Primary Teachers

This section contains Collective Agreements and Professional Development resources for all Primary Teachers working throughout New Zealand. The News Archive includes NZEI News, media releases and other news of interest for Primary School Teachers.

Current News and Resources:

Graduating Primary Teachers

Offered a teaching position for 2009?
Make sure you receive a letter of appointment.

That letter must include:

A description of the position
Your starting salary
The starting date for your employment
Whether you will be employed permanently or fixed term.

Offered a Fixed-Term Position?
If the position you are offered is fixed-term then the letter of appointment must also state:

the reason why the position is fixed-term

when your employment will end.

This should be either:

At a fixed date (and the reason for fixed-term)
When an identified event occurs and why the employment ceases at that time
At the end of specified project.

If you receive an offer of fixed-term employment and have any questions, and you are a member of NZEI give your NZEI field officer a call on 0800 NZEI HELP. Join here if you haven’t done so already.

Teacher Registration:

Graduating teachers can apply for registration now, click here for more information.

Disruptive Student Behaviour Guidelines

NZEI's advice on dealing with disruptive behaviour, staff rights and responsibilities, examples of support available and guidelines for developing a health and safety statement for your workplace.

Disruptive Student Behaviour Guidelines (1.2mb pdf)

Unit Allocation Guidelines

As part of the 2007 settlement of the Primary Teachers Collective Agreement, the primary sector will receive 10,000 new units. The new units will be phased in two stages. 5,000 new units will be available in 2009 and a further 5,000 in 2010. Schools will receive information about their new units in their September 2008 staffing notice.

The new units will require schools to review their existing unit policy and/or develop a new policy. Teachers must be consulted in developing the policy. Guidelines to help with this have been developed by NZEI, the Ministry of Education and the New Zealand School Trustees Association.

Unit Allocation Guidelines (0.5mb pdf).

The New Zealand Curriculum

The New Zealand Curriculum 2007-2011 was launched on 6 November 2007 by the Minister of Education Chris Carter. It is the culmination of several years work with input from a wide range of education sector groups, and has the potential to change the face of education for the 21st century.

Central to the Curriculum are values, enterprise, sustainable environments, key competencies, international languages, core literacy and numeracy, and the use of new technologies. It still addresses subject disciplines but moves towards these being delivered through inquiry-based processes. It also reinserts the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi.

MOE on the New Zealand Curriculum (www.minedu.govt.nz)

NZEI interviews and articles on the Curriculum (1.1mb pdf)

ERO’s Approach to reviewing the New Zealand Curriculum (www.ero.govt.nz)

Support for New Teachers

NZEI supports teachers through their registration process with training courses and mentoring. Support and advice for Provisionally Registered Teachers and their Tutor Teachers and Principals is available from NZEI. Read more...

Guidelines on Physical Contact with Children

NZEI has guidelines on physical contact with children, to assist its members who work as teachers and support staff in schools and early childhood education centres.

Guidelines on Physical Contact with Children (0.2mb pdf)

Parental Leave

Information regarding Parental Leave for NZEI Members including teachers, support staff and Group Special Education staff.

Parental Leave (0.3mb pdf)

NZEI currently represents more than 27,000 Primary School Teachers in New Zealand. Rose Christoforou and Rodney Scott (pictured left) work at Ridgway School in Brooklyn, Wellington.

If you have changed jobs, moved to a different area or changed your phone number you can now update your details online. Read more...