Community Education Collective Agreement 2025-2028
The Community Education Collective Agreementopen_in_new (CECA) covers employees employed directly by school boards in the provision of adult and community education, as well as those who work as part of Ministry of Education-funded out-of-hours music and arts programmes for years 1–8. (Note: Itinerant Teachers of Music, teaching in Secondary Schools, are covered by the Secondary Teachers’ Collective Agreement.)
The 2025-2027 CECA was ratified in 2025 for a term of 26 months from 28 November 2025 to 28 January 2028.
What changes should you be aware of?
Along with remuneration increases, the new CECA includes these key changes:
-
Incorporation of the Administration Support Staff in Schools’ Pay Equity Claim Settlementopen_in_new, which covers the work done by non-teaching coordinators and coordinator assistants.
-
A strengthening of the health and safety provisions of the CECA, reaffirming the positive obligation on schools to ensure their health and safety plans and procedures explicitly factor in the education programmes that occur outside the 8:30 am to 4:30 pm window (clause 11.3).
-
Clarification that printing costs and the printing of materials are included in the expenditure that is eligible for reimbursement. Alternatively, the school needs to provide access to photocopying facilities (see clause 5.2).
-
The introduction of conduct provisions and a standardised performance management process to ensure transparency and a common understanding between employers and employees about how such matters should be addressed if required (see Part 9).
-
Defining the notice period for employees covered by the CECA as one month.
-
Expanding the criteria that, if met, would require an OOHMA tutor to be placed on step 2 of the salary scale on appointment (see clause 3.2.3).
-
Increase to the mileage rate by $0.20, to $0.83 a kilometre.
What actions are required of you?
-
Implement the Administration Support Staff in Schools’ Pay Equity Settlement for covered employees – more information can be found in the Administration Support Staff in Schools article.
-
Ensure managers of staff now covered by the Administration Support Staff in Schools’ Pay Equity Settlement understand automatic progression – Coordinator Assistants and Level One Non-teaching coordinators will now automatically progress through their pay scale each year until they reach Grade 4, Step 13. Managers should read this article on Automatic Progression for Administration Staff to understand this mechanism and the actions they may need to take if they determine that an employee’s tasks, duties, and responsibilities remain solely within Grade 2 or 3.
-
Audit health and safety policy and procedures to ensure compliance – review your health and safety policy and procedures against our article on Health and Safety for Out-of-Hours Community Education Programmes to ensure they comply with the provisions of clause 11.3 and make any required changes.
-
Ensure employees are provided access to photocopying facilities or reimbursement processes are fit for purpose – consult with staff and determine whether a change of approach is required.
If providing access, this may require the issuing of keys or login details.
If reimbursing, verify that the finance staff understand the entitlements and can act accordingly. Note that reimbursement for home printing expenses where the printer is also used for personal use must be “reasonable and proportionate.” This means that if an employee is not being reimbursed at 100% for the expense, the amount of reimbursement reached should not result in the employee being financially disadvantaged for the use of their home printer for work purposes. -
Existing employees on IEAs – all employees on Individual Employment Agreements (IEAs) based on the CECA will need to sign the applicable new IEA promulgated 12 December 2025open_in_new to receive the new pay rates and enhanced conditions.
The new rates and conditions will apply from the date the IEA is signed. It cannot be pre-dated. -
New appointments – new CECA staff will need to be offered a CECA-specific letter of offer for employment. These can be accessed from our recruitmentopen_in_new section of the Resource Centre.
If they are an OOHMA tutor, they must be appointed consistent with clause 3.2.3.
If they are not a member of PPTA Te Wehengarua, and do not choose to become a union member, they will need to sign the new CECA specific IEAopen_in_new.
Do not use old letters saved to your computer as they are out of date.
Templates, resources, and references
Click on the link(s) below to access the templates, resources, and references related to this topic.
These may download or open in a separate browser depending on your device.