The National Education Guidelines (NEGs)

This page outlines the components of the National Education Guidelines and provides handy links.

National Education Guidelines

The National Education Guidelines are defined by Sections 60A of the Education Act 1989

The National Education Guidelines have five components:

  1. National Education Goals, which are
    1. statements of desirable achievements by the school system, or by an element of the school system; and
    2. statements of government policy objectives for the school system:
  2. Foundation Curriculum Policy Statements, which are statements of policy concerning teaching, learning, and assessment that are made for the purposes of underpinning and giving direction to -
    1. The way in which curriculum and assessment responsibilities are to be managed in schools:
    2. National curriculum statements and locally developed curriculum:
  3. National Curriculum Statements (that is to say statements of -
    1. The areas of knowledge and understanding to be covered by students; and
    2. The skills to be developed by students; and
    3. Desirable levels of knowledge, understanding, and skill, to be achieved by students, during the years of schooling):
  4. National Standards, which are standards, in regard to matters such as literacy and numeracy, that are applicable to all students of a particular age or in a particular year of schooling.
  5. National Administration Guidelines (NAGs), which are guidelines relating to school administration and which may (without limitation) -
    1. set out statements of desirable codes or principles of conduct or administration for specified kinds or descriptions of person or body, including guidelines for the purposes of section 61:
    2. set out requirements relating to planning and reporting including -
    3. communicate the Government's policy objectives:
    4. set out transitional provisions for the purposes of national administration guidelines.

The National Education Guidelines given effect by three parts of the Education Act

  1. - section 61 (2) which states:
    The purpose of a school charter is to establish the mission, aims, objectives, directions, and targets of the Board that will give effect to the Government's national education guidelines and the Board's priorities.
  2. - section 61 (4) (b) .
    A school charter must include the Board's aims, objectives, directions, priorities, and targets in the following categories:
    • ... (b) the Board's activities aimed at meeting both general government policy objectives for all schools, being policy objectives set out or referred to in national education guidelines, and specific policy objectives applying to that school:
  3. - and section 62 (2) which states
    A school charter must be prepared and updated in accordance with national administration guidelines.


Content last updated: 23 March 2009