Primary principals' and teachers' study award
The Primary Principals' and Teachers' Study Award provides paid leave to complete part-time or full-time study in an agreed educational priority area. You can apply to:
- complete a qualification
- improve an existing qualification
- study a new qualification in a new or different curriculum area
- undertake research
- undertake study that is relevant and adds value to education
- undertake study into effective school management and leadership.
Each year there are 75 full-time teacher equivalent (FTTE) study awards available to teachers and principals, in state or state-integrated schools, who are covered by the Primary Teachers' Collective Agreement (PTCA) or the Primary Principals' Collective Agreement (PPCA).
Applications for the 2025 Primary Teachers' Sabbaticals' will be opening on Thursday 16 May 2024.
To apply for this award/sabbatical you are required to use your existing ESL role with an account and login. You can review your ESL account details here: https://applications.education.govt.nz/education-sector-logon-esl/how-use-esl/self-service
If you do not currently have an ESL role, please contact your school's Delegated Authoriser who will be able to set up an ESL role for you in the "Te Mahau Service Portal".
The Frequently Asked Questions can be found here
Am I eligible for a Primary Principals' and Teachers' Study Award?
If you wish to apply for a Primary Principals' and Teachers' Study Award, you must:
- hold a current Tiwhikete Whakaakoranga Tūturu Full practising certificate (Category One)
- be a full-time or part-time teacher or principal employed in a state or state-integrated New Zealand primary school
- have the support of your principal and board of trustees or employer
- be employed under the PTCA, PPCA or applicable Individual Employment Agreement (IEA).
- have at least three years’ experience as a fully certificated teacher in New Zealand state or state-integrated schools
- have not received a TeachNZ study award or sabbatical in the last five years.
You cannot undertake a study award at the same time as being appointed to a Kāhui Ako |Community Teacher (across community/schools) role. For clarity the teacher may apply for an award provided, if granted, the entitlement is not taken up until the conclusion of the fixed period of the appointment.
Completing Your Application Form
To assist you in completing your study application, please see below the required written questions. You will have a 250 word-limit to answer each question. You will also be required to provide generic employment information.
Study Plan: You will be asked details about the qualification you are intending to work towards. This includes the name of this qualification, tertiary institution, level of qualification (NZQA). You will also be asked to list paper code, paper title and credits/points of each paper you intend to take.
Written Statement: Describe your proposed study, purpose of study award and how this furthers the Ministry of Education’s priorities in education.
Benefits of study: Outline the benefits of the study or qualification to you personally and professionally, your students’ learning outcomes, your school, and the education sector, and how you might share your learning.
Recent study: What recent study or professional learning (within the last three years’) have you undertaken and how does this link to this application?
Personal statement: A statement that includes how this study helps to address any major disadvantages you have experienced because of distance or professional isolation, the socio-economic status of the school or community, or specific requirements of the school.
Contact Us
We're here to help. If you can't find the answer you're looking for in the application guidelines, get in touch with us by calling 0800 165 225 or email teacher.studyawards@education.govt.nz