Hon David Seymour
Associate Minister of Education

Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today announced that TIPENE is the final charter school to open in term one 2025.

“This announcement is another significant step in the Government’s efforts to lift educational achievement in New Zealand,” says Mr Seymour.

“Charter schools will make New Zealand’s education system more flexible and responsive to family and student needs.

“Every child deserves an education that gives them the opportunity to learn and grow in ways which are more specific to their needs. TIPENE is a fantastic example of a school that will give families and educators more meaningful educational choice and support.”

TIPENE recognises that underachievement disproportionally falls on Māori boys. Despite this, education strategies rarely target their needs.

TIPENE is an active collaboration between the St Stephen’s Old Boys Association and the St Stephens Queen Victoria’s Trust. It is a full-time boarding school and will ultimately be for Māori and Pacific boys in years 9-13 located in South Auckland.

“It will use well-established cultural frames and pedagogies, which promote success, and are specifically designed to inspire Māori boys. One aspect of this will be the school’s focus on creating a home away from home,” says Mr Seymour.

“I want to thank the Charter School Agency and independent Authorisation Board for the work they have done to progress this important work. They oversaw a robust and fair process with 78 applications in the first round.

“This is just the beginning. I hope to see many more new charter schools opening, and state and state-integrated schools converting to become charter schools.

“The huge demand to open charter schools not only highlights the need, but also the commitment of people to provide varied educational opportunities for young New Zealanders to maximise educational outcomes. Positive education outcomes can lead to better health, higher incomes, better job stability and greater participation within communities. These are opportunities that every student deserves.

“Charter schools will be given greater freedom to respond to diverse student needs in innovative ways, but they will be held to a much higher standard than state schools and subject to a high level of monitoring and accountability.”

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