Media Release
Parents’ Alliance welcomes consistent school term dates
MEDIA RELEASE
11 October 2026
Parents' Alliance welcomes consistent school term dates
The Parents’ Alliance has welcomed the National Party education policy announcement that, if re-elected to Government, National would set nationally consistent start and finish dates for schools.
“This is a practical change that will make a real difference for families,” said Cameron Bagrie, Chair of the Parents’ Alliance.
“Many working parents juggle twelve weeks of school holidays with four weeks of annual leave. That is hard enough to manage. When children are at different schools, with different start and finish dates, it just becomes overly complicated.”
“Aligning school term dates will provide greater consistency and certainty for families, staff, and communities who have their tamariki at more than one school.”
“This will help with childcare arrangements, and make it easier to plan educational, sporting, and community events across the country.”
“Increasing the time children spend at school aims to see more children leave school with a qualification and a solid ability in literacy and numeracy, which is welcomed by the Parents’ Alliance.”
“England and Australia have introduced similar requirements that lift the age at which children can leave school, unless they are entering a job or training, leaving New Zealand’s current age of 16 low, relative to comparable countries.”
“However, challenges with such a policy need acknowledgment, including what this means for other students and teachers when some have disengaged and no longer want to be at school.”
“The National Party policy includes retaining the existing exemption process.”
“We look forward to seeing more on the school leaving policy and whether there needs to be any changes to exemption requirements, and we will develop our position from there. There is a risk the exemptions process is used more frequently as opposed to focusing on lifting achievement.”
ENDS
Media contact: Cameron Bagrie, Chair and Spokesperson, The Parents’ Alliance 027 290 9844
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About the Parents' Alliance: The Parents' Alliance The Parents’ Alliance Te Kotahitanga o ngā Mātua, Le Lotogatasi o Mātua, 家长联盟, पारिवारिक मंच is a national group building a collective voice for parents, grandparents and whānau in education.