The network of schools is all schools in New Zealand that we fund. It is made up of smaller regional networks of schools.
New Zealand's network of schools
The school network is part of New Zealand’s education system. It includes every New Zealand school.
The school network is part of New Zealand’s education system. It includes every New Zealand school. All young New Zealanders are entitled to go to their local school. The network needs to be balanced so there are places for local kids at their local schools. Stretching the length of New Zealand, the school network includes all schools of every type and structure. State and state integrated schools are looked after by the Ministry of Education in 10 regions, and each region has smaller local networks of schools. In some local networks there might be schools with enrolment scheme home zones, or zones for school transport services. The network responds as our communities change so there are places in local schools for local kids. Changes in population, employment, housing, public transport, or roading can all affect enrolments, space and access to schools. One school, or many schools, can be impacted by these types of changes. Boards of Trustees are elected by their communities to govern and manage schools. They keep an eye on what’s happening at their school, and consult with the Ministry and their communities to come up with options when there are issues and changes are needed. Options and changes to address issues are always about what’s best for all children, young people, and the whole network. When a school is preferred by lots of families and whānau and there’s not enough space for everyone, it’s at risk of overcrowding, and the network becoming unbalanced. To restore balance, an enrolment scheme might be introduced, temporary teaching spaces made available, or classrooms added to a school. Everyone in the community can contribute to conversations about change by participating in consultations led by their Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees uses their community’s ideas and suggestions to help develop options and proposals with the Ministry of Education. Some decisions on options are made by the Ministry, and others are made by the Minister. A balanced school network offers places and opportunities that strengthen wellbeing and learning – for every child and young person.
Te kōtuinga kura o Aotearoa
Ko te kōtuinga kura he wāhanga nō te pūnaha mātauranga o Aotearoa. Kei roto ngā kura katoa o Aotearoa i te pūnaha nei.
Ko te kōtuinga kura he wāhanga nō te pūnaha mātauranga o Aotearoa. Kei roto ngā kura katoa o Aotearoa i te pūnaha nei. E āhei ana ia tamaiti o Aotearoa ki te haere ki te kura o tō rātau hapori. Me taurite te kōtuinga kia wātea ai ngā tamariki o te hapori ki te haere ki ō rātau ake kura. Mai i te tai whakararo ki te tai whakarunga o Aotearoa, ko ngā kura o ngā tūmomo āhua, hanganga hoki kei roto i te kōtuinga kura. E tiakina ana ngā kura kāwanatanga e te Tāhuhu o Te Mātauranga i ngā rohe 10, ā, i ia rohe ko ngā kōtuinga kura paetata iti iho. Tēnā pea kei ētahi kura he kaupapa rēhita rohe kāinga, rohe rānei mō ngā ngā waka kura. Mahia ai te kōtuinga e ai ki te huringa i ō tātau hapori kia noho wātea ai ngā tūranga ki ngā tamariki o te rohe. He pānga ō ngā huringa ki te taupori, te whai mahi, te whare noho, te kawenga tūmatanui, ngā rori hoki, ki ngā rēhita, te wāhi me te uru ki ngā kura. Ka whai pānga ēnei momo huringa ki te kura kotahi, ki ngā kura maha rānei. Ka pōtihia ngā Poari Kaitiaki e ō rātau hapori hei tiaki, hei whakahaere i ngā kura. Ka tirotiro rātau i ngā mahi i roto i tō rātau kura, me te whakawhiti kōrero ki te Tāhuhu, ki ō rātau hapori hoki kia kitea te ara whakamua mēnā he raruraru, ā, me kimi huarahi kē. Ko aua huarahi kē he mea whakarite i ngā raruraru kia pai ake ai ngā āhuatanga e pā ana ki ngā tamariki, ngā taiohi, me te kōtuinga whānui. Ina tohua he kura e ngā whānau maha, kāore e uru atu te katoa, ka tūpono te opuru o te kura, ā, ka tahatahi te kōtuinga. Hei whakataurite i tēnei, ka whakaurua mai pea he kaupapa rēhita, ka whakawāteahia mai pea ngā wāhi whakaako, akomanga rānei ki roto i tētahi kura mō tētahi wā. Ka āhei ngā tāngata katoa i roto i te hapori ki te whai wāhi i ngā kōrerorero huringa mā te tautoko i te hui a te Poari Kaitiaki. Ka whakamahia e te Poari Kaitiaki ngā whakaaro o te hapori hei āwhina ki te waihanga i ngā kōwhiringa me ngā kaupapa, i te taha o te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga. Ko ētahi whakatau mō ngā kōwhiringa ka riro mā te Tāhuhu, ā, ko ētahi atu ka riro mā te Minita. Ko ngā hua o tētahi kōtuinga kura tautika ko te whai wāhitanga e whakapakari ake ai te oranga – o ia tamaiti, o ia taiohi.
Read about different types of schools in the network.
We manage and plan the network and make schooling changes to make sure that students have access to appropriate education pathways. Changes could include:
We manage school networks nationwide using a range of data including:
population projections
planned housing developments
census data
local council information
school utilisation and capacity
enrolment data
other local factors.
We monitor residential developments to understand location, scale and phasing so we can project how many students might move into an area. We also consider house sales data, property prices, transport links and a range of other factors in our planning.
Longer term planning signals our direction to the wider community, including:
government agencies
local government
infrastructure and service providers.
Catchment plans support conversations about long-term planning and investment with these stakeholders and drive greater collaboration and joined up planning.
Our foundational planning documents outline the current state of the network of schools across our 10 education regions and 119 catchments.
The National Education Network Plan (NENP), which includes the National Education Growth Plan (NEGP), together with the Māori-medium network planning and specialist learning support network planning currently underway, creates a ‘family’ of strategic foundation planning documents.
These are iterative, dynamic documents which are regularly refreshed and refined as forecasts and situations change.
The National Education Growth Plan (NEGP) was released in 2019 and updated in 2022. It identifies how we plan to manage growth across the 39 highest-growth catchments.
It underpins Te Rautaki Rawa Kura: The School Property Strategy 2030, which was published in mid-2020. This sets out the desired future state for the school property portfolio, with ākonga at the centre of our thinking.
The Education Network Plans were released in 2022. The plans cover the rest of the country outside of the highest-growth areas covered by the NEGP. These areas are a mixture of steady growth, stable, or declining population.
The catchments in the NEGP and those in the network plans have come together to create the National Education Network Plan (NENP) covering the 119 catchments across the country.
The updates below show what we have been doing, what has changed, and which projects have been announced.
The annual Demand Plan identifies trends, patterns and locations of growth and demand. It helps us identify where and when capacity in school networks will be needed across regions and the motu | country.
The Demand Plan outlines the wider growth context. It shows our commitment to working with our school property partners to target the highest demand in school networks, and to coordinating and planning for projected growth and demand.
