Opening and closing schools or kura for instruction

For each school year, the Minister of Education sets a range of dates and mandatory half-day requirements.

Your board must ensure that your school or kura is open for instruction for the required number of half-days each year, and on every school day during all four terms.

However, your board does have some authority to vary when the school is open for instruction, the school hours, and to close the school in certain circumstances.

Keep reading to learn more.

What regulations apply?

The Education (When State Schools Must Be Open and Closed) Regulations 2024open_in_new specify when all state and state-integrated schools and kura:

Must be open for instruction, including the term dates and length of the school year,
Must be closed, and
Under what conditions a board may decide to close its school or kura.

The Ministry of Education administers the school term dates and half-day requirements for each year and school type.

You can find out more on the Ministry’s webpage “School opening and closing for instructionopen_in_new”.

What does open for instruction mean?

The Ministry considers a school to be open for instruction when compulsory organised teaching and learning are taking place for all students at all year levels.

This can include online learning, school trips, and any education outside the classroom (EOTC).

The Ministry does not consider a school open for instruction if only some year groups are present or if staff are providing supervision only (except in the case of paid union meetings – read our article on paid union meetings for more informationopen_in_new).

Note: Further guidance is being developed clarifying start-of-year, end-of-year, and exam arrangements for secondary school students aged 16 and over.

How do you set term dates?

Schools and kura have some flexibility in deciding when Term 1 starts and when Term 4 finishes.

Terms 2 and 3 are fixed.

Where possible, Term 1 will end with the start of the Easter holiday break. This can make Term 1 shorter or longer, depending on when Easter falls.

Your board should set the start date for Term 1 to suit your community while complying with the Gazetted start and end date requirements.

You will also need to set the last day for Term 4 to ensure you have been open for instruction for the required number of half days.

We recommend that your board set the school term dates for the following year in Term 3 or early in Term 4.

Once this is done, your board should inform your community and any relevant contractors (such as bus operators and after-school care programmes) so they can plan accordingly.

We also recommended that schools with shared community interests work together to set a common start date.

Before setting any dates, your board needs to check the gazetted half-day requirements for your school type for the following year, as these can differ year by year and between primary/intermediate and secondary/composite schools.

You must also ensure that your school meets the regulatory requirementsopen_in_new.

Your board can apply to the Ministry via your regional office if you wish to use different term dates or opening times than those outlined in the regulations.

When must your school or kura close?

State and state-integrated schools and kura must close on:

Saturdays and Sundays
Public holidays and observed provincial anniversary days
The Tuesday following Easter.

These days are included in the gazetted term dates for each year.

Under what conditions can you close your school or kura for instruction?

If your board wants to close its school for instruction during term time, it must:

Meet the minimum number of half days required under the regulations for the school year
Give at least 6 weeks’ notice to your community
Have a clear and justifiable purpose
Consider the impact of closing on learners, whānau, and local communities.

There are six justifiable reasons for closing a school during term time:

Ministry-approved curriculum and assessment PLD for staff (teacher-only days)
Additional Ministry-approved discretionary closures
Emergencies such as floods, fire, epidemics, etc.
Lawful industrial action (strikes)
Regional Anniversary Days (already calculated in your annual open for instruction days)
Board-approved discretionary closures (up to 4 half-days)

When deciding whether to close or not, it is recommended that you also consider:

Whether closing for instruction aligns with other schools in the local area, particularly if students rely on shared transport.
The principal’s ability to arrange supervision for ākonga when the school is closed.

There will be limits on some schools’ ability to accommodate these final two points, particularly depending on their size and location.

It is up to your board to decide on their relevance and applicability.

Under the new School Attendance Rules 2026open_in_new, your principal must record any full-day closures and the reason for the closure in your kura or school’s SMS (Student Management System) or other Ministry-approved mechanism.

Note: Schools needing to close for emergencies do not need to meet these criteria.

What criteria must be met for boards to close the school at their discretion?

Boards can close their school for an additional four half-days per year for any purpose determined by the board, without seeking Ministry approval.

However, the board must meet the criteria for closing, as stated above.

These days will need to be made up and, therefore, included in your annual half-day calculations.

Closing for more than four half-days at the board’s discretion will require the Minister of Education's approval.

For more info, visit the Ministry’s page on new closing for instruction settingsopen_in_new.

How do you close your school or kura in an emergency?

Your board has the power to close your school because of an epidemic, flood, fire, or other emergency.

You do not need permission from your local Ministry of Education office to close in an emergency, but you must advise them of the closure.

Your board can apply to the Secretary for Education to reduce the number of half-days you must be open, so you don’t need to make up the missed time.

In some severe cases, like during a state of emergency, epidemic or transition period, the Secretary for Education may direct your board to:

Close or open the school or any part of it (including any specified category, class, or year group of students)
Close or open the school for physical attendance or instruction (or both)
Set restrictions on the attendance of students and those working at the school
Provide education or instruction through the education entity in a specified way.

The Secretary for Education can make these changes under the Civil Defence Emergency Management Act 2002open_in_new.

Can your school close because of a paid union meeting?

Union members are entitled to attend at least two paid union meetings per year.

During these meetings, your board must arrange for the school to remain open.

For more info, read our article on paid union meetings.

Can you vary your school hours?

Yes, you can.

Your school needs to be open two half-days per school day, so your board can vary the start and finish times, but not reduce the overall hours.

To do this, your board must follow the regulatory requirementsopen_in_new, which require boards to:

Adequately consult parents, staff, the local community, and any other person the board considers may be affected by the proposed variation,
Ensure that the proposal is generally acceptable,
Be satisfied that the proposal will not result in students spending less time in school than students in comparable schools and other local schools, and
Take all reasonable steps to notify students and parents (in writing) of the board’s final decision.

You do not require approval from the Ministry to alter the start and finish time of any half-day.

You are also able to temporarily alter the time at which any one or more half-days take place for operational reasons, providing:

The variation applies to no more than two days, and
You have not varied any half-days during the previous 6-week period.

Questions your board could ask

Do we know how to set our school terms and holidays?
Do we know when we must close the school?
Do we know when we can close the school?
Do our procedures for closing the school or kura comply with the requirements?

Templates, resources, and references

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Links from us

Paid union meetings

Ministry of Education

Legislation