School Onsite Training Programme

How we’re going to implement this funding  

We have started implementation planning, including planning for the settings to facilitate a fair and transparent process for allocating the funding to a range of providers. This will include provision for primary and secondary onsite training programmes, and for the inclusion of Kaupapa Māori and Māori-Medium settings. We will share more information once the implementation plan is in place.

Funding per teacher trainee

The School Onsite Training Programme funding makes it easier for participants to train, by providing them with a stipend towards living and training expenses, a tuition fees contribution, and funding for the host school. These components of the funding are intended to support the teacher trainee with the time and costs associated with spending a significant portion of their time in their host school throughout the year while they are studying.

Benefits of the funding

The School Onsite Training Programme, like other ITE programmes, aims to prepare and develop teacher trainees who feel ready to enter the teaching profession. Students in the programme gain extended practical classroom experience under the supervision of experienced teachers, while completing coursework online.

The goal of the funding is to support teacher trainees through this alternative ITE pathway, supporting their classroom preparedness as they transition from completing their ITE qualification to commencing their teaching careers as provisionally certificated teachers.  

The programme combines school-based experience with the rigour of a full-time one-year ITE course, allowing teacher trainees to study online gathering classroom experiences.

These programmes are:

• the Auckland Schools’ Teacher Training Programme – 35 participating schools, in conjunction with University of Waikato
• the Teacher Education in Schools Programme – 15 participating schools in conjunction with the University of Auckland. 

The pilot included schools based across Auckland and Northland and focused on training secondary teachers only. For the 2024 school year, there were 150 funded places available across Auckland and Northland. 

What teacher trainees study

Over the course of the year, teacher trainees study towards an ITE qualification. In the School Onsite Training Programme pilot, ITE has been delivered by the University of Auckland or the University of Waikato. Teacher trainees graduated from the courses with a Graduate Diploma in Teaching (Secondary) or a Postgraduate Diploma in Teaching (Secondary). 

While the specifics across the 2 programmes in the pilot vary, both schemes follow a school-based ITE model. This is where trainees are enrolled in their ITE qualification while being based in a host school, gaining teaching experience over the entire school year.

Teacher trainees and teaching responsibilities

Teacher trainees do not have daily teaching responsibilities. If someone is employed on a Limited Authority to Teach (LAT) while they study to become a qualified teacher, there are some key things to consider:

• Roles and responsibilities must be clearly defined.
• When someone is a teacher trainee/student teacher, the school must treat them as a student teacher. The roles and responsibilities of a student teacher are different from those of a LAT.
• Teacher trainees must go on placement, as per the Teaching Council requirements for practical experience periods. Participants must be treated as student teachers during this time – this means they must be supervised at all times by an associate teacher.  

Navigating study requirements and how they may impact a person’s responsibilities is an important consideration for any person enrolling in tertiary education. The decision to train as a teacher is not always easy, especially for someone who is making a career change. The opportunity to receive financial support can reduce some of the barriers for someone considering training to be a teacher in an onsite setting.

There are already several ITE pathways available to become a teacher. Having a variety of pathways into teaching is important to suit different people’s needs. Alongside this, there remains a focus on consistency of quality across ITE programmes.  

Teacher trainees who have participated in the pilot to date have been expected to meet all course requirements as with any ITE pathway.

Overview of ITE programmes and providers

The number of ITE providers in New Zealand has not changed significantly (31 in 2005 and 27 in 2024), nor the number of programmes offered (85 in 2005 and 94 in 2021). The range of provision also remains varied.

ITE programme-finder tool – Teaching Council

The Teaching Council has processes in place to approve ITE programmes. This is to ensure that every teacher going through a Council-approved ITE programme is appropriately supported and trained throughout their teacher education.  

The Teaching Council's 2019 ITE programme approval requirements aim to better respond to our changing education environment with a strong focus on flexibility, which enables providers to make programme design and assessment decisions which align with their community. The range of programmes offered across New Zealand can accommodate students coming to train from a range of circumstances, including those who have commitments to whānau, the need to earn, or to remain in their community.

Field-based ITE

Field-based ITE refers to ITE study where students are placed in a host school for a number of days each week where they will teach under the supervision of an associate teacher. Students will also be expected to complete coursework, placements, and assessments to gain their teaching qualification.

School-based ITE

School-based ITE is another term for field-based ITE. The School Onsite Training Programme falls into this category. This isn’t learning 'on the job' – it’s a model that promotes teacher trainees being hosted in a school to experience the workings of the school year.  

Students undertaking any ITE programme, whether school-based or campus-based, who hold a Limited Authority to Teach (LAT) can be paid and will not be required to be supervised when they are working as a LAT.  

There is nothing stopping someone working as a LAT while they train to be a teacher, so long as they meet the requirements of their ITE programme.

Employment-based ITE

Employment-based ITE is another subset of field-based ITE. The difference between this and a school-based ITE programme is that teachers studying to become qualified through this pathway are also employed by a school concurrently. There are only 2 employment-based ITE models in New Zealand: 

• Ako Mātātupu Teach First NZ 
• Ministry of Education’s Māori-Medium employment-based ITE pilots.