Welcome to our Consultation Hub

This site will help you find and participate in public consultations undertaken by the Ministry of Education.

Find out what we're consulting on now and have your say.

Search for consultations

Looking to provide more general feedback?

Contact us here

Stay up to date with the latest information

from our Ministry news feed

Open Consultations

  • Waimahia Intermediate School Enrolment Scheme

    The Ministry of Education is currently working with the Board of Waimahia Intermediate School to implement a new enrolment scheme. Existing zones for adjacent schools are not being changed as part of this process. Enrolment schemes are needed to help manage enrolments across schools. This allows Boards to manage the risk of overcrowding, provide a fair and transparent process for enrolment and ensures we are making the best use of schooling facilities across the area. ...

    Closes 29 September 2023

  • Paparoa Street School - Minor Amendment

    The Ministry of Education is proposing a minor amendment to the enrolment scheme of Paparoa Street School. Paparoa Street School has an enrolment scheme which has been in place since 1999 and has remained unchanged since that time. The current Paparoa Street School home zone map is drawn to road boundaries and needs to be updated to land parcel boundaries to more precisely identify the properties that fall within their home zone. This will allow more accurate identification...

    Closes 11 October 2023

  • Clearview Primary - Minor Amendment

    The Ministry of Education is proposing a minor amendment to the enrolment scheme of Clearview Primary. The home zone is a key part of the Enrolment Scheme and sets out a geographic area from within which students have a right to enrol at the school. Residential developments occuring on or near the home zone boundary have meant that the current written description and home zone map needs to be clarified to identify more accurately which addresses should be considered in-zone...

    Closes 11 October 2023

  • West Rolleston Primary School - Minor Amendment

    The Ministry of Education is proposing a minor amendment to the enrolment scheme of West Rolleston Primary School. The home zone is a key part of the Enrolment Scheme and sets out a geographic area from within which students have a right to enrol at the school. Residential developments occuring on or near the home zone boundary have meant that the current written description and home zone map needs to be clarified to identify more accurately which addresses should be...

    Closes 11 October 2023

  • Lemonwood Grove School - Minor Amendment

    The Ministry of Education is proposing a minor amendment to the enrolment scheme of Lemonwood Grove School. The home zone is a key part of the Enrolment Scheme and sets out a geographic area from within which students have a right to enrol at the school. Residential developments occuring on or near the home zone boundary have meant that the current written description and home zone map needs to be clarified to identify more accurately which addresses should be considered...

    Closes 11 October 2023

Forthcoming Consultations

  • Amendment to Pāpāmoa Primary School Enrolment Scheme

    The Ministry of Education is currently working with the Board of Pāpāmoa Primary School to amend their enrolment scheme. Enrolment schemes are needed to help manage the risk of overcrowding at schools. This allows Boards to manage the risk of overcrowding, provides a fair and transparent process for enrolment and ensures we are making the best use of schooling facilities across the area. Enrolment schemes do mean that all families will have entitlement...

    Opens 2 October 2023

Closed Consultations

  • Amendment to Rosebank and Warepa Schools Enrolment schemes

    The Ministry of Education is currently working with the Boards of Rosebank School and Warepa School to make a minor amendment to their existing enrolment scheme. Rosebank School Rosebank School has had an enrolment scheme which has been in place since 2001. The current Rosebank School home zone is drawn to road boundaries and needs to be updated to land parcel boundaries to more precisely identify the properties that fall within the home zone. This will...

    Closed 21 September 2023

  • Taieri College - Minor Amendment

    The Ministry of Education is proposing a minor amendment to the enrolment scheme of Taieri College. Taieri College has an enrolment scheme which has been in place since 2006. The current Taieri College home zone map is drawn to road boundaries and needs to be updated to land parcel boundaries to more precisely identify the properties that fall within the home zone. This will allow more accurate identification of in-zone addresses, particularly when using online search...

    Closed 21 September 2023

  • Limehills School - Minor Amendment

    The Ministry of Education is proposing a minor amendment to the enrolment scheme of Limehills School. Limehills School has an enrolment scheme which has been in place since 2002. The current Limehills School home zone map is drawn to road boundaries and needs to be updated to land parcel boundaries to more precisely identify the properties that fall within the home zone. This will allow more accurate identification of in-zone addresses, particularly when using online...

    Closed 21 September 2023

  • Edendale School (Balclutha) - Minor Amendment

    The Ministry of Education is proposing a minor amendment to the enrolment scheme of Edendale School. Edendale School has an enrolment scheme which has been in place since 2008. The current Edendale School home zone map is drawn to road boundaries and needs to be updated to land parcel boundaries to more precisely identify the properties that fall within the home zone. This will allow more accurate identification of in-zone addresses, particularly when using online search...

    Closed 21 September 2023

  • Heddon Bush School - Minor Amendment

    The Ministry of Education is proposing a minor amendment to the enrolment scheme of Heddon Bush School. Heddon Bush School has an enrolment scheme which has been in place since 2007. The current Heddon Bush School home zone map is drawn to road boundaries and needs to be updated to land parcel boundaries to more precisely identify the properties that fall within the home zone. This will allow more accurate identification of in-zone addresses, particularly when using online...

    Closed 21 September 2023

We Asked, You Said, We Did

Here are some of the issues we have consulted on and their outcomes. See all outcomes

We asked

The Ministry of Education and Te Wānanga o Raukawa have been working together to develop a proposal for legislative change to recognise the mana and tino rangatiratanga of Te Wānanga o Raukawa, reflect the Tiriti o Waitangi/Treaty of Waitangi-based relationship Te Wānanga o Raukawa has with the Crown, and reflect the unique role that Te Wānanga o Raukawa plays in the education system.

We asked for feedback on the proposal to:

  • reconstitute Te Wānanga o Raukawa as a new statutory entity, with dual accountability to the ART Confederation (Te Āti Awa ki Whakarongotai, Ngāti Raukawa and Ngāti Toa Rangatira) and the Crown; AND
  • introduce new bespoke (custom) administrative arrangements for Te Wānanga o Raukawa related to its purpose, functions, and governance.

This work sits alongside work we have been doing with Te Wānanga o Raukawa, Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi and Te Wānanga o Aotearoa to develop a broader proposal for a Wānanga sector framework in the Education and Training Act 2020.

You said

An overwhelming majority of submitters who participated in Te Wānanga o Raukawa survey (over 99%) supported the proposal for Te Wānanga o Raukawa to become a new statutory entity (over 99%), supported the proposed legislated purpose (over 99%) and believe it reflects the mission and role of Te Wānanga o Raukawa (over 99%).

You can find a summary of what was submitted during consultation attached below.

We did

We summarised the feedback we received through consultation, used this to refine the proposals, and sought Cabinet agreement to final policy decisions in early December 2022 on the broader sector framework in the Education and Training Act 2020. The outcome of this is the Education and Training Amendment Bill (No.3). This was introduced on 23 March 2023. Work is still continuing on the specific Te Wānanga o Raukawa proposal.

You can find the Bill here

You can make a submission on the Bill here. The closing date for submissions is 11.59pm on Monday, 01 May 2023

We asked

The Ministry and the Wānanga developed a shared proposal to create an enabling framework for the Wānanga sector in the Education and Training Act 2020 (E&T Act). This enabling framework would allow each Wānanga to work in collaboration with the Ministry to develop new rules in terms of who they are accountable to and how, their purpose and functions, and their governance structures.

We asked for your feedback on four issues:

Issue 1: Overall legislative design for the Wānanga sector which includes:

  • Option 1: Developing consistent administrative provisions for Wānanga in the E&T Act.
  • Option 2 (preferred option): Establishing an enabling Wānanga sector framework within the E&T Act that would allow Wānanga to:
    • Option 2a - Bespoke Tertiary Education Institution (TEI): Continue to be considered a TEI, with specific purpose, function and governance arrangements agreed between the Wānanga and the Government, or
    • Option 2b - New statutory entity: Become a new type of statutory entity which keeps its focus on education provision and but has greater independence in terms of its administrative arrangements, including accountability to iwi
  • Option 3: Developing separate primary legislation for individual Wānanga, outside the E&T Act.

Issue 2: More detail about the preferred legislative option (option 2 above), focusing on the characteristics of a Wānanga and provisions for establishing a new Wānanga

Issue 3: More detail about the preferred legislative option (option 2 above), focusing on how the Order In Council could enable each Wānanga to have different administrative settings (within set parameters).

Issue 4: Tiriti o Waitangi/Treaty of Waitangi consistency, focusing on how the whole Wānanga sector framework aligns with Te Tiriti/the Treaty.

You said

The response to the proposed changes has been overwhelmingly supportive:

  • Most submitters were supportive of the proposed changes to establish a Wānanga sector framework
  • Most submitters strongly supported the respective positions of individual Wānanga

You can find a detailed summary of what was submitted during consultation attached below.

We did

We summarised the feedback we received through consultation, used this to refine the proposals, and sought Cabinet agreement to final policy decisions in early December 2022. The outcome of this is the Education and Training Amendment Bill (No.3) which proposes a Wānanga sector framework. This was introduced on 23 March 2023.

You can find the Bill here

You can make a submission on the Bill here. The closing date for submissions is 11.59pm on Monday, 01 May 2023

We asked

The Ministry published the draft rules and guidelines for minimising the use of physical restraint in registered schools on 23 November 2021 alongside an online survey. These draft rules and guidelines were developed by the Physical Restraint Advisory Group following changes to the framework for using physical restraint in The Education and Training Act 2020.

In our consultation we asked whether the new draft rules and guidelines would work, what changes might be needed, and whether there were any gaps or other issues that need considering.

Read the initial consultation paper [PDF, 573 KB]

You said

We received 267 responses from individuals and organisations, including parents, whānau and caregivers, teachers, principals and learning support specialists.

It’s clear that physical restraint is a complex area for school communities to navigate, but that schools, teachers and support staff want to do right by their learners and whānau. In general, the rules and guidelines are seen as helpful and needed and the preventative approach is appreciated. It was clear through the feedback that we need to look at how the rules and guidelines are applied in practice.

The guidelines need to better reflect a te ao Māori and disability view and they need some clearer definitions around what emotional distress is. They could also do with some more examples of context where physical contact is appropriate so that teachers know what they can do as well as what they can’t do.

The rules and guidelines are well positioned in terms of the emphasis on prevention and the contribution of school culture, leadership and environment in minimising the use of restraint, though there are those who strongly object to any use of physical restraint in schools.

Read the Consultation submissions summary [PDF, 1.3 MB].

We’re currently developing translations and accessible formats of this report.

We did

We’re using your feedback to clarify the rules and reshape the guidelines. We’ll also carry what we’ve heard from you into the planning for training for schools.

We’ll clarify in the final rules:

  • that school policies are to focus on reducing student distress and the use of physical restraint
  • that incidents of physical restraint can be reported to the Ministry using the new online form
  • when and how parents should be involved in debriefing after an incident of physical restraint.

We’ll reflect in the final guidelines:

  • a te ao Māori view of school as a place of shelter, with an integrated network of support to nurture ākonga potential
  • a strong focus on inclusive school cultures that promote wellbeing and minimise the need for physical restraint
  • broader definitions and examples of emotional distress
  • broader definitions of physical restraint as it relates to denying or removing mobility equipment and communication devices
  • a format that is less complex and more practical and readable.

Keep updated on next steps.