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Ministry of Education New Zealand

Pursuant to section 68 of the Education and Training Act 2020, and acting under the delegated authority of the Minister of Education, I hereby publish enrolment criteria for Te Aho o Te Kura Pounamu.

This policy comes into effect on 25 February 2025.

Ellen MacGregor-Reid
Acting Secretary of Education
Ministry of Education.

Introduction 

This document sets out the criteria for government-funded1 and fee-paying enrolment at Te Aho o Te Kura Pounamu (“Te Kura”)2. It also sets out the criteria for government-funded and fee-paying access to dual tuition at Te Aho o Te Kura Pounamu. 

To access learning with Te Kura, a student must meet the criteria as set out in one of the ‘gateways’ in this document.

Where enrolment is government funded, no fee for enrolment has been prescribed by the Board under Section 69 of the Education and Training Act 2020, except the tuition administration fee for adult students. Tuition administration fees can be found on the Te Kura website.  

Section 1—Early childhood education enrolment  

The purpose of the Te Kura Early Childhood Education (ECE) programme is to provide – as far as is possible – equity of access to ECE for children whose location, health, educational or personal circumstances prevent attendance at a reasonably convenient service. 

Priority for enrolment 

Government funded places in the Te Kura early childhood programme are capped. This may mean that not all children who are eligible may be able to be enrolled at the time they first apply. 

Children whose access to ECE is limited by their rural location and geographic isolation will normally be given priority for enrolment. Children who are residing in New Zealand will normally be given priority for enrolment over children who are residing overseas. 

Children approved by Te Kura as eligible for enrolment but for whom a place is not immediately available will have their names placed on a wait list. Waitlisted children will normally be enrolled in age order, oldest first. 

Eligibility to enrol through an Early Childhood Education gateway 

To be eligible for enrolment in an ECE programme at Te Kura, children must be: 

  • domestic students3;
  • under the age of six; 
  • not enrolled in a primary school, or about to be enrolled within the first two weeks of February that year; 
  • meet the criteria for enrolment in a Te Kura ECE programme; and 
  • meet the criteria for a gateway where a place is available. 

Criteria for enrolment in a an ECE Programme

Children may be enrolled in a Te Kura ECE programme where they are:

  • eligible to enrol in an ECE programme; 
  • not enrolled in a licensed ECE service for more than 12 hours a week;
  • they fit the criteria for an ECE gateway; and
  • a place is available through that gateway

A child ceases to be eligible for enrolment when age or changed circumstances mean that the gateway criteria under which they were enrolled are no longer met. Te Kura must check in a timely manner when the child is expected to start school to ensure that funding is not claimed in error.  

Section 2—Adult and young adult enrolment 

The purpose of adult enrolment in secondary schooling at Te Kura is to provide foundation skills or “second chance” education. That is, individuals are afforded the opportunity to gain NCEA qualifications that they did not gain when they first attended secondary school as a regular student. 

The purpose of young adult enrolment at Te Kura is to provide access to secondary schooling for students over the age of 16 who are not attending a school full-time. 

Eligibility to enrol through the adult and young adult gateways 

Students may be enrolled with Te Kura as an adult student, or as a young adult student, where they are: a domestic student4; and resident in New Zealand.  

Adults and young adults who meet the criteria specified within the relevant gateway may self-refer for enrolment.  

Section 3 – Full-time enrolment 

The purpose of full-time enrolment at Te Kura is to provide equity of access to compulsory education for students whose location, itinerancy, educational or personal circumstances prevent attendance at a reasonably convenient school. 

There are two categories of full-time enrolment: 

  • Access – a parent or student can make an application for the student’s enrolment; and 
  • Referral – the application must be supported by referral documents, as specified in the criteria set out in the relevant gateway. 

Eligibility to enrol 

Students aged 5–19, (or up to aged 21 with Ongoing Resourcing Scheme funding or a Section 37 agreement), may be enrolled in a full-time primary or secondary programme at Te Kura where they meet the entry criteria for one of the enrolment gateways identified. 

Except for students enrolled in the engagement and wellbeing gateway, eligibility ceases when changed circumstances mean that the entry criteria for the gateway concerned no longer apply. Year 11–15 students whose circumstances change during term 3 or later may stay enrolled until the end of the school year in question. 

Requirements 

Unless otherwise stated: 

  • the minimum period of enrolment is one term; 
  • an educational profile of the student is to be provided to Te Kura within six weeks of enrolment; 
  • the student’s continued enrolment is subject to meeting Te Kura’s engagement and tuition requirements (if students are found to be ineligible for continued enrolment, they will be withdrawn); 
  • all enrolments must be reviewed by Te Kura on an annual basis or as otherwise specified for a specific category; 
  • the student must be resident in New Zealand; and 
  • the student must be a domestic student5. 

Section 4 – Dual tuition registration  

The purpose of government funded dual tuition is to provide for curriculum adaptation and curriculum capability. The curriculum adaptation category covers circumstances where the school at which a student is enrolled is unable to provide the required specialist programming or curriculum adaptation. The purpose of the curriculum capability category is generally to enable smaller schools to provide a full and balanced curriculum.  

Fee-paying access to dual tuition is also available in certain circumstances, as set out in the gateways below.   

Eligibility for government funded dual tuition 

All state and state-integrated schools, charter schools, and the private schools listed in the definition below, may register domestic students6 in Years 1–15 (aged 5–19 or up to aged 21 with Ongoing Resourcing Scheme funding or a Section 37 agreement) with Te Kura for supplementary government funded dual tuition where the entry criteria for one of the registration gateways set out below are met.  

Where dual tuition is government funded, no fee has been prescribed by the Board of Te Kura under Section 69 of the Education and Training Act 2020. This supplementary dual tuition is additional government resourcing to that provided to state and state-integrated schools through operations grants and staffing entitlements. 

Accountabilities 

The school at which the students are enrolled retains all legislative accountabilities, including for attendance, while its students are registered for supplementary dual tuition from Te Kura. Students registered with Te Kura must attend the school that they are enrolled in on a full-time basis. 

All supplementary government funded dual tuition arrangements are subject to a Dual Provider Partnership Agreement being in place between the registering school or home education family and Te Kura. The Partnership Agreement defines the tuition, supervision and support responsibilities of both parties and the circumstances in which these dual tuition arrangements may be terminated by Te Kura. 

Parents/caregivers must be made aware of dual tuition arrangements, by the registering school, prior to the student’s registration with Te Kura. 

Students registering under the Summer School gateway, or their parents/caregivers, may initiate registration themselves and retain accountability for supervision and support. 

Students for whom dual tuition is terminated by Te Kura, because its return of work and/or course completion requirements have not been met, cannot be re-registered for the course or programme concerned that school year. 

Requirements 

Unless otherwise stated: 

  • the minimum period of tuition is one school term or a period of Summer School; and 
  • all dual tuition arrangements, except those for Regional Health School students, cease automatically at the end of each school year; and 
  • Summer School enrolments will cease automatically at the end of the Summer School period. 

Definitions

These education type definitions apply to the Schedules.

Endnotes 

  1. “Government funded” means government funding paid directly to Te Aho o Te Kura Pounamu for the provision of education services to students.
  2. Te Aho o Te Kura Pounamu is a distance school. This Enrolment and Dual Tuition Policy contains the fixed criteria for enrolment under section 68 of the Education and Training Act 2020.
  3. Refer section 10 of the Education and Training Act 2020 and the current Education (Domestic Students) Notice and Ministry of Education Circular 2017/01 – Eligibility to enrol in New Zealand schools.
  4. Refer section 10 of the Education and Training Act 2020 and the current Education (Domestic Students) Notice and Ministry of Education Circular 2017/01 – Eligibility to enrol in New Zealand schools.
  5. Refer Section 10 of the Education and Training Act 2020 and the current Education (Domestic Students) Notice and Ministry of Education Circular 2017/01 – Eligibility to enrol in New Zealand schools.
  6. Refer Section 10 of the Education and Training Act 2020 and the current Education (Domestic Students) Notice and Ministry of Education Circular 2017/01 – Eligibility to enrol in New Zealand schools.