NCEA - Have your say Talk to us about the future of NCEA Public Engagement: 27 May – 19 October 2018 Employers

Why review NCEA? NCEA was introduced over 15 years ago. From 2020–2030, more than 500,000 students will gain NCEA. It’s a really flexible qualification that works for many young people, but we know we can make it better for everyone. This year, we have a powerful opportunity to explore ways to strengthen NCEA so it works well for all New Zealanders. The review of NCEA is part of the wider national Education Conversation | Kōrero Mātauranga in Aotearoa New Zealand. conversation.education.govt.nz/ncea The Government wants everyone – children, young people, parents, teachers, employers, iwi, families, and whānau – to have a conversation about building not just a better education system, but the world’s best. Because second-best isn’t good enough for our young people or for New Zealand.

Kia huri tātou ki te arotake Let’s review…

What does NCEA mean for employers? New Zealand businesses need a diverse and highly capable workforce. We need our NCEA graduates to be ‘work ready’. The Ministry of Education has been told that NCEA should: provide young people with the literacy, numeracy, digital, and financial skills that employers are looking for help young people develop critical skills, attitudes, and competencies for a successful future provide its graduates with a Record of Achievement that tells employers what a young person can do. What would need to change for this to happen? Businesses needs workers who are highly capable and bring a diverse range of skills and capabilities. We need graduates from the NCEA system to emerge ready for action. That’s good for business and it’s also good for our young people – NCEA should help set them up so they have the skills and competencies they need to enjoy success from the moment they enter the workforce.

We need the voice of employers! Over the next few months, we’re aiming to engage with thousands of New Zealanders from diverse backgrounds. We really want to hear what employers think about NCEA. What works well? What’s not so great? What could be better? [Note to presenter: You might want to allow a moment for people to turn to a neighbour and share their immediate thoughts.] We need to get this right! The future of our country and the well-being of all young New Zealanders relies on our making sure that when young people enter the workforce, they have the skills, knowledge, attitudes, and capabilities that are necessary for success. What do you like about NCEA, and what do you dislike? What opportunities can you see for improving NCEA so it better supports young New Zealanders to transition into employment?

Engagement activity so far The public consultation started on 27 May and runs until 19 October. Been extended for 1 month to allow people more time to have their say. People all over the country have been sharing their views and experiences of NCEA – the challenges, the successes, what they like, and what we can do better.   As at 20 August: - Over 1,500 people attending workshops on NCEA - 5,000 survey responses - 150 in-depth interviews underway and 53 focus groups underway - Over 50,000 interactions on social media - July Co-lab – 150 teachers, principals, students, union and employer and sector reps As at July/August

A set of discussion documents The Big Opportunities document contains ideas that are intended to provoke, inspire, and encourage the kōrero on NCEA. The Ākonga Māori document tells the story of the NCEA Review from a Māori perspective. The purple discussion document sets out the background to the review. You can find the set of three discussion documents online: https://conversation.education.govt.nz/discussion-docs The big opportunities document sets out a set of ideas intended to spark the national conversation about NCEA. The Ākonga Māori document tells the story of the NCEA Review from a Māori perspective. The purple discussion document explains the background to the review, including the principles that guide the whole process.

He aria nui ... some big opportunities We need to hear about your experiences with NCEA. What works well now? What’s not working so well? Nothing in these big opportunities is completely new, but we need to hear your thoughts on whether we should use them to strengthen NCEA. These are not the only possibilities. Tell us what you think would make NCEA even better! NB for presenter. Use the video links and /or audience handouts to provide details of each Big Opportunity, as appropriate. For this group, there is likely to be a strong focus on BO2, BO3, and BO5. The Big Opportunities could mean: Young people enter the workforce with the skills, knowledge, attitudes, and capabilities that are necessary for success. NCEA graduates have the literacy and numeracy skills needed to be ‘work ready’. A young person’s Record of Achievement shows just what they have learned and what they can do. Students at Levels 2 and 3 get to explore potential pathways to study, training, or employment. What do you think about the Big Opportunities?

Tell us what you think? What are the key skills, knowledge, attitudes, and capabilities you’re looking for in an employee? We know literacy and numeracy are important. What about digital literacy? Financial literacy? Soft skills like civics competencies? How could the Record of Achievement be improved to make it more useful to employers? How could NCEA be used to help students at Levels 2 and 3 to explore pathways to potential careers? What other ideas could strengthen NCEA for employers? [Note to presenter: These questions may help to focus the group’s discussions.] The Ministry wants to hear from you, starting today. It wants employers to have their say on how they have interacted with NCEA in the past and how it could be an even better qualification. Have a think about these questions: What are the key skills, knowledge, attitudes, and capabilities you’re looking for in an employee? We know literacy and numeracy are important. What about digital literacy? Civics literacy? Financial literacy? How could the Record of Achievement be improved to make it more useful to employers? How could NCEA be used to help students at Levels 2 and 3 to explore pathways to potential careers? What other ideas could strengthen NCEA for employers? What are your thoughts? What other questions come to your mind?

Not in scope Some things are not in scope for the NCEA Review, but they may be worth discussing because they affect how NCEA works: NCEA is standards-based Both achievement and unit standards count towards NCEA University Entrance and NZ Scholarship Awards Individual achievement and unit standards and resources. Note to presenter: This is an optional slide – you may not need it but questions might come up that mean it is useful to explore what’s not directly in the scope of this review. Just hide the slide if you don’t need it. These topics are excluded from the scope of this NCEA Review. 1. Standards-based assessment (i.e. anyone who meets the standard achieves. NCEA is not norm-referenced – there is not a limited percentage of candidates allowed to pass, as in our old system) 2. NCEA includes both achievement and unit standards. It is “Multi-field” – both of these (1&2) are core features of NCEA 3. UE and Scholarship are awards, not qualifications, and operate independently of NCEA. (Though they will, no doubt, be discussed in so far as they have impact of NCEA programme design and delivery.) 4. Individual standards and resources are not in scope – but start thinking about these and be ready to discuss them in 2019 when they will be the subject of a further review. Recommendations from the NCEA Review may well impact on this 2019 Review of Achievement Standards.

Kei te whakarongo mātou We are listening… Have your say Jump online and take our quick survey to tell us about your experiences of NCEA   NCEA Make Your Mark competition If you are aged between 5-20 years old there are four opportunities to share your experience and tell us what you think about NCEA. There are over $35,000 in prizes or grants up for grabs. Public submissions If you have lots to say, a detailed submission might be the best way to share your views. Make your submission online. Teacher participation Join or host a conversation about NCEA or find out how your school or kura are involved.   Youth-to-Youth conversations We want to hear what students think. You can contribute online or have your say as part of the NCEA Make Your Mark competition. Get social Stay in the loop on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and an online AMA. #NCEAHaveYourSay #NCEAReview #EdConvo18 [Note to presenter: There are many ways to ensure the ideas that emerge from group’s discussions feed into the review – which of these would work best for this group?] There are many ways for you and your group to have your say: Online surveys A national competition - NCEA Make Your Mark aimed at engaging all young people in the review. Details of the four categories and what’s up for grabs can be found at www.conversation.education.govt.nz/conversations/ncea-have-your-say/make-your-mark-competition/ Online public submissions can be in any form that works for you (see next slide) Social media hashtags: #NCEAReview, #NCEAHaveYourSay, #EdConvo18. The outcomes of all discussions and debates, submissions, survey responses and face-to-face feedback will inform the final recommendations the Minister takes to Cabinet on the future of NCEA so we want to capture all voices and viewpoints. If you still have questions about NCEA Review or engagement process, email ncea.review@education.govt.nz

Have your say today! Quick survey Take the quick survey to share your experiences of NCEA and how it could be improved for everyone.   Survey on NCEA and the Big Opportunities This survey gives you the chance to share what you think about NCEA and the Big Opportunities. Detailed submission If you have lots to say, a detailed submission might be the best way to share your views. You can either upload your own document or fill in the online form. Note to presenter: Based on your group’s discussion of the Big Opportunities, capture the key ideas and themes to share with the rest of New Zealand. You could do this in a document of your own making or by using the online submission form. You might want to delegate this task to a small sub-group from this gathering or you might be ready to upload your submission right now. As well as making a group submission, do encourage your participants to take one or both of the surveys. Thanks so much for organising this session! Ngā mihi. Thanks for taking part in the kōrero on the future of NCEA. conversation.education.govt.nz/ncea