Schools' planning and reporting
Guidance and requirements for developing and publishing your planning and reporting documents. These documents are part of your wider planning and reporting cycle.
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It is a statutory requirement for school boards to develop planning and reporting documents each year. These requirements are set out in the Education and Training Act 2020. On 13 November 2020, the Government issued a Statement of National Education and Learning Priorities (NELP). Read more information about the NELP and how it relates to your planning and reporting: The Statement of National Education and Learning Priorities (NELP)(external link).
Overview
As a school board, you are accountable for the performance of your school or kura. You play a vital role in deciding and leading future direction and performance.
A key focus of your role is improving student progress, achievement and wellbeing, particularly for students at risk of not achieving.
Planning and reporting are important functions that support your ability to perform your role. Setting targets for the coming year, regularly reviewing progress and evaluating what has been achieved means your school and students will be better placed for educational success.
A new planning and reporting framework is coming
Under the Education and Training Act 2020, a new planning and reporting framework came into effect on 1 January 2023.
Under the new framework, annually updated charters will be replaced with a 3-year strategic plan and an annual implementation plan.
Regulations that set out the detailed requirements for planning and reporting are expected to be finalised by mid-2023.
The draft regulations propose your board will need to create its first strategic plan under the new framework by 1 January 2024. Through its strategic planning, your board will need to plan how they will meet the primary objectives for boards set out in the Education and Training Act 2020, give effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi, have particular regard to National Education Learning Priorities (NELP) and plan for the implementation of the national curriculum. Developing a high-quality local curriculum and marau ā-kura is at the heart of planning for your school or kura. In your first strategic plan, your board will need to be planning for successful implementation of the refreshed and redesigned national curriculum.
More information about the new framework is available from Education and Training Act 2020: Improving school planning and reporting(external link).
More information about the new curricula is available from Curriculum and assessment changes – Education in New Zealand(external link)
A diagram showing legislative responsibilities for curriculum and a statement to help boards manage the transition period until the new curricula is in place is available from Te Marautanga o Aotearoa | Kauwhata Reo(external link) or Te Marautanga o Aotearoa / Kāinga - TMOA (tki.org.nz)(external link) and New Zealand Curriculum(external link).
In the meantime, transitional arrangements are in place for 2023.
Transitional arrangements and key dates
While transitional arrangements for planning and reporting are in place your board needs to:
- Treat the charter that was in place in 2022 as your first strategic plan.
If your board did not submit a full charter update in 2022 due to COVID-19 disruptions, your first strategic plan will be your 2021 charter. Your 2022 charter (first strategic plan) will remain in place until the new regulations specify when your board must develop your first strategic plan under the new framework. - By 31 March: Update the annually updated sections of your most recent charter so it remains current for the year.
This update should be done using the requirements that were in place when your charter was developed (these are the requirements of section 61 of the Education Act 1989). - Publish your updated charter on your school’s website.
- Submit your updated charter to the Ministry.
You can submit by providing your Education Adviser with a link to the published document. - By 31 May: Develop and submit your annual report, including a statement of variance to the Ministry.
Further information about statement of variance (including an optional template) and annual reports are available.
Statement of variance overview
Annual reporting guidelines - Publish your annual report on your school’s website.
Publishing your documents online
It is a statutory requirement to make your school’s updated charter (first strategic plan) and annual report (which includes your statement of variance) available to the public on an internet site that is maintained by, or on behalf of, your board.
Before you make any of your planning and reporting documents publicly available, your board must check if they contain any information that might breach an individual’s privacy. If they do, you may have grounds to redact this information to protect their privacy.
If you do not have a school website, the Ministry can host your updated charter and your annual report on our website, Education Counts. Please send any requests for publishing to planning.reporting@education.govt.nz
Further information regarding publishing your planning and reporting documents online on the following page: Publishing your documents online
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