“The vision for 2032 is that “Aotearoa New Zealand will have a strong, culturally
competent, education workforce that drives
a world leading, learner- focused education system”, including one that
plays a significant role in fostering Māori and Pacific identity,
language and culture with the confidence and capability to
support te reo and te ao learning for all”.
Draft Education Workforce Strategy 2021
Module Objectives:
Understand employment law:
- Legislation
- NAG 3
- Employment agreements
Understand staffing best practice:
- Banked staffing
- Staffing allocations
- Payroll
- Develop effective recruitment strategies
Section 1: Staffing Provision
Staffing provision in our schools is complex and bound by both legislation and collective agreements. A summary of the legal requirements, Ministry of Education regulations and agreements is given below:
Legislation
Education and Training Act 2020 – key sections: 585-621
Children’s Act 2014 – sets out the requirements for safety checking children’s workers
Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 – sets out the requirements for keeping people at work safe from harm
State Sector Act 1988, repealed and replaced by Public Service Act 2020 – has relevance
Employment Relations Act 2000 – has relevance
NAG 3
NAG 3 relates to board and management legal responsibilities for personnel and employment matters, industrial policies, and being a good employer.
Employment agreements
Employment agreements confirm the conditions of staff employment. Each staff member must have an employment agreement.
You can find the collective agreements and templates for individual employment agreements on the Ministry of Education website:
Against this background schools are tasked to appoint, resource, and support a professional workforce that can deliver the best quality educational outcomes to the learners in their care so that all New Zealand children have opportunities to reach their potential — for themselves and society as a whole. This workforce is inclusive of teachers being supported and equipped to teach, and Principals to lead and manage their schools, so that children learn in the ways that work best for them.
Section 2: The Current Staffing Provision for New Zealand Schools
Background reading:
Annual Calculation of Staffing Allowances by the Ministry of Education
At its core, staffing of schools is roll dependent, and for that reason, and because the allocation of staffing is also formula driven, with a variety of allowances, may fluctuate both year to year and during the year. The resource “Entitlement Staffing”, attached to this assignment, is sourced from the Ministry of Education website and outlines how provisional rolls are determined and confirmed for schools, including the impact of various allowances for leadership, management and specialist teacher rolls:
Banked Staffing
Banking staffing is one tool, in a system that is otherwise inflexible that allows schools use to manage their annual staffing entitlement, and the possibility of ‘unders and overs’ of spending, a little like ‘planning your annual budget’. Banking staffing allows you to either:
- a) store up ‘underuse’ (credit) for times when you know you’ll need extra staffing, or
- b) go into ‘overuse’ (overdraft) when you need extra staffing before you have enough credit stored.
The resources ‘Banked Staffing’ and ‘Your-Easy-Guide-to-Banked-Staffing”, also sourced from the MoE website, provide an outline of how this dimension of funding works.
Section 3: Payroll
The regular arrival of correct pay means staff can meet their financial commitments. Even a few dollars missed off a payment or, even worse, having to wait for pay can result in financial difficulties for people.
The list below, supplied by the MoE, is designed to help Principals check that a school is using all the staffing it is entitled to and staff members are getting paid.
- Confirm the staffing levels determined and paid for by the Ministry of Education.
- Confirm who is paid directly by the Ministry of Education from Teachers Salaries (TS).
- Confirm other staffing determined and paid for by the board of trustees.
- Confirm who is paid from the Operational Grant (BG).
- Confirm the full cost of wages and salaries to be paid from the Operational Grant for the year matches budget expectations.
- Check the SUE (Staff Usage and Expenditure) reports to see that all staff members have been paid correctly. Their level of pay must fit the conditions of their employment agreement. This includes special allowances, responsibility payments, and any adjustments from a previous pay period.
- Confirm that your school’s banking staffing processes follow the pattern you expect.
- Ensure pay adjustments for the next pay period are made before the “cut-off” time laid down by your pay authority.
Section 4: Appointing Staff
As mentioned earlier school staffing can be fluid, needing to respond to the changing roll during the year and between years. As an educational leader the Principal seeks the best appointees for any position, those who are able and ready to advance school development.
A good appointment process will ensure that the best choices are made and an overview list of what to consider and to do can be found on the educational leader website, with further background material on the NZSTA site:
Activity:
Respond to one of the following scenarios:
EITHER How banking staffing links to leading learning:
“It is 26 April. You need additional teacher hours to deliver a 10-day gifted and talented programme during August. Make a practice copy of your banking staffing spreadsheet and set this up so that in August you can employ another full teacher for the equivalent of 10 days”.
OR How staff changes link to leading learning:
It is 29 June. A permanent teacher resigned yesterday, taking effect from the end of term 3. She is teaching a composite year 3–4 class if you are in a primary school, or a teacher of health and physical education if you are in a secondary school. Some members of staff and your board chair lobby you to immediately advertise the position in the Education Gazette. It closes at 5.00pm tomorrow.
What are you, as the educational leader, going to do about this by noon tomorrow?
Assessment:
- Completion of all readings.
- Participation in the online forum discussion.
7 Responses
Looking at the PE/Health teacher scenario:
– Acknowledge the resignation of the teacher in reply email to them and cc their HOD and board chair. Inform the school’s SLT also.
– Meet with the outgoing teacher and their HOD to wish the outgoing teacher well and gauge where they have progressed to in their delivery of the curriculum for the year per their classes and what is next on the horizon. This might help inform who to consider replacing them with, what qualities and expertise to look for etc.
– Explore with the HOD any permutations of filling the outgoing teachers timetable load with any current staff members who might be ‘under’ code. Obviously, this is applicable only if there are any with suitable expertise and if timetabled classes align with undercode non-contact etc. Consider as a last resort fallback if required potential LATs if filling the role internally or through a permanent external appointment is later found to be tough or not possible at all.
– In the meantime, regardless of whether there are suitable staff members internally or not, draft an advertisement (the school should have a template or similar to make this fairly quick to do or possibly even an HR assistant) and get it into the EdGazette by noon the following day to meet the 5.00pm deadline.
– Ensure in this advertisement that sensible deadlines for applications and time frames for interviewing, reference checking, appointment, induction etc. are in place to allow for a smooth recruitment process and onboarding prior to the role commencement in Term 4.
– Run said recruitment process and appoint the best suited external applicant or fill the role internally through any suitable undercoded staff per which of these options would supply the best practitioner to the classes.
Scenario 2 – Kaiako resigned yesterday and taking effect from the end of term 3. As a educational leader I would advise the principal and keeping the focus on leading learning.
Immediate actions:
Acknowledge and communicate resignation to Kaiako and inform SLT and board. Speak to the resigning Kaiako and HOD HPE to understand the current curriculum delivery needs, and any gaps in expertise in levels, assess if anyone internally could potentially fill this gap to provide more time to assess and advertise. If not kōrero with various SLT and HOD on advertisement details, timeframes that supports and enhances the learning experiences in HPE and our kura ākonga. Then onto EdGazette to advertise, deadlines before the end of the term break and provide time for successful applicant to resign and transition to our kura.
It is 29 June. A permanent teacher resigned yesterday, taking effect from the end of term 3. She is teaching a composite year 3–4 class. Some members of staff and your board chair lobby you to immediately advertise the position in the Education Gazette. It closes at 5.00pm tomorrow.
What are you, as the educational leader, going to do about this by noon tomorrow?
We’ve just received a permanent teacher’s resignation effective at the end of Term 3, with pressure to advertise immediately, my priority by noon tomorrow will be to connect with the departing teacher, verify the resignation details, and convene with the senior leadership team to assess our staffing needs and budget. Simultaneously, I’ll engage with the board chair and lobbying staff to understand their urgency while emphasizing the value of a strategic recruitment process given the standard two-month notice period. I will have also initiated the drafting of a detailed job description specifically tailored to the Year 3/4 composite position. This draft will not only outline the necessary skills and experience but will also explicitly reflect the unique culture and care values that underpin our school environment. I’ll either explore internal candidates and assess the impact on other classes or consult with the relevant staff and review curriculum needs, all aiming to have a well-reasoned plan for a thorough yet timely recruitment process by tomorrow lunchtime. Throughout this two-month period, clear communication with all stakeholders – the resigning teacher, staff, the board, and the applicants – will be crucial. We will aim to have a new teacher appointed with sufficient time for them to prepare for the start of Term 4
Kia ora,
I have picked the “How banking staffing links to leading learning:
“It is 26 April. You need additional teacher hours to deliver a 10-day gifted and talented programme during August. Make a practice copy of your banking staffing spreadsheet and set this up so that in August you can employ another full teacher for the equivalent of 10 days”
This was interesting to do as I have been sitting in beside my principal when she has been looking at Banked Staffing with Ed Services. When I discussed this with her, she reminded me that depending on the contract I need to make sure I include the holiday pay as well. We also discussed the different scenarios of if we wanted it as 10 days in a row or 1 day per term. Our banked staffing however did allow us to ’employ a gifted and talent kaiako’.
I think to continue my development in this area, I will talk more around banked staffing when she is looking at it too.
I selected the second scenario. A year 3/4 teacher resigning. I would put the following into action:
– Acknowledge the resignation in writing and if appropriate (depending on the reason for the resignation) arrange to have an exit interview to further clarify/understand the reason for the resignation.
– Check with the Principal and/board around what type of appointment – fixed/permanent etc.
– Discuss with the executive leadership team a range of attributes, skills and qualities that we would be looking for in a teacher to ensure these are part of the advertisement.
– Refer to the schools advertising and appointment procedures.
– Create an advertisement for the Education Gazette that paints a picture of our school culture and environment, outlines a clear job description, application requirements and the timeline for applying and appointment.
– Consider an appropriate timeline to allow applicants to apply and for the executive leadership team to shortlist applicants – ensuring that the background and performance of all shortlisted applicants have been carefully checked – registration, referee checks etc.
– Shortlist applicants and arrange interviews and reference checks by the end of Week 2, Term 3.
– Carefully consider interviews, reference checks and background information and then make an offer of appointment.
– Know and use the schools induction processes to help induct new staff member into our school prior to Term 4, including introducing the new staff member to key staff within the school, leadership team, team leader etc to ensure a smooth transition for the new staff member, the school and the children.
With a Year 3-4 teacher resigning at the end of Term 2, and taking effect from the end of Term 3, I would acknowledge this resignation in writing and thank the teacher for their service. I would then inform the presiding member of the board and relevant staff. I would consult the team leader of this team to consider the qualities and attributes that we are after in a candidate to meet the needs of the syndicate and class. I would then advertise the position in the Education Gazette by noon tomorrow. This would allow the ad to run for two weeks during the July holiday. Weeks 1 and 2 could be used for shortlisting, interviewing, referee checking and making an offer of employment. This would allow the newly appointed teacher to give the minimum required two calendar months notice (as per the NZEI teachers’ collective agreement) at a current teaching position and for them to be available to take up this position for the start of Term 4, allowing a smooth transition for the class of Year 3-4 learners.
I chose the second scenario. By noon tomorrow, I would:
1. Acknowledge the resignation in writing and inform the SLT and board. I would consult with the Presiding Member of the Board regarding next steps.
2. Write and submit an advertisement in the Education Gazette, including a clear job description, application requirements, and recruitment timeline.
3. My recruitment timeline: My goal is to have a new teacher ready to start at the beginning of Term 4. Given that teachers must provide two calendar months’ notice, the recruitment process would be as follows:
– Week 10, Term 2: Advertise in the Education Gazette, with applications closing at the end of the Term 2 school holidays.
– Week 1, Term 3: Shortlist candidates.
– Week 2, Term 3: Conduct interviews. Complete reference checks and offer the position.
This process would hopefully ensure a smooth transition for Term 4 and consistent learning for the class of year 3 and 4 students.