Registration and certification

The PPTA has succeeded in challenging the Teaching Council’s decisions that raised practising certificate fees and replaced triennial certification with annual certification. The challenged decisions had been implemented since 1 February 2021, but have now been quashed (overturned).

Click here to learn what this means for you

Teaching Council has released a new document called Endorser Guidelines: Issue and renewal of teacher practising certificates - February 2021

The document affirms a self-managing profession in a culture of high trust.

It outlines:

• The information a principal needs to support their endorsement decision, including how the professional growth cycle (PGC) interacts with the certification process.
• Discusses what “meets the Standards” means.
• Defines the different types of practising certificate - Tōmua | Provisional; Tūturu | Full (Category One); Pūmau | Full (Category Two), formally STC.
• Gives the range of endorsement options.
• Explains the process when a teacher does not meet the Standards.

Key points

Appraisal is no longer the process principals use for making decisions about whether a teacher meets the Standards. This is replaced by the PGC.

Decisions are to be informed by knowledge of the teacher’s everyday teaching practice so a principal may delegate this to a senior staff member.

The Council will not dictate what a school’s PGC looks like.

Principals will confirm annually that a teacher has participated in the PGC.

Principal to provide an annual statement to the teacher about whether they meet the Standards.

The annual statement can be used by the teacher if they move to a new role, or if work across multiple education settings.

The principal can delegate the endorsement process to an authorised senior staff member.
Criteria for renewal

The teacher must:

• Have completed satisfactory recent teaching – two years in the last five (the Council can exercise its discretion to approve shorter periods)
• Meet the Standards as required for their practising certificate type
• Undertake professional development
• Work on their individual goals for making progress in te reo me ngā tikanga Māori
• Confirm their commitment to the Code
• Confirm that they meet the requirements for fitness to teach
• Complete a satisfactory police vet every three years

If a teacher does not meet the standards

The teacher must have been advised that there are specific concerns about their current professional practice before beginning the endorsement process. They must also have had the opportunity to be supported to address the concerns, and have an agreed time frame for this.

If practising certificate renewal occurs during the time the teacher is engaged in a process to address issues or concerns with their practice, and the principal is satisfied they are making good progress, they can choose to endorse the teacher as meeting the Standards

In Appendix 2 there are several examples of endorsement scenarios.

Collected here (above) are a number of documents that can help schools to design systems that:
-    Are meaningful and developmental
-    Meet regulatory and employment requirements
-    Show accountability.

Often teachers find the process arduous and unhelpful. Schools' processes range from the minimal to the monstrous and a range of commercial operators are rushing in to offer expensive packages in the vacuum that many schools feel exists.
Using the resources listed on this page should enable schools to develop helpful and robust processes.

The documents are designed to be used by:
-    School leaders when designing and implementing appraisal policies and practices
-    Middle leaders in schools thinking about how to make appraisal work in their learning area or department
-    The PPTA branch if it would like to engage with the school's leadership about appraisal practices.

Professional Standards

These are the professional standards for teachers from the Secondary Teachers' Collective Agreement (STCA) and the Area School Teachers' Collective Agreement (ASTCA).

This is the document from the Teaching Council which describes the criteria.

All teachers need to be using the TCS as their registration falls due.

The TCS are now mandatory for all teachers renewing or reapplying for a Practising Certificate.

If schools are not aware of the TCS, or appear to be implementing them in ways that are onerous and low-trust, please let your field officer know.