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The school planning and reporting framework is set out in the:
- Education and Training Act 2020, and
- the Education (School Planning and Reporting) Regulations 2023, as amended by the Education (School Planning and Reporting) Amendment Regulations 2026.
Education (School Planning and Reporting) Regulations 2023 – New Zealand Legislation
Education (School Planning and Reporting) Amendment Regulations 2026 – New Zealand Legislation
What boards must do#
Te Whakangārahu Ngātahi requires your board to:
- consult your community and develop a 3-year strategic plan outlining how the board will meet its main and supporting objectives, as outlined in Section 127 of the Education and Training Act 2020
- create an annual implementation plan that sets annual targets and actions for working towards strategic goals
- create an annual report that details the school’s progress and finances.
Strategic plan timeframes#
Your strategic plan effective from 1 January 2027 will be in place for 2 years (2027-2028) to realign strategic plan timeframes with the school board triennial elections. You will then need to develop a new, 3-year plan effective from 1 January 2029.
Section 127 of the Education and Training Act 2020 – New Zealand Legislation
Changes to requirements#
The school planning and reporting regulations have been updated to align with recent changes to the Education and Training Act 2020. The changes to the school planning and reporting requirements strengthen the focus on educational achievement and simplify some existing requirements.
The changes to requirements need to be reflected in your next strategic plan, which is effective from 1 January 2027.
In the documents below you will find:
- an information sheet outlining the changes and key dates
- a quick reference guide to help you make sure your strategic plan meets the new requirements.
Timeline for 2027#
Your board needs to complete the following in 2027.
- 1 March: publish online and submit your strategic plan to us. This plan will be in place for 2027 to 2028.
- 31 March: publish your annual implementation plan for the current school year. Send your annual financial statements to your auditor.
- 31 May: submit your annual report to us. Publish your annual report online as soon as you can after this.
Submitting your documents to us#
Submit your planning and reporting documents to us using the School Planning and Reporting Application. There is guidance available in the application.
School Planning and Reporting Application log in – Ministry of Education
The application uses your Education Sector Logon (ESL). Contact your school's ESL delegated authoriser to request access.
Delegated authorisers will need to set up the School Planning and Reporting role for users as shown below.
See below guidance for delegated authorisers on how to set up new roles for users.
ESL: Support for online delegated authorisers – Ministry of Education
For technical support call the Education Service Desk.
Freephone (NZ only): 0800 422 599
Publishing your documents online#
You must publish all planning and reporting documents on a website so parents, whānau and communities can access them.
If your school or kura does not have its own website, we can host your documents on our Education Counts website. Send a board-approved request to us.
Email: [email protected]
It is the school board’s responsibility to ensure your planning and reporting documents do not contain any information that may breach an individual’s privacy before you publish them.
Resources for implementing the framework#
Our toolkit supports your board and principal to implement Te Whakangārahu Ngātahi | Planning Together.
The toolkit sets out the requirements of the planning and reporting documents and includes worksheets that schools may find useful during the planning process.
Templates and examples #
We have developed templates to help you create your strategic plan, annual implementation plan and annual report. These templates reflect the recent amendments to the regulations for school planning and reporting.
The use of the templates is optional. You can adapt them to suit your school, kura and community needs.
We have also developed examples of completed strategic plans and annual implementation plans. The examples include a range of possible:
- goals and strategies
- targets and planned actions
- resources
- measures.
They show how you could reflect the national education strategies in your strategic plan (if you choose to). The examples are not intended to show the number of strategies and planned actions or the scale of resources a school might have for each target.
Your school’s goals, strategies, targets, planned actions and resources will be specific for your school and community. They may look different to the examples included below.
Community planning pack#
This pack provides information about the planning and reporting process for your community. It explains the role the community has in the process.
Easy Read#
Braille#
Audio – Help shape the future of your school
Audio version of the document called Help shape the future of your schoolNew Zealand Sign Language#
NZSL: Help shape the future of your school
New Zealand Sign Language version
Contact us#
Your regional office can help with developing your planning and reporting documents.
Help is also available from GovHub – School Board Services.
Freephone (NZ only): 0800 782 435
