Key findings: Data, statistics and publications

Statistics

Publications

Historical analysis of boards of schools and kura elections:

Why is the Ministry collecting school boards data?

School boards data is core information required for monitoring the schooling system. The Ministry uses school boards data to:

• monitor the school board election process
• support policy analysis, including understanding how different groups are represented on school boards
• support a transparent and open system through public reporting.

Boards of schools and kura data is also used for general research and statistics, in accordance with the Privacy Act 2020.  This may include linking school boards data with student data, for example, to understand the representation of a board compared to its schooling community.  Care is taken that no individual can ever be identified from published analysis.

Collecting data

The school board updates form was released in September 2025 to collect all school board data. The new survey collects the following information:

• school board elections details, including candidate information and election results
• new members starting on the school board
• members leaving the school board.

This form replaces the Appendix 1 and Appendix 2 form that was previously hosted by the Ministry of Education and Te Whakarōpūtanga Kaitiaki Kura o Aotearoa | New Zealand School Boards Association (NZSBA).

The measures

The key measure of the boards of schools and kura data is a head count of members.

The data can be viewed by a range of dimensions, based on the individual, their role on the board, the school, and the school's location.

The data source

Boards must hold elections for parent and staff representatives every 3 years (triennial election). A board may also decide to adopt a mid-term (staggered) election cycle where half the parent representatives are elected at a mid-term election (18 months after the triennial election) and the remainder are elected at the triennial election. Elections for student representatives are held annually in September in schools with students above Year 9.

Triennial elections have been held every 3 years since 1989.

A by-election can occur at any stage in the election cycle if an elected representative resigns from the board and thereby creates a casual vacancy. Although the major changes in board membership occur in triennial election years, there is still some fluctuation in intervening years due to casual vacancies, by-elections, selections and mid-term elections. Visit School board elections for more information.

General information about school boards

For general information about boards of schools and kura please visit the What is a school board page on the main Ministry of Education website.