Circular 2001/22 - Education Standards Act 2001
Date: 2 November 2001
Circular Number: 2001/22
Category: National Operations
Education Standards Act 2001
This circular is about: Changes to the Education Act 1989 through the passing of the Education Standards Act 2001.
The action required is: A range of actions will be required as outlined. Please note the contents of this circular and retain a copy for your records.
It is intended for: Chairpersons of boards of trustees and principals of state, state integrated and private schools.
For further information: Contact details have been provided throughout this circular.
Introduction
The Education Standards Act 2001 (originally introduced to the house as The Education Amendment Act (No 2) 2000) amends the Education Act of 1989 and involves changes across all education sectors. This circular provides an overview of changes that affect schools. Where changes are significant, detailed information will be sent separately.
Changes that have particular importance for schools include: board of trustees eligibility; enrolment schemes; health education; human rights compliance; information gathering; international students; interventions; school hostels; school planning and reporting; school risk management; Specialist Education Services disestablishment; and the New Zealand Teachers Council.
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Board of trustees eligibility
Board members who have a contract with a school board for more than $25,000 per year are not eligible to be, or remain a trustee of that school. This provision, already incorporated in the Local Authorities (Members' Interests) Act 1968, has not previously been included within the Education Act and, as a result, some trustees may not be aware of this restriction.
The new legislation inserts this restriction into the section of the Education Act that deals with eligibility criteria. The Secretary for Education can permit exemptions to the rule. An exemption will only be given in rare and exceptional circumstances.
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Enrolment schemes
The Act clarifies procedures for dealing with parents and students who obtain an in-zone enrolment using false information or where they use a temporary address. In either of these cases a board will be able to annul a student's enrolment with the annulment taking effect after one month.
The Act also permits principals of schools with enrolment schemes to enrol excluded students who are out-of-zone. This facilitates the co-operative arrangements that exist between principals for managing the on-going enrolment of excluded students.
All schools who currently have an enrolment scheme will soon receive material relating to the changes, including an updated copy of the Secretary's Guidelines for the Development and Operation of Enrolment Schemes.
For further information contact your regional or local office of the Ministry of Education.
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Health education
The Act deletes section 105C and 105D from the Education Act 1964 and creates similar provisions in the Education Act 1989. The new provisions will require school boards, rather than principals, to consult once in each two years, on the delivery of the health curriculum and to adopt a statement on the consultation process. All schools will then need to implement the health curriculum, where previously, they had an option to exclude sex-education components. Individual parents however, may request that their children be excluded from tuition of parts of the health programme related to sexuality education.
The Ministry will be re-issuing its book Sexuality Education: A Guide for Principals and Boards of Trustees in the near future.
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Consultation on the health curriculum
The purpose of the consultation is to:
- Inform the school community about the content of the health curriculum; and
- Ascertain the wishes of the school community regarding the way in which the health curriculum should be implemented, given the views, beliefs, and customs of the members of that community; and
- Determine in broad terms, the health education needs of the students at the school.
A board may adopt any method of consultation that it considers appropriate but it may not adopt a statement on the delivery of the health curriculum until it has:
- Prepared the statement in draft; and
- Given members of the school community an adequate opportunity to comment on the draft statement; and
- Considered any comments received.
The revised Health and Physical Education Curriculum Statement will contain information about the new provisions and will be sent to schools as soon as possible.
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Human rights compliance
The Act makes a number of changes to legislation administered by the Ministry of Education, to achieve greater compliance with human rights legislation. There are two changes that will affect schools.
- Single sex schools have, until now, been prohibited from enrolling students of the other sex. Single sex schools are still entitled to refuse to enrol students of the other sex but repeal of section 3A of the Act means if a board of a single sex school wishes to enrol students of the other sex, it can.
There are related provisions allowing the Minister to place a limit on the number of students of the opposite sex who can be enrolled at a single sex school. This limit would be applied only after consultation with a board, and would be by notice in the NZ Gazette.
- An amendment has been made to section 25A of the Education Act. Previously under this section, parents of students under 18 could request the student be excluded from class on religious or cultural grounds. The amendment lowers the age from 18 to 16 and provides that principals may now receive requests from students 16 and over as well as from parents of students who are under 16. The requirements for making decisions about whether to release a student have not changed.
For further information contact Sue Prowse, Solicitor Legal Division Ph (04) 463-8192 or email sue.prowse@minedu.govt.nz [NO SPAM].
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Information gathering
The Act expands the type of information that the Ministry of Education may require from schools to now include information on individual named students. At present, data is only gathered at an aggregate level. The Act restricts the purposes for which the information can be used to the following: statistical purposes; ensuring that institutions and students receive relevant resourcing; monitoring, and ensuring students' rights in respect of enrolment and attendance.
The change allows for electronic reporting of statistical information from schools, replacing the current paper roll return forms. The change will enhance the Ministry's capacity to analyse student information, because different tables will be able to be produced without increasing the compliance burden for schools. The change will be phased in to ensure sufficient time for the development of electronic reporting of statistical information.
For further information contact the ministry's Data Management and Analysis, Ph (04) 463-8000 or email information.officer@minedu.govt.nz [NO SPAM].
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Pastoral care of international students
A new Part 18A in the Act, allows for the publication of a code of practice providing a framework for the pastoral care of international students. The Code of Practice for the Pastoral Care of International Students will be mandatory from March 2002. Schools with international students will have a six-month transition period to apply to the Ministry to become signatories to the Code.
The Code will cover all exchange students and Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) scholarship recipients as well as foreign fee-paying students. Schools with MFAT scholarship recipients will need to become signatories to the Code even if they do not have any foreign fee-paying students enrolled. Schools running their own exchange programmes will need to become signatories to the Code. Schools hosting students on external exchange programmes, for example those arranged by American Field Service or Rotary will need to verify that the exchange programme provider has been approved by the Code Administrator prior to enrolling the student.
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Interventions
The new legislation deletes current sections of the Act relating to the appointment of commissioners, specialist advisers, and financial managers in schools. In place of these, the Act establishes a new risk-based set of interventions.
The legislation gives a range of powers to the Minister or the Secretary for Education. These include the power to require a school to provide the Ministry with specified information, or to develop and implement an action plan.
Other interventions may include:
- Directing the board to appoint a specialist adviser;
- Appointing a limited statutory manager who will become responsible for some parts of the school's functioning while the board of trustees remains responsible for all other aspects; and
- Dissolving the board and appointing a commissioner.
Two other significant changes are:
- The trigger for using one of these interventions is the Minister or the Secretary for Education having reasonable grounds to believe that there is a risk to the educational performance or welfare of students or to the operation of the school. The intervention used has to be in proportion to the risk, and no more than is necessary to deal with it.
- Boards and proprietors of integrated schools may request the Minister or Ministry to employ one of these interventions.
For further information contact your regional or local office of the Ministry of Education.
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Risk management scheme
The amendment provides the authority for regulations to be established for the Risk Management Scheme. The annual deed, which prescribes the details of the scheme, will continue to be published. The amendment also enables enhancements to the existing scheme.
As part of the latest budget the Ministry will offer a new, expanded risk management scheme to all state and state integrated schools, effective from January 2002. This scheme will offer replacement cover for the value of contents, not only indemnity, and extend cover to new areas, such as public liability, punitive and exemplary damages, trustees cover, employers liability, statutory liability, fidelity guarantee, and legal expenses (general).
For further information, contact the Resourcing Division Contact Centre, ph 04 463 8383, or e-mail resourcing@minedu.govt.nz [NO SPAM].
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Schools planning and reporting
The Act has introduced a change to school charters and charter requirements. From 2003, in addition to statements of mission and school values, school charters are required to have a section that sets out the school's strategic plan.
This will include:
- Goals for improved student achievement for the next 3 to 5 years;
- An annually updated part that sets out the school's improvement targets for the current year; and
- The activities the school plans to help it reach its strategic goals.
The national administration guidelines will continue to provide direction for issues that schools should consider when planning. Both strategic planning and annual planning should be focussed on student achievement and informed by on-going self-review. Each year, schools' annual reports will provide an analysis of the progress made towards the improvement targets set. It is expected that schools will use these reports in self- review and planning for the following year.
Each year schools will be required to lodge a copy of their annual plans and reports (along with their financial accounts) with their local Ministry of Education Office so that the government will have better information to inform its policy review and support strategies.
The Ministry is developing tools and guidelines to assist schools with strategic planning and reporting. Specific training on the implications of the Act will be given to all schools in Term 3 2002. On-going professional support will be available to help schools with planning, reporting and evaluation where such assistance is necessary.
The Act also requires boards to report the total remuneration of their principals. Further details will be provided to boards including guidelines to meet this requirement.
For further information contact your regional or local office of the Ministry of Education
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School hostels
The legislation contains provisions to help ensure that students who are accommodated in school boarding hostels will be safe from bullying and other risks, by permitting the regulation and inspection of those hostels. The legislation allows for regulations to be expressed in a number of ways ranging from a set of minimum standards, or a code of practice, to a licensing system. The Minister of Education may appoint an `authorised person' to inspect school hostels to monitor compliance with any minimum standards or codes that may be introduced.
The legislation also extends the powers of the Education Review Office (ERO) to inspect hostels. The Chief Review Officer may carry out reviews of the provision of a safe physical and emotional environment that supports learning for students accommodated in hostels. The Chief Review Officer must carry out those reviews when directed by the Minister to do so.
Over the next 12 months the Ministry of Education will be investigating what regulation of school hostels may be needed. This will include wide consultation with boarding schools and other stakeholders. The Ministry will also be working closely with ERO to make sure that the inspection policies of the two agencies are aligned and do not impose an unnecessary burden on boarding schools.
For further information contact your regional or local office of the Ministry of Education.
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Changes to the delivery of special education
This legislation makes the legal changes necessary for the disestablishment of Specialist Education Services (SES) on 28 February 2002. This will allow the Government to provide special education services by means of a special education group within the Ministry of Education.
The legislative changes will help the government provide a seamless, accessible and integrated service to children and young people with special education needs.
For further information please go to www.minedu.govt.nz/specialeducation.
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Teachers Council
The Act provides for the New Zealand Teachers Council to take over from the Teacher Registration Board (TRB). The Council will also have some wider functions and powers and be more representative of teachers. The Council will provide professional leadership in teaching and encourage on-going professional debate. It will also have responsibility for developing a code of ethics and disciplining members who do not meet the standards required by the profession.
Key components
Registration of kura kaupapa Māori and early childhood teachers
The Act introduces compulsory registration for kura kaupapa Māori and early childhood teachers. The Teachers Council will be responsible for these registrations. The transition plan for phasing in registration will be advised by Order in Council on the recommendation of the Minister.
Police vetting
The Act also provides for mandatory police vetting every three years for all teachers, non-teaching employees (including existing staff), and contractors and their employees who work regularly in schools during the hours of instruction. Vetting for teachers will occur when they apply for registration and practicing certificate renewal. The Teachers Council will co-ordinate all vetting and will charge a small fee to cover the administrative costs of vetting non-teaching employees.
The Council and employers will be required to establish policies and procedures for handling confidential vetting information. This will include a validation process to ensure that the subjects of vetting are given the opportunity to verify any information before adverse employment decisions are made.
Mandatory reporting
Employers are currently required to report all cases where a teacher has:
- Been dismissed; and
- Resigned, and within the previous 12 months had been given written notice that their employer was dissatisfied with, or intended to examine or investigate, any aspect of the teacher's behaviour or performance.
The Act requires that employers must also report to the Council where:
- A complaint about a former teaching employee's conduct or competence is received within 12 months of the teacher ceasing employment;
- An employer has reason to believe a teacher has engaged in serious misconduct; and
- A teacher has failed to reach the required level of competence, despite competency proceedings having been undertaken.
To ensure the Council has sufficient information to enable it to make effective and fair decisions, employers' reports must include a description of the issue and what action, if any, they have taken. Employers are also required to provide additional information if requested by the Council.
Transitional provisions
The establishment of the Council will come into force on a date set by Order in Council. It is proposed that the 11-member Council will include one elected principal and three elected teachers. Initially the four elected positions will be filled by Ministerial appointments, but the new disciplinary functions and development of the code of ethics will not come into force until elections have been held. Meanwhile, the Council will assume existing TRB functions and commence some of the new functions, such as conducting elections, setting up advisory groups and implementing police vetting.
After the elected members have taken office, the full functions will come into force on a date set by Order in Council. Until that time existing TRB reporting requirements and disciplinary processes will be continued by the Council.
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Ministry of Education contact details
Contact details for regional and local Ministry of Education offices are available on this site.
Issued by
Kathy Phillips
Senior Manager
Resourcing Division
Te Wāhanga Whakarato Rawa
National Office
45- 47 Pipitea Street
PO Box 1666, Wellington, New Zealand
Phone: 04-796 8000
Fax: 04-463 2001