Area School Principals' Collective Agreement

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Area School Principals' Collective Agreement [PDF, 794 KB]

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Email: employment.relations@education.govt.nz

Changes to the agreement

Read about the recent changes in the Area School Principals' Collective Agreement.

Changes to the Area School Principals’ Collective Agreement 2023-25

Part 4: Professional Leadership and Growth

Area School Principals' Collective Agreement
Effective: 3 July 2023 to 2 July 2025

  • 4.3 Working Relationship
    • 4.3.1 Where there is a problem in the working relationship between the Principal and the Board (including individual Board members) that has not been informally resolved and is to the detriment of the school, the Board, in consultation with the Principal, may consider appointing a suitably qualified independent person to mediate or facilitate between the parties and/or undertake an impartial and objective assessment of the concern(s).

  • 4.4 Area School Principals’ Career Structure
        1. This clause outlines a career progression for Area School Principals who meet the professional criteria as affirmed by their Board and the service criteria. Payments made under this clause are to encourage and recognise individual professional growth, leadership and contribution of an area Principal.
        2. Provided that the Principal has completed a Professional Growth Cycle and been provided with an annual statement as in clause 4.1 within the last 12 months, Principals covered by this collective agreement will be entitled to a career allowance based on clauses 4.3(c)-(j) and the following service and professional criteria:
      Stage Service criteria Professional criteria
      1 – Initial Principalship
      • Minimum of 3 years continuous service as a Principal in a New Zealand State or State Integrated Area School including any periods of Secondment to a specified Education Sector Agency
      • Completion of the First Time Principals’ Programme (or similar)
      • Participation in a professional learning and development plan which may involve (but is not limited to) mentoring, professional supervision, study or a professional learning and development project in a Professional Growth Cycle.
      2 – Experienced Principal
      • Minimum of 6 years continuous service as a Principal in a New Zealand State or State Integrated Area School including any periods of Secondment to a specified Education Sector Agency
      • Completing Professional Growth Cycles and providing summary statements (as in clause 4.1)
      • Participation in a professional learning and development plan that demonstrates professional growth, including pedagogical leadership. This could be through further tertiary study/qualifications, a sabbatical project or professional learning project in own school context.
      3 – Leading Principal
      • Minimum of 9 years continuous service as a Principal in a New Zealand State or State Integrated Area School including any periods of Secondment to a specified Education Sector Agency
      • Meeting the requirements of the experience Principal (as above)
      • Contribution to or leadership of a learning or professional community that contributes to the wider education sector.
        1. The School Board is responsible for verifying that the Principal meets the professional criteria (for example check that the Professional Growth Cycle has been successfully completed and check that the annual statement has been provided), after which one of the following career allowances shall be made and will be paid fortnightly. A Principal can only receive one payment under 4.3(d) at any one time.
        2. The career payments for each stage are as follows:
      Career Stage  Rate
      1 – Initial Principalship $3,714
      2 – Experienced Principal $7,428
      3 – Leading Principal $11,143
        1. For the purposes of this clause, continuous service is not broken by a gap in principalship of up to three years. Service as a Principal in a New Zealand State or State integrated school shall be included in the calculation of service under the service criteria. A special case may be made by a School Board to the Ministry of Education | Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga to have other Principal service included in the calculation of service provided that at the time of applying the Principal has completed at least a year in a New Zealand State or State integrated area school.
        2. Service will not be counted for periods of time spent:
            1. on leave without pay, other than when on secondment to a specified Education Sector Agency;
            2. on secondment (other than as a Principal in another school) or to a specified Education Sector Agency;
            3. as supernumerary in a teaching role;
            4. as a relief or acting Principal (except where the acting or relief Principal moves directly to a substantive Principal role).
        3. When there is a break of more than three years service before reappointment as a Area School Principal, previous experience as a Principal shall be credited as one half year of service for each complete year of Principalship (that would otherwise be eligible as service for this allowance), allowing the Principal the possibility of moving directly to any of the three career stages providing they meet the relevant professional criteria, provided that:
            1. at the time of eligibility they have completed one year in their current position;
            2. that while they were on the break for three years or more the Principal consistently maintained their teacher certification;
        4. Where the Principal does not meet these requirements, three years service must be completed prior to the previous experience as a Principal being credited as one half year of service for each complete year of Principalship (that would otherwise be eligible as service for this allowance).
        5. Principals who have met the service criteria of stage one (or higher) but have not participated in a First Time Principals’ Programme and who are no longer eligible to do so shall demonstrate through their professional learning and development plan that they have participated in professional learning activities similar to the First Time Principals’ Programme.
        6. A Principal who is undergoing corrective action pursuant to clause 6.2.2 or 6.3 of this agreement shall not receive the career allowance from the commencement of the procedure until such time as the corrective action has successfully been completed at which time the career allowance recommences.
        7. To maintain eligibility for the career allowance, every three years the Principal’s School Board must verify that the Principal has completed a Professional Growth Cycle within the previous 12 months (consistent with clause 4.1).
  • 4.5 Professional Coaching and Wellbeing Support
    • 4.5.1  In each of 2023 and 2024, principals can access an entitlement of up to $6,000 per annum for professional coaching and support for their leadership role. The purpose of this support is to ensure principal leadership development and wellbeing.

      4.5.2  The $6,000 fund will be a line item tagged in operational funding for the purposes of professional coaching and support for the principal.

      4.5.3  Accessing this entitlement does not prevent a principal and school board agreeing that the principal can access additional coaching and support in excess of $6,000.

      4.5.4  This entitlement will be used in the school year that it falls due unless otherwise agreed in writing between the principal and their employer.

      4.5.5  Principals shall make an annual declaration to the board regarding their uptake and use of the funds. The declaration shall be made no later than the last day of Term 4 each year.