Pānui mutunga tau – 2025

Newsletter from SEANZ CEO, Arlene Cairns for 2025

Kia ora koutou

This has been a year of learning, making connections and growth as I stepped into the CEO role. I would like to begin by acknowledging Janet Molloy for walking beside me in the first months and sharing her knowledge and experience, and guiding my first awkward steps into this position. Thank you, Janet!

Finding my way into the role has also been hugely supported by the members of the SEANZ Board, as well as the Fellowship and Waekura. You have all been supportive and encouraging and it has been a pleasure to get to know you and work with you all over the year.

It is a privilege for me to be part of the wonderful work that is happening in our two branches - Fellowship and Waekura.

Significant work from the Fellowship this year, includes:

●         Full development of our national Education Site including the integration of He Reo Puawai

●         Ongoing Curriculum Review of the Primary Curriculum

●         High School Curriculum development

●         Literacy group that realign the literacy guidelines and learning steps with the new English curriculum

●         Learning Steps development in handwork, music, handwriting and science, with movement and painting still in development

●         Continued Leadership Programme for senior leaders

●         Development of a Thresholds document for teachers, describing the thresholds that appear at each age group and the ways our curriculum is designed to meet these developmental thresholds

●         Development of a Thresholds document for parents

●         Planning for a Teachers’ Conference in 2027 and booking keynote speakers

●         Support for an In-service Development programme with a NZQA Waldorf Steiner teacher qualification ready to start in 2026

●         Incorporation of membership criteria into the Annual Special Character Review Form for schools to attest to by the end of Term 1 in 2026

Thank you to the principals of our beautiful schools for all your mahi and collaboration this year. The work you do together builds a strong foundation for schools to work from collectively and for the benefit of our ākonga.

I would also like to say thank you to Pippa Caccioppoli and her team for hosting the hugely successful and inspiring Kolisko Conference at Taikura in April. I still hear conversations about the conference as it continues to inspire teachers in their work.

Mahi at Waekura for the year includes:

●         Planning to conduct and host 4 zoom meetings during the year in areas of Pedagogy, Management, Neuro-diversity and Under 3-year-olds

●         Creating a digital flyer (accessible on the SEANZ website) outlining what Waekura stands for and how they can support centres

●         Forming a Birth to Three Care Programme

●         Monitoring the Regulatory Review of ECE

●         Progressing with work on Numeracy progressions, Kowhiti Whakapae, and planning a PD session for implementation

●         Continuing the work of the Neurodiversity Working Group which focuses on the needs of neurodivergent children in their centres

It has been a pleasure to be part of and witness the mahi that this group does for all Early Childhood Centres and Playgroups across Aotearoa.

Website news

Work on the SEANZ website is progressing well and creating content for the members’ area is in process. We are incredibly grateful to Traceylee Hooton who has done a tremendous amount of work on the website and continues to update material and keep things fresh.

Next steps:

●         Integrate email database to the website for newsletters

●         Add whakataukī to each page

●         Waekura – to design and populate a Members’ Section

●         Create a Governance member section

●         Continually add blogs. Schools and centres are invited to send any articles on Steiner Waldorf Education that you share in your own settings

Visits to schools and building connections

Thank you to all the schools which welcomed me on my first visits this year. It was a good opportunity to meet tumuaki and various members of your Leadership Teams, Boards and Proprietors Trusts. These visits now allow me to imagine what each school looks like and how they each sit in their unique environments. I look forward to visiting others, including Early Childhood Centres and Playgroups, next year.

As well as building connections with schools, I have also made connections with other stakeholder groups and organisations outside of schools, and am grateful for the support I have received from the Association of State Integrated Schools (AIS), Association of Proprietors of Integrated Schools (APIS), our representative at the Ministry of Education and Steiner Education DEvelopment Trust (SEDT).

I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Elizabeth Swanepoel (Motueka Rudolf Steiner School) on her appointment to the Qualifications Committee for SEDT. Elizabeth will step into this role in 2026.

As I write, SEDT are in the process of finalising and dispatching the end of year Records of Achievement and Certificates for those schools that offer the New Zealand Certificate of Steiner Education. 

Thank you

I would like to thank the following people in our extended network:

Nicola Geuze from AIS, Kevin Shore and Karen Raitte from APIS, Philippa Pidd from the Ministry of Education, and Karen Bryce-Geard and Malcolm Cox from SEDT for their part in helping me find my way into other aspects of the role this year. Their advice, guidance and support is much appreciated.

Looking back, so much has happened this year and a lot of mahi still goes into creating, developing and nurturing Steiner Waldorf Education in Aotearoa. I am so proud to be part of it all and so grateful for all your efforts. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Looking forward to 2026

Our work doesn’t stop here. We have 2026 knocking at the door, and we look forward to:

●         The Deepening Conference ‘The Human Being as Symphony of the Creative Word’ with Brian Tracey and Sue Simpson (hosted at Titirangi, 17 and 18 January)

●         Diploma for Steiner Waldorf Early Childhood - Seminar 6 (19 to 24 January)

●         World Early Childhood Conference (Dornach, 8 to 12 April)

●         Re-registration as an Incorporated Society under the Act of 2020

●         Inaugural NZQA Waldorf Steiner Teacher Qualification commencing in July

Key Dates for 2026

20 February - The first, face-to-face SEANZ Board meeting of the year, in Wellington

4 - 8 May - The AGM will be held via electronic survey again in 2026

27 and 28 August - AIS NZ Conference

We continue to encourage our leaders, proprietors and board members to attend the annual AIS conference - it is a place to network, learn more about key roles and responsibilities and relevant initiatives from the Ministry, and about integrated schools. Next year’s conference will be held in Auckland.

Dates for all other meetings and upcoming events can be found on our website here.

In closing

A final, heart-felt thank you to everyone for your warmth, encouragement and support this year. I look forward to fostering relationships and connecting more strongly with you in the year ahead.

I wish you all a very happy, nurturing and rejuvenating festive season. Shrug off the ‘work coat’ and relish in time spent with family and friends.

Te aroha me ngā Manaakitanga

Arlene