Charter School

The Forest School is a full time nature-based Primary School that is a Charter School. Many people wonder what charter schools are and how they are different from conventional public schools. In New Zealand, charter schools exist to do one thing exceptionally well: meet the diverse needs of children in ways that traditional schooling often cannot.

Charter schools are Government funded public schools with greater ability to design programmes and curriculum that truly fit their learners. Charter schools have the autonomy to innovate and respond to the unique needs and goals of their community.

At their best, charter schools are vibrant, creative, child-centred learning communities. They weave together high expectations, caring relationships, and flexible approaches so that every student feels seen, valued, and supported to thrive.

For many families, charter schools are an open door to opportunities that simply weren’t available before. They offer environments where children can grow with confidence, belonging and discover joy and purpose in their learning.

Charter schools are not “alternatives”; they are purpose built solutions. Children are not one-size-fits-all, and schools shouldn’t be either. Charter schools provide real choice for parents and honour the diverse needs of families. This ensures every child has access to a learning environment where they can truly thrive. 

  • Charter schools must meet high performance targets and are subject to regular reporting and auditing to ERO & the Charter School Agency.

    Due to its contract with the Government, The Forest School has a high level of accountability, in exchange for autonomy in designing our unique curriculum that supports our students to high achievement and a love of learning. If charter schools do not meet their performance targets they may be closed down.

  • A Charter school can be run by any organisation approved by the Charter Schools Authorisation Board, that meets their mandatory criteria. This is called the Sponsor.

    The process to be approved by the Charter Schools Authorisation Board is long and rigorous. In our case, this took a full 20 months: 14 months from conception to contracting and another 6 months until opening. The Sponsor for The Forest School is “New Zealand Forest Schools” led by Tennille and Gavin Murdoch and overseen by their Advisory Board.

    Charter schools are a similar structure to that of private schools.

  • No. Charter schools do not take funding away from state schools. In New Zealand, funding follows the child. This means that wherever a child is enrolled; state, state-integrated, or charter, their allocated funding simply goes to the school they attend.

    Charter schools are part of the public education system, and their funding is not taken out of another school’s budget. Instead, each child’s entitlement moves with them, ensuring they can access a school that best meets their needs.

    In this way, charter schools do not reduce funding for local state schools; they simply receive the funding linked to the students who choose to enrol with them.

  • Enrolment in a charter school is free for domestic students. Only international students are required to pay tuition fees. Costs for certain activities and stationery may still apply.

    At The Forest School, we also invite families to make a voluntary donation each term. While optional, these contributions are an important part of enabling our unique learning approach. They help us maintain our small class sizes, purpose built spaces and provide the high quality experiences that define our school.

  • No. Charter schools do not operate with zoning rules and must accept all eligible enrolment applications unless they are oversubscribed.

    However, schools with a Distinguishing Character may decline an application if there is no clear agreement with, or alignment to that Distinguishing Character.

  • The Forest School is New Zealand’s only government funded, nature-based primary school, offering an educational experience found nowhere else in the country. Our programme brings together the best of nature-based learning, the Reggio Emilia approach, and deeply engaging real-life learning experiences.

    Our curriculum blends the New Zealand Curriculum (NZC) with international best practice: child directed inquiry, a robust social emotional learning curriculum from the United States, learning through play and high quality Literacy, and Numeracy programmes.

  • Currently, the public education system does not meet the needs of every child and private schooling is not accessible for many families. Charter schools are one way that the Government provides equitable opportunities to improve student engagement and achievement. Every child deserves the opportunity to succeed and achieve to the best of their ability in a school that meets their needs. Charter schools have greater autonomy to design a curriculum and education programme that does this for their community.

  • All teachers at The Forest School are qualified and registered with the New Zealand Teaching Council, just like teachers in state schools. Our kaiako meet the same professional standards, ethical responsibilities, and ongoing certification requirements as any other teacher in Aotearoa.

    In addition to their formal teaching qualifications, our team brings specialist expertise in nature-based education, outdoor instructing, play, water safety and lifesaving, NZOIA outdoor instructing, music, visual art, science and entrepreneurship. This combination ensures your child is taught by educators who are both highly skilled and deeply committed to our school’s vision.