Registration Policy
UPDATED FEBRUARY 2012
WORKING AS A TEACHER
IN NEW ZEALAND
Here you’ll find all the policies, processes and requirements you need to register as a teacher and to continue to hold a practising certificate.
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Qualifying to join the profession.
If you’re training in New Zealand, you will need to complete and pass an approved initial teacher education (ITE) qualification. If you have trained overseas you will need to obtain a qualifications assessment report from the New Zealand Qualifications Authority to apply for registration.
Read More >Find out all you need to know in the relevant sections below:
Becoming and remaining fully registered.
Being fully registered shows you have recently met the Registered Teacher Criteria. That says a lot about your professional standards and about your ability to deliver high quality teaching.
Read More >Newly qualified teachers should seek to begin an induction and mentoring programme as soon as possible after becoming provisionally registered so they can be supported to meet all of the Criteria. If you are a fully registered teacher it’s important that you maintain your full registration by renewing your practising certificate every three years.
Find out all you need to know in the relevant sections below:
Registering for the first time.
To work as a teacher in a school, kura, kindergarten and in many positions in early childhood education settings, you must be registered and hold a practising certificate.
Read More >Requirements for registration include:
- being satisfactorily trained to teach;
- being of good character and fit to be a teacher;
- being likely to be a satisfactory teacher; and
- being committed to the Code of Ethics, and proficient in English and/or te reo Māori.
If you’re new to teaching, you should apply for provisional registration as soon as you can after graduating with your teaching qualification. If you’re an experienced teacher registering for the first time in New Zealand, you may qualify for registration subject to confirmation.
Find out all you need to know in the relevant sections below:
What if I can’t meet the Registered Teacher Criteria?
Some teachers may not be able to meet the Registered Teacher Criteria because they have not had enough opportunities to be meaningfully assessed – what should they do?
Read More >If you’re a provisionally registered teacher (PRT), it can be hard to gain sufficient teaching service to gain full registration by the time your first practising certificate expires. If you can clearly show valid reasons why you were unable to meet the Registered Teacher Criteria after three years, your provisional registration can be approved for up to six years.
Equally, teachers who are registered subject to confirmation may not be able to gain sufficient teaching experience to be meaningfully assessed against the Registered Teacher Criteria, particularly if they choose to work as day relief teachers or have not completed any recent teaching. These teachers can continue to reapply for registration subject to confirmation on an ongoing basis. In order to qualify for these extensions, teachers must continue to be assessed as ‘likely to be a satisfactory teacher’.
Find out all you need to know in the relevant sections below: