The submission calls for structures that ensure that education and skill needs are considered in future planning

This paper argues that the aspirations of the curriculum will be realised when we have interconnected education providers whose services develop young people at every step of their journey, learning connected to community, and responsiveness to local aspirations. This teaching and learning shift also requires shifts in other parts of the system: in schools, and in the system settings that shape school governance, management and operations.

This document responds to the call from government for feedback on the Schools Plus strategy. It makes eleven recommendations that take a broad approach to achieving the strategy goal.

COMET Recommendation: Any changes to regional governance have to enhance the engagement of the people of Auckland in education, and strengthen the linkages between local education institutions and local government strategic goals. A criterion for assessing structures for governance in Auckland must be: how will it deliver on the vision for an educated and knowledgeable people?

This submission was prepared in response to the proposal to develop a Council Controlled Organisation with the specific purpose of establishing a tertiary campus in Manukau (as required under the Local Government Act 2002).

This paper calls for more integrated services for high-needs families in Manukau.

Are the current arrangements suitably flexible for schools for the 21st century? This paper - a response to a stocktake of school governance by the NZSTA and the Ministry of Education - recommends urgent action for legislative and regulatory change to enable governance structures to more adequately respond to challenges provided by the urban context.

Compared to other places in New Zealand, Manukau has a very high proportion of speakers of more than one language. This Discussion Paper prepared for the Manukau Education Conference 2007, sponsored by the Pacific Islands Advisory Committee, explores the place of language in our community .

In February 2002, COMET released the results of a ‘stock-take report’ prepared by the University of Auckland about the connections between businesses and schools in Manukau. That research was undertaken more than five years ago. Has anything changed? This Discussion Paper was prepared for the Manukau Education Conference 2007

Engaging families and communities across the various education sectors requires effective and meaningful ways of working in partnership. This Discussion Paper prepared for the Manukau Education Conference 2007 outlines in brief some findings about family and community influences on children’s achievement, secondly identifies some key principles for working in partnership with families/communities and thirdly, summarises features of some partnership programmes which engage families/communities in different ways in education in the Manukau area.

A range of programmes can be found in schoolswhich are linked to health outcomes. This paper explores how health outcomes can be supported by curriculum.

The purpose of this report is to assess and assign economic values to the outcomes of the Manukau Family Literacy Programme (MFLP) and provide a valuation based upon the Summative Evaluation of the programme by Benseman and Sutton (2005)plus updated participant information provided by the City of Manukau Education Trust (COMET).

This document is about the implementation of intergenerational family learning in Manukau. The Manukau Family Literacy Programmes are an initiative from the City of Manukau Education Trust and community stakeholders to engage adult learners from ‘non-traditional’ learner groups in education, at the same time building family engagement in children’s learning, for stronger literacy outcomes in our city.

Intergenerational family learning can support the wellbeing of families and communities. The evidence exists that it can transform the lives of individuals, and can contribute to the social, economic and cultural vitality of families and whanau.

This report summarises a stocktake of ICT in early childhood education centres in Manukau, undertaken as part of a project that arose out of Manukau City Council’s Smart Manukau strategy. COMET was invited to develop a community project for building ICT skills that involved young children and their families.

This report was prepared by COMET on behalf of the Future Skills Demand Action Plan Steering Group, led by Manukau City Council, and included the Manukau Institute of Technology, Department of Labour, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Social Development and the Tertiary Education Commission. It is part of a response to the Future Skills Demand Project report by Council that highlighted the skills and knowledge gap that will be is evident if no action is taken over the next couple of years.

This submission recommends the development of a Regional School Network Adjustment Plan alongside the Flat Bush Area Strategy for schools in order to have an integrated approach to roll management.