Charter Schools – Advice for Principals

How does a school convert?

There are two ways that a school can convert – by application or through being ‘directed’ by the Minister of Education.

What happens in a conversion?

A ‘sponsor’ is appointed to run the school, likely with no choice or opportunity for appeal from the school community.

In 2024, PPTA and NZEI sponsored the visit of a representative of the NEU – a UK teacher union, who spoke to schools, MPs and public meetings on the importance of resisting privatisation. More information on the NEU academisation experience can be found here.

Directed Conversion

The Act is not clear on the decision-making process for the Minister to direct a school to convert to charter, however in the United Kingdom forced academisation usually happens due to ‘inadequate Ofsted (similar to ERO) judgement’.

We have seen stronger language from the Government in the recently introduced Education and Training (System Reform) Amendment Bill where schools deemed “of serious concern” must be reported to the Secretary and the Minister.

Conversion by Application

As we have seen in the news recently, any member of the community can apply to convert a school to a charter. This could be the School Board, the Senior Leadership Team, the Principal, or a parent. It could also be the Limited Liability Company who owns the local dairy.

The process includes consultation.

The Charter School Agency states that they “must… consult the community and others to ascertain the level of support. This will involve consulting with the school board, school community, school staff, students, and any other people the Authorisation Board thinks fit.”

There are some limitations on conversion – if the school does not have a designated character, it cannot adopt one on conversion. This means that a school that is not religious in nature cannot be converted into a ‘religious’ school.

What should we do if a sponsor makes an application to forcibly convert our school?

PPTA has organised our Branches through the Branch Resolution process. If your school has not yet passed the Branch Resolution, it would be good to allow time for a branch meeting to discuss the resolution. If there is significant opposition within the branch to the conversion, have the resolution signed and return it to us. You can involve your Field Officer, and they can let National Office know if extra support is needed.

It is important that you communicate your concern to your school community, the Minister of Education and the Charter School Agency. Speak with your regional Ministry representative.

Open letters are all the rage these days! Communicate directly with their community through social media. The Branch can also seek PPTA support.

There is limited ability to OIA information on the process, but you should certainly request as much as you can from the Charter schools agency. If your board is opposed, then they should contact local MPs regardless of any political party affiliation to let them know of their opposition. If you’re not sure how to do this, contact us at public.education@ppta.org.nz.

Why are we so opposed to charter schools?

Charter schools shift resources from the public to the private sector.

Proposed changes to the Education and Training Act will allow large chains, able to make a profit. That money is taken out of the education system and turned into private capital at the expense of our rangatahi.

There is a lack of transparency with public funding and spending. Charter school contracts are confidential. We do have to hold some concerns about the competency of those working in the Charter Schools Agency when we have contracts signed with non-existent entities.

Charter schools undermine the professionalism of teachers by turning schools into businesses rather than learning institutions. International experience

Charter schools undermine the connection between schools and communities through the disestablishment of school boards and no requirement to have a specified zone.

Charter schools are politically driven, not educationally focused.

We know that there are some community-minded, good people who have opened (or want to open) charter schools here in Aotearoa New Zealand. They have good intentions and want to provide a service to their students. However, these individual schools chip away at the foundations of a strong public education system. They allow the government to move funds out of the public system and into the hands of private companies.

Through destabilising our strong, albeit imperfect, public education system, we risk the ghettoisation of our local, community schools. We risk creating a multi-tier system with haves and have-nots who are separated by ideological and financial walls.

What is likely to happen if we convert?

Everything changes

When a school converts it closes and reopens as a new entity.

If a state school converts, all employees of a converted school become employees of the new sponsor. Staff will be transferred on terms and conditions which are ‘no less favourable overall’, which includes salary and service related to superannuation entitlements. This means moving staff from the Collective Agreement onto an Individual Employment Agreement.

There are some conditions that cannot be easily transferred because they are centrally allocated. This includes staff sick leave balances, access to study awards, and things that PPTA members have fought for, including things such as Kapa Haka and Polyfest relief costs. It is likely that the process of negotiating the new terms and conditions will be difficult, including for existing principals.

It’s important to note that as each school is a different site, we cannot guarantee any minimum rights or similarity to our national collective agreements (other than those enshrined in employment law).

Currently the PPTA negotiates on behalf of all of our members who are covered by the STCA, ASTCA, SPCA and the ASPCA (as well as ACE and OOMA members).

These are hard fought for and passed on to all our members on those agreements. Teachers and principals in a charter school might begin on a similar agreement, but without the momentum achieved through collective action, it is unlikely that you will have parity with the state sector for long.

We know from international experience (and our own here in Aotearoa New Zealand) that the charter schools are finding their budgets a little stretched. Passing salary increments along is therefore not a given.

The Act states that staff in the school are not entitled to the Surplus Staffing provisions which means that if you don’t want to work in a charter school you are not entitled to any payment or redeployment as part of the conversion process.

Staff will be subject to the notice period that is included in any new employment agreement – individual or otherwise.

What happens to the Principal and School Leadership Team?

The Act requires the charter school sponsor to appoint two separate roles:

1. A Chief Executive, who is responsible for the day-to-day management of the school; and
2. A person responsible for teaching and learning, who must hold a current practising certificate.

This means your current role as principal does not automatically continue after conversion.

Because charter schools are controlled by appointed sponsors rather than community-elected boards, all leadership positions, including the principal, are filled entirely at the sponsor’s discretion. You may be reappointed, replaced, or asked to reapply for a differently defined role under the new structure. This sits awkwardly alongside the requirement for your employment to be transferred to an IEA that is “no less favourable” and is likely to require some negotiation.

Once the school becomes a charter school, you are no longer covered by the Secondary Principals’ Collective Agreement.

Sponsors commonly use fixed-term contracts, performance-based pay, and corporate-style roles.

What will teaching in a charter school be like?

Charter schools can be closed or restructured more easily than state schools, leaving staff vulnerable to job loss.

The sponsors are completely accountable for the management of a school. If a charter school isn’t meeting its contracted targets, it can face interventions, which include being shut down for poor performance.

If this happens, or if the money dries up, there are likely to be very few avenues available to staff for remedy.

The sponsor has the ability to introduce a new curriculum, and they can choose to provide any internationally recognised qualifications (such as NCEA, Cambridge, IB or those offered by Australian schools). This may require significant upskilling of the teaching staff.

Flexibility around timetabling and hours open for instruction are some of drawcards for a sponsor to a charter school. It could mean having schools open longer, and staff may not have the ability to refuse to work outside of current school hours.

It could also mean larger class sizes, fewer non-contacts and more expected of staff outside of school hours.

Questions and support

If you are concerned that your school may be subject to a conversion, please contact the PPTA for support. You can do this through your Field Officer or by emailing public.education@ppta.org.nz.