© dglimages, Adobe Stock
<h4>As a long-standing educator with a global perspective from my base in the UK, I see New Zealand’s education system as a canvas of opportunity to inspire and empower every child through a developed and expanded teaching population, supported by strong school leaders and backed by government investment. True, that vision is shared by almost every country around the world, so how to get there?</h4>
<p>At this year&#8217;s Cambridge Conference New Zealand 2025—Curriculum, Culture, and Climate: Schools Leading in a World of Change—I shared some ideas of how to achieve this goal with school principals and educators. Here are some thoughts as to how, by leaning into key opportunities, New Zealand can shape such an education system.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.schoolnews.co.nz/latest-print-issue/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><b>Read the latest print edition of <em>School News</em> online HERE.</b></a></p>
<h4><strong>Consider the why?</strong></h4>
<p>First, we need to unite around a shared purpose. Education can fuel economic growth, nurture personal growth, and strengthen communities—but only if we agree on why we educate in the first place. When schools, government bodies, and local leaders rally around a clear vision, they create a powerful support network for students. Parents are essential in this picture too. From my observations around the world, the more involvement from parents in education, the better kids tend to do. Stepping this up is vital if New Zealand is to improve education outcomes.</p>
<h4><strong>Learning for life as well as for school</strong></h4>
<p>Getting ahead in a complex, ever-changing world requires a strong foundation of knowledge, but you also need the skills to know what to do with acquired knowledge. Competencies like collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity are essential, as is self-regulation and executive functioning—helping students manage their thoughts, emotions, and behaviours—makes way for learning. By embedding these competencies alongside knowledge-based learning in classrooms, New Zealand can empower students to approach learning with confidence and resilience, setting them up for lifelong success.</p>
<h4><strong>Remove barriers to participation</strong></h4>
<p>How to attract, engage and retain not only more students but more teachers in New Zealand schools? <a href="https://www.schoolnews.co.nz/2024/11/neurodivergent-learners-in-aotearoa/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Neurodiversity,</a> for me, describes all of us—we all have differences and strengths yet so many artificial things block incredibly diverse human potential. Recent budget commitments by the New Zealand Government, including funding for potentially two million additional teacher aide hours by 2028, reflect a renewed dedication to supporting diverse learners. This move should be applauded and optimised.</p>
<p>So many talented teachers exit early or never even enter the classroom. New teaching candidates might be dyslexic, autistic or simply not suited to standard forms of interview—internationally we are seeing a more open approach to teacher recruitment, retention, and development. From informal assessments through to involving kids in teacher selection, re-imagined approaches can welcome teachers who are inspirational role models.</p>
<figure id="attachment_13879" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-13879" style="width: 410px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="wp-image-13879 " src="https://www.schoolnews.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/AdobeStock_136958034.jpeg" alt="" width="410" height="273" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-13879" class="wp-caption-text">Reimagined recruitment processes may help more teachers enter and stay in the teaching profession | Image Adobe Stock, by dglimages</figcaption></figure>
<p>Leveraging AI that frees teachers to focus on students will also help remove barriers so that we can reimagine how we support the people—teachers as well as students—at the heart of the classroom. Give everyone a chance. Identify all barriers, keep each door open, and allow each person to be the best they can be.</p>
<p><strong><a href="https://www.schoolnews.co.nz/2025/09/how-schools-can-use-ai-to-improve-student-attendance/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Related <em>School News</em> article: How schools can use AI to improve attendance</a></strong></p>
<p>A global perspective is also essential. Our program Global Perspectives, which I helped to design, shows how we can engage students in real-world issues of global importance but with a local application. Such programs build critical thinking and cross-cultural skills which will be fundamental to education in Aotearoa New Zealand where more than one in four learners will be from an ethnic community in 20 years’ time.</p>
<p>Similarly, New Zealand curricula could mirror Cambridge’s multidisciplinary approach to <a href="https://www.schoolnews.co.nz/2024/11/new-report-finds-nz-schools-vulnerable-to-climate-change/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">climate change education</a>, embedding it across all subjects, involving students in climate change beyond science and geography across everything from business studies to art and literature. They need to know how to thrive in New Zealand’s climate-changed environment of higher temperatures and droughts.</p>
<h4><strong> Use AI thoughtfully</strong></h4>
<p>As AI transforms industries, teachers’ attitudes towards AI are now more positive. We know teachers are looking to AI for resources to teach a specific lesson, suggest engaging topic activities, develop a detailed lesson plan and more. But GenAI is an enhancer not a substitute teacher—its answers require good human prompts and evaluation. Cambridge is experimenting with a range of approaches, for example, an AI assistant trained on our syllabuses, schemes of work, and pedagogical approach, to support teachers in their work.</p>
<p><strong><a href="https://www.schoolnews.co.nz/2025/08/generative-ai-tools-used-frequently-by-interested-primary-teachers-in-nz/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Related <em>School News</em> article: Generative AI used frequently by interested primary teachers</a></strong></p>
<p>New Zealand’s education system is full of potential. By uniting around a shared vision, equipping students with knowledge and personal skills, opening pathways for all, fostering global awareness, and embracing AI thoughtfully, the country can re-set its education system to create classrooms, whether physical or virtual, where every child is ready for the world.</p>
<p><em><img class="alignleft wp-image-34675" src="https://www.schoolnews.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Paul-Ellis-2-300x199.jpg" alt="" width="179" height="119" /><a href="https://paul-ellis.net/biography/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Paul Ellis</a> is the Head of Thought Leadership for Education Futures at <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cambridge University Press &; Assessment</a>, where he has worked since 2010. He was previously a teacher and head of modern languages in schools and universities in the UK and France and worked for the IB in their regional office in Geneva, Switzerland. Paul wrote this article for School News.</em></p>

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