- Hon David Seymour
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today announced that Autism NZ Education Hub will open in Term 3 2026 as a charter school.
"Every child deserves the opportunity to learn and grow in ways which are more specific to their needs. Today's announcement demonstrates the innovation enabled by the charter school model," Mr Seymour says.
"Autism NZ Education Hub will give another option to autistic and neurodivergent secondary school students who have struggled with traditional schooling. It will be sponsored by Autism NZ and operate from campuses in Wellington and Auckland.
"Students' days will follow a personalised plan built around their strengths, interests, and needs. Core education will be balanced with development of life skills and social-emotional learning.
"The goal is to get students benefitting from in class education. It will utilise online and community-based learning as ways to transition students back into the classroom, learning face-to-face.
"When it comes to education, one size does not fit all.
"It is estimated there are at least 3,900 autistic students in years 9-13 in Auckland and Wellington. National data suggests there is disproportionately high and chronic absence and school rejection among neurodivergent and disabled students, particularly in secondary years.
"The 2023 Education Review Office review on Alternative Education highlighted this concern. Autism New Zealand has relentlessly advocated for efforts to better understand and address these inequalities.
"Providing more education options for whānau is essential to ensuring that every young person can access an education that supports their individual needs. The Autism New Zealand Education Hub represents a meaningful step forward for autistic learners and their families. We appreciate the support of the Charter School Agency in helping bring this vision to life," Dane Dougan, the CE of Autism New Zealand says.
"Charter schools show education can be different if we let communities bring their ideas to the table," Mr Seymour says.
"These schools have more flexibility in return for strictly measured results.
"The charter school equation is: the same funding as state schools, plus greater flexibility plus stricter accountability for results, equals student success.
"There are more ideas in the communities of New Zealand than there are in the Government. That's why we open ideas to the wider community, then apply strict performance standards to the best ones.
"It will join the five new charter schools announced in the last couple of weeks which will open in 2026. This takes the total number of charter schools to 17. We expect more new charter schools to be announced before the end of the year, along with the first state schools to convert.
"I want to thank the Charter School Agency and Authorisation Board for the work they have done getting charters open. They considered 52 applicants for new charter schools. This year they tell me the choices were very difficult.
"This is just the beginning. I hope to see many more new charter schools opening, and state and state-integrated schools converting to become charter schools."
