Principal Consultant & Managing Director, Aho Education & International Consultancy Ltd | Senior Education Advisor – Early Learning, Ministry of Education

Ngapuhi, Ngaiterangi, Ngāti Rehua-Ngātiwai ki Aotea

I began my teaching career as a specialist Māori Arts teacher during 1999 and had the privilege of doing education workshops with young children, whānau/parents and teachers and in the early education sector where I fell in love with the idea of spending my days establishing my professional career in Playcentre Parent Education, and then later moving into Kōhanga Reo and Puna Reo as the arrival of my own tamariki began to unfold.
My tamariki became my teachers and inspired me to want to learn more about early learning and development where I later trained as a qualified Early Childhood teacher with a passion for pedagogical practice & leadership. In the later part of my career, I have held senior positions in education management, professional learning, ECE consultancy and now senior advisory positions that support sector
wide understandings of regulations & compliance and it’s bridge toward quality in ECE.

In the past 10 years I have gained Trans-Tasman professional leadership experience working across New South Wales, Australia and Aotearoa/New Zealand in professional learning and development. I have worked with facilitators to contribute toward the design, development and delivery of ECE courses across a range of subjects that have supported the teaching workforce & and gaining recognition for qualifying and accredited NSW Teachers.
In my consultancy work with KU Children’s Services, I was fortunate enough to be a significant contributor into the NSW Fair Work Commission – National Australian Workplace Tribunal in advocating for Educational Services (Teachers) Award 2020 which came into effect 1 January 2022, my advocacy role in representing KU Children’s Services, required me as an Educational Leader and Centre Manager to demonstrate how ECE Teacher perform teaching work equivalent to that of our primary teacher counterparts.
I am looking to empowering a resurgence of a strong ECE workforce from 2025, creating equitable work-based pathways for aspiring teachers to become highly skilled and strongly connected to what is possible in reimaging Early Education in a constantly changing political landscape.

I would like to see ECE work-based training courses that support Education Support Worker qualifications, that can also include allied health workers or paraprofessionals in ECE including support people working toward undergraduate degree programs from Level 2, 3, 4 & 5 pathways, where there are cross sectoral training opportunities for students to earn and learn whilst filling the gaps in our teaching workforce.
With the increased issues in ECE settings trained teachers are dealing with complex high needs with children that may have disabilities, or children recovering from injuries, or who are demonstrating behavioural management needs due to poverty, abuse or neglect. We are also seeing a rise in preschool children who are experiencing anxiety, stressors that require trauma informed practitioners who cover areas of Health, Community and Education.
I also believe, having specialist teachers in ECE that can be counted into ratio but be trained in specific areas of curriculum to deepen quality provision for ECE settings such as Literacy, Numeracy, Sustainability, STEM, Digital Technology & Literacies, Culture & Languages etc.

I see Toitu te Waiora as the provider to create a campaign around building a diverse, supported and highly skilled education, health and community industry that cross pollinates the holistic development of courses and work-based training that can recreate
the value of Early Childhood Education in the NZ workforce.