STAR Information for board of trustees and principals

The role of the board of trustees

The board of trustees ensures that the STAR programme:

• is aligned with the school’s charter and strategic plan
• delivers on the National Education Goals and National Administration Guidelines and has clear goals in terms of student achievement 
• is included in the school’s strategic and financial planning processes
• demonstrates its success in meeting those goals and objectives through robust assessment and evaluation practices.

And that:

• the principal’s reports to the board include regular information about STAR that enables the board to gain a clear and accurate picture of how well the programme is performing against the criteria
• any anomalies or underperformance of the STAR programme or any part of it are promptly and appropriately addressed.

In practice, this means that the board verifies the school's STAR policy and receives regular reports on the programme's delivery.

Meeting National Administration Guidelines 1(f)

STAR's objectives reflect guideline 1(f) in the National Administration Guidelines:

“Each board of trustees is required to foster student achievement by providing teaching and learning programmes which incorporate The National Curriculum as expressed in The New Zealand Curriculum 2007 or Te Marautanga o Aotearoa.

“Each board, through the principal and staff, is required to:

(f) provide appropriate career education and guidance for all students in year 7 and above, with a particular emphasis on specific career guidance for those students who have been identified by the school as being at risk of leaving school unprepared for the transition to the workplace or further education/training.”

The role of the principal

The principal manages the delivery of STAR on behalf of the board. Key responsibilities for principals include:

• good quality reports to the board about the effectiveness of the programme to support their strategic and financial decision making
• operational policy and processes development
• ensuring that there are good processes for programme delivery, including strategies to support students' withdrawal to attend STAR courses while minimising conflict with the daily school programme
• ensuring that STAR is understood and valued within the school and that there is good communication between the coordinator and the rest of the staff
• STAR Funding Report Form [Word; 210kb] verification.