Support for boards

Learn about interventions in schools and kura and access NZSTA support and resources for school boards.

This guidance details the range of support and resources available to assist boards. This information will help boards understand their roles and responsibilities and strengthen their governance capability towards helping their students learn and achieve.

• New Zealand School Trustees Association
• Interventions in schools and kura
• Non-statutory assistance
• Statutory interventions
• Examples of operational risk or risk to student welfare
• When an intervention happens
• Levels of statutory intervention
• Who pays for an intervention
• Reviewing an intervention
• Resources for boards
• More information

New Zealand School Trustees Association

We contract New Zealand School Trustees Association (NZSTA) to support boards in the undertaking of their roles and responsibilities. NZSTA provides practical support, advice, resources and professional development opportunities to help boards govern and manage their schools.

Support and advice – NZSTA(external link)

Elections – School Trustee Elections(external link)

The Education Review Office (ERO) have also produced useful guidance for boards which you can download.

School Trustees Booklet: Helping you ask the right questions – ERO(external link)

Interventions in state and state-integrated schools and kura

If boards are unable or unwilling to respond to an issue they have at their school, or are slow to respond, we’ll work with them to assess and manage the risks to the school. 

When we determine that a board is having difficulties, there is a range of non-statutory assistance or statutory interventions we can initiate to help.

Non-statutory assistance

There is a range of support and resources available from the Ministry of Education and the NZSTA to assist boards.

NZSTA can help boards understand their roles and responsibilities and strengthen their governance capability towards helping their students learn and achieve.

Statutory interventions 

Below you’ll find information on statutory interventions in state and state-integrated schools and kura, including when they happen, the types of intervention, and what each type means for a board.

A statutory intervention is a way we support schools and kura needing help with operational risks, or risk to the welfare or educational performance of their students.

The aim of any intervention is always to return the school to full self-governance as soon as the recommendations and objectives of the intervention have been met. When an intervention is in place, the day-to-day running of the school remains with the principal.

Examples of operational risk or risk to student welfare

Risk to the operation of a school/kura

This could include:

• financial management issues
• personnel management and/or asset management
• poor planning
• policy setting and reporting to parents
• poor community relationships
• not complying with legislation.

Risk to student welfare

This could include:

• inadequate policies and practices to ensure student welfare, health and safety
• persistently high truancy rates
• high suspension, exclusion and expulsion rates.

When a critical incident relating to student welfare and safety occurs at a school, a statutory intervention may be put in place to assist the school with managing the crisis.

Risk to the educational performance of the school's students

This includes:

• inadequate curriculum management
• absence of adequate policies and processes for student assessment
• staffing issues that may influence student performance
• persistently low student achievement in relation to comparable schools
• low achievement of particular groups within the school.

When does an intervention happen?

An intervention may happen when a board or proprietor requests help with a particular issue. It could occur after an ERO report or when a concern has been raised with the Ministry of Education.

When this happens, the Ministry will consider the most appropriate action from a range of options, which could include non-statutory assistance. The Minister of Education or the Secretary for Education has to approve an intervention.

Levels of statutory interventions

There are 9 different statutory interventions under the Education and Training Act 2020 that can be used to support the different situations and issues schools and kura may face.

Interventions are outlined in sections 171–183 of the Act. 

Who pays for an intervention

A board pays for the intervention unless the Secretary decides otherwise.

When a school or kura can't meet these costs without putting teaching and learning at risk, the Ministry will consider funding some or all of the costs of an intervention.

Reviewing and ending interventions

We are required to review an intervention at least annually.

An intervention remains in place until the Secretary or Minister considers either that:

• it is no longer required
• there is a change in the level of risk and another type of intervention is required.

If a statutory intervention ends or is revoked, then the Ministry will continue to monitor progress and maintain an informal level of support for whatever period is considered necessary to sustain the positive change.

Resources for boards

We have resources for boards to help with their day-to-day running of school network processes and procedures. These resources include templates, guidance and forms.

Tools for schools

Last reviewed: 06 September 2023 Has this been useful? Give us your feedback