Join us for a comprehensive professional development day designed for school leaders, trustees and education professionals. Explore effective school governance, employment law updates and the meaningful integration of tikanga Māori into recruitment practices, providing practical tools and real-world strategies to strengthen boards and support equitable decision-making. Gain insights into supporting children and young people navigating anxiety, screen use, and parental separation, while also learning how staff can safeguard student privacy and embed confidentiality into everyday school practice. You will develop legal, governance and wellbeing tools to equip your school leaders with the knowledge and strategies needed to foster safe, inclusive and high-performing learning environments.
Tuesday, 17 March 2026
11.15am to 12.15pm Tikanga Maori and the Interaction with School Recruitment Practices
How tikanga Māori principles can be meaningfully incorporated into school recruitment processes to support equitable and culturally responsive hiring practices
Presented by Renika Siciliano, Executive Director, McCaw Lewis
4.15pm to 5.15pm Update on Current Issues in Education Law from the Coal Face
Hear an update on the pressing issues that Leo Donnelly ONZM, Barrister is encountering in his practice providing practical legal advice, advocacy and support to Principals and Boards and parents across New Zealand
Presented by Leo Donnelly ONZM, Barrister, Education Law NZ
11.00am to 11.15am Morning Tea
12.15pm to 1.15pm Understanding Employment Agreements
- Knowing and understanding critical terms of the employment agreement
- Importance of implied terms
- Legal implications of breaching employment agreements
- Avoiding common pitfalls
Presented by Allanah Leerdam, Barrister, Roddie Sim - Barrister
3.00pm to 4.00pm Two Roads Diverged: Lessons in Privacy and Care
Explore how the everyday choices education staff make when using AI, technology or sharing information can have very different outcomes depending on how they are handled.
- Compare two contrasting scenarios to show how care, judgment and privacy awareness can protect students, uphold trust and prevent harm
- Focus on the sensitivity of the information schools hold and the importance of embedding privacy and confidentiality into daily practice
Presented by Rachel O’Brien, Director, O’Brien Legal
Session 1: Governance, Employment Law, and Tikanga Māori in School Leadership
Chair: David Graham, Principal, Goodwood School
2.00pm to 3.00pm Supporting Children Through Change: Parental Separation
When caregivers separate this can be a significant time of change in a child and young person's life. Understanding the impact of this on their emotional wellbeing, peer relations and learning can be very useful for other key adults in their world.
- Understanding what educators might see in a school environment and how we can support young people, can make a difference on how children navigate and cope through this challenging time.
- Also understanding parents responsibilities, parenting orders and what guardianship and day to day care involves, can be very useful in an educational setting.
Presented by Michelle Melville-Smith, Psychologist/Clinic Coordinator/ Deputy Head of Training NZ, Triple P New Zealand
Description
Attend and earn 7 CPD hours
10.00am to 11.00am Employment Law Update: Staying Out of Trouble
In this session we will take a close look at employment relationship problems and dispute resolution processes, with the aim of identifying and minimising the risks to you and your school. We will examine:
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What is a personal grievance
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What happens at mediation
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How does the Employment Relations Authority work
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What is a claim for interim reinstatement, and other interlocutory Orders
We will then review some recent employment cases to understand how the processes work in practice.
Presented by Fi McMillan, Special Counsel, Anderson Lloyd
Learning Objectives:
- Understand the latest amendments to the Education and Training Act and their implications for school governance and board responsibilities
- Gain practical insight into key employment law processes with personal grievances
- Explore how tikanga Māori principles can be meaningfully incorporated into school recruitment processes to support equitable and culturally responsive hiring practices
- Understand the critical terms of employment agreements
4.00pm to 4.15pm Afternoon Tea
9.00am to 10.00am Unlocking Excellence: A Framework for Effective School Governance
- Great governance drives great schools. Explore a powerful new governance framework released by the NZSBA that clarifies your role, strengthens decision-making and keeps your board focused on what matters most
- Develop a working understanding of the key principles, practical tools and real-world strategies to help your board stay strategic, set clear expectations and build strong partnerships
Whether new or experienced, you’ll gain fresh insights and a clear roadmap for success.
Presented by Belinda Weber, Chief Advisor Governance, Te Whakaroputanga Kaitiaki Kura o Aotearoa New Zealand School Boards Association
Session 2: From Wellbeing to Compliance: Key Issues in Education
Chair: Peter Kaiser, Principal at Tirimoana School
Learning Objectives:
- Gain practical insights into supporting children and young people by understanding and managing anxiety, screen use, and parental separation
- Understand how staff decisions around AI, technology, and information sharing impact student privacy and trust, and learn strategies to embed confidentiality into everyday school practices
- Gain insight into current, practical employment and education law challenges in New Zealand
Presenters
Renika Siciliano, Executive Director, McCaw Lewis
Renika leads the firm's exceptional and passionate lawyers in the Te Tiriti o Waitangi and workplace law areas. Renika provides legal and strategic advice to clients across Aotearoa and has extensive experience in matters relating to Te Tiriti o Waitangi, Treaty settlement negotiations, Māori governance and iwi disputes. She also has a wealth of knowledge in workplace law, advising on various employment matters for both employers and employees. Renika has experience across various Courts and forums including representing Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki in relation to the Supreme Court’s landmark decision Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki Tribal Trust v Minister of Conservation. She has worked with clients in some of the first substantive matters to be heard under the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act. Renika currently sits on the Board of Trustees for Rototuna High Schools in Hamilton and has experience as a Presiding Member.
Peter Kaiser, Principal, Tirimoana School
Mr Kaiser began his teaching career in 1975 training at Auckland Secondary Teachers College and the University of Auckland. He graduated with a BA in History, and post graduate studies in Education, Psychology and Anthropology. He has taught in a number of schools in New Zealand and the United Kingdom, at Secondary, Intermediate and Primary levels. As well, Mr Kaiser taught in Special Education for 5 years and completed a Diploma in Special Education. Mr Kaiser completed his Master of Education in Professional Studies with 1st class Honours at Auckland University. He has been Principal at Tirimoana School for over 25 years. He established and led the Te Atatu Community of Learning with 8 other West Auckland Schools.
Belinda Weber, Chief Advisor Governance, Te Whakaroputanga Kaitiaki Kura o Aotearoa New Zealand School Boards Association
Belinda Weber is the Chief Advisor, Governance at NZSBA, New Zealand School Boards Association, where she leads national work on strengthening school board effectiveness. With a background in governance development, policy design, and sector leadership, Belinda works to support boards to stay strategic, accountable, and student-focused. She was central in designing NZSBA’s refreshed school governance framework and policy suite, helping boards clarify their roles and lift school performance. Known for her clear, practical approach and sector knowledge, Belinda works alongside boards, principals, and advisors to grow governance capability and drive meaningful change across schools in New Zealand.
David Graham, Principal, Goodwood School
David Graham is an experienced school leader having led three primary schools across the Waikato. He is currently the principal of Goodwood School (a primary school of 400 students) . David has recently studied in the United Kingdom, where he worked with the Anna Freud Centre and the National Partnership for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools (PINS) programme. His research investigated policy and programmes which support learners who are neurodiverse, their peers and teachers.
Fi McMillan, Special Counsel, Anderson Lloyd
Fi specialises in employment and education law. She is the legal advisor to the NZPF "Principals' Advice and Support Scheme." Prior to becoming a lawyer Fi worked as a primary school teacher in New Zealand and in the UK, and completed a Post Graduate Diploma in Child Advocacy. She has also worked on several Boards. This experience puts her in a strong position to advise on legal issues affecting schools. Fi is committed to working with her clients to find the best possible outcome, whether that can be achieved by constructive discussions and resolution of issues or through more formal processes.
Allanah Leerdam, Barrister, Roddie Sim - Barrister
Allanah is an employed barrister working with Roddie Sim, currently specialising in criminal and family law. Allanah has extensive experience working in employment law, having previously worked in the litigation team at Morgan Coakle where she practised primarily in employment, family law and civil litigation. Before joining Morgan Coakle, Allanah gained valuable experience at the boutique employment, immigration and health and safety law firm Jennifer Mills & Associates. She has also worked as a Prosecutor with the New Zealand Police. Allanah has provided employment advice and assistance to individuals, small and medium-sized businesses, as well as large corporates across a variety of industries, providing expert guidance on a broad range of employment law matters. Allanah is particularly passionate about advocacy and dispute resolution, and is dedicated to offering practical, cost-effective advice and solutions that are tailored to the specific needs and situation of each client. Allanah also regularly provides commentary and updates on employment matters and continues to do so, in addition to family and criminal law.
Michelle Melville-Smith, Psychologist/Clinic Coordinator/ Deputy Head of Training NZ, Triple P New Zealand
Michelle is a registered psychologist and a member of the New Zealand Psychological Society, an accredited Triple P practitioner and Triple P trainer (International Trainer of the Year, 2007). Michelle currently works for Triple P NZ delivering both clinical work and training practitioners in New Zealand and Internationally. Michelle is highly skilled in consulting on child behavioural, social and emotional issues and working effectively with parents on strategies to cope with these issues. She has worked with whanau referred from Oranga Tamariki, the Family court and Intensive wrap around service in MOE. Michelle has had over 18 year’s experience in working with separated parents via the family court and privately to assist them to develop communication tools with each other and help them to understand the needs of their children. Other areas Michelle works in are couples counselling and working directly with children providing counselling on issues including anger management, social skills, coping with anxiety, and dealing with divorce and separation.
Rachel O’Brien, Director, O’Brien Legal
Rachel O’Brien is the Founder and Principal of O’Brien Legal, a specialist privacy and data law firm focused on privacy, data governance, and technology driven commercial arrangements. She has over 16 years’ experience advising organisations in New Zealand and internationally, across top tier law firms and senior in house roles. Most notably, she spent five years as Head of Legal at BNZ, where she also served as Privacy Officer and Data Protection Officer, leading the design and implementation of an organisation wide privacy and data governance programme in a highly regulated environment. Rachel works directly with clients, providing senior, legally accountable advice that is practical, defensible, and aligned to operational realities. Her practice spans complex privacy impact assessments, data intensive technologies including AI and biometrics, serious privacy incidents, employee and student privacy matters, and high risk commercial and technology contracts. She regularly advises boards and executive teams on privacy governance, regulatory exposure, and managing risk in fast changing digital environments. Known for her pragmatic and collaborative approach, Rachel focuses on building privacy capability that enables safe innovation while maintaining public trust. She embeds fairness, transparency, and resilience into governance frameworks so they can withstand regulatory and public scrutiny. Rachel is a Fellow of Information Privacy, holds CIPP/E and CIPM certifications, and is an ANZ IAPP Board Member. She brings a rare combination of legal rigour, operational experience, and commercial insight to her work in the privacy and education sectors.
Leo Donnelly ONZM, Barrister, Education Law NZ
Leo Donnelly ONZM is a former Ombudsman of New Zealand and is one of New Zealand’s leading experts in official information and privacy law. As an Ombudsman, Deputy Ombudsman and a senior investigator at the Office of the Ombudsman, Leo spent 3 decades investigating and reviewing complaints about the administrative actions and procedures of state sector organisations and recommending resolutions to promote fair, just and transparent delivery of services to the public. This involved assessing individual actions and omissions in the context of an organisations systems and culture and statutory responsibilities. Leo brings governance and strategy expertise and wide experience in complaint handling and dispute resolution.
