Last term, the Minister of Education Hon Erica Stanford outlined her intentions for developing a more consistent, coherent system of assessment and aromatawai. Year 1 phonics checks and Year 3–8 assessments will help teachers and kaiako identify children who need additional support. 

There is no change to the way assessment data is collected. Information gathered will be anonymised and used to inform funding and resourcing decisions that support you.

Minister outlines intentions for assessment and aromatawai – Tāhūrangi

To support the purchase of structured literacy resources you will receive additional funding alongside your 1 October quarter three operational grant. The funding will be allocated every year for the next four years, adjusted according to the 1 July roll. 

The money is intended for resources for students and teachers to use and can include decodables, manipulatives, and games that support structured literacy. You will get a minimum of $500 and then additional funding based on your Year 0–3 roll numbers at 1 July. 

Secondary schools and kura can continue to access specialist support to improve teaching and learning of te reo matatini, pāngarau, literacy and numeracy until the end of September.

The regional support initiative (previously set to end in June) has been extended so there is dedicated specialist support through to the second assessment event for the NCEA co-requisite.

Key dates for secondary assessment – NZQA

If you would like to work with a regional support provider, contact your local Te Mahau office.

Local Ministry offices – Ministry of Education

Throughout Term 3 we are offering a range of level 1 NCEA workshops to support kaiako to implement the changes. The NCEA website lists the available workshops and we’ll be adding to these.

Term 3 online support workshops – NCEA Education

Most schools have submitted Term 2 attendance data automatically via their student management system (SMS). For these schools, we request you review and update ‘?’ codes and review any issues from your data quality report before the final automatic data push happens on 3 August.

Those who do not use the automatic data submission should manually submit your Term 2 attendance data from your SMS by 5pm, 2 August.

Resources to support recording student attendance can be found on our website:

Attendance code resources – Ministry of Education 

For advice and support, email everydaymatters@education.govt.nz

Applications for Terms 3 and 4 ESOL funding are due by 1 August. Submit your application through the secure data portal (SDP).  

If you received ESOL funding in the previous funding round (March), update the 2024 period 1 Terms 1 and 2 status list (available on the SDP) and add new students.

If you did not receive ESOL funding in the March round, use the ESOL funding application form to apply:

ESOL funding application form – Ministry of Education

As curriculum content and teaching resources are migrated to Tāhūrangi, we will be retiring our older websites. Website content moving to Tāhūrangi and a current list of sites being retired is available at:

Moving content to Tāhūrangi – Te Poutāhū

On 1 July, the StudyIt website closed due to low student engagement. NCEA supports for students continue to be available on the following websites: 

Exemplars and past examination papers – NZQA  

Home – NCEA Education

About STEM online – The University of Auckland

Not enough New Zealanders are immunised against measles, which means there is a very high risk of an outbreak.  

• The best protection against measles is two doses of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine – free for all young people aged 18 and under in New Zealand and all adults over the age of 18 who are eligible for free New Zealand healthcare.  
• The first symptoms of measles are fever, cough, runny nose and sore red eyes, followed by a red or dark pink rash typically starting on the face or behind the ears three days after the first symptoms before moving down the body. If you observe these symptoms, encourage parents and/or caregivers to contact their healthcare provider or Healthline on 0800 611 116 immediately.  

Encourage all staff to check that their own vaccinations are up to date. If anyone is unsure, it’s recommended that they get vaccinated. There’s no additional risk in getting an extra dose. Staff can check their vaccination records with Te Whatu Ora or by talking to their GP. 

My Health Record – Te Whatu Ora

If you have any queries, or would like further advice,email school.governancepracticepathways@education.govt.nz. 

Good ventilation helps reduce the spread of viruses, including COVID-19, flu, and measles. During winter, adequate ventilation can be achieved by partially opening windows while still maintaining warmth. You can use CO2 monitors to check the ventilation performance. Guidance is available here:

Ventilation for school buildings – Ministry of Education

You can request fixed and permanent internal environmental monitoring (IEM) devices at no cost. These devices monitor CO2 levels to track ventilation performance, along with other environmental quality factors such as temperature, relative humidity, sound, and lighting levels. Contact our Te Haratau team to make a request, at teharatau.mailbox@education.govt.nz. 

You can purchase portable Aranet4 HOME CO2 monitors at a discounted price from our nominated supplier, Butler Techsense Ltd. To access the discount, use the code ‘3DUCATION’ at the checkout on their website:

Aranet4 HOME CO2 Sensor – The Temperature Shop

We have been working with an expert advisory group and representatives from schools, boards, and peak bodies to understand why Healthy School Lunches is valuable and what is required to best serve students. 

This is helping us to develop an alternative model that is nutritious, palatable, workable and efficient for currently eligible schools from Term 1, 2025. We will keep you updated through this bulletin as new information comes to hand.  

Potential suppliers and providers can register their interest on the Government Electronic Tender Service (GETS) from early August. 

The Royal Commission into Historical Abuse in State Care and in the Care of Faith-based Institutions has released its final landmark report ‘Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light’.

Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light – Ministry of Education 

The report represents the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in Aotearoa New Zealand. Nearly six years of inquiry and the testimony of around 3000 survivors, the 16- volume report makes recommendations covering all aspects of the care system.

Advice will be given on the final report and recommendations to Cabinet over the coming months, and the Prime Minister will make a formal apology to survivors on 12 November.

In collaboration with the sector, we have developed an interactive professional development search tool for principals and aspiring principals.

The principal development map tool allows you to search opportunities by career stage, sector, and type, for example – events, supports and scholarships. Each opportunity is summarised and includes cost, eligibility and links to the provider.

Professional development opportunities are regularly added and updated. We recommend bookmarking this webpage and scheduling a regular review of the map. 

Principal Development Map – Education Workforce 

The main changes to schools’ staffing for 2025 are: 

• a reduction to the Year 4 to 8 English-medium curriculum staffing ratio from 1:29 to 1:28
• an increase to classroom release time (CRT) for primary, intermediate, specialist, restricted composite, area and composite schools
• the introduction of: 
  • CRT for permanent unit holders for primary, intermediate, specialist, restricted composite, area and composite schools,
  • pastoral care time allowances for secondary, restricted composite, area and composite schools, and
  • a part-time teacher allowance for secondary, restricted composite, area and composite schools.

Information about how the additional staffing allowances are calculated can be found on our website:

Additional staffing allowances – Ministry of Education

Guidance documents covering the use of pastoral care time allowances and school boards’ responsibilities in respect of changes to classroom release time and non-contact time will be available towards the end of August.

Schools will be able to view their 2025 provisional roll and resourcing entitlements when they are published in Pourato in September 2024.

As announced in August last year, to meet the additional costs of the teachers’ pay settlements we will no longer reimburse underuse of ‘banked staffing’ for all schools. Only kaupapa Māori and Māori medium education will be reimbursed. This applies from the current 2024 staffing year. For more information:

Banking staffing – Ministry of Education

Recoveries and reimbursements – Ministry of Education

This includes: 

• advice for all schools on how to manage staffing entitlement throughout the year; and
• specific information on how this applies to schools and kura providing kaupapa Māori and Māori medium education.

If you have any questions, contact resourcing@education.govt.nz or your school finance adviser:

School finance contacts – Ministry of Education

From Term 3, changes are being made to how schools manage the payment of part-time secondary teachers who work additional hours.

Guidance developed in collaboration with PPTA Te Wehengarua was shared via the Education Payroll Newsletter (27 June, item 5), and is available on the Education Payroll site. It includes examples of when FTTE should be increased and when the short-term reliever pay code should be used.

Part-time secondary teachers’ additional hours – Education Payroll

News for School Payroll Staff, update 27 June – Education Payroll

Applications for the teacher aide PLD fund 2023–2024 have closed before the initial expiry date (in December) because funding has now been fully allocated.

The fund opened in April 2023 to provide access to PLD for 5,379 individual teacher aides, following the settlement of the Support Staff in Schools’ Collective Agreement (SSSCA) 2022–2024. Updates on future PLD funding for teacher aides are expected to be communicated in early 2025.

For more information, visit:

Teacher aide PLD fund 2023–2024 – Ministry of Education

The ‘rolls’ tab now displays an ‘actuals’ tab, increasing transparency of the rolls used to calculate operational funding and staffing entitlements. An approved roll audit can be viewed from the ‘actual rolls’ dropdown menu.

The ‘summary’ tab will display a new event when a roll or an approved roll audit is received.
For more information, visit: 

Pourato – Applications and Online Systems

We are hosting an online workshop on key Pourato updates and tips about the 2025 provisional roll cycle being published in September.

To register for the workshop, go to:

Wednesday 21 August, 1–2pm – Microsoft Teams

Tuesday 27 August, 12.30–1.130pm – Microsoft Teams

Thursday 29 August, 3.30–4.30pm – Microsoft Teams

Boards of schools with students above Year 9 must hold a student representative election in September each year. 

The suggested date for the 2024 Student Representative Elections is 19 September, meaning boards need to appoint a returning officer by 19 August. 

For further information, visit:

Student elections – School Board Elections

Eligible state and state-integrated principals and teaching staff can lease digital devices through our TELA+ scheme, which offers a range of Acer, Apple, HP and Lenovo laptops, tablets and Chromebooks. To find out more, visit:

TELA+ digital devices for teachers and principals – Ministry of Education

From 1 July, new leases are for four years and the scheme includes user support.

Principals and teachers need to be: 

• full-time or part-time (at least 50% full-time equivalent at a single school)
• working with Year 1–13 classes
• relieving for a permanent position in Year 1–13 classes.

To apply to join the scheme, phone 0800 438 468 or email support@tela.co.nz.

Staff responsible for buying are encouraged to join online information sessions to learn how to get best overall value when purchasing. The first session is about buying directly resourced bus transport (both sessions are the same). Any queries, contact school.buying@education.govt.nz.

• Monday 5 August, 3.15–3.45pm

Buying directly resourced bus transport – Microsoft Teams

• Tuesday 6 August, 3.15–3.45pm

Buying directly resourced bus transport – Microsoft Teams

To find out more, visit:

Buying advice for schools – Ministry of Education