How do I find term dates, holidays, and a school on education.govt.nz?

Updated

The Ministry of Education's website, education.govt.nz, puts the three things you're most likely to need — Terms and holidays, Find a school, and the Parent Portal — in its "Popular links" section on the homepage. That row of links is the fastest route to each task, so start there rather than searching the site.

Finding term dates and holidays

  1. Go to the education.govt.nz homepage.
  2. In the Popular links section, select Terms and holidays.
  3. Use the page to check the school year dates you need.

This is the official source for the dates New Zealand schools and kura follow, so it's the page to check before booking travel or planning around a break. Note that the site also lists Collective agreements and Licensing criteria in the same Popular links row — useful if you're a teacher or an early learning service rather than a parent, but not what you need for term dates.

Finding and comparing a school

  1. From the homepage, select Find a school in the Popular links section.
  2. Use the tool to locate a school and view its details.

The homepage doesn't spell out exactly which fields the tool returns, so treat it as the starting point for identifying a school and its information, then follow through to the school's own page for anything specific you need to confirm.

The Parent Portal and other entry points

If you're a parent or whānau member rather than someone looking for a single fact, the Parent Portal in Popular links is the intended entry point — it gathers the information parents tend to need in one place.

Beyond Popular links, the homepage is organised into a few other blocks worth knowing about:

Section What it's for
Popular links Quick access to Terms and holidays, Find a school, Parent Portal, Licensing criteria, Collective agreements
Key initiatives Current priorities such as attendance, improving achievement, and learning support
Latest news Recent updates and announcements
Have your say Open public consultations you can submit feedback on
Our websites Related Ministry sites, including Education Gazette and Education Workforce

When to use which route

  • Just need dates? Go straight to Terms and holidays.
  • Choosing or checking a school? Use Find a school.
  • New to the system or supporting a child? Start with the Parent Portal.
  • Looking for something that isn't a date or a school? Try the search box at the top of the homepage, or check Latest news and Key initiatives, since new requirements and curriculum updates are announced there.

One practical note: the homepage's Latest news and Have your say sections carry dated items — for example, consultation deadlines and term-specific requirement updates. If you're relying on a date you saw earlier, re-check the page, because these entries change through the year.