School annual reports

The following guidelines will help you prepare and submit your annual report.

Level of compliance Main audience Other

Required

  • Boards
  • Principals
  • Administrators
  • Business managers
 

Overview

All schools and kura must prepare an annual report under section 134 of the Education and Training Act 2020. The annual report is a key accountability document that school boards are required to prepare to inform and report to stakeholders including the Ministry, Members of Parliament, parents, and the wider community of schools and kura.

It shows how school boards have applied their financial resources to achieve the goals set out in their strategic plan.

A template is available to help you complete the components of your annual report. The use of this template is optional, and it can be amended to meet the needs of your school or kura and your community.

Annual report template [DOCX, 251 KB]

Annual report checklist

Make sure that you can check off each of the items below before you submit the single original PDF file of your annual report to the Ministry.

  1. Presiding member/principal’s report [OPTIONAL]
  2. List of all school board members [OPTIONAL]
  3. Statement of variance
  4. Evaluation of the school’s students’ progress and achievement
  5. Report on how the school has given effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi
  6. Statement of compliance with employment policy
  7. Other reports on special and contestable funding [MAY BE NECESSARY]
  8. Statement of Kiwisport funding
  9. Annual financial statements:

a. Statement of responsibility signed and dated.

b. Statement of comprehensive revenue and expense.

c. Statement of changes in net assets/equity.

d. Statement of financial position.

e. Statement of cash flows.

f. Notes to the financial statements.

g. Independent auditor’s report signed and dated.

Annual report timeline

The annual reporting timeline is as follows:

Month/date Task
31 December  End of financial year for all schools and kura.
February Payroll end of year reports and error schedules will be made available to schools and kura.
February/March School board prepares and approves draft annual financial statements for the auditors, and the annual report.
Due date: 31 March  School board must submit its annual financial statements to the auditor (s135 of Education and Training Act 2020).
April/May Once the audit has been completed, the school board adopts the annual financial statements and signs the statement of responsibility. The auditor then signs the independent auditor’s report.
Due date: 31 May  School board submits its annual report (including the annual financial statements) to the Ministry of Education.

As soon as practicable following the completion of the audited annual financial statements the school board must ensure that its annual report is available to the public on a website maintained by or on behalf of the school board (s136 Education and Training Act 2020(external link)).

If you have questions about preparing your annual report, please contact the school finance adviser in your region.

Components of the annual report

Presiding Member/Principal’s Report [OPTIONAL]

In this report, the presiding member and/or principal informs the school or kura community about the achievements and successes of the academic year. The report also provides an opportunity to tell staff, parents and students about the risks, challenges and opportunities coming up in the year ahead.

There are no samples provided of this kind of report in the Kiwi Park model as there are no mandatory requirements about content. Schools and kura determine what the report(s) will cover.

List of all school board members [OPTIONAL]

This list details the people who govern the school or kura. It may include the name of each school board member who served on the school board during the year, and the date on which that member will finish their term.

The list of school board members does not form part of the financial statements and, has been included as part of the Kiwi Park model.

Statement of variance [REQUIRED]

A statement of variance shows the progress you have made over the last year towards achieving the targets set out in your annual implementation plan. It offers explanation for any differences and how you will address targets that were not achieved.

Evaluation of the school’s students’ progress and achievement [REQUIRED]

This evaluation and analysis is similar to what schools already do to support governance and leadership activities. This was also required previously through National Administration Guidelines [PDF, 112 KB] (NAG) 1b and 2d. Therefore, you should be able to use your existing data collection and reporting systems to do this evaluation.

This evaluation and analysis shows how all your students have progressed and achieved over the last year. This is different from your statement of variance which reports progress and achievement only for the students you have set targets for.

Report on how the school has given effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi  [REQUIRED]

Giving effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi is one of the board primary objectives. You should describe here anything that a board has done to work towards this objective, if it hasn’t already been reported on in other sections of the annual report such as the statement of variance or evaluation of student progress and achievement.

Statement of compliance with employment policy [REQUIRED]

The board is required to operate an employment policy that complies with the principle of being a good employer. Your board must ensure compliance with this policy (including your equal employment opportunities programme) and report in your annual report on the extent of compliance (section 597(1) of the Education and Training Act 2020(external link)).

The statement of compliance with employer policy forms part of your annual report. An optional template has been developed to assist you with completing this statement.

[OPTIONAL TEMPLATE] Compliance with Education and Training Act 2020 requirements to be a good employer for the year ending 31 December 20XX [DOCX, 17 KB]

Other reports on special and contestable funding [MAY BE NECESSARY]

During the year the schools and kura may have been the recipient of additional government funding for specific purposes. Schools and kura may need to report on how these funds are used to support student development.

Kiwisport funding [REQUIRED]

Schools and kura are asked to include a short statement in their annual reports on how they have used their Kiwisport funding to increase students’ participation in organised sport. The use of the Kiwisport funding is monitored as part of schools and kura regular Education Review Office reviews.

The Kiwisport funding does not form part of the financial statements. It should be shown as a separate statement within the annual report.

Audited annual financial statements

Further guidance about annual financial statements is available from our website.

School annual financial statements

Statement of Responsibility [REQUIRED]

This statement is signed by the principal and the presiding member. It acknowledges that the school board is responsible for the preparation and accuracy of the financial statements and states that the school board has established and maintained a system of internal control to safeguard the assets of the school or kura.

Statement of Comprehensive Revenue and Expense [REQUIRED]

This statement summarises the revenue and expense of the school or kura over the financial year. It shows whether the school or kura has managed to operate within the funding they have received.

Statement of Changes in Net Assets/Equity [REQUIRED]

This statement shows the value and movements of the Government’s investment over the course of financial year in the school or kura, (this is known as ‘equity’) in the financial statement.

Statement of Financial Position [REQUIRED]

This statement shows everything the school or kura owns (assets) and everything it owes (liabilities) as at 31 December of that year.

Statement of Cash Flows [REQUIRED]

This statement shows all cash received and all cash paid by the school or kura over the financial year.

Notes to the Financial Statements [REQUIRED]

The notes to the financial statements provide an extra level of detail that supports the information shown in the front of the accounts.

Independent Auditor’s Report [REQUIRED]

This report is prepared by the auditor of the school or kura and must be included in the annual report. It provides an opinion to the readers of the annual report whether the financial statements comply with generally accepted accounting practice, and fairly represent the financial position, financial performance and cash flows of the school or kura.

Submitting your annual report 

Secure Data Portal for submission of annual reports

Please use the Secure Data Portal(external link) link to submit your annual report to the Ministry. The Secure Data Portal is well protected and is accessed as follows:

  1. Enter your log in details on the Education Sector Logon box and log in.
  2. Once in the Secure Data Portal, in the How to send your File(s) to the Ministry of Education: section, click on File Type. Choose School Planning and Reporting to upload the annual report correctly. See Figure 1 below.
School Planning and Reporting option in File Type when submitting the annual report.

Figure 1

Your annual report should be a single PDF file. Please ensure you scan originals rather than copies when creating the PDF to ensure they are legible.

Please note the audited financial statements must include the required signatures (presiding member, principal) and the independent auditor’s report.

Submission of financial statements in Excel format

In addition to the single PDF file (above), schools and kura can also upload an Excel spreadsheet version of their annual financial statements via the Ministry’s Secure Data Portal(external link). Please ensure that this is the final audited version of the annual financial statements. Uploading an Excel version of this data will help ensure data can be collated in a timely manner. This is optional and is in addition to the required PDF version for the annual financial statements.

The process for uploading the Excel version of the annual financial statements is the same as for uploading the PDF annual report. 

Publishing your annual report online

Your school board is required to publish the annual report on a website maintained by or on behalf of the school board at the same time as you submit your annual report to the Ministry.

If you do not currently have a website, the Ministry can host your annual report on our Education Counts website, www.educationcounts.govt.nz(external link).

Please send your request for us to host your annual report, along with the school board’s approval, to planning.reporting@education.govt.nz.

It is the school board’s responsibility to ensure your annual report does not contain any information that may breach an individual’s privacy before you make it publicly available.

You can find further guidance on our website.

Publishing your documents online

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