Teachers and school staff

All teaching staff at a charter school must be approved by the Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand either as a certificated teacher or through a Limited Authority to Teach (LAT).

Both state and charter schools must employ registered teachers

To teach in New Zealand schools, you must either hold a current practicing certificate or a Limited Authority to Teach (LAT). A LAT is issued by the Teaching Council.

Both charter schools and state schools have constraints in how they use LATs.

State school

Charter school

Ratio

N/A

At least 75% of teachers must be registered teachers

Up to 25% of teachers can hold a LAT

Scenario

Can employ a LAT where that teacher holds a specialist skill or a skill that is in short supply.

Can not employ a LAT in a permanent teaching position.

N/A

Teachers can work in charter schools and belong to a union

Teachers in charter schools can join a union. They can have a collective agreement within their school.

Unions can’t make agreements that apply to several sponsors at once. That’s because the constraints that apply within the state collective contracts would limit each sponsor’s ability to set their own employment terms and conditions. Charter Schools have more flexibility over things like introducing performance pay and changing hours of work.

For example; some charter schools have different hours - opening early or finishing later and allowing time for parents to meet with teachers and mentors. That requires a different sort of contract.

Conditions for staff at converting schools

If a state school becomes a charter school, all current staff will become employees of the new sponsor. Staff will move across with pay and conditions that are ‘no less favourable overall’, including their salary and superannuation entitlements.

There may be some situations where conditions can’t be carried over exactly, for example, where an entitlement is provided by the Ministry of Education directly. Where this happens, those details will be worked through.