To understand the New Zealand schooling system, start by thinking of
it as being divided into a number of parts, based
approximately
on student age:
- Early
Childhood (under 5)
- Primary (5
to 11)
- Intermediate
(11 to 13)
- Secondary
(13 to 17)
- Tertiary (18
through
adulthood).
Then
understand that the boundaries between these parts are not necessarily
always rigid. For example, some so-called “Primary” schools
will hold children of “Intermediate” age until they move
straight from “Primary” School to “Secondary”
School. Or, some rural areas with small populations may have
“District High Schools” which combine Primary, Intermediate
and
Secondary functions. All schools
hold a high degree of autonomy, with genuine power in the hands of
locally elected Committees and Boards so they tend to operate flexibly
within the general rules in ways that are responsive to the communities
they serve. New Zealanders on the whole like this degree of
flexibility, and are normally very supportive of their local schools,
in all their diversity.
The state
provides a “free and universally available” education
system through taxpayer funding, but once again there is flexibility.
For example, parents are often asked to make voluntary donations to
state-funded schools, to enable that particular school to go beyond
basic standards. That level of “voluntary” donation ranges
from insignificant, to modest, and the attitude of the school can vary
also, from treating the donation as truly voluntary and optional, to
the sort of “volunteering” Sergeants Major in the Army use!
At a local community level these issues can sometimes create
controversy but on any international comparison the system is about as
“free of cost and universally accessible” as anyone could
reasonably expect.
Alongside and
integrated with this state system are Church and privately funded
schools which require varying financial contributions from parents
depending on the individual philosophy or level of endowment of the
school. In this part of the system there is wide variation in cost. For
example, when controlled by churches, or well endowed, some very
excellent private schools are close to free; while others may reach fee
levels comparable to private schools overseas.
In the State
sector, most Primary and Intermediate schools are mixed sex. Secondary
Schools may be mixed or single sex and controversy always swirls around
which are best. The Church and Private sectors tend more towards single
sex schools, but there is no hard and fast rule.
Most schools
are “day schools”; a few are residential; some offer
associated “hostels” and some manage “home
stay” programmes.
In addition to all the above there are three other parts of our system
that need brief explanation.
There are a few schools that specialize in children with disabilities;
but not many because New Zealand is committed to “mainstream
integration”. Physically or intellectually handicapped children
are usually given special support that allows them to be educated along
with everyone else, or sometimes in “units” integrated
within mainstream schools.
There are
also schools where, by consent of local communities, education is
undertaken in an environment of Maori language and cultural immersion.
These schools still maintain the same curriculum standards and are
often attended, by choice, by non-Maori children. The fact that they
are sometimes called “Maori” schools, or have Maori names
does not indicate any degree of separation, but simply of choice of
cultural emphasis. Many see the bi-lingual outcomes of such schools as
a distinct benefit.
There are 7
schools in New Zealand called “Middle Schools”. These are
like “Intermediate” schools, but hold their students longer
so that they are more mature before they enter the
“Secondary” system. Supporters of this initiative are very
positive about the benefits.
Dress codes vary, but a common model in the State Sector is for Primary
schools to be relaxed about dress code (while often insisting on hats,
for sun protection); Intermediates relatively firm on a uniform dress
code, Secondary usually requiring a uniform but with some adopting a
“liberal” stance. Where dress code is required, uniforms
are normally based on low cost, durable, easily obtainable clothing. In
the Private sector, uniforms tend to be more elaborate, distinctive and
expensive.
The school year starts in late January / early February, and has four
terms (not three as in many overseas systems). The dates vary from year
to year to accommodate flexible Public Holidays like Easter but a rough
guide is as follows:- (Remember, summer in NZ is December through
March; winter is June through October)
Term one -
Late Jan /Early Feb to Mid
April
Term
two-
Early May to Early
July
Term three- Late July
to Late September
Term four-
Early October to Mid
December
From the third year at Secondary School (year 11, or sometimes still
known in old terminology as “Vth Form”) students work
towards units of a National Certificate of Educational Attainment
(NCEA). This is a very flexible programme made up partly of external
exam and partly of internal assessment. It is part of a “National
Qualification Framework” that is designed to provide integrated
educational incorporating Secondary Schooling, Trade Training and
Tertiary Education that will empower life-long learning and the
measurement of standards achieved rather than just exams passed.
Like most things to do with Education in New Zealand this system is, at
once, forward looking and controversial, and has its supporters and
distracters. Typically, to meet the desires of the traditionalists, New
Zealand has allowed parallel systems to develop and some schools
encourage students to pursue external examinations like the
International Baccalaureate or Cambridge Exams. It is a matter of
parental and student choice.
What binds this system together, and ensures it’s integrity from
your child’s point of view, in spite of its diversity, is that
all of the above parts work to agreed, government mandated, curriculum
standards, and are independently overseen by a powerful and transparent
Education Review Office.
Researching individual schools will sometimes be a little confusing at
first, but it will be helpful if you think of the five parts mentioned
above; Pre school, Primary, Intermediate, Secondary and Tertiary; and
to then think of those parts existing side by side in state and non-
state sectors.
As a general rule, Primary schools are
very flexible.
Staff tend to be student centered. Movement between classes and age
groups is common. Fitting your child in will present few problems. The
time of year is relatively unimportant, staff will fit programmes
around children, and if, after settling in, it becomes apparent your
child needs to move around a little to find his or her niche that will
be seamlessly and sensitively achieved.
Schools often provide a child
the very best school years because curriculum and staff motivation are
focused on the pre-teen child and extracurricular programmes like
music, sports and clubs flourish in this specialized setting. But the
age group can be dynamite and it is often more difficult for new comers
to fit in with established peer groups. While staff will always
co-operate, it may pay to try to fit your Intermediate student into the
start of a school year, or at least into the start of a term.
When it comes
to
schooling, staff
focus often moves away from just pastoral care towards an equal or
stronger focus on curriculum. Your decision of when, where and how to
integrate your child will depend on your knowledge of your individual
child and his or her strengths and weaknesses, both academically and in
terms of their personality and maturity. Teen years can be a challenge
and fitting in to a new environment can be either stressful or
exciting, depending on the individual. Any Secondary school in New
Zealand will welcome your visit, and will work constructively with you
to help you make the best decision.
By the time
your child is ready for
education he or she will be a young adult. This briefing does not cover
Tertiary education in detail, although the associated links, to the
right, will give you access to a lot of information. There is a wide
array of both private and public Universities and Tertiary Institutions
in New Zealand, offering education from practical through trade
training, Diplomas, Degrees and Post Graduate study. Loans are
available to assist with most tertiary study, on which interest is
deferred until after graduation. Standards of training vary,
as
they do all around the world with some having only average reputations
to others that are internationally regarded as leading edge.
Our advice is
to do your research and choose carefully. It is absolutely true to say
that “New Zealand offers world class tertiary education”;
but it is not true to say that just because a
tertiary
education provider is in New Zealand, that it is therefore
necessarily world class.
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Here
is a site
that allows you to search
for details about schools,
by region. It
includes Primary, Intermediate and Secondary schools in both the public
and private sectors.
The major independent schools have an association.
This
link on their site will connect you to individual sites of
all
their members.
Major
Universities and Technical Institutes.
University
of Auckland
Auckland
University of Technology
Manukau
Institute of Technology
University
of Waikato
Massey
University
University
of Victoria
University
of Canterbury
University
of Otago
The above list is far from complete. Here is a link that gives access
to a wide range of Tertiary
Education providers.
The Education
Review Office
is the powerful independent body that provides the glue that holds the
Primary, Intermediate and Secondary sectors together.
This web site is technical but you can use it to search ERO reviews of
any school.
The New Zealand
Qualifications Authority provides quality assurance over
qualifications in New Zealand which in practice means over secondary
schools and tertiary institutions. This web site is somewhat technical.
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New
Zealand’s
health system provides a high standard of care, at an overall cost
which is modest by international standards. People who are accustomed
to considering health systems based on either a “private, for
profit” or a “public” basis will find our system
takes a little getting used to, because it is a hybrid of those two,
normally competing, models (with a few unique Kiwi bits thrown in).
The backbone of New Zealand’s health system is a network of
“Health Boards”, organized by region, providing high
quality hospital care and coordinated community health programmes.
Services from these Health Boards are taxpayer funded and costs are not
charged directly to patients who are New Zealanders. While, clearly,
not every single regional hospital can provide world class services in
every conceivable specialty, the system as a whole, (with patient
transfers between facilities required in some cases), does do so, and
is the primary reason for New Zealand’s international reputation
for excellence in health care.
One of the ways the publicly funded, free system achieves its
efficiency is by engaging in a degree of “rationing” of
non-essential services that allows a private, fee-for-service hospital
system to thrive alongside the “free” public system. If you
are faced with an immediate life threatening illness or accident you
will receive immediate world class care in the public system; but if
faced by an “elective” (that is, not immediately life
threatening) problem, say a hernia or varicose veins, you may find
yourself on a “waiting list” for service in the public
system, in which case you may elect to have immediate treatment in a
private hospital. This private system is supported by a non-compulsory
heath insurance industry, to which many New Zealanders subscribe. The
growth of the private sector is not subject to Government control so,
to a degree, the demand for urgency of any particular form of treatment
can be a matter of perception or public opinion. For example, quite
complex heart surgery may be undertaken in either the Public or Private
sectors; depending on patient choice.
Doctors may work in either public or private systems, or even often in
both, at the same time. Your specialist, available in his comfortable
private rooms, on a fee-for-service basis, may be the same person whom
you would see at the Public Hospital, for free, at a weekly clinic. The
quality of care you receive will be first class, in either system; the
difference will be the speed with which and the location at which, you
receive treatment, if your condition is not life threatening.
Primary Health care (your local General Practitioner) is almost
exclusively provided by the private sector. Your attendance at your
local doctor is heavily subsidized by the taxpayer with the doctor
retaining the right to charge you a little extra if he wishes. Some
choose to exist entirely on their subsidy (providing you free care),
others charge modest fees. Few charge fees at a level that would be
regarded as normal in overseas systems. You can elect to take private
insurance to cover the modest cost of these GP fees, if you wish. If
you require referral to a specialist, your GP will normally give you
the choice of being referred to a private or a public service.
Prescription charges are heavily subsidized by the taxpayer. If your
doctor prescribes beyond approved lists you may find yourself incurring
higher costs, but that is not true for most prescriptions. Once again,
insurance can be used to cover all or part of these modest costs.
Whether you interface with the New Zealand health system because of an
illness or an accident, you will get the same high quality of care. But
behind the scenes, the way your costs are funded is different. In the
case of illness the government funds the cost through the tax base. In
the case of an accident, however, there is a unique New Zealand system
based on the presumption that people do not mean to cause accidents and
that suing each other makes lawyers rich but seldom fixes problems. New
Zealanders have given away to right to sue each other for
“causing” accidents and have placed the task of putting
things right in the hands of a public corporation funded by a levy on
salaries and the cost of licensing motor vehicles. When an injury
occurs as a result of an accident, treatment occurs in the health
system as described above but is funded by the Accident Compensation
Corporation. Their interest continues through all stages of recovery
and rehabilitation, to the provision, if necessary, of long term care
and re training. The focus is on full rehabilitation, not cash
compensation. ACC also accepts responsibility for accident prevention
programmes and employers are incented to provide safe workplaces
through variable levies based on accident records. This system applies
whether the accident was work, home or sport related and irrespective
of who “caused” it.
There is no special registration procedure you will need to follow.
Just by being in New Zealand and by being in need of treatment, you
will be accepted and cared for. (Although, see notes below, about
temporary visitors). It is common sense to identify yourself to your
General Practitioner of choice as soon as possible, especially if you
have children. Give your health history and participate in the readily
available publicly funded vaccination and primary health programmes.
Consider
whether you and your family want health insurance or not, and
if so, at what level. It is your choice, is not compulsory. Shop around
for the plan that best suits your budget and circumstances.
Visitors to New Zealand will always be given treatment, if needed. If
that is the result of an accident, our ACC scheme will cover the costs
(but you will not have the right to sue.) If the treatment is needed as
a result of illness, you will be asked to pay the costs you incur.
(Except for residents of UK and Australia, in which case there are
government to government reciprocal arrangements in place.) Travel
insurance is strongly recommended for non-residents visiting New Zealand.
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Auckland
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Clinic
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