Kia ora koutou,
Last week, the Minister announced that 9 new industry-led subjects have been approved for development for senior secondary students. These subjects reflect some of the key sectors of Aotearoa New Zealand’s economy and are linked to real workforce opportunities. Tāhūrangi has more information.
You will have also seen the recent announcement of the expansion of the School Onsite Training programme. It will provide 660 places next year and 704 training places every year from 2028. This programme gives student teachers the opportunity to be immersed in the life of a school 3 days a week while they complete their initial teacher education qualification through a tertiary education provider.
You can read more about the programme here:
School Onsite Training Programme – Education Workforce
Ngā mihi
Ellen
Important actions | Me mātua mahi#
- Submit applications for cohorts 1, 2, and 3 of the Maths and Pāngarau Acceleration Programmes for Years 7 and 8 in 2027 by 4 September.
Applications for Year 7 and 8 Maths Acceleration Programme and Hāpai Pāngarau Years 7 and 8 open
Need-To-Know | Me Mātua Mōhio#
Changes to school planning and reporting#
The Government is changing school planning and reporting regulations to strengthen the focus on student achievement and improve alignment with curriculum, including progress and assessment information.
School boards will be required to include at least 1 strategic goal focused on achievement in reading, writing, and mathematics. Boards can still design goals that reflect the needs of their students and communities.
The changes will remove the requirement for boards to show how their strategic goals link to national strategies such as Ka Hikitia, the Action Plan for Pacific Education, and the Oranga Tamariki Action Plan. These strategies weren’t developed specifically for school planning and reporting. However, they remain important strategies that set long-term priorities and expectations across the system, and you can still use these to inform your plans. To support this, we are developing practical examples to demonstrate how the strategies can be reflected in strategic plans.
You may still use these strategies to inform planning.
The updated regulations will be published by the start of Term 4. More information about the changes and interim guidance to support boards is available online.
The school planning and reporting framework
Changes to reporting to parents and whānau#
Regulation changes are also proposed to provide greater consistency in how schools and kura report student progress to parents and whānau. They are in line with reporting to parents and whānau guidance released earlier this year.
From 1 January 2027 you will need to provide parents with twice-yearly reports about their child’s curriculum and qualification progress and achievement, that include:
- access to any relevant assessment or aromatawai results
- the use of Progress Descriptors, including student progress and achievement
- information about how the school is supporting the student if they are at risk of not meeting curriculum expectations
- the student’s attendance (except for distance schools) and
- the student’s next learning steps.
To read more about this, visit:
NZC – Reporting to parents and whānau – Tāhūrangi
TMoA – Reporting to parents and whānau – Tāhūrangi
Safety checking changes for core children’s workers#
Changes to the Children’s Act 2014 mean boards will soon need to consider overseas convictions, as well as offences committed in New Zealand, when safety checking core children’s workers.
From 24 October, all new core children’s workers with an overseas conviction equivalent to a Schedule 2 offence cannot be employed as a core worker, unless they have a core worker exemption. The same will apply to all existing core workers from 24 April 2027, giving time for boards to check for any relevant overseas convictions and, where necessary, support workers to apply for a core worker exemption.
For core workers who are not certificated teachers, boards will need to assess any overseas convictions against Schedule 2. The Teaching Council undertakes overseas police checks as part of teacher registration and practising certificate processes.
Guidance on how to meet these requirements will be provided closer to implementation. You can read more at:
Specified offences (Schedule 2)
Core worker exemptions – Te Kāhui Kāhu
Responding to Abuse in Care Legislation Amendment Act 2025 – New Zealand Legislation
Overseas police clearance – Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand
New industry-led subjects for senior secondary announced#
The Government has announced 9 new industry-led subjects to be included in the Years | Tau 12 to 13 curriculum.
The new industry-led subjects will complement Ministry-led subjects as part of the new knowledge-rich curriculum. Together, these will provide a diverse range of exciting and relevant subjects for students to choose from.
The development of these new subjects will be led by Industry Skills Boards (ISBs). Industry will play a central role in shaping subjects and will work alongside education experts to develop subjects that will prepare students to pursue rewarding careers.
You can read more at:
New industry-led subjects set to strengthen pathways for senior secondary students – Tāhūrangi
Regulatory functions moving to ERO#
The Education and Training (System Reform) Amendment Act 2026 came into force on 6 July, permitting the transfer of Ministry regulatory functions for early childhood education services, private schools and school hostels to the Education Review Office (ERO).
The New Zealand Legislation website confirms that the transfer of regulatory functions to ERO will take effect on 1 September.
The change is part of wider education system reforms and will see ERO take on responsibility for regulating these sectors from 1 September. We will continue to work closely with ERO to support you to a smooth transition.
Heads-Up | He Kupu Puaki#
New FAQ resource for recording AMP response activities#
A new FAQ resource is available to help you understand and implement the requirement to record Attendance Management Plan (AMP) response activities. The resource addresses common questions about why response activities are recorded, how the information supports attendance management, and what you should do when students reach attendance thresholds.
Frequently asked questions about recording AMP response activities [PDF, 78 KB]
Chronic absence: Fillable Section 19 referral form available#
A fillable version of the Section 19 referral form for chronic absence is now accessible at:
The form can now be completed electronically, making it easier for you to fill out and share when required. There have been no changes to the content of the form or the referral process.
You should consult your attendance service provider before making a Section 19 referral.
Also note that this referral form should be used only for cases where the care or protection concern relates to chronic absence. All other care and protection concerns should continue to be reported directly to Oranga Tamariki through the National Contact Centre.
Maths Week 2026 – Free curriculum-aligned activities for Years 1 to 11#
Maths Week runs until 14 August, offering you a fun way to celebrate maths and engage learners through curriculum-aligned activities. Now in its 29th year, Maths Week continues to attract strong participation, with more than 5,000 teachers registering and up to 280,000 students taking part in recent years.
Free digital and printable resources are available for Years 1 to 11, including quizzes, games and classroom challenges designed to build learner confidence and positive engagement with maths. You can register at:
Phonics Checks and Hihira Weteoro tools – New reporting features#
The Phonics Checks and Hihira Weteoro online tools have recently been updated to add new reporting features. These features include school and kura-level insights and downloadable CSV files for importing to your student management system (SMS).
Find instructions for accessing reporting features here:
Phonics checks – Assessment materials – Tāhūrangi
If you need support importing your CSV file of results into your SMS, contact your SMS provider directly.
Note that national achievement norms are not currently available online and we are working towards having this available in the future.
Applications for Year 7 and 8 Maths Acceleration Programme and Hāpai Pāngarau Years 7 and 8 open#
A reminder that applications for cohorts 1, 2, and 3 of the Maths and Pāngarau Acceleration Programmes for Years 7 and 8 in 2027 are open and will close on 4 September.
Programme funding will be confirmed by 18 September.
More information about applying for funding is available here:
Maths and Pāngarau Years 7 and 8 Intervention – Tāhūrangi
Healthy School Lunches programme#
The Healthy School Lunches programme provides lunches to more than 1,020 schools every week across New Zealand.
We are grateful to those schools not currently participating in the programme that took the time to respond to the school lunches food insecurity pulse check sent out at the end of Term 2.
Responses from 655 schools indicate that there are students across New Zealand who would benefit from access to free school lunch but are not currently eligible under the current equity index-based model.
The data gathered from this research supports innovation pilots and future programme design, helping to meet the needs of students who experience food insecurity.
For more information, visit:
Healthy School Lunches Programme
New Zealand Sign Language interpreting for Deaf parents#
We contract Wordsworth Interpreting to provide free New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) interpreting for Deaf parents, offering in-person and remote options via the CallSign app. Booking early for school calendar events is encouraged due to availability constraints.
Bookings and essential resources, including guidance on working with interpreters, terms and conditions, and their complaints policy, are available here:
For more information, visit:
Interpreters for Deaf parents at school
School and ECE Immunisation Hub now available#
Health New Zealand has launched the new school and ECE Immunisation Hub to help you prepare for potential measles outbreaks.
You will be able to access the new school and ECE Immunisation Hub to support measles outbreak planning and outbreak preparedness.
It will provide de-identified measles immunisation coverage data for enrolled students by year group, helping you understand your school community's coverage and plan to minimise learning disruption in an outbreak.
It has support from local National Public Health Service teams.
More information, including details on how to apply for access to the hub, is available at:
School and Early Childhood Education Centre (ECE) Immunisation Hub – Health New Zealand
Measles is a serious and highly contagious disease that can make people very unwell. During an outbreak, students and staff who are not immune may need to stay away from school, which can affect attendance and learning.
You can also access posters, flyers and social media resources to share with staff, parents and caregivers at:
Measles school resources – HealthEd
Provisional rolls#
Provisional rolls will be published on Pourato on 4 September. To view your provisional roll, provisional staffing entitlement and indicative funding, open the ‘rolls’ tab in Pourato and make sure 2027 has been selected in the drop-down menu.
Provisional roll review applications will open on 7 September and close on 13 November. You can find out how to request a review here:
Apply for a provisional roll review
Quarter 4 operational funding#
Quarter 4 2026 operational funding will be published on Pourato on 23 September and paid on 1 October.
School donations scheme#
The school donations scheme opt-in process remains aligned with your July roll return. If you opted in to the scheme for 2027 when you completed the roll return, no further action isrequired.
For teen parent units, activity centres and other attached units that cannot opt in as part of the July roll return submission, you can only opt in by completing the 2027 Donations Scheme Opt-in form before 13 November. Find the form here:
2027 Donations Scheme opt-in form – Survey Monkey
You can view your 2027 equity index (EQI) when the 2027 provisional rolls are published on Pourato on 4 September. A small number of schools and kura whose 2027 EQI is 432 or higher will become newly eligible to opt in to the school donations scheme for 2027.
Information to help you consider whether to opt in to the scheme is available on our website:
If you have any questions, email [email protected], or get in touch with your school finance advisor here:
Payroll record-keeping#
You should regularly review the pay ending report. Read about the report or download it here:
Pay ending report – Education Payroll
This report identifies employees whose jobs are due to end within the next 90 days, as well as employees who have left but whose jobs have not yet been terminated.
You should also check the ‘my employees’ page to confirm jobs are ended at the appropriate time. For assistance with staff terminations, contact your education payroll limited account manager.
Education Payroll – New online forms portal#
Education Payroll is launching a new online forms portal, making it easier and more secure to submit and manage payroll requests.
You will be able to complete selected forms online, track progress, communicate directly with Payroll Advisors and update requests when needed. Principals will receive an email link to review and authorise forms online and can keep forms confidential where required.
The portal will be introduced in stages, starting with existing Beta schools today and all other schools on 8 September. To access the portal, you will need to link your ESL and EdPay accounts.
Find more information here:
How to use the schools' forms portal – Education Payroll
Forms portal quick reference guide – Education Payroll
ORS and SHHNF applications online from 31 August#
From 31 August, you will be able to complete and submit applications for the Ongoing Resource Scheme (ORS) and the School High Health Needs Fund (SHHNF) online via your Education Sector logon (ESL).
There will be no change to criteria or the assessment and verification process.
More detail will be shared in the next Bulletin, and on this website:
Request learning support – Applications and Online Systems
If you are currently working on an application, there is no need to delay. Email the application to [email protected] or contact your regional Ministry office when it is complete.
Solar on schools' programme update#
The provisional list of the 500 schools eligible for the solar on schools' programme has been drafted. Schools were prioritised based on factors including energy and fuel insecurity, high energy costs, planned diesel and gas boiler replacements and resilience needs.
The programme is now moving into the delivery phase, providing certainty for schools and industry partners. Schools can expect another update in December after solar system planners, designers and installer contracts are awarded to deliver the programme nationwide.
Those schools not selected can still organise solar independently.
Find out more about the programme and other solar options at:
Kia Manawaroa and Matavai Pacific education e-newsletters#
New issues of Kia Manawaroa and Matavai have been published
Kia Manawaroa Issue 17: July 2026 – Mailchimp
Matavai Issue 15: July 2026 – Mailchimp
For feedback or story ideas, email:
Kia Manawaroa: [email protected]
Matavai: [email protected]
Correction to Ministry webpage link #
Our webpage 2026 General Election Information for Schools, which appeared in our previous bulletin (issue 28 July), incorrectly included a link to the Public Service guidance for public servants. This link has now been removed from the webpage and we apologise for any confusion caused.
2026 General Election Information for schools
We would like to clarify that school boards are expected to act with impartiality but that the strict political neutrality requirements for public servants do not apply.
