How Schools Are Run

How Schools Are Run in New Zealand

Every school has a board of trustees elected by the community every three years. The board’s role is to ensure that:

• the school runs smoothly
• quality programmes are in place.
• school staff are employed including the principal
• policies to guide the operation of the school are in place. Eg, health and safety policies, discipline procedures and behaviour guidelines. You can ask your school for these.

Principal and teaching staff

The board employs the principal to manage the school’s day-to-day activities within the policies that the board has set. Principals manage teaching and learning programmes and monitor staff performance. The principal and teaching staff are the education experts. They develop learning programmes based on the NZ Curriculum to help your child succeed and reach their potential.

Teachers manage what goes on in the classroom each day – what is taught, and how it’s taught. They manage children’s behaviour and care for your child during school time.

School administration staff

Another key staff member is the school secretary or office administrator (they’ll usually answer the phone when you ring the school). They can often answer questions about what’s happening at the school or advise you about the best person to talk to if you have any questions.

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