The Ministry of Education will support funding for the Teacher-Led Innovation Fund for a further two years, Education Minister Hekia Parata announced last week.

The fund supports teachers to develop innovative practices. It will now run until June 2020. Parata announced the extension at the Education Council's Communities of Learning Leadership Forum in Wellington on Friday.

The extension means additional funding of $8 million will take the total invested to $18 million over five years.

“This fund supports teachers to develop excellent practice and share what works across schools so that it becomes common practice,” says Parata.

“It has captured the imagination of teachers and is resulting in some really exciting projects, including a programme using neurological science to help students with dyslexia, and a collaborative project establishing a farm where students and teachers build stronger engagement in science,” she says.

“This work has the potential to spread across the education system and make a real difference to kids' achievement,” Parata explains.

The Teacher-Led Innovation Fund is part of the government's $359 million Investing in Educational Success initiative. The first round of the fund has been completed, with 40 research proposals receiving funding of $2.67 million over three years.

The second round of funding opened in November 2015 and closed in May 2016. Successful applicants will be announced shortly.

“Extending this programme gives more teachers the chance to work together and develop excellent practice so that kids right across the system can benefit,” says Parata.