Governance and management: various
Can the Ministry of Education enter and inspect a school?
Most interaction with the Ministry of Education will be by mutual agreement. The Secretary for Education may, however, authorise a person to inspect a registered school.
That person may, at any reasonable time: enter and inspect a school; view, remove or copy documents belonging to the board or school; and meet, talk with, and view the work of, students at the school.
An inspector must show their written authorisation (and evidence of their identity) to the person in charge of the premises or documents concerned. The written authorisation must contain a reference to relevant section of the law, the full name of the inspector, and a statement of the powers conferred on that inspector.
Where documents or items are removed from the school by an inspector, the inspector must give the school a list of everything being removed, and must return all items (or copies of the items) to the school as soon as practicable, subject to prejudice in an investigation by the Ministry.
Education and Training Act 2020, section 628 – Legislation website
Updated: August 2020
