The New Zealand School system is made up of
· State Schools
· State Integrated Schools
· Independent (private) Schools
State integrated schools are part of the state network and operate in a very similar fashion to state schools with generally two key differences – state integrated schools have a “special character” protected in law and the land and buildings of the school are privately owned. A proprietor (usually a trust, church or some other entity) takes responsibility to protect and enhance the special character of the school and, by levying parents, (with some assistance from the government) maintain school property to a standard similar to comparable state schools.
Types of Special Character include Catholic, Anglican, Methodist, Presbyterian, Adventist, Jewish, Muslim, Steiner, Montessori and non-denominational Christian schools.
What is the Association of Proprietors’ of Integrated Schools (APIS)?
AIS NZ works closely with the Association of Proprietors’ of Integrated Schools (APIS) to maintain the integrity of Schedule 6 of The Education and Training Act 2020 which provides the legislative framework for all state integrated schools. APIS brings together the Catholic and non-Catholic groupings providing service and advocacy.
The APIS is the lead organisation for the Integrated Schools sector and is led by Dr Kevin Shore. The Secretariat for the APIS is the Catholic Education Office.
How do AIS NZ and APIS work together?
APIS has been the lead organisation for Integrated Schools since integrated schools came into being when The Private Schools’ Conditional Integration Act (1975) (subsequently subsumed into Schedule 6 of The Education and Training Act 2020) created the legal framework for such schools.
AIS NZ was formed in 1984. Three AIS NZ Executive members serve on the APIS Executive. AIS NZ and APIS share strategic planning via this forum.
We believe that all Integrated schools have common interests by virtue of the fact that we are all integrated and subject to the Integration Act. As such we need to speak with a united voice, as often as possible, on those matters which are of common interest to us.