Principals' survey: intentions for 2018
12 December 2017
We've asked primary, intermediate and area school principals for an idea of how their budgets were looking in 2018.
The unfortunate story is that much like last year's survey, the prognosis doesn't look good. Many principals are telling us that they'll need to make cuts to teacher aide hours to stay within their operational budget.
Meanwhile, the ongoing teacher shortage means that principals are struggling to fill teaching vacancies or find relievers.
See our full report below.
Data summary from Principals' Staffing and Resourcing Survey November 2017
| Target Population: | Members of NZEI Te Riu Roa Primary Principals' CA and Area School Principals |
|---|---|
| Total population: | n = 1948 |
| Total respondents: | n = 623 |
| Confidence Level: | 95% |
| Margin of error: | +/-3% |
Notes of caution
- Respondents to this survey were self-selected, and caution needs be applied in interpreting results due an element of bias that this can introduce.
- Due to rounding error percentages may total to slightly more or less than 100%.
What region are you in?
| Northland | 37 | 6 % |
| Auckland | 132 | 21 % |
| Waikato | 80 | 13 % |
| Bay of Plenty | 35 | 6 % |
| East Coast | 15 | 2 % |
| Taranaki | 21 | 3 % |
| Hawkes Bay | 30 | 5 % |
| Manawatū/Whanganui | 41 | 7 % |
| Wellington | 72 | 12 % |
| Nelson/Tasman | 11 | 2 % |
| Marlborough | 6 | 1 % |
| West Coast | 10 | 2 % |
| Canterbury | 65 | 10 % |
| Otago | 45 | 7 % |
| Southland | 23 | 4 % |
What is your school's decile?
All regions
| Decile 1 | 56 | 9% |
| Decile 2 | 59 | 9% |
| Decile 3 | 58 | 9% |
| Decile 4 | 67 | 11% |
| Decile 5 | 61 | 10% |
| Decile 6 | 62 | 10% |
| Decile 7 | 75 | 12% |
| Decile 8 | 58 | 9% |
| Decile 9 | 60 | 9% |
| Decile 10 | 67 | 11% |
Auckland only
| Decile 1 | 16 | 12% |
| Decile 2 | 14 | 11% |
| Decile 3 | 12 | 9% |
| Decile 4 | 14 | 11% |
| Decile 5 | 8 | 6% |
| Decile 6 | 4 | 3% |
| Decile 7 | 11 | 8% |
| Decile 8 | 16 | 12% |
| Decile 9 | 15 | 11% |
| Decile 10 | 22 | 17% |
Are you planning to cut teacher aide hours in 2018 to meet budget?
All regions
| Yes | 273 | 44% |
| No | 264 | 42% |
| Not sure | 86 | 14% |
Auckland only
| Yes | 46 | 35% |
| No | 63 | 48% |
| Not sure | 23 | 17% |
Number/proportion planning to cut teacher aide hours by decile
All regions
| Decile 1 | Yes | 18 | 33% |
|---|---|---|---|
| No | 25 | 45% | |
| Not sure | 12 | 22% | |
| Decile 2 | Yes | 27 | 46% |
| No | 26 | 44% | |
| Not sure | 6 | 10% | |
| Decile 3 | Yes | 30 | 51% |
| No | 17 | 29% | |
| Not sure | 12 | 20% | |
| Decile 4 | Yes | 36 | 54% |
| No | 25 | 37% | |
| Not sure | 6 | 9% | |
| Decile 5 | Yes | 29 | 48% |
| No | 26 | 43% | |
| Not sure | 6 | 10% | |
| Decile 6 | Yes | 31 | 50% |
| No | 27 | 44% | |
| Not sure | 4 | 6% | |
| Decile 7 | Yes | 35 | 47% |
| No | 30 | 40% | |
| Not sure | 10 | 13% | |
| Decile 8 | Yes | 25 | 43% |
| No | 20 | 34% | |
| Not sure | 13 | 22% | |
| Decile 9 | Yes | 18 | 30% |
| No | 33 | 55% | |
| Not sure | 9 | 15% | |
| Decile 10 | Yes | 24 | 36% |
| No | 34 | 51% | |
| Not sure | 9 | 13% |
Auckland only
| Decile 1 | Yes | 3 | 19% |
|---|---|---|---|
| No | 9 | 56% | |
| Not sure | 4 | 25% | |
| Decile 2 | Yes | 3 | 21% |
| No | 9 | 64% | |
| Not sure | 2 | 14% | |
| Decile 3 | Yes | 6 | 50% |
| No | 2 | 17% | |
| Not sure | 0 | 0% | |
| Decile 4 | Yes | 8 | 57% |
| No | 5 | 36% | |
| Not sure | 1 | 7% | |
| Decile 5 | Yes | 4 | 50% |
| No | 4 | 50% | |
| Not sure | 0 | 0% | |
| Decile 6 | Yes | 3 | 75% |
| No | 1 | 25% | |
| Not sure | 0 | 0% | |
| Decile 7 | Yes | 5 | 45% |
| No | 5 | 45% | |
| Not sure | 1 | 9% | |
| Decile 8 | Yes | 4 | 25% |
| No | 6 | 38% | |
| Not sure | 6 | 38% | |
| Decile 9 | Yes | 4 | 29% |
| No | 9 | 64% | |
| Not sure | 1 | 7% | |
| Decile 10 | Yes | 6 | 27% |
| No | 13 | 59% | |
| Not sure | 3 | 14% |
If you answered yes, what percentage of total teacher aide hours are you planning to cut?
All regions
n = 331
| 0 - 10% | 116 | 35.05% |
| 11 - 20% | 105 | 31.72% |
| 21 - 30% | 51 | 15.41% |
| 31 - 40% | 22 | 6.65% |
| More than 40% | 37 | 11.18% |
Auckland only
n = 63
| 0 - 10% | 29 | 46.03% |
| 11 - 20% | 19 | 30.16% |
| 21 - 30% | 9 | 14.29% |
| 31 - 40% | 2 | 3.17% |
| More than 40% | 4 | 6.35% |
If the government goes ahead with its promise to fund an extra $150 per student to schools that don't ask for whānau donations, are you planning to take up the offer?
All regions
| Yes, we will be better off | 475 | 76% |
| Yes, we will receive about the same as we do now from donations | 24 | 4% |
| Yes, although it will be a bit less than what we receive now from donations | 9 | 1% |
| Yes, although it will be a lot less than what we receive now from donations | 3 | 0.5% |
| I'm not sure at this stage | 69 | 11% |
| No, we receive much more in donations | 35 | 6% |
| No (other reason) | 8 | 1% |
Auckland only
n = 132
| Yes, we will be better off | 79 | 60% |
| Yes, we will receive about the same as we do now from donations | 7 | 5% |
| Yes, although it will be a bit less than what we receive now from donations | 0 | 0% |
| Yes, although it will be a lot less than what we receive now from donations | 0 | 0% |
| I'm not sure at this stage | 24 | 18% |
| No, we receive much more in donations | 20 | 15% |
| No (other reason) | 2 | 2% |
If you would receive more funding by scrapping donations and taking up the extra $150 per student, what will be your NUMBER ONE spending priority?
All regions
n = 577
| Increasing teacher aide hours | 237 | 41% |
| Increasing hours of other support staff | 15 | 3% |
| Purchasing classroom resources | 22 | 4% |
| Subsidising school trips and other activities | 69 | 12% |
| Keeping up with general school costs | 138 | 24% |
| Purchasing assistive technology or other physical resources for learning support | 11 | 2% |
| Accessing specialist learning support other than teacher aide hours | 43 | 7% |
| Other | 42 | 7% |
Auckland only
n = 110
| Increasing teacher aide hours | 40 | 36% |
| Increasing hours of other support staff | 5 | 5% |
| Purchasing classroom resources | 5 | 5% |
| Subsidising school trips and other activities | 9 | 8% |
| Keeping up with general school costs | 36 | 33% |
| Purchasing assistive technology or other physical resources for learning support | 2 | 2% |
| Accessing specialist learning support other than teacher aide hours | 8 | 7% |
| Other | 5 | 5% |
Do you expect to have all the teaching staff you need at the beginning of 2018?
All regions
n = 623
| Yes | 412 | 66% |
| It's too early to say | 122 | 20% |
| No, we will be 1 or 2 short | 87 | 14% |
| No we will be 3 or 4 short | 2 | 0.5% |
| No we will be 5 or more short | 0 | 0% |
Auckland only
n = 132
| Yes | 70 | 53% |
| It's too early to say | 35 | 27% |
| No, we will be 1 or 2 short | 25 | 19% |
| No we will be 3 or 4 short | 2 | 2% |
| No we will be 5 or more short | 0 | 0% |
It was easy to find suitable relieving staff this year
All regions
n = 623
| Strongly agree | 16 | 3% |
| Agree | 147 | 23% |
| Disagree | 264 | 42% |
| Strongly disagree | 196 | 31% |
Auckland
n = 132
| Strongly agree | 2 | 2% |
| Agree | 14 | 10% |
| Disagree | 58 | 44% |
| Strongly disagree | 58 | 44% |
Fast facts
- 44% of respondents said that they would need to cut teacher aide hours.
- Principals' top spending priorities if they received any extra funding:
- 41% would hire more teacher aides
- 24% would spend it on general running costs
- 12% would spend it on school trips and activities
- 74% said it was hard or very hard to find reliever teachers this year, while 79% believe it will be hard or very hard to find reliever teachers next year.
How it compares
Last year we surveyed principals in primary, area, intermediate and secondary schools to ask them how the operations grant freeze would affect their decisions in 2017. Here's what we learned.