2020 Action Plan for Pacific Education

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Designing the 2020 Action Plan for Pacific Education
Progress on the Action Plan for Pacific Education 2020–2030
Action Plan for Pacific Education 2020

The Action Plan for Pacific Education 2020-2030 has a vision that diverse Pacific learners and their families feel safe, valued and equipped to achieve their education aspirations.

It outlines the actions the Government has committed to achieving this vision and signals how early learning services, schools and tertiary providers can achieve change for Pacific learners and their families.

Action Plan for Pacific Education 2020-2030

Launch video 2020

Opening scene:

(Different shots of Pacific children and young people with their eyes closed, dreaming about their future followed by teenage girl looking directly at the camera)

Voiceover: Practices of Pacific People have navigated oceans.

These practices have been left behind by the education system.

It’s time for the education system to catch up with these innovative practices of our Pacific communities. Now it’s time to make a shift

Scene 1

(Preschool child and parent walking along holding hands)

Voiceover/text on screen: Shift: Let’s partner with our families and our young people to plan for their future

(Images of a preschool with kids, parents, teachers then Cook Island preschool teacher talking in Cook Islands Māori to the camera)

Text on screen: Toru Fetu Kindergarten – Porirua. Prime Minister’s award for excellence in strong relationships with families.

“Learning is something we all do together. It’s about creating space for families to dream and plan with their children.

Scene 2

(Primary school kids in a rural primary school running to class)

Voiceover/text on screen: Shift: Let’s get more great Pacific teachers and leaders and look after the ones we have.

(Images of a pacific teachers teaching in a classroom and 6-year-old girl talking to camera in her class)

Text on screen: Tokoroa North Primary – Tokoroa. Pacific teachers lead innovative teaching practices for all children

“Miss Ieti, is a role model. She teaches me to believe in myself.”

Scene 3

(Teenage girl studying at her home and her mother brings her a cup of tea)

Voiceover/text on screen: Shift: Let’s work together with local communities to respond to local needs

Text on screen: Aigagalefili Fepulea’I Tapua’i. Head Girl, Aorere College.

“Covid showed us how strong our community is. We need all our communities to collaborate for change. Now. It’s time to shift.”

Scene 4

(A teenager talking to a class in high school. He is speaking in gagana Samoa)

Voiceover/text on screen: Shift: Let’s confront racism and discrimination in our education system.

Text on screen: Okirano Tilaia – Christchurch. Cashmere High School Head Boy (2019). Okirano led the student response to the terror attack in Christchurch.

“Let’s work together to stop racism and discrimination. It starts with you.”

Scene 5

(A pacific class with students sitting on a Tongan mat with Tongan language teachers and a Palagi teacher then speaking to the camera in lea faka Tonga)

Voiceover/text on screen: Shift: Let’s support great teachers who can sustain the cultures of our children.

Text on screen: Lea faka Tonga Community / Christchurch Boys High School. In partnership with Christchurch High Schools they deliver Tongan Language NCEA standards.

“When our learning connects to our culture, it becomes more powerful.”

Closing scenes

(Fast, intercut images of kids running, teenage boy looking up, teenage girl with the sun behind her, young girl with eyes closed, then opened)

Voice over: It’s time for our education system to catch up with the innovative practices of our Pacific communities.

(A group of kids, of different ages and Pacific ethnicities take turns to talk to camera)

“Enable me, enable us, my community, all our communities, my family, your family - so we can grow our potential.”

(Montage of Pacific children and young people of all ages followed by teenage girl speaking directly to the camera)

“When Pacific learners and their families all across Aotearoa feel safe, valued and equipped to achieve their education aspirations, we know we have made the system shift in the right direction.

(A group of children in a hall, standing as a group)

Narration: “If you’re an educator, a parent, a family member, a community leader, a policymaker or a decision-maker, download your copy of the Action Plan for Pacific Education.”

Designing the 2020 Action Plan for Pacific Education

Through the fono series of 2018 and 2019, Pacific learners, families, teachers, leaders and communities shared what matters to them in education:

an education system that is free from racism
an education that values Pacific children, young people and families as leaders of learning
an education that supports them to feel safe, valued and equipped to achieve their education aspirations.

We know that some things matter even more now because of COVID-19 like access to education, and meaningful pathways that lead to employment, learner and family wellbeing.

5 key shifts

The Action Plan identifies 5 key shifts and a set of actions that are needed to achieve this vision:

Work reciprocally with diverse Pacific communities to respond to unmet needs, with an initial focus on needs arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Confront systemic racism and discrimination in education.
Enable every teacher, leader and educational professional to take coordinated action to become culturally competent with diverse Pacific learners.
Partner with families to design education opportunities together with teachers, leaders and educational professionals so aspirations for learning and employment can be met.
Grow, retain and value highly competent teachers, leaders and educational professionals with diverse Pacific whakapapa.

The Action Plan was co-designed with Pacific communities through a series of fono in 2018 and 2019.

The Action Plan was refreshed in 2023.

Refresh 2023 of the Action Plan

Progress on the Action Plan for Pacific Education 2020–2030

Since 2020, we have delivered 21 of the 22 priority Government actions identified in the 2020 Action Plan.

One action was overtaken by COVID-19 events, with funding repurposed towards the Tulī Takes Flight scholarships, as part of the goodwill package accompanying the Dawn Raids apology.

Monitoring of progress on the Action Plan has found that while some Pacific learners are experiencing the benefits of participating in education, many are not, and the COVID-19 pandemic has had ongoing impacts.