Recruiting principals – state-integrated schools
In addition to the requirements when advertising in general, integrated schools must inform prospective applicants of the nature of their special character.
Advertising
Job Descriptions should include reference to the special character of your school. The following additions can be used:
Generally, a school’s integration agreement specifies that the principal requires a willingness and an ability to take part in religious instruction appropriate to the school’s special character and that this will be a condition of appointment.
Catholic schools must also provide the Special Character Position Form “S” formopen_in_new with their job application form, which is available to download from the New Zealand Catholic Education Office.
Additional wording was provided by the New Zealand Catholic Education Office and the Association of Integrated Schools New Zealand respectively.
Consulting with the proprietor
When appointing principals, primary schools must ensure they comply with clause 52 of Schedule 6 of the Education and Training Act 2020. open_in_new
This clause requires schools to consult the proprietor, who reports back the names of those applicants (if any) who are acceptable to the proprietor for appointment.
The school must follow the recommendations of their proprietor.
Process can vary from proprietor to proprietor. Contact your proprietor, or local diocesan office, so they can assist you with these additional steps.
Secondary and area schools may follow the process as set out for primary schools, or a different process according to your integration agreement and/or your proprietor’s practice.
Contact your proprietor or local diocesan office for further guidance.
Permanent Special Character and Special position letters
Catholic
Integrated
Fixed terms covering leave or release
When using a fixed term employment agreement to cover the absence of the principal, and the person covering the role is acceptable to the proprietor (primary)/ is suitable for appointment (secondary and area schools), you can use one of the existing fixed term letters available and simply adapt it using the appropriate below guide:
Fixed term because no acceptable applicant to appoint permanently to a special character or special position
Primary schools generally have a requirement in their integration agreements that their principal be willing and able to take part in religious instruction appropriate to the school. These appointments will be subject to the proprietor’s approval in accordance with clause 52 of Schedule 6 of the Education and Training Act 2020.
A school may advertise for the position and not end up with any candidates that meet these requirements. In these situations, a fixed term employment agreement (FTEA) may be appropriate.
To legally justify the fixed term, the school must be making reasonable endeavours to fill the position.
In general, this means the school needs to be actively recruiting or waiting a reasonable amount of time to advertise again after being unable to fill the position.
A reasonable time to wait between recruitment processes may be up to one school year if the school needs to wait for a more favourable time to attract suitable candidates (such as at the end of Term 3). Therefore, there should not be fixed terms being offered for two-year (or more) periods.
If you are dealing with unique circumstances, please contact our Advisory and Support Centre to speak to an employment adviser about your situation.
These letters can be used to appoint an employee using a FTEA while they cover a special character or special position:
Templates, resources, and references
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Links from us
Education and Training Act 2020