Guidance for the disestablishment of Resource Teachers – Literacy and Māori
The Minister of Education has decided to reinvest funding from Resource Teachers Literacy (RTLit) and Resource Teachers Māori (RTM).
Funding for these specialist roles will also be discontinued from January 2026.
All affected staff and roles are entitled to remain employed until the end of the year unless employed on a fixed term agreement (FTEA) that ends prior to 26 January 2026.
What do boards and principals need to know?
These budget changes may also affect staffing entitlement and other areas in your school.
While the changes do not take immediate effect, boards should start considering the implications of these budget decisions.
Ask your principal to share what the potential impact could be on your staffing for 2026.
Do not make any permanent appointments to any existing RTLit or RTM vacancies between now and January 2026.
Anticipate and prepare to engage in a surplus staffing process in Term 4. This process will be the same as for other situations where a school is overstaffed.
Be prepared to update staff on any potential changes to the school or their employment in a timely manner.
What does your school need to do?
Discuss as a board the implications for your school, including the impact of the removal of RTLit and RTM roles and the increasing access to Teacher Aide support and Learning Support Coordinators (LSCs).
It may be that this reduction could be managed through attrition, retaining the position from board operational funding, another suitable vacancy or the supernumerary/retraining provisions of the relevant Collective Agreement.
The step-by-step guidance, process and employment agreement reference points are contained in the Ministry’s Guidance for Employers documentopen_in_new.
What is the notice period for affected staff?
Boards are required to provide two months’ notice to an affected employee that their role has been disestablished. This notice needs to be given by 27 November 2025.
You can give notice by providing the applicable letter below:
Also, provide impacted employees covered by the Primary Teachers’ Collective Agreement with the surplus staffing options appendixopen_in_new, which explains their surplus staffing options.
Please note that if you did not notify impacted employees by way of a letter during term 3 about the upcoming disestablishment and/or did not undertake consultation, the letters below are not suitable for your situation. Please contact the Advisory and Support Centre to discuss your situation further.
Communicating with staff
We understand how stressful this may be for everyone involved and encourage effective communication to support staff wellbeing.
As a good employer, boards and principals must commit to open, timely and constructive engagement with staff, including sharing information and guidance as it becomes available.
Future employment opportunities for affected staff
The education sector needs to retain the expertise of qualified specialist teachers in our education system for the benefit of ākonga.
Schools are continually looking for high-quality teachers with specialist literacy leadership, and there are employment opportunities available for skilled specialists.
Many of the RTLiT staff have completed the Structured Literacy approaches training and will make valuable contributions to the continued teaching and learning of ākonga.
The specific guidance and process to follow for the disestablishment process for RTLiT and RTMāori is contained in the links below.
Templates, resources, and references
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