In term 3, 2024, schools reviewed the Concerns and Complaints Policy and its subtopics. Schools also reviewed Protected Disclosure and Personal Grievance. Updates to these policies were delayed by legal review and were released in term 1 2025.

Additional policy information for independent and charter schools is shown in the table below.

Concerns and Complaints Policy

• Schools can now add optional wording about how they share their concerns and complaints procedures with the school community and with staff, and information about their overarching philosophy/practice.
• Moved information about timely communication to the Raising Concerns and Assessing and Responding to Concerns and Complaints topics.
• Wording about record-keeping can now be school-specific.
• Added a Concerns and Complaints Process resource (PDF) that provides an overview and can be printed or put on your school website for your school community.

Independent and charter schools – Concerns and Complaints Policy

In addition to the changes noted above:

• Independent and charter schools can add wording about how the complaints process aligns with their school character, if applicable.
• Removed wording that does not apply or is unlikely to apply to independent and charter schools (e.g. matters that aren't necessarily a board responsibility, references to NZSBA, certain legislative references).

Raising Concerns and Complaints

• Adapted wording to make it clearer how to raise a concern or complaint, what the process of escalation is, and what happens next.
• Added information about sensitive claims.
• Added information about withdrawing a concern or complaint.
• Added a Concerns and Complaints Process resource (PDF) that provides an overview and can be printed or put on your school website for your school community.

Independent and charter schools – see Raising Concerns and Complaints

In addition to the changes noted above:

• Independent and charter schools can specify who to raise certain concerns with (i.e. serious concerns or those about the principal or someone in a governance role).
• Removed wording that does not apply or is unlikely to apply to independent and charter schools (e.g. information about sensitive claims, references to NZSBA).

Assessing and Responding to Concerns and Complaints

• Added a new section to clarify the process of receiving a concern and complaint.
• Reformatted information about managing a concern and complaint so that different matters are clearer to read in dropdown boxes.
• Added a section about how the school will respond to sensitive claims.
• Added information about closing the concern or complaint.

Independent and charter schools – Assessing and Responding to Concerns and Complaints

In addition to the changes noted above:

• Independent and charter schools can change certain wording about board involvement.
• Independent and charter schools can add brief wording about what happens if there is a concern or complaint about someone in a governance (e.g. board) or ownership role.
• For independent schools, this policy states that "The school or an individual may seek independent review as appropriate."
• For charter schools, this policy includes wording about a procedure for the independent review of complaints, as required by the Education and Training Act 2020.
• Removed wording that does not apply or is unlikely to apply to independent and charter schools (e.g. certain legislative references, references to NZSBA).

Personal Grievance

• Added information about concerns and complaints to clarify how these are distinguished from a personal grievance.
• Clarified information, including the legislated reasons for a personal grievance, how these may be raised by an employee, and the board's response to a personal grievance claim.

Independent and charter schools – Personal Grievance

In addition to the changes noted above:

• Independent and charter schools can can specify who has the authority to deal with employment matters. The default will be what you have on your site for "principal".

Protected Disclosure

• Strengthened this policy to make it clearer who to disclose to, and when a disclosure will be protected.
• Added the option to include school-specific wording about sharing your internal procedures for protected disclosures.
• More comprehensively covered a discloser's protections and confidentiality.
• Added a board assurance to confirm that the school has internal procedures that meet the requirements of the Protected Disclosures (Protection of Whistleblowers) Act 2022 and that this information is shared regularly.

Independent and charter schools – differences are shown in the update above.

Making a Protected Disclosure
(previously Making and Receiving a Protected Disclosure)

• Refocused this policy on how to make a protected disclosure so it's clearer for disclosers to follow. Information about receiving a protected disclosure is now covered in Managing a Protected Disclosure.
• Updated the resources section to include more current guidance.

Managing a Protected Disclosure

• Refocused this policy to clearly state the actions the school takes when it receives a protected disclosure.