Attendance, achievement and assessment#

Preparing for attendance management plans#

By the start of Term 1, 2026, state and state-integrated school boards will be required to have an attendance management plan.

Information on how schools can prepare for the new requirements is now available at:

Attendance Management Plans – Ministry of Education

Implementation information and optional templates are available to support schools to begin developing their attendance management plan.

Student attendance and attendance codes – Frequently asked questions#

Since the start of Term 1, state and state-integrated schools have been using a revised attendance code set to support daily attendance recording and reporting.

To help school leaders and administrators, we have refreshed the frequently asked questions (FAQ) document on our website to include common queries that have come to us since the revised codes were implemented.

You can find the updated FAQs and other relevant information about attendance codes here:

Attendance codes – Ministry of Education

For support with your student management system (SMS), contact your provider.

For all other support, contact your regional office:

Regional offices – Ministry of Education

Applications for attendance service providers open 24 June#

As you may be aware, we are changing the way we contract attendance service providers from 2026.

Our application process for schools who wish to apply to be a provider of these services opens at 10am, on 24 June.  
Information for schools on how to apply is available here:

Apply to be an attendance service provider – Ministry of Education

Note the application documentation will not be live on the website until 10am, Tuesday 24 June 2025.

If you haven’t already, you can pre-register to receive the application documents by email when they are released.

This application process runs in parallel with the Request for Proposal (RFP) process for iwi/Māori organisations, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), and other providers who wish to apply.

For more details on the changes to attendance services announced in Budget 2025, visit:

Budget 2025: Investment into improving attendance – Ministry of Education

Any pātai, contact [email protected].

July roll return#

This year the July roll count date is 26 June with returns due no later than 3 July.

You can refer to the guidelines for more information on completing your return at:

School Roll Return Guidelines – Education Counts

Schools not using a student management system (SMS) must complete the manual roll return excel form provided on the Education Counts website and submit this via the Secure Data Portal (SDP):

School Roll Return Forms (July 2024) – Education Counts

Secure Data Portal (SDP) – Applications and Online Systems

Any pātai, email [email protected].

Supplementary questions survey

This year the supplementary questions survey, to collect language data, will only be sent to schools with primary school aged students.

If applicable, you will be emailed a personalised link to a web form for the supplementary question part of the July roll return. In order that we only receive one survey return from each applicable school, please do not share this link. The survey needs to be completed by 3 July when the survey will close.

If you have not received this link by 25 June, check your junk or spam folder, before contacting [email protected]. 

Assessment and aromatawai tool update#

As you will know, the Government has made the decision to invest in a new tool to support teachers and kaiako to monitor and report on student progress following our review into the long-term use of e-asTTle. The review revealed technical limitations of the tool, making it expensive to keep running outdated technology.

From 7 March to 8 April, we ran a Request for Proposal to identify a suitable supplier for the new tool and we continue to work through this procurement process. The outcome of this process will be shared with the sector in the near future.

While there is a lot of interest and anticipation about the new tool, there may also be some uncertainty, so we wanted to take this opportunity to reiterate some important points about the intention of our work underway and what’s ahead:

• We want teachers and kaiako to have a world-class assessment and aromatawai tool that helps them to understand the progress students are making over time and how they are achieving against the curriculum.
• The assessment items in the new tool will be completely aligned to New Zealand Curriculum (NZC) and Te Marautanga o Aotearoa (TMoA) curricula, respectively, so teachers and kaiako can trust the accuracy of the information.
• To do this, we will use relevant assessment items from e-asTTle as well as acquire new ones.  For example, we are identifying a suitable provider for the Te Marautanga o Aotearoa assessment items.
• The new tool is designed to be used twice a year during specific time periods. Leaders, teachers and kaiako will have the flexibility to choose the best days and times that suit their students within these time periods.
• We want teachers, kaiako and leaders to have access to tools that do the work for them. This means:
  • generating real time results and reports for students, teachers, kaiako, schools and kura,
  • providing consistent information that can travel with students from class to class, school to school, kura to kura, school to kura or vice versa
  • providing progression information to be used alongside professional judgement to report to parents
  • over time we will have a tool with 'computer adaptive' capability so the tool adjusts to the level of the child and measures where each child is at.
• We know many schools are already using progressive achievement tests (PATs) to assess students. We remain committed to this choice, and it will continue to be available. To support this choice, we have provided funding to the New Zealand Council for Educational Research (NZCER) to help them develop a new writing PAT tool.
• We are committed to keeping the data safe and will be working with sector representatives to ensure we have transparent and safe data management and reporting policies in place. 

Finally, as a reminder, the sector is invited to provide feedback on draft descriptors that teachers and kaiako will use across all schools and kura to support consistent reporting to parents and whānau. The descriptors will provide consistent language for reporting to parents and whānau and help teachers and kaiako to determine student and mokopuna progress against the new curriculum expectations.  

In the feedback submitted so far, we can see a fifth descriptor would sit between progressing towards and proficient. This would allow teachers and kaiako to report to parents on students whose achievement is generally as would be expected for their year level but who need more experiences that allow them to confidently demonstrate knowledge and understanding. This draft descriptor is currently termed consolidating.

Feedback on the descriptors is being invited until 30 June, when all feedback received will be considered and the descriptors reviewed. Schools and kura will be able to use these new descriptors to report for their end of year reporting.

There’s no requirement to use descriptors during 2025, but schools and kura can choose to use them.

Draft descriptors can be found here:

Reporting to parents and whānau – Tāhurangi

For Te Marautanga o Aotearoa, see:

Reporting to parents and whānau – guidance for kaiako on TMoA – Tāhurangi 

Feedback can be sent to [email protected].

Latest implementation checklists for Years 0 to 8#

Implementation and assessment checklists for teachers and kaiako of Years 0 to 8 are available for this term, helping you plan your implementation approach for Terms 3 and 4. In response to your feedback, we have included direct links throughout the checklists so you can easily access the content we’re referring to. You can find the checklists here:  

Te Marautanga o Aotearoa Checklist – Tau 0 to 8 Term 2 – Tāhūrangi 

New Zealand Curriculum Checklist – Years 0 to 8 Term 2 – Tāhūrangi 
 

More TKI content moving to Tāhūrangi  #

We are continuing to move content from outdated websites onto Tāhūrangi, so that it’s easier to find the right resources to support teaching and learning. Content is peer-reviewed so that it is fit-for-purpose before it is moved, at which point the old websites will be shut down from the end of July.

More information, including a list of affected sites, is available here:  

Latest content moving from TKI – Tāhūrangi 

Latest PLD for structured literacy approaches and te reo matatini#

Applications for cohort 6 of Ministry-funded PLD for structured literacy approaches and te reo matatini will open from 21 July to 8 August. The PLD is open to Years 0 to 8 teachers, prioritising those who have not had any prior training in structured approaches to literacy.  

Cohort 6 PLD will be delivered over Term 4 2025, and Terms 1 and 2 of 2026.  
For more information, including key dates and how to apply, visit:  

PLD for structured literacy and te reo matatini approaches – Professional Learning and Development  

Ngarimu video and waiata composition competitions now open#

The Ngarimu video and waiata composition competitions give ākonga Māori in years 7 to 13 the opportunity to explore their creativity, practise storytelling and learn about the history of the 28th (Māori) Battalion.

Ākonga can submit a short film or waiata in either English or te reo Māori for the chance to win one of six prizes for themselves and their school or kura.

Entries can be submitted individually, as a team, or on behalf of a school or kura. The competitions close on 3 August.

For more information, visit:

Ngarimu Competitions – Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga

Any pātai, email [email protected].

Talanoa Ako and Talanoa Ako: Learners Support Programme#

We’re seeking applications to run the Talanoa Ako programme and/or the Talanoa Ako: Learners Support Programme from September 2025 to May 2027.

Talanoa Ako is a programme designed to enhance Pacific parents’ ability to support their children’s learning. There are ten workshops focused on student achievement and attendance in school.

The 20-hour Talanoa Ako: Learners Support Programme provides intensive academic support for NCEA-level – including common assessment activities (CAA) Pacific learners.

For more information visit:

Talanoa Ako – Tāhūrangi Curriculum

To apply, contact [email protected] before 10 July.

Matavai Pacific e-newsletter for parents and caregivers#

Matavai is our monthly e-newsletter offering key updates, Pacific education stories and details of upcoming events. Share with Pacific parents and communities through your school.

Subscribe for free at:

Subscribe to Matavai Pacific e-newsletter – Mailchimp

Read the latest issues here:

Matavai issue – 13 June  

Workforce and resourcing#

Learning support update#

Budget 2025 includes a significant investment in learning support to help more learners, meet growing demand and improve access to high-quality, nationally consistent learning support.

We are working with regional teams to support school communities to implement this investment.

Based on your feedback, here’s some FAQs with more detail around the investment decisions and roll out:

Strengthening learning support FAQs [PDF, 166 KB]

We will keep you updated as this work progresses. If you have any patai, email: [email protected]. 
 

Estimated pay equity and collective agreement funding and 2024 wash-up calculation#

On 1 July, state and state-integrated schools | kura will receive the next instalment of estimated funding for non-teaching pay equity settlements and collective agreements. This instalment includes the annual wash-up calculation based on complete payroll data for the 2024 year. Payment will be made via Pourato under the payment type ‘non-teach support PE and CA funding’.

A letter detailing the estimated funding and information on the 2024 wash-up calculation, will be made available via the SDP on 27 June.

We encourage schools | kura to download and retain a copy of their funding letter from the SDP, as this letter will only be available for a 6-month period.

Further information about pay equity settlements and collective agreements can be found here:

Pay equity and collective agreement settlement funding – Ministry of Education 

Any pātai, email [email protected].

Year 7 and 8 technology providers#

The deadline for change of technology provider applications for the 2026 school year is 1 August:

Change of technology provider application [DOCX, 63.7 KB]

If the change of technology provider is approved, you will need to complete a new memorandum of understanding before the technology staffing is allocated to the new provider.

Technology memorandum of understanding [DOCX, 59 KB]

If you have any questions about changing your technology provider, contact your local Te Mahau office or [email protected]. 

Technology class staffing and transport for Years 7 and 8 – Ministry of Education

    
2024 financial reporting and audit process#

With the 31 May deadline now passed, we understand that some schools may not have been able to submit their annual reports due to incomplete audits. Many auditors have already contacted their schools directly to explain the delays and provide updated timelines for completion. 

You will not be required to report a breach of the 31 May deadline if:

• draft financial statements were provided by 31 March, and
• any additional information requested by the auditor was supplied in a timely manner.

If your school has been affected, we encourage you to:

• contact your auditor to discuss revised timeframes, and
• continue responding to audit queries as promptly as possible to support the timely completion of your audit. 

Once your audit is complete, submit your annual report, including the audited financial statements, through the new school planning and reporting application.

The application uses your Education Sector Logon (ESL). If you don’t have access, contact your delegated authoriser to request it. More information about the new submission process is available here:

Publishing your annual report online – Ministry of Education

Audit fee support

Additional funding to support audit fee increases will be provided once your audited financial statements have been submitted. This aligns with the Office of the Auditor-General’s guidance that schools will not be invoiced for the Ministry-funded portion until the audit is complete and the required documents have been submitted. 

If you have any questions or concerns about your financial reporting, our regional school financial advisors are here to help.

School financial advice contacts – Ministry of Education

Kāhui Ako and resource teacher disestablishment process#

 
Impacted schools should soon receive notice of disestablishment of Kāhui Ako and resource teacher roles, confirming the Budget 2025 announcement that funding has been reinvested.  

Effective 28 January, all Kāhui Ako will be formally disestablished. This means after 31 December, schools will no longer receive Kāhui Ako maintenance allowances, travel grants, or networking and induction funding for Kāhui Ako roles. After 27 January, schools will no longer receive resourcing for the operation of Kāhui Ako or for RT Lit and RT Māori roles.

Boards and principals seeking support to work through what this means for leaders and teachers they employ can contact Te Whakarōputanga Kaitiaki Kura o Aotearoa – New Zealand School Boards Association (formerly NZSTA):

Get in touch – Te Whakarōputanga Kaitiaki Kura o Aotearoa

Information about disestablishment is available at:  

Changes to funding for Resource Teachers: Literacy and Resource Teachers: Māori – Ministry of Education

Kāhui Ako: Communities of Learning – Ministry of Education

Governance, planning and infrastructure #

Charter school conversion information#

The Charter School Agency is receiving expressions of interest from state or state-integrated schools wanting to convert to a charter school. If you’re a state or state-integrated school wishing to convert to a charter school, you can send your expression of interest at any time.

Charter schools are public schools, but instead of a school board, they are operated by a sponsor – an organisation that has signed a contract with the Crown to operate the school.

Charter schools have considerable flexibility around teaching, curriculum, governance, hours and days of operation. They can decide how to use their funding and can set their own curriculum. In exchange for this greater autonomy, they are accountable for delivering outcomes via their contract.

Note the following timelines:

• If you wish to convert to a charter school at the beginning of Term 1 2026, applications are due 27 June.
• If you wish to convert to a charter school later in 2026, send through your expression of interest by 12noon, 16 July.
• If we receive your expression of interest by this time, we will be able to provide the support you need to submit your full application over the following months.
• The next deadline for converting school applications will be 8 October.

When you express interest in converting, there is government-funded support available to help you prepare your application, including considering your approach to consultation.
The Charter School Agency will also help you prepare for the consultation that the Authorisation Board is required to undertake with the school community, board, staff and students.

More information, and key dates, can be found at:

Converting schools – Charter School Agency