Our Board of Trustees

All of New Zealand’s state schools have a Board of Trustees. The Board is the Crown entity responsible for the governance and control of the management of the school and is accountable for the school’s performance.

The Board is responsible for determining the strategic direction in which the school is heading (in consultation with parents, staff and students). The Board must also ensure that its school provides a safe environment and quality education for all its students. Boards are also responsible for overseeing the management of personnel, curriculum, property, finance and administration.

The Principal is the Board’s chief executive in relation to the school’s control and management. The Principal is required to comply with the Board’s general policy directions; but has complete discretion to manage the school on a day-to-day basis.

At Queenstown Primary School, our Board is made up of:

The Principal of the school
One elected staff representative
Five parent-elected trustees
Co-opted trustees to fulfill a role

Trustees are elected by the parent community and staff members. Elections for parent and staff trustees are held every three years. A by-election can occur at any stage in the 3 year election cycle if an elected trustee resigns from the board and thereby creates a casual vacancy.

What does the Board do?

Every Board must prepare and maintain a School Charter. The purpose of a School Charter is to establish the mission, aims, objectives, directions, and targets of the Board.

The Board has the overall responsibility for the school, including meeting certain legal obligations, responsibility for property, personnel, financial management, reporting to the Ministry and school community, and meeting national requirements set by the Ministry of Education.

The Board makes decisions that the Principal and staff then put in place. It must also monitor and report annually on its progress towards those goals.

Can I get involved?

Standing for the Board is a great way to get involved in your child’s education. Training and support are available to make carrying out this responsibility easier.

Elections are run every three years and in order to stand for the board you must confirm that to the best of your knowledge, you are eligible to be a school trustee. The website of New Zealand School Trustees Association (NZSTA) has an excellent website with lots of great information for current or potential trustees. www.nzsta.org.nz

If you are interested in standing for election, a good idea is to talk to a current Board member. You may also like to attend a couple of Board meetings to get a better idea of what goes on at the meetings and about the responsibility involved.

Board of Trustee Meetings

Boards typically meet once a month between February and December. Meetings are open to the public, however, they are not public meetings where everyone has the right to speak. Speaking rights can be granted in advance by the Presiding Member. Sometimes parts of Board meetings are closed to the public when the Board is discussing confidential matters. Board members are also involved in Board sub-committees which meet as required to discuss issues. Recommendations from these meetings are presented to the full board for approval.

Meeting Dates & Times

Annual Report (Financial Statement)

Our Annual Report contains our school’s audited annual financial statements. These show how the board has used its funds to achieve its charter goals. The Annual report is to be submitted to the Ministry of Education by the 31st of May each year, and as soon as possible after the audit is complete, the board publishes its annual report on this website so that it is available to the public for inspection.

Read here

ERO Review

The Education Review Office (Te Tari Arotake Matauranga) evaluates and reports on the education and care of children and young people in early childhood services and schools.

Queenstown Primary School’s last Education Review Office (ERO) report was released in 2019.

Read the full report here