What is a charter school?

Charter schools are public schools, but they are run by a sponsor instead of a school board. The sponsor signs a contract with the Crown to run the school.

That contract means these schools are held to account. The Charter School Agency and Authorisation Board monitor each school’s performance, particularly on student attendance and achievement.

How charter schools deliver these results is up to them. They can make their own decisions about teaching, curriculum, governance, school hours, term dates, and how they use their funding.

Some charter schools may focus on students who are underachieving or who have become disengaged from school. These students may have learning challenges or simply need to be in an environment which provides different ways of learning. Some may be chronic absentees; others may be neuro diverse. Others may learn best in a setting that reflects their culture.

Other charter schools may teach students in a different language, or focus on particular strengths, such as arts or sports.

Charter schools aim to give students more choices, so they can learn in ways that suit them best. They add to and strengthen New Zealand’s education system.

There are two ways charter schools are created. An entirely new school is established, or an existing state school can convert to a charter school. A school may convert because the community wants more freedom in how the school is run, or because the Minister directs that a poor performing school must become a charter school.