learning. These centres were community hubs not just new buildings. They offered a more personalised curriculum and explored new models of governance, leadership and management. The New Zealand Curriculum and its partner document Te Marautanga o Aotearoa were developed to be future focused, and lend themselves well to a localised approach. We have opportunities for local government and CERA to take a role in developing a localised approach in our city. The Greater Christchurch Schools Network (GCSN) has already been working to support schools make better use of fast speed broadband for learning. How can we grow a strong network of education in Christchurch?
Everyone will have their view on this. At the end of the day it must be about the collective needs of our city. Learning must be at the centre of all decision making and planning and not everyone will have their needs met. Strong leadership will be needed to drive this forward. Principals are under pressure simply trying to keep their schools running, to deal with traumatised students, teachers, parents and whanau. And a number of them are also trying to cope with their personal griefs, their own red stickered homes and their own family circumstances. We must support them and help guide the future of education.
It is time strong leadership in education to consider next steps. Like many, I have an strong investment in Christchurch. I grew up here and intend to stay here. If we picture the city’s education in ten year’s time we can either look back and think:
- We shared sites and made some changes to education during the year of the quakes. Now we have less schools but we are all back to doing the same things in the same ways as we were pre-earthquake. OR:
- The year of the quakes was a catalyst for us to rethink education in Christchurch. We now share expertise across the city and take responsibility for the education of all students across the network. We are looked to as world leaders because we have reduced disparities in education and our students are engaged in learning.
It would be a tragedy if all we thought about was closing schools, downsizing and the doing the same things we have always done in education. What if we explored new possibilities and used these difficult times to create a new and vibrant education for our city?
We have decided to take a proactive stance by providing the opportunity for others to share their ideas and suggest possibilities. If you are interested in transforming Christchurch education fill out our survey Shaking Up Christchurch Education and pass it on to others who you think might be interested.
