Advocacy and partnership: Long-serving principal steps up to NZPF presidency
After leading Kaiapoi North School for the past 17 years – a school he also went to as a student – Jason Miles has stepped away from his staff and students for the next two years to be the elected president of the New Zealand Principals’ Federation (NZPF).
Jason Miles first became ‘Mr Miles’ in 1993 at Isleworth School in Christchurch. Just four years later, he took up the principalship of View Hill School, a picturesque, two-teacher country school under the Southern Alps near Oxford.
He has since served in rural and urban schools in the Canterbury region, including Tinwald and Harewood Schools. Jason came full circle when he returned to Kaiapoi
North School in 2009 as both a former student and the school principal.
Jason says the hardworking, dedicated and skilled staff at Kaiapoi North are bolstered by a very supportive parent and wider community. The school’s focus on quality learning, wellbeing support and additional opportunities for students is something he is incredibly passionate about and proud of.
“At Kaiapoi North School, we strongly believe our children deserve the chance to participate and shine in wider curriculum groups and activities,” says Jason. “Our teachers work hard to build character and confidence through experiences, including cultural groups, performing arts, sporting, environmental, STEM, leadership and citizenship responsibilities. To see our children having such a wide range of opportunities to learn and grow is heartwarming. It’s such an important part of our culture as a school.”
While he didn’t teach anymore, Jason organised funding and supported various school groups so they could participate in the next level of events. He coached the school’s cricket teams and made it a priority to be there when his students performed on the stage and at sporting events. Some of his proudest moments from 2025 included seeing their kapa haka group win the Canterbury Tūhono Festival competition and their girls’ basketball team win the Year 7 and 8 competition for the second year in a row.
“Yes, our core responsibility as school leaders is to make sure our curriculum programme is robust and resonates with our children, but we have a role to play in developing the whole child and to encourage our children to be brave and to shine,” says Jason.
NZPF president Jason Miles is also a passionate cricket coach. Photo: Allied Press.
A shared focus on high-quality, equitable education
Jason has served on the NZPF executive since 2018 and became vice president in 2022. Alongside his advocacy and leadership work with the NZPF, Jason is the lead principal within the North Canterbury Resource Teacher of Learning and Behaviour cluster and has been an executive member of the Canterbury Primary Principals’ Association and the North Canterbury Principals’ Association executive committees. His core belief, and a theme that runs through all his advocacy work, is that every child and young person in Aotearoa should have access to a high-quality, equitable education.
“I am very aware of the vastly different contexts our schools consist of across Aotearoa and the amazing job our principals and teachers do every day to support all children and each other,” says Jason.
“Walk into any school in New Zealand and you’ll find dedicated, passionate principals and teachers who embrace our unique, multicultural communities. You will find educational practitioners who work hard every day to support the learning and wellbeing of our children. You will see educational professionals planning and using formative assessment to teach next learning steps. You will see children’s varied learning, mental health and societal needs being cared for and carefully supported. You will see teachers and principals preparing children for life in our society.”
Jason says education experts know that when a child is struggling at school, it is not always due to a lack of effort or ability.
“We know that explicit teaching of foundation skills in English and mathematics makes sure our children receive the best start to developing strong literacy and numeracy skills. But finding that balance – recognising that not all children learn the same way or at the same rate – while having strategies to make sure each child is making progress requires timely and ongoing resourcing and funding for learning support,” says Jason.
“It’s encouraging to see the Government has a shared focus on learning support and is making investments to support more learners and meet the growing demand across the country.”
NZPF president Jason Miles is also a passionate cricket coach. Photo: Allied Press.
A positive working partnership
Jason says NZPF strives to be part of a positive working partnership between the professionals in the education sector and the decision-makers and funding holders who oversee it. In his capacity as vice president for NZPF, Jason, alongside executive colleagues, has worked with the Ministry of Education to support the development of opportunities for aspiring principals and new principals, and for experienced principals to get the necessary support to lead and continue to learn.
This includes the new Aspiring Principal Programme.
An inaugural cohort of 200 aspiring principals is being formally coached and mentored this year to better prepare them for the diverse job ahead.
“I am looking forward to continuing this partnership with the Minister and Ministry of Education and hope to extend such professional learning to all principals, similar to professional learning development offered elsewhere, such as in Victoria and Ireland.”
Providing the best opportunities Building relationships on a foundation of integrity and relational trust – with students, staff, parents, community leaders, funders, decision holders, and policymakers – is key to Jason’s success as a principal and is central to his approach as president of the NZPF.
“We all want the same thing – to improve education and lift learning outcomes across the motu. I believe we can agree that success in supporting children in schools boils down to three core elements: providing the best opportunities for children to learn, be safe, and be supported. Establishing a partnership and an enduring vision with the teaching profession and all political parties, focused consistently on these three simple yet crucial elements, would lead to significant positive change, now and for the future,” says Jason.
NZPF submitted their response to the Education and Training (System Reform) Amendment Bill to the parliamentary select committee in January. Photo: NZPF
Support and advocacy for principals
Looking to the year ahead, Jason’s top priority is supporting and advocating for principals in the areas that will make the biggest impact for children. This includes the curriculum reform process, equity for all children to access learning and support, and supporting the leadership development and wellbeing of all principals.
Jason knows principals will have brought their teams together for professional learning, team building, and organisational decisions well before any children arrived at school.
“Your work in preparing and supporting your teams to be ready for the beginning of each new year cannot be understated,” he says.
He offers special acknowledgement and congratulations to those who are beginning their principalship in 2026.
“Welcome to the most rewarding and amazingly diverse job you could imagine! NZPF is here to support all tumuaki in Aotearoa and regional associations no matter where you are at in your principalship journey. You are in the positions you are in because you care about learning and wellbeing for children. Despite constant change, don’t lose sight of the fact that it is our job as leaders to make sure every change we make has a positive impact on the young people in our care,” says Jason.
A special mihi whakatau was held at Jason Miles’ Kaiapoi North School to welcome him as the new NZPF president. Photo: Heidi Hayward.
About the New Zealand Principals’ Federation
The New Zealand Principals’ Federation is the leading advocacy and professional support group that represents the rights and interests of all principals w and tumuaki.
The Education Workforce website has more information about the Aspiring Principal Programme.
