Schools face more stringent workforce requirements - but resources available
New, more stringent requirements that come into force on 1 July under the Children’s Action Plan for schools employing
new staff should not cause undue alarm says the New Zealand School Trustees Association. NZSTA has produced a set of
resources to guide schools through the process for appointing new staff and these are available to all boards of
trustees through the NZSTA website.
From July 1st any new appointments for people working with children will have to conform to the new, more stringent
process for verifying identity, obtaining police checks, candidate interview and reference checking developed under the
Children’s Action Plan. Other requirements are due to be implemented progressively over the next few years, although
final details of the implementation timetables have yet to be officially released by the relevant Ministries.
One change that will be relevant for schools from the 1st of July is a wider range of “specified offences” that will
prevent a person being employed in a school without a special exemption.
Boards using NZSTA’s recommended appointment process to fill vacancies can be confident that they will comply with the
requirements of the new legislation, says President Lorraine Kerr. NZSTA will continue to update the advice and expand
the range of automated tools available to boards through the NZSTA website as the opportunities arise. The NZSTA
Appointment process is available through the NZSTA website http://www.nzsta.org.nz/employer/appointment-process.
Further information about Human Resource (HR) services offered by NZSTA can be found on the NZSTA website http://www.nzsta.org.nz/services/human-resource-services.
ENDS