Teaching in NZ

An education overview

The New Zealand education system has two stages of compulsory schooling:

• primary (years 0-8, age range 5 to 13) and
• secondary (years 9-15, age range 13 to 18).

Within these stages, New Zealand families can choose between two types of schooling for their children’s education:

• state and integrated schools (Government funded)
• private schools (fee funded)

There is also a growing emphasis on the middle years and an increase in the number of middle schools (years 7–10), and continuation of intermediate schools (years 7 and 8).

Early childhood education (ECE) is not compulsory in New Zealand but the number of children attending is growing due to increased funding and parental choice. There is a wide range of services for parents and caregivers to choose from.