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School boards must meet all obligations specified in the relevant employment agreements when managing a reduction in entitlement staffing.
The Education and Training Act 2020 requires boards to act independently in their employment decisions on individual employees. We cannot influence decisions, but we can advise on the surplus staffing process.
Identify whether you have an entitlement staffing reduction
We publish your school's provisional entitlement staffing for the next year in Pourato each September.
When the number of students at your school changes, it can affect your entitlement staffing. If your entitlement is reduced, you will need to review your staffing requirements.
If there is a reduction in your entitlement staffing, you will see a banner in the Staffing Entitlement tab in Pourato. It will confirm exactly how many FTTEs, salary units and MMAs your entitlement has been reduced by.
Finding information in Pourato – Applications and Online Systems
Decide if you have to disestablish teaching positions
If your entitlement staffing has been reduced, contact Te Whakarōputanga Kaitiaki Kura o Aotearoa (formerly New Zealand School Trustees Association) for advice. They can help your board:
- decide whether to reduce the number of teachers
- run the process to identify which positions to disestablish
- ensure that you have met all your obligations as an employer.
You do not need to be a Te Whakarōputanga member to contact them.
Te Whakarōputanga Kaitiaki Kura o Aotearoa
Freephone (NZ only): 0800 STAHELP (0800 782 435)
Manage an entitlement staffing reduction
Boards may not have to disestablish permanent teaching positions. You may be able to keep all permanent staff if:
- you can reduce teaching positions by attrition
- the number of permanent teachers you have is the same or lower than the new staffing entitlement
- you can use other resources such as banking staffing or operational funding to retain staff.
Surplus staffing support
If you have to disestablish permanent teaching positions, you may incur costs for:
- the teacher’s salary
- a long service/severance payment.
We may agree to cover these costs for your school if required conditions have been met.
Apply for surplus staffing support
As their employer, the board must continue to pay a teacher whose position has been disestablished, according to the terms of their employment agreement. This applies whether or not the board has requested surplus staffing support.
Support to maintain curriculum delivery
If managing a staffing reduction could affect delivery of the curriculum for Year 10 and above, boards may be able to apply for the programme maintenance allowance.
