Application information

Application round one for sponsors of charter schools | kura hourua

Progress to date

The Charter School Agency called for and received 78 applications from potential sponsors in 2024. 

From this group, the independent Authorisation Board selected seven sponsors which have been contracted to open charter schools in term one, 2025. Find out more about these schools here. 

Contract negotiations are underway with further sponsors who submitted applications in this first round. These sponsors plan to open charter schools later in 2025 and 2026. 

In early 2025, the Board will re-consider applications from sponsors who were not progressed to contracting in the first round.  

Around the same time, the Agency will also call for any new applications. Any sponsor can submit a new application, including sponsors who were previously unsuccessful in round one. 

Indicative timeline

Date	Action
New year, 2025	Unsuccessful round one applications re-considered
	Contracting any successful round one applications
February/March 2025	Application round two opens
May/June 2025	Interviews for shortlisted sponsors
July through November 2025	Contracting any successful round two applications

Decision and contracting

The Authorisation Board has the statutory obligation in approving sponsors to negotiate contracts for the establishment or conversion of a charter school. Successful sponsors negotiate the details of their contract with the Charter School Agency which is party to the contract with the sponsor. Individual contracts will cover a broad range of requirements specific to each school including: 

• performance targets and outcomes including specific measures that will be used to determine if those targets have been met. 

• the curriculum to be taught at the school including the mode of delivery and the qualifications to be offered by the school. 

• Funding entitlements including frequency. 

More information

Contact us on info@charterschools.govt.nz