Week 9 Term 4: English Department: Department PLD - Reflect on the Past. Shaping the Future (December 01 - December 05)

Some of the English Department @ our planning day Term 4. 

The Tamaki College English Department day was a day for our team to come together, regroup, reflect 

on the past and discuss on how we want to shape our future (specifically the academic year for 2026). The department is systematically reviewing its 2025 student achievement, particularly in Junior and Senior NCEA English, and using that data as the foundation for developing the 2026 curriculum and program structure.

Reflecting on the Past

We spent time reflecting on the 'past' specifically looking at our student achievement data. We are really proud of our student achievement for 2026. Our NCEA Level 1, 2 and 3 English data shows that our students were able to achieve the full credit protocol that we offered across our NCEA Level 1, 2 and 3 English programs. We spent time in our discussion to reflect on the impact that we have as educators and the different hats that we have to wear to ensure that our students succeed and also feel safe. I believe it is paramount for educators to understand the profound scope of their influence, an impact that extends far beyond the confines of a single subject curriculum. In our daily work, we interact with a significant number of students, and our actions, even the small, consistent ones, contribute to the overall climate of the school. By intentionally stepping outside our subject-specific duties—whether it’s through simple daily check-ins, fostering a warm and inclusive classroom environment, or coordinating with colleagues to maintain a consistent approach—we are actively ensuring that every student feels safe and that they truly belong. Research underscores that a lack of belonging is a significant barrier to achievement, making the non-academic aspects of our role crucial; a teacher's broad influence is essential in fostering the secure, connected environment where deep learning and student success can flourish.

Shaping the Future

Who we teach determines what we teach is a crucial pedagogical principle, as it mandates that curriculum design must be deeply responsive to the specific needs, backgrounds, and current abilities of our students. This approach is paramount, especially after reviewing our junior school PAT data, which indicated a concerning backward shift in student progress. In response, we have made the decision to prioritize a junior curriculum that is intentionally simple, clear, and highly structured. To achieve this, we will be heavily leaning into the use of unit standards, with an expectation that each staff member will contribute by creating at least one new unit. To support this vision, units of learning have been developed for all our Junior and Senior English programs, and the goal now is to collaborate with staff to build a rich, shared bank of resources that will firmly establish the desired structure, consistency, clear expectations, and high standards for all our students.