As we prepare for the coalition government's reintroduction of Charter Schools, we urge all PPTA Te Wehengarua members, parents, and concerned citizens to join us in opposing this misguided policy.
A well-funded public education system ensures a quality education for every child.
By improving funding for special learning needs and supports, and improving the ability for schools to innovate as designated character schools, we could have a public education system where every child in New Zealand can reach their full potential.
A message from PPTA President Chris Abercrombie
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What is a charter school?
Charter schools are state-funded schools that are run independently of the government by businesses or organisations.
A ‘sponsor’ has a contract with the government to receive funding and to meet performance standards, but how the school runs is up to them – the normal school rules don’t apply. This means that a charter school is able to set its own opening hours (or open on weekends for instruction).
Charters can hire unregistered and unqualified teachers, and don’t need to meet the professional competency standards set by the New Zealand Teaching Council.
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Why are charter schools returning?
Charter schools were abolished in New Zealand in 2017 after a short but tumultuous run.
All but one of the charter schools that were established were successfully brought back into the state sector as what we call ‘designated character schools’. These are schools which are committed to a particular philosophy or culture, with their own specialist purposes and objectives for their students.
There is nothing that a charter school can achieve that a designated character school can’t… except for making a profit.
The previous iteration of charters was a failure. The student outcomes were no better than their peers in public schools, and there were many examples of financial mismanagement in these businesses.
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What is different this time?
Previously charters were only established as new schools. This time around, any public school could be converted into a charter. This means that any member of a school community can apply for a school to become a charter – all they need is a sponsor.
The Minister may also direct a school to convert to charter. This is at the sole discretion of that politician and can be done without the consent or permission of the board, school leadership, or school community. While the legislation currently says there must be “consultation”, there is no definition of who the consultation must be with, and how much weighting it would have in the Authorisation Board’s decision.
An independent ‘Authorisation Board’ will make the decision on whether or not a school can convert. This board is appointed by the Minister.
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What can we do?
If you are opposed to your local school becoming a charter, you must make your voice heard.
There is a small consultation provision for the authorisation board, but there are no requirements for community voice to be involved in the conversion process. Here are 3 things you can do to lobby and campaign in your community.
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What have we learned from overseas?
Charter schools are also known as “academies” in the UK, and “friskolor” or “free schools” in Sweden.
Sweden’s schools Minister declared friskolar a ‘system failure’ in 2023, and is working to claw back their public education system after profit-motives have overrun the system. Swedish educational standards have dropped in recent years, and there is rising inequality and employment dissatisfaction in these schools. The same is evident in the UK’s academies, where multi-academy trusts monopolise education with state funds.
The marketised school system sees students as customers, and reduces resources to increase profits.
Evidence (from both New Zealand and overseas) shows that learning outcomes for students in former charter schools and public schools are comparable at best.
The ability for charter schools to be able to employ untrained teachers in both leadership and classroom positions is often seen by supporters as a positive thing. International evidence is that these untrained ‘teachers’ often require high levels of support, putting a strain on both their wellbeing and that of any trained teachers employed in the school. These charter schools also have a higher turnover of staff, who often have to work excessive hours in order to meet the expectations of the school sponsor/owner. Inconsistent staffing means that students are not guaranteed consistency in their education.