Scheduled review – Special Character

For state-integrated schools, information about special character has moved to the Governance and Management section of SchoolDocs.

These updates were published to school sites in term 3 2024

The updates below apply to both Catholic and non-Catholic schools.

Proprietor and Integration Agreement

• For schools that previously had a topic called Proprietor Responsibility or Board of Proprietors, this was updated to Proprietor and Integration Agreement.
• Clarified the proprietor's responsibility to safeguard the special character of the school as outlined in the integration agreement.
• Included a new section about the relationship between the proprietor and board.
• Clarified integration agreement provisions for employment, enrolment, and property.

Special Character

• Clarified the legislative and integration agreement requirements for schools and proprietors relating to special character.
• Included new sections about board responsibility and special character evaluation.
• For Catholic schools, clarified reference to each dimension of Catholic special character evaluation.

The updates below apply to Catholic schools only.

Encounter with Christ

• Updated information about spiritual formation, evangelisation, and faith-based leadership to align with the Catholic special character evaluation for development.

Growth in Knowledge

• Updated information about leadership, religious education, and Catholic curriculum.
• Linked this topic to updated information in Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Christian Witness

• Updated focus areas outlined in the Catholic special character evaluation for development of Catholic school communiy, partnership and collaboration, pastoral care, and service and outreach.

Safeguarding and Strengthening Catholic Character

• Updated information about stewardship and legal obligations.
• Included additional clarification about employment and professional development opportunities as part of the board's stewardship responsibilities.

Curriculum and Student Achievement Policy

• Added a new section called Catholic curriculum in the Teaching and learning programmes section.

The update below applies to non-Catholic schools only.

Religious Education

(removed from sites)

• Relevant policy information from Religious Education was moved to Proprietor and Integration Agreement and Special Character policies.