Government considers axing education scheme involving nearly 2000 schools

The government has been considering axing a $118-million-a-year education scheme involving nearly 2000 schools, in next month's Budget, a leaked document shows.

The Ministry of Education report to the Minister of Education Erica Stanford - obtained by RNZ - said money saved by cutting the Kāhui Ako scheme could be redirected to learning support for children with disabilities.

The report warned the plan had a high risk of legal or industrial challenge, but it showed the minister believed most teachers would support it.

Kāhui Ako - Communities of Learning - were set up by a National-led government in 2014. The scheme grouped schools together to work on common problems with extra pay for one principal to oversee each group and for select teachers to share good practice between and within schools.

The scheme was billed as one of the most expensive school initiatives ever, but it proved polarising. Supporters said it helped schools work together effectively while opponents said the money would be better spent on other things.

The February report obtained by RNZ included a draft Cabinet paper seeking in principle agreement to disestablish the programme.

It said the paper should be taken to Cabinet in March, with a formal decision to disestablish Kāhui Ako to be made by Cabinet in April.

The report said there were 220 Kāhui Ako, involving 1958 schools and 1506 early learning centres, and more than 4000 teachers received extra pay for Kāhui Ako roles.

It said disestablishing the scheme would cost $39m over two years but save $118m a year by 2027.

An annex to the document said principals were paid $25-30,000 extra to lead Kāhui Ako, teachers working across schools received $16,000 extra, and teachers working within schools $8000 each.

The report said schools also received funding to pay relief teachers to cover times when their staff were doing Kāhui Ako work, and $1000 "maintenance grants" for being in a Kāhui Ako.

The report said the payments to teachers and principals were protected through their collective agreements, so it would take several years for the full savings to be realised.

It warned the delay was one of three "significant risks" in the plan.

The others were the risks of legal challenge and industrial action.

"There is a high risk of industrial action as the timing of these changes coincides with collective bargaining," the report said.

"Disestablishing the programme through Budget 2025 does not leave sufficient time for engagement or consultation with the sector. There is likely to be sector and potentially public opposition to the changes if it is perceived as a reduction in funding and staff for schools, and salary benefits for teachers and principals," the report said.

But hand-written notes on the document, apparently by the minister, suggested most teachers and principals would support the decision.

"We have done a lot of consultation with principals and teachers at conferences - majority support," one note said.

Other notes said, "We need to be clear with unions in advance - this is for learning support", "sector are hugely supportive of disestablishment", while another said the money could be used to increase the number of learning support coordinators.

The report said further risks included reduced incentives for collaboration between schools, loss of a network that was useful for allocating resources, and possible impact on children's achievement.

However, a hand-written note on the report said Kāhui Ako had not improved learner outcomes overall.

The report said the major benefits of removing the programme included reinvesting the money in services better aligned with government priorities, returning teachers and principals full-time to their main roles, and freeing up relief teachers who would otherwise cover for Kāhui Ako teacher release time - equivalent to about 600 full-time teachers.

A complicated procedure

The document said cutting the scheme would not be straightforward.

It would first require a Cabinet decision because the programme was established by such a decision.

The ministry would then provide a report seeking the education minister's approval to disestablish the existing Kāhui Ako.

"It should be noted it is unclear what powers previous Ministers exercised to establish each Kāhui Ako, and there is a risk that unions will push back on this disestablishment process," the paper said.

The various Kāhui Ako teaching roles and allowances would then be removed in the 2026 Staffing Order issued in September this year, which would set out schools' entitlement to teachers for the coming year.

"Following this process, teachers and principals will cease working in their roles from the start of the 2026 school year, and the salary protection provisions in the collective agreements will apply. We anticipate full savings will be realised by the start of the 2027 school year."

The documents said the ministry considered other options for disestablishment, but they were too complex.

Principals and teachers spoken to by RNZ said there were mixed views about the programme.

They said some clusters of schools were successful but others were not, and learning support desperately needed more funding.

The axe had been hanging over the programme for years.

In 2019, the then Labour-led government put a moratorium on new Kāhui Ako while it decided what to do with them, but it never made a decision.

In 2020, the Principals Federation called for an end to the scheme.

In 2021, the government considered expanding the scheme to take in more schools, but months later the Education Ministry suggested allowing 3119 fixed-term Kāhui Ako roles to expire in order to avoid a $12m funding cliff.

In February 2024, then-Education Secretary Iona Holsted told the Education and Workforce Select Committee the scheme was a disappointment with little evidence of success despite the big price tag.

However, education insiders told RNZ the scheme would have achieved more if the ministry had more actively supported the groups of schools and given them more direction.

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