Glossary of Terms For NZCEO Handbook For School Boards

Abbreviations:

  • Cl = Clause within Schedule 6 of the Education and Training Act 2020
  • NCRS =National Centre for Religious Studies
  • NZCBC = New Zealand Catholic Bishops’ Conference
Term Definition
Acceptability Judgement by the proprietor or the proprietor’s agent that an applicant for a special character Cl 47 or Cl 50 (Schedule 6: Education and Training Act 2020) position meets the criteria for appointment, as outlined by the New Zealand Catholic Bishops’ Conference (NZCBC).
Attendance Dues The compulsory fee that parents and caregivers legally commit to pay when they enrol their child in a Catholic school. These pay for property and insurance and other related costs. The use of attendance dues is set out in legislation. A proprietor may charge Attendance Dues at a maximum level approved by the Minister of Education.
Attestation Report The Board of Trustees is obliged to provide the proprietor or the proprietor’s agent with an annual compliance report attesting to the school’s fulfilment of it’s Catholic special character statutory obligations and requirements of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops (see Attestation Report Section 8 and 10).
Canon Law The ecclesiastical (Church) laws and legal principles governing the Catholic Church.
Catechist A person who facilitates the process of faith formation. Teachers and leaders in Catholic schools who hold special character positions are the lead catechists in the school. Other Catholic teachers may also assist in this task. As stated in Canon Law they are to be trained and given the opportunity for their own faith formation in order to fulfil the task.
Catholic Character/Catholic Special Character At the core of the school is its Catholic special character, which provides the framework for the Christian disciple’s journey from encounter with Jesus Christ, growth in knowledge of what it means to be Catholic, and how to be a Christian witness in today’s world. Many factors contribute to the Catholic special character, including the beliefs, values and traditions and practices of the Catholic Church, and the religious content of the school’s curriculum. It is the interaction of these that creates the Catholic identity of the school.
Catholic Curriculum All that happens within the school through the whole curriculum and daily practices that assists students to engage with the wisdom and faith of the community. It provides a framework for them to integrate faith and life in a way that is meaningful to them.
Certification NZCBC through NCRS has set up a procedure to recognise Catholic special character professional learning and formation completed by students during their period of initial teacher training and for teachers/staff in Catholic schools. Certification recognises that all teachers have a role to play in building and maintaining the Catholic special character of a school. Therefore, the certification system applies to all teachers regardless of their position, or their religious affiliation or stance.
Charism A gift given by the Holy Spirit to an individual or a group for the good of the community and to carry out the mission of Jesus Christ (1 Cor 121-14). This 2 manifests in the Gospel values/ethos that the founder or foundress established the community or school on.
Church When used as a proper noun (with a capital C) refers to the Roman Catholic Church. The Church is the people and the institution.
Diocese The ecclesiastic (Church) district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
Evangelisation The process by which the Church shares with others the message of Jesus Christ, through witness, charity and explicit proclamation, thereby transforming and renewing society. Evangelisation is the mission of the Church of which the school is an integral part.
Integration The conditions and procedures on and by which a private school may become established as part of the State system of education, and can remain part of that system, on a basis that preserves and safeguards the special character of the education that the school provides, and integrated has a corresponding meaning (Education and Training Act 2020).
Integration Agreement The memorandum of understanding between the proprietor and the Crown that sets the terms and conditions for a school’s integration into the State education system. It is unique to each school but most aspects are common across the Catholic school network.
Laity Lay people as distinct from the clergy and religious brothers and sisters.
Maximum Roll The figure stipulated in a school’s Integration Agreement that the school must not exceed. An increase in maximum roll must be approved by the Ministry of Education at the application of the proprietor.
National Centre for Religious Studies (NCRS) An agency of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops’ Conference. It is responsible for Religious Education in schools and other faith formation programmes. It is also responsible for the certification of teachers in Catholic schools. NCRS sits within Te Kupenga-The Catholic Leadership Institute.
New Evangelisation A new approach to evangelisation especially in areas that have previously been evangelised but a renewal of people’s understanding of the faith is needed.
New Zealand Catholic Bishops’ Conference (NZCBC) The national body for the Catholic Bishops of Aotearoa New Zealand. It has collective responsibility for Catholic Education.
Non-preference students Students who do not have preference (see below). The number that a school can enrol is stated in the school’s Integration Agreement.
Parish An ecclesial (Church) district.
Preference/Preference students Students whose parents have established a particular or general religious connection with the special character of the school in line with NZCBC policies. Preference is determined by an authorised agent of the local Bishop, often the parish priest. The school must hold a valid preference certificate for each individual student.
Proprietor The owner of a State integrated school who negotiated integration into the State education system. The Education and Training Act 2020 defines the proprietor as the body corporate:

 

  • has the primary responsibility for determining the special character of a State integrated school and for supervising the maintenance of that special character
  • owns, holds in trust, or leases the land and buildings that constitute the premises of the private school or a State integrated school.

The proprietor of all New Zealand Catholic primary schools and some secondary school is the local Bishop of the Diocese. Some secondary schools have trust boards or companies set up by a Religious Institute entity who originally established the school. These Religious Institute owned schools are subject, in matters of Catholic special character, to the determination of the Roman Catholic Bishop of the diocese. (Cannon Law #804)
Proprietor’s Appointee A full member of the Board of Trustees appointed by the proprietor.
Religious Education Religious Education is specific education in a body of religious knowledge, skills and values which forms a major part of the wider school curriculum and provides a learning platform from which the living out of faith in families and the parish community may be understood and embraced. It has its own curriculum mandated by the NZCBC, and minimum hours of delivery. Religious Education considers knowledge of faith from an inside out perspective. It is seeking to know and understand the Catholic faith.
Religious Instruction This means evangelisation-it is the passing on of faith, through the ongoing establishment and support of a Christian community which lives out its faith, witnessing to the Gospel in daily action and attitudes. It includes teaching or explaining the doctrines and practices of the faith, not only in Religious Education classes but also through the indirect teaching which occurs through role modelling and witness to Catholic values, behaviour, and general Catholic life. ( The Religious Dimension of Education in Catholic Schools (1998) para. 6670)
Special Character The more particular definition of special character is defined in each schools’ Integration Agreement as “The school is a Roman Catholic school in which the whole school community, through the general school programme and in its religious instructions and observances, exercises the right to live and teach the values of Jesus Christ. These values are as expressed in the Scriptures and in the practices, worship and doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church, as determined from time to time by the Roman Catholic Bishop of the diocese.”
Special Character Position A teaching/leadership position that has a special character condition (tag) of employment attached to it. These positions relate to Schedule 6, Cl 47 & Cl 50 of the Education and Training Act 2020 (formerly Part 33) The conditions of employment for a Cl 50 special character position (Deputy Principal) differ for secondary and primary schools and are outlined in the school’s Integration Agreement. These positions are the Principal (Cl 47(a)), The Director of Religious Studies (Cl 47(b), and a proportion of teaching staff (Cl 47(c))as outlined in the school’s Integration Agreement, and a Deputy Principal (Cl 50).
Special Character Position Form The form a person completes when applying for a special character position (formerly an “S” or S65/67 Form).
State Integrated School A formerly private school that has been integrated into the state education system.
Tagged position/s (see above Special Character Positions) Historically, Special Character Positions have been referred to as “Tagged” positions.  The correct terms is Special Character Position. See above. 
Te Kupenga-Catholic Leadership Institute Te Kupenga is an agency of the NZCBC and is the home of the Catholic Theological College, responsible for providing approved tertiary qualifications; the National Centre for Religious Studies responsible for supporting religious education in Catholic schools and adult faith formation; and the Nathaniel Centre for Bioethics, responsible for research and advocacy on bioethical issues.
Vatican II/ Second Vatican Council 21st general council of the Catholic Church (1962-1965). The councils are named after the place where they occur i.e. The Vatican. Vatican II has been and continues to be a significant influence on the Church’s modern understanding of itself and it mission in the world.