What+is+a+Public+School?

Public government funded schools vary depending on the country in which they reside. In New Zealand a public school can operate under three different sectors: Early Childhood, Primary Schools and Secondary Schools. They are administered and operated by district education boards and school committees, also known as the Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees (BOT) are appointed and elected by the parents in the school. The government is represented by Ministry of Education. These schools are held accountable primarily to the BOT and then the Ministry of Education. Most educational services in New Zealand are reviewed on average once every three years to ensure the performance of the school is meeting the expectation of the Ministry of Education. The reviews are undertaken by the Education Review Office (ERO) whose goal is to review and hopefully improve the learning and teaching of students in New Zealand.

Each school is allocated funding according to its decile rating. The decile rating is based on the socio-economic status of students within a school’s zoning area. The ratings range from decile 1 to 10. A decile 1 school has students from a low socio-economic area, families are generally poor and they rely heavily on the government funding allocated to them. A decile 10 school has students from a high socio-economic area, families are generally affluent and they do not receive much government funding the families of the students will be required to pay a school fee to supplement the funding.