Application information

There's a robust application process for establishing a charter school, or converting a state schoool to a charter school.

Apply to sponsor a charter school | kura hourua

We are looking for sponsors (organisations or businesses) who are motivated to lift student achievement and attendance, have an innovative and viable approach and the experience, knowledge and capability to deliver it.

This year (2024) there’s a process to select sponsors to open schools in term 1 next year and through 2025 and 2026. Decisions will be made later this year after the legislation has passed but we can get the process underway.

The Independent Charter School Authorisation Board will be responsible for deciding which applicants are successful.

There will be further opportunities to apply and the process may be refined in future.

The steps in the current (2024) application process are as follows:

Stage 1 - closed 9 August

This stage is intended to understand applicants’ intentions and establish their suitability.

Applicants have provided information intended to demonstrate that their organisation and the people governing it are ‘fit and proper persons’ as defined in the legislation. They were also asked for a purpose statement (describing aspirations and approach) and a high-level business plan.

Read the Stage 1 Application Pack, Response Form and Terms and Conditions.

Assessment - through August

Applications that pass the ‘fit and proper persons test’ and are assessed as viable will be recommended to progress to the next stage.

The Charter School Agency will not make any names public until final decisions are made.

All the information provided in an application will remain confidential to those directly involved in the assessment process and will only be used in the assessment of the application.

Applicants are free to choose whether to release any information publicly themselves.

Stage 2 application and assessment

At this stage, sponsors will be asked for more details including:

full business plan
leadership and capability of the sponsor
additional value of the school including student impact
operational fitness.

Decisions and contracting

Decisions on applications will be made by the independent Charter School Authorisation Board after the legislation is passed. Selected sponsors will then negotiate the details of their contract with the Charter School Agency. All charter schools will meet core legal requirements. Individual contracts will cover a broad range of matters specific to each school including (but not limited to):

performance targets and outcomes
specific measures that will be used to determine if those targets have been met
the number or percentage of teaching positions must be filled by teachers with practising certificates, or persons holding a limited authority to teach
the curriculum to be taught at the school and the mode of delivery
the qualifications to be offered by the school
the physical capacity of the school premises

Indicative timeline

11 July 2024	Applications open
18 July 2024	Applicant briefing (register via GETS)
9 August	Deadline for Stage 1 applications
First week September	Applicants contacted about next steps
September	Legislation expected to be passed
September	Authorisation Board appointed
September - October	Authorisation Board makes decisions on applications
October - November	Contracting