About NZ's network of schools

New Zealand’s 2,500 schools make up the network of schools. We look after all state and state-integrated schools in 10 regions across the country, and each region has smaller local networks of schools.

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Inform

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  • Parents, caregivers and whānau
  • Boards
  • Principals and tumuaki

This guidance is for parents and education practitioners, and is about Aotearoa New Zealand’s network of schools.

You can also view this video in te reo Māori:

Network regions

Aotearoa New Zealand’s schools have to be responsive, resilient, sustainable and inclusive to offer the best quality education for all children and young people. Our schools adapt as our population grows and our communities change.

Schools and their boards provide students with the opportunities and support they need to learn and achieve.

The national network

Of the 2,500 schools in Aotearoa New Zealand, most are state and state-integrated, which are funded by the Government. When we talk about the network of schools, it’s an easy way to refer to all schools.

The Aotearoa New Zealand network of schools includes the Chatham Islands.

We’ve got teams working with schools and their boards and communities across 10 regions around the country. Our priority is to make sure places are available for all children and young people at their local school.

Auckland

Bay of Plenty, Waiariki

Canterbury, Chatham Islands

Hawke’s Bay, Tairāwhiti

Nelson, Marlborough, West Coast

Otago, Southland

Te Tai Tokerau

Taranaki, Whanganui, Manawatū

Waikato

Wellington

Local networks

In the regions, there are catchments of smaller local networks. These can be defined using territorial local authority boundaries or census data, or they are part of a Community of Learning ǀ Kāhui Ako, or have links based on professional support, shared funding or transport considerations.

Local networks usually include immediate neighbouring schools that cater for a community’s students together. Sometimes they ‘feed’ or ‘contribute’ students to each other as they transition from one school to the next.

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