ACE AOTEAROA MEMBERS E-Newsletter
May 2009
Tena kotou katoa.
Hui/Fono 2009
ACE Aotearoa is hosting the second annual Hui/Fono for Māori and Pacific Adult and
Community Education practitioners. It is to be held at Ngā Hau E Whā Marae in
Christchurch on June 11-12, 2009. The key objectives of the 2009 Hui/Fono are:
 Ensuring Māori voices and Pacific voices are heard in community education
 Ensuring Pacific faces and Māori faces are seen in community education.
Some funding is available to subsidise travel. To organise your attendance and
accommodation, e-mail amanda@aceaoteaora.org.nz or phone (04) 499 8604 or text
021 1495899. More information at www.aceaotearoa.org.nz
Adult and Community Education Conference: Embracing the Future. Kia
whakapumau te wai kai te heke
Te
Puna
Wanaka,
Christchurch
Polytechnic
Institute
of
Technology,
Otautahi/Christchurch, June 12-14. Register for this great annual event now! The hard
working Christchurch Organising Group is making a huge effort to make this event
memorable. Keynote speakers include Dame Lady Carol Kidu DBE MP, Minister for
Community Development, Papua New Guinea; Te Ururoa Flavell MP, Member for
Waiariki, Māori Party and Dr Wayne Cartwright, Chair of Sustainable Aotearoa New
Zealand. TEC CEO Roy Sharpe is opening the conference. A travel subsidy to attend the
conference is available for some groups. For more information about the travel subsidy
and registration see the ACE Aotearoa website. www.aceaotearoa.org.nz
Adult Learners’ Week/He Tangata Mātauranga
Information about this year’s celebration of Adult Learners’ Week/He Tangata
Mātauranga including contact details for regional coordinators is now on the ACE
Aotearoa website. The national launch is in Gisborne and hosted by Tairawhiti REAP.
National Executive Meeting
The National Executive met in Wellington April 29-30. Bronwyn Yates, Pauline Winter
and Peter McNeur have joined the Executive to fill various vacancies. The focus of the
Executive meeting in April was finalising remits to the AGM to resolve ambiguities in the
Constitution, finding a way to bring the Executive vacancies cycle back to the intended
pattern, planning for the AGM, and approving the Business Plan. Pauline Barnes and
James Turner from TEC met with the Executive to discuss options for ongoing support
for ACE networks and changes at TEC.
Nominations for Executive; change in number of vacancies
The Executive advises there are now four vacancies up for election at the June AGM,
rather than three as previously announced. These are now 2 Tangata Whenua and 2
Tangata Tiriti vacancies. This will bring the cycle of vacancies back to that intended by
the Constitution. Nomination forms are attached and on the website.
ACE Sector Strategic Alliance
The ACE Sector Strategic Alliance met on April 28th and welcomed new member Mike
Eru representing Te Ataarangi Trust. Christine Hertzog reported back on research she
has been undertaking for the Alliance on TEC funding policies and inconsistencies in
how funding is split between different part of the sector. Some agencies which are
receiving their core funding from other Votes get access to the TEC ACE pool, while
others, which have ACE as their core business, are not being funded, or receive very
little funding. She pointed to very different definitions of ‘the ACE sector’ (TEC,
PricewaterhouseCoopers etc). Alliance members noted the lack of a TEC policy
direction for ACE and the need for the Alliance to help inform the TEC. There was
discussion on the need for the Alliance to be united and work towards the most desirable
funding model.James Turner briefed the Alliance on key changes at TEC. These include:
 Two teams of performance analysts will look at the performance of organisations that
TEC fund. There will be a need to demonstrate performance and value for money.
 There will be a less prescriptive approach from the TEC;
 There may be an open market for EFTS.
 There is likely to be more aggregation of funds (eg combine the foundation learning
and training opportunities pools) and fewer rules, perhaps with an emphasis on
literacy and numeracy - combined with a student earning achievement factor.
 The concept of the investment plan won’t change, but there will be less discussion
about what goes into the plan, and if the outcomes are not achieved, there will be
consequences.
 The TEC will make sure that all key messages will go out to sector in a way that is
clear, timely, and shows the rationale for restructuring rationale for restructuring. The
Service Centre will be the place to contact for information.
Launch of English Language Partners New Zealand
English Language Partners New Zealand (formerly ESOL Home Tutors) new name was
launched on May 15 at the annual conference in Auckland. The new name reflects the
diverse range of programmes and services now offered by the organisation.
Virtual Learning Planning Day
Virtual learning enthusiasts are invited to participate in a planning day on 15th July 2009
at ACE House 192 Tinakori Rd, Thorndon, Wellington, 10am-3pm. The objectives are:
 to plan two Adult Community Education Courses to be offered nationally on the
Virtual Learning Network in Term 1 and Term 2, 2010. A host school will be
identified for each course.
 To plan for one Adult Community Education Professional Development opportunity to
be offered nationally on the Virtual Learning Network in the first half of 2010. A ‘host’
body will be identified to facilitate this. Six to ten people would be an ideal working
group. RSVP to Colin Wharton (cwharton@newlands.school.nz) for catering
purposes before Friday 26th June.
Professional Development Grants
Second round of PD Grants closed 20 March. There were 51 applications from a very
wider range of organisations involved in some form of adult community education.
Applicants ranged from large national or regional organisations such as Youthline NZ to
and REAP’s through to ACE Networks and social service organisations who provide
adult education as part of their work. About 30 percent of applicants were Māori groups
or networks. A challenge is to increase the very small number of applicants from Pacific
groups. Compared to Round 1 which was mostly Small Grants applications, the majority
of applicants for Round Two were for Innovation Grants ( $10-30,000). Overall Round 2
attracted double the number of applications compared to Round One. Just over
$373,000 in PD Grants will have been allocated to the sector by June.
New Zealand Tertiary Education Summit
Minister of Education, Anne Tolley outlined her vision for the tertiary education sector at
the New Zealand Tertiary Education Summit held on April 29. The Minister talked about
achieving the right balance between having certainty about overall spending and giving
education providers the freedom to be innovative in their response to economic and
community needs. The needs of students and the economy should drive the provision
of tertiary education and a simplified funding system, lower compliance costs and less
central planning would support this. Quality information about the outcomes of publicly
funded tertiary courses such as completion and retention rates are needed to inform
choices in tertiary education investments. No mention of adult community education….
Ako Aotearoa Advisory Role for Tauranga ACE Co-ordinator
Otumoetai College Adult and Community Education Co-ordinator, Sue Hawkins has
been appointed to the Ako Aotearoa Northern Hub Advisory Group as the ACE sector
representative. Sue has been the ACE Co-ordinator at Otumoetai for more than 15
years and is currently the Co-ordinator of the Western Bay of Plenty ACE Network. She
is a past member of the CLASS Executive and TEC funded ACE professional
development pilot project team in 2007/2008.
The Ako Aotearoa Northern Hub Advisory Group is made up of people who collectively
represent the various parts of the tertiary landscape in the northern region. Their role is
to work within the terms of reference as set by the Ako Aotearoa Board which includes
strengthening the links between Ako Aotearoa staff and the different sector groups, the
identification of issues across the stakeholder spectrum and to assist with the selection
of regional projects.