Manaakitanga
We focus on developing positive, respectful and culturally inclusive relationships with school leaders, teachers and students as they are crucial to the success of the professional development.
If you are thinking about Literacy and/or ESOL professional learning, please get in touch. We’d love to talk with you about what that might look like.
A FEW WORDS ABOUT US
We provide Literacy, Oral Language, ESOL and Assessment for Learning Professional Development and resources for schools and teachers.
Tools 4 Teachers is an educational consultancy led by Andy Butler and Erin McKechnie. We are excited to continue the work established by Jane van der Zeyden in literacy professional development. We work with both leaders, teachers and teacher aides, specialising in oral language, writing and ESOL.
Our team has expertise across all levels of the primary school sector, including teaching at the New Entrant level, through to intermediate. Through our ESOL knowledge and experience, we are able to provide PLD specialising in supporting English Language Learners – from early childhood, through to years 1-13.
We have experience in implementing Te Mātaiaho, and can support schools in understanding and using this valuable document for planning, teaching and learning.
As each school is unique, we are able to tailor any PLD to meet your needs.
Please contact us if you would like to talk about your literacy professional development needs:
Why Choose us?
Adaptive
Our professional development will be tailored to your needs. We recognise that every school or kura is different therefore we will be responsive in our approach and practice the concept of ako.
Literacy Specialists
Our team has experience with:
- School leadership
- National Advisory groups
- Highly effective classroom practice
- Published authors in the literacy field
- Research
Accredited Professional Facilitation
Our team are all accredited by the Ministry of Education. Our expertise covers all facets of literacy including:
- Oral Language
- Writing
- Reading
- Using data to inform teaching (assessment to learn)
- Cultural Reponsiveness
- Literacy Leadership
- Working with English Language Learners
do you need teaching resources?
Committed to providing schools with the best resources and expertise.
testimonials
It was good that the refreshed curriculum was part of the PLD as it made it more relevant.
Practical ideas I can see that I can use for my class. Loved the connection of the ELLP and the curriculum. Super helpful and something I will pass on to my colleagues.
The facilitator is a teacher herself and knows how to deal with students and families. Andy shared her experiences, strategies and unpacked NZ curriculum in action. Teaching in action videos were good exemplars and Andy shared how to integrate different curriculum areas throughout the day.
My sincere thanks for giving me the opportunity to learn literacy planning and execution from the BEST coach ever- Erin! Each moment was filled with learning in an exceptionally effective way. I feel extremely fortunate that I was chosen for this amazing opportunity. The support and guidance given by Erin was excellent and she is also keen to know how we plan lessons in future. Can’t wait to share all this learning with my team!!
Erin, I just wanted to say that our TA’s thoroughly enjoyed their second workshop yesterday. They have found both workshops to be so practical and helpful. They are busy making resources, are excited to be focusing on reading (after yesterday) and are already talking to senior managers about adapting the programmes to meet the needs of the students.
Erin has very effectively developed our teachers’ understanding of the available tools to assess, monitor and plan for children learning English. Staff find Erin approachable and engaging and respond to the PLD facilitated by her with enthusiasm. Erin is perceptive in her observations and easy to work with at a leadership level.
Andy Butler: A master teacher, Andy quickly established warm relationships with our team and tamariki. She designed Professional Learning which was tailored to our needs and then demonstrated, co-taught, encouraged and challenged us. Andy’s friendly manner along with her Literacy expertise was appreciated by our whole team and we highly recommend her!
Erin’s approach has been specific to our needs and context. She ensured staff were engaged and enthusiastic throughout. Her expertise in modelling, working along side teachers, and leading adult learning, ensured improvement in classroom and professional practice, was targeted to individual’s needs. All teachers in our school enjoy working with Erin and are motivated to continue and improve on their learning. She is professional, dynamic and able to go with the flow when needed.
Jane did a very thorough job for us during our ESOL review. Her knowledge and experience were invaluable in guiding us through the process right from our strategic thinking and goal setting to implementation in the classroom and teacher observations. She followed this up with excellent PD that was informed and practical
200
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Workshops
6000
Happy Learners
6
Products / Toolkits
8
Team Members