Education minister meets integrated schools association

In the first edition of “Kōtui: School and Policy Updates” for 2025, Association of Proprietors of Integrated Schools (APIS) CEO Dr Kevin Shore said that it “is always a privilege to have the opportunity to meet with the Minister of Education, and APIS appreciated the 45 minutes she was able to provide for further discussion on issues that are important to the interests of state integrated education”.

Dr Shore said that the items discussed with the minister included Policy Two funding and “potential alternative mechanisms for funding growth in our sector, development of guidance for proprietors on insurance risk management strategies, [and] the involvement of proprietors in regional network planning”.

Policy Two funding is sometimes available from the Ministry of Education to go towards the costs of building new classrooms in an existing state integrated school (usually related to roll growth), or in a new integrated school.  

In 2020, a previous APIS CEO noted that state integrated schools are being built to contribute to the state network provision of schools, at no capital cost to the then-Government. Policy Two funding, or the lack thereof, has been a subject for discussion for several years.

Among the criteria for Policy Two funding for a new school is that it must be shown that a new state school is likely to be needed within 10 years if the integrated school isn’t built.  

Also discussed at the December 2024 meeting with Minister Stanford were “proprietor investment in growing the state integrated sector, the minister’s concerns over requests by some state integrated schools for large parent donations, and leadership succession and support programs run by NZCEO (the New Zealand Catholic Education Office)”.

Dr Shore said that he hopes that by the end of the first half of this year, he would be able to “report in some detail on the outcomes of these discussions”.

“APIS is grateful to Minister Stanford for her openness and willingness to discuss these issues and actively seeking to find solutions to many of our concerns.”

FULL STORY

NZCEO eNewsletter (Kōtui – School and Policy Updates)

Integrated schools irked at Green School funding move – NZ Catholic Newspaper (NZ Catholic — explaining the nature of Policy Two funding)

Policy Two funding for roll growth at integrated schools – Ministry of Education (Ministry of Education)