NZSTA / NZSBA Board Governance Guidance – Use of Trespass Notices in Schools
SPENCER JONES made this Official Information request to Ministry of Education
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From: SPENCER JONES
Dear Ministry of Education, NZSTA / NZSBA,
Kia ora,
I request the following information regarding guidance provided to Boards of Trustees on the use of trespass notices.
1. Governance Guidance
Please provide:
a) Any training materials, guidance documents, or advisory notes provided to Boards regarding:
• use of trespass notices
• excluding parents from school grounds
b) Any recommended:
• process steps
• decision-making frameworks
• record-keeping expectations
2. Delegation Practices
Please provide:
a) Any guidance on:
• whether Boards should formally delegate authority to Principals
• how such delegation should be recorded
3. Good Practice / Risk Management
Please provide:
a) Any documents discussing:
• risks of inappropriate or disproportionate use of trespass powers
• examples of good practice or case studies
4. Support Requests from Schools
Please provide (summary only):
a) Whether NZSTA has received requests for advice from Boards relating to:
• issuing trespass notices to parents
b) Any anonymised summaries of issues raised (if available)
Clarification
This request is limited to:
• existing documents and summaries only
Kind regards,
Spencer Jones
From: Enquiries National
Ministry of Education
Thank you for your email to the Ministry of Education.
This is an auto generated response confirming your email has been received.
Please do not respond to this message.
We will respond to your email as soon as possible.
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ki a mātou. Kaua noa e whakautu i tēnei karere.
Mea ake nei ka urupare tonu atu mātou ki tō īmēra.
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From: Enquiries National
Ministry of Education
[IN-CONFIDENCE - RELEASE EXTERNAL]
Kia ora Spencer,
Thank you for your request.
The Ministry will consider your request in accordance with the Official
Information Act 1982 (the Act).
Under section 15(1) of the Act, we are required to make and inform you of
our decision on your request as soon as reasonably practicable and in any
case not later than 20 working days after the day on which your request is
received. You can therefore expect to receive our decision on your request
on or before 24 April 2026. If more than 20 working days are needed due to
the potential workload and/or consultations involved in answering your
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The Ministry may publicly release on our website the response to your
request five days after you have received it. Any personal information
will be removed.
In the interim, if you have any questions about your request, please email
[1][email address]
Ngā mihi,
Enquiries National Team | Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga | Ministry of
Education | PN education.govt.nz
We shape an education system that delivers equitable and excellent
outcomes He mea tārai e mātou te mātauranga kia rangatira ai, kia mana
taurite ai ōna
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From: Enquiries National
Ministry of Education
[IN-CONFIDENCE - RELEASE EXTERNAL]
Tēnā koe Spencer
OIA: [GEMS-47429] – Use of Trespass Notices in Schools – Policy, Guidance,
and Oversight
Thank you for your email of 25 March 2026 to the Ministry of Education
(the Ministry) seeking information about the use of trespass notices by
state schools.
Your full request is attached below as Appendix A.
Under the Education and Training Act 2020, schools are self‑governing
through their boards and are each considered Crown entities. Boards are
independently responsible for governance and operational decisions,
including engagement with parents or caregivers and the use of trespass
notices.
The Ministry does not issue training materials, guidance, advisory notes,
or decision‑making frameworks to boards specifically on the use of
trespass notices. The Ministry also does not provide guidance on
delegation of trespass‑related authority to principals, record‑keeping
expectations, or risk management practices in this context, and does not
hold good‑practice examples or case studies relating to trespass use by
schools.
The Ministry does not collect or hold information about requests for
advice made by schools to the New Zealand School Boards Association
(NZSBA), nor does it hold summaries of issues raised with NZSBA. NZSBA is
a separate organisation and is not part of the Ministry. We note that
NZSBA is not subject to the Act.
Accordingly, your request is refused in full under section 18(g) of the
Act, as the information requested is not held by the Ministry and there is
no reason to believe it is held by another agency or is more closely
connected with another agency’s functions.
Thank you again for your email. You have the right to ask an Ombudsman to
review my decision on your request, in accordance with section 28 of the
Act. You can do this by writing to [1][email address] or to
Office of the Ombudsman, PO Box 10152, Wellington 6143.
Nāku noa, nā
Enquiries National Team | Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga | Ministry of
Education | AG
[2]education.govt.nz
We shape an education system that delivers equitable and excellent
outcomes
He mea tārai e mātou te mātauranga kia rangatira ai, kia mana taurite ai
ōna huanga
[3]Te TD huhu o te MD tauranga
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OIA Response Analysis – NZSTA / NZSBA Guidance on Trespass Notices in Schools
Request:
https://fyi.org.nz/request/34242
Summary of Request
This request sought information on whether the New Zealand School Trustees Association (NZSTA) and/or New Zealand School Boards Association (NZSBA):
• provide guidance to school boards on the use of trespass notices
• hold policies, templates, or advisory material on this issue
• have issued any formal governance or legal guidance
Summary of Response
The response indicates that:
• limited or no formalised guidance has been identified
• no clear centralised policy, framework, or advisory document has been provided
• any support appears to be informal, case-by-case, or not centrally recorded
Key Observations
1. Absence of formal governance guidance
There is no clear evidence of:
• standardised guidance for boards on issuing trespass notices
• formal legal or governance frameworks provided to schools
• consistent national-level policy or advisory material
2. Lack of centralised documentation
The response suggests:
• guidance (if any) is not centrally stored or systematically recorded
• no identifiable repository of advice or templates exists
3. Reliance on informal or decentralised support
Any assistance to boards appears to be:
• ad hoc
• case-specific
• potentially undocumented
Wider Context
School boards are responsible for:
• governance and safety decisions
• managing access to school grounds
• ensuring lawful use of powers such as trespass
The absence of clear, accessible guidance raises questions about:
• consistency of decision-making across schools
• legal robustness of trespass actions
• support available to boards handling complex situations
System-Level Observation
This response is consistent with a broader pattern seen across recent OIA requests:
> key governance or policy areas are not supported by clearly documented, centrally accessible guidance
Why This Matters
Without formal guidance:
• boards may rely on inconsistent interpretations
• legal risks may vary across schools
• transparency and accountability are reduced
Summary
This response indicates that:
• no clear national-level guidance has been identified
• documentation (if it exists) is not centrally accessible
• governance support in this area appears fragmented or informal
Next Steps
Potential follow-up actions include:
• requesting clarification on whether any informal guidance exists in emails or advisory communications
• seeking legal or policy input from the Ministry of Education
• considering whether consistent national guidance should be developed
Link to this