Area School Principals' Collective Agreement

This section sets out the components of the settlement of the Area School Principals’ Collective Agreement (ASPCA) 2023 – 2025.

This agreement has been settled between the Secretary for Education, the New Zealand Post Primary Teachers’ Association Te Wehengarua (PPTA Te Wehengarua) and the New Zealand Educational Institute Te Riu Roa (NZEI TRR). It shall be subject to ratification by NZEI and PPTA members pursuant to section 51 of the Employment Relations Act 2000.

The terms outlined in this document are valid for ratification by PPTA Te Wehengarua and NZEI TRR provided ratification is confirmed and the new collective agreement is signed no later than 5pm on 28 July 2023.

1. Term of agreement

The Area School Principals’ Collective Agreement (ASPCA) 2023 – 2025 shall be effective from 3 July 2023 until 2 July 2025, provided this agreement is signed by 28 July 2023.

2. Remuneration for principals

The parties agree that the school roll-based salary (U-grade) component of principals’ remuneration will provide three increases of: 6% on 3 July 2023, 3% on 3 July 2024, and 1.8% on 2 December 2024 to each grade of the scale as shown below: 

School roll-based salary component

3.  Additional payments

The parties agree to the following additional payments:

• $710 payable to NZEI TRR and PPTA Te Wehengarua member principals as at the date of ratification, which has been calculated to provide a net amount broadly equivalent to the cost of renewing of a teaching practicing certificate. This will be paid in full for eligible part time principals. 
• $2,000 payable to each full-time NZEI TRR and PPTA Te Wehengarua member principals as at the date of ratification of this agreement. This is pro-rated for eligible part-time principals.
• $1,000 payable to all full-time NZEI TRR and PPTA Te Wehengarua member principals as at 1 December 2023. This is pro-rated for eligible part-time principals.
• $1,500 payable to full-time principals, pro-rated for part-time principals. 

The lump sums are the maximum amount payable. Any lump sums to which a principal is entitled under another collective agreement that binds employees of school boards and that has come into force since 30 November 2022 (such as the lump sums in clause 1.7 of the Primary Principals’ (NZEI) Collective Agreement, or clause 1.8 of the Secondary Principals’ Collective Agreement) will be deducted from the amounts above

The agreed wording is included in the tracked change collective agreement (see clause 1.10).

Clause 1.10 will be removed in subsequent collective agreements. 

4.  Professional coaching and wellbeing support

The parties agree to introduce an entitlement of $6,000 per annum for each principal to access professional coaching and support in each of 2023 and 2024. It is expected the funds will be used in the school year that they are made available, except where there is written agreement to do otherwise.

This fund will be held by the School Board and be accessed by the principal for the purposes of accessing professional coaching and support in their leadership role.

The funding will be a tagged component of the school’s operating grant. Principals will submit an annual declaration regarding the use of the funds to the Board.

The new collective agreement will also affirm boards’ employer obligations regarding principal wellbeing. Boards will be required to consult with the principal on appropriate supports for their wellbeing in line with best practice.

The agreed wording is included in clause 4.5 of the attached tracked change collective agreement.

5.  Secondments

The parties agree to include provisions that ensure the process of seconding principals into sector roles outside of their schools is easier, more accessible, and does not disadvantage those undertaking secondments. The agreed wording is included in the attached tracked change collective agreement.  

6.  Sick Leave

The parties agree to improve the existing sick leave entitlements. The agreed clause wording is included in the tracked change collective agreement.

7.  Māori Immersion Teaching Allowance

The parties agree to increase the Māori Immersion Teaching Allowance (MITA) for immersion level 1 and 2 and introduce the MITA for immersion level 3 from the date of ratification, as detailed belo

The agreed wording is included in clause 3.5 of the tracked change collective agreement.

8.  Pacific Bilingual Immersion Teaching Allowance (PBITA)

The parties agree to introduce a Pacific Bilingual Immersion Teaching Allowance (PBITA) for immersion levels 1 and 2, effective from 28 January 2024, as detailed below:

The agreed wording is included in clause 3.11 of the tracked change collective agreement.

9.  Cultural Leadership allowance

The parties agree to introduce Cultural Leadership allowance positions of $5,000 per annum from 28 January 2024. This allowance will be for tumuaki | principals who are leading kura and schools with at least Level 1 or Level 2 immersion programmes (te reo Māori and/or Pacific language immersion). The agreed wording is in the tracked collective agreement.

10. Removal of mandatory performance agreements and appraisal

We agree that Part Four should be updated to reflect the new Professional Growth Cycle for principals, tumuaki and ECE professional (PGC). We propose replacing mandatory performance agreements and annual appraisal with an expectation principals participate in an annual PGC.

We also propose the clause in Part Four relating to a principal’s working relationship with the board to Part Two of the collective agreement.

Finally, we agree that an additional, non-prescriptive clause will be inserted into Part Two that affirms the board’s right to raise and discuss performance with the principal where warranted. This is intended to clarify the existing situation rather than to replace mandatory performance agreements and appraisal with any new processes in the collective. We envisage any new performance related processes would be tailored to local contexts and informed by optional guidance and templates outside of the collective agreement.

The agreed wording is included in clause 2.7 and 4.1 – 4.3 of the attached tracked collective agreement.

11.  Sabbaticals

The parties agree to increase the number of paid sabbaticals awarded annually from 13 to 18 from the start of the 2024 school year. The agreed wording is included in clause 5.6.1 of the tracked change collective agreement.

The parties also agree to work together to streamline the application form for principals accessing sabbaticals, specifically the requirements around programme outline, time commitments and reporting intentions. The parties will also explore changes to the way the sabbatical report operates to reduce and simplify reporting requirements.  

This work will be completed by the end of Term 3, 2023 in order to be implemented before the 2024 round of applications open. 

12.  Unexpected event leave

We agree to introduce a new leave entitlement, unexpected event leave, for Principals to clarify that leave may be granted to a Principal who is:

1. required or directed not to attend school because of a Public Health Order and is not eligible for disregarded sick leave and cannot work remotely; or
2. unable to attend school because of a natural disaster and cannot work remotely.

Clause wording is in included in clause 5.10 of the tracked-changes version of the collective agreement.

13.  Replacement of decile-based payments with an Equity Index based payment

From the start of the 2024 school year Principals in a school that falls within the top 40% of the equity index when it is calculated each year shall receive a payment based on the equity index number of the school multiplied by nine. This payment will replace the decile-based component of each principal’s remuneration. Transitional arrangements for this change are set out in the tracked change collective agreement. 

14.  Maramataka Calendar

The Ministry is supportive of boards who apply to the Ministry to have their school calendar changed to the Maramataka calendar.  

Once a new legislative framework is in place enabling schools to seek to change to the Maramataka calendar, the parties will meet to discuss a variation to the collective agreement.

15.  Related matters

We note that this settlement will be implemented by the Education Payroll by 3 October 2023 providing the agreement is ratified and signed by 28 July 2023.

16. Technical changes

The parties agree to include all technical changes as agreed by the parties and provided in the tracked change collective agreement.

The parties on signing this document acknowledge, subject to any subsequent agreed editorial and technical changes, that this reflects the agreements reached in the settlement of the Area School Principals’ Collective Agreement 2023-2025.

Signed in Wellington on __ _____________ 2023 by: 

Bella Pardoe
Advocate for NZEI Te Riu Roa

Fran Renton
Advocate for PPTA

Bronwyn Heenan
Advocate for the Secretary for Education

Witnessed by:
Kate Lethbridge
for NZ School Trustees Association

ANNEX 1: Technical Changes