Principal Matters Term 4 2026
9 October 2026
Tēnā koutou katoa,
A warm welcome to the fourth and final edition of Principal Matters for 2026.
Below are some key updates for principals as we head into Term 4, to be read in conjunction with Board Matters.
As always, you’ll also find our Principal Task Checklist attached below to assist you with your Term 4 work programme.
Ngā mihi nui,
The GovHub team
Your mahi for Term 4 2026
Download our Principal Task Checklistopen_in_new, which covers the tasks you’ll need to undertake this term.
Workshops and webinars
Welcome on Board – New Student Representatives
Help your new board member begin their school governance journey through this interactive workshop.
They'll learn alongside fellow student representatives, gaining the knowledge and confidence to participate effectively in board discussions and decision-making.
View upcoming workshopsopen_in_new, share the link with your student representative, and encourage them to register today.
Financial Governance – Oversight, Assurance, and Accountability
Good financial decisions start with an informed board.
Ideal for new board members and those seeking a refresher, this session focuses on the board’s role in financial governance and oversight.
View the full scheduleopen_in_new, share the link with your board and encourage them to register today.
Help shape the future of GovHub learning
How do you prefer to learn? What would you like to learn more about? What would make learning easier for you?
Whether you're a regular attendee at our workshops and webinars, a keen user of the Learning Library or Resource Centre, or you’re new to GovHub learning, we’d value your input.
Your feedback will help shape future learning opportunities, topics, and resources for boards and principals across Aotearoa.
If you can spare 10 minutes, we'd love to hear your thoughts.
Strategic planning – amended regulations are here
The Education (School Planning and Reporting) Amendment Regulations 2026open_in_new will take effect from 15 October 2026. These make significant changes to what is required in your 2027 strategic plan. You will need to check that your plan now meets the updated requirements.
See more information from the Ministry of Education here: School Planning and Reporting Frameworkopen_in_new, and the guidance from our Resource Centre here: An Introduction to Strategic Planningopen_in_new.
Changes to expenses when primary teachers are required to be onsite
As part of the settlement of the Primary Teachers Collective Agreement (PTCA), the parties agreed to remove the requirement (clause 2.10.4) to reimburse teachers for any actual and reasonable costs incurred where they are required to attend school (or another site), when a school is officially closed for instruction. This change applies for callbacks during term breaks, and teacher-only days during term time.
Staffing and resourcing for 2027
Your school's 2027 provisional roll, staffing entitlement, indicative funding, and EQI will now be available in Pourato. Remember that roll review applications close on 13 November. The Ministry's staffing and funding calculatoropen_in_new now includes 2027 rates and shows whether a roll increase would generate extra staffing.
Have a look at the Resource Centre for information on Surplus Staffing, CAPNA, and Needs Analysisopen_in_new.
Units and management allowances
As noted in our earlier Sector Updates, if the Ministry has told your school that it is using more units, Senior Management Allowances, or Middle Management Allowances than it is entitled to, your board needs to fix this by the end of the year. From January 1st 2027, the Ministry will not fund any overuse and will deduct it from your operational funding. The first recovery is due in July 2027. A board cannot legally pay for more units than its annual entitlement.
Start by checking your Unit Allocation Policy. It should set out clear steps for allocating and giving up units, not just refer to the collective agreement. Where you can, cut the surplus through attrition by not reallocating fixed-term units (up to 40% of units can be fixed-term) or units that staff give up. If that isn't enough, you will need to use the surplus staffing process in the collective agreements. Call our helpline on 0800 782 435 if you need advice or guidance.
Have a read of our Resource Centre article Managing overuse of units and allowancesopen_in_new.
Learning support coordinators
You can find information about the allocation and LSC role, including the skills matrix, interview questions and the range of PLD available, as well as a fact sheet, on the Ministry’s website: Learning support coordinators in schools - Ministry of Educationopen_in_new.
You can also find more information on our Resource Centre for Appointing an In-School Learning Support Coordinator (LSC)open_in_new.
School payroll remediation payments
The Ministry of Education is making remediation payments to long-term relief teachers who did not receive the correct contractual holiday pay, starting from 13 October.
No action is required from current employees, principals or administrators to support the payment. These payments are fully funded by the Ministry. There will be no impact on your school budget and the payments will not appear on your Staff Usage and Expenditure (SUE) report or other school documentation.
There is more information about the payments and how to contact the Ministry’s dedicated query management team on the Education Workforceopen_in_new website.
Teaching standards and the Professional Growth Cycle
This year the Professional Growth Cycle uses the 2026 Standards. Each teacher's 2026 annual summary should assess their practice against those standards. From 2027, the 2026 Standards are the basis for re-certification. Endorsements draw on the last three annual summaries, so during the transition they may mix the 2017 and 2026 Standards. Responsibility for setting the standards has moved to the Secretary for Education, but registration and practising certificate requirements have not changed.
Principals and school leaders should complete annual summary statements before staff leave for the year. Make sure the records are good enough to support future practising certificate endorsements.
Children’s Act changes coming into force
Changes to the Children’s Act 2014open_in_new come into effect from 24 October 2026. School boards already cannot engage or employ core children’s workers, including teachers, with New Zealand convictions for Schedule 2 offencesopen_in_new unless they hold a core worker exemption. From that date, this restriction will extend to new core children’s workers with equivalent overseas convictions.
Boards must also take reasonable steps, by 24 April 2027, to determine whether current core children’s workers have overseas convictions equivalent to Schedule 2 offences. This includes reviewing previous safety checks and completing any additional checks needed.
More information here: MOE Safety Checking and Overseas Convictionsopen_in_new.