⚠️ Our phones are currently down. Please email us at info@brightstar.co.nz and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible. We apologise for the inconvenience.

21-22 Oct 2025 | Crowne Plaza, Auckland

buy ticket
register your interest

7th Annual The NZ School Leaders' Summit

Why attend?

The New Zealand School Leaders Summit 2025 focuses on collaboration, innovation, and best practices among educational leaders from across Aotearoa, creating a platform for school administrators, principals, policymakers, and educators to come together, share insights, and address the most pressing challenges facing the education sector today. 

Last year the summit’s theme, “Embracing Change, Inspiring Excellence,” reflects the dynamic nature of education in the volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous world. Emphasising the importance of adapting to evolving trends, technologies, and pedagogical approaches while maintaining consistency and commitment to delivering high-quality education that empowers students to thrive in an ever-changing world. 

NZ map with schools pinned

2024 Key Themes

  • A focus on lifting achievement for tauira
  • Educational leadership – Leading with purpose
  • Employment law for school leaders
  • Exploring our current context of curriculum change, choices of pedagogical approaches and assessment, in a time of political change
  • Teacher retention – Addressing needs and opportunities in our education workforce
  • Building capability and capacity with effective change management strategiesBuilding capability and capacity with effective change management strategies
  • Career development guidance for school leaders
  • Having difficult conversations to build trust and resolve conflicts in school leadership
  • Mental health and wellbeing for students and teachers
  • Ensuring digital safety and security in schools – safeguarding from digital threats and responsible digital citizenship

Add Your Heading Text Here

Sub Heading Here

Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet

Sub Heading Here

Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet

Sub Heading Here

Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet

Sub Heading Here

Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet

Add Your Heading Text Here

We are currently working on the programme and agenda. 
If you would like to have input into our research programme please email xxxx@brightstar.co.nz 

Add Your Heading Text Here

Sub-heading

Date or content

Sub-heading

Date or content

Sub-heading

Date or content

Sub-heading

Date or content

Sub-heading

Date or content

Venue

The location and how you can get there

Address

Crowne Plaza, Auckland
128 Albert Street, Auckland Central, Auckland 1010

Agenda

Agenda to be announced

Download agenda

8:30

Registration and Coffee

8:50

Mihi Whakatau 

9:00

Welcoming remarks from from Chair

9:10

Ministerial Address: Leading the Future: Innovation, Resilience and Equity in Education

  • The future of education in New Zealand: top priorities

  • The role of strong, inclusive leadership in driving school success

Minister under invitation

9:25

Implementing Te Mātaiaho – Curriculum Reform Update

  • Implementing a knowledge-rich and future focused curriculum

  • Investing in STEAM education and curriculum alignment


9:45

School Leaders’ Panel - Leading for Impact: Resilient Schools, Empowered Staff

  • Upholding values of integrity, equity, and inclusivity in decision-making  

  • Fostering a positive culture for the whole school community

  • Strategies for navigating uncertainty and constant change

10:30

Morning break

People, Place and Community

11:00

Leading with Integrity – Te Tiriti at the Governance Table 

  • Exploring how school boards can give meaningful effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi in  governance, decision-making, and strategic planning

  • Practical approaches for building cultural capability, honouring partnerships with mana whenua, and ensuring equitable outcomes for Māori learners

11:40

Leading Change with Confidence: A Community Based Approach

  • Explore how to confidently lead change in response to government mandates and policies

  • Tailoring initiatives to fit your school’s unique context and community

12:20

Table discussion - Building Resilience in Your Community

  • Strategies for fostering strong, connected school communities that can adapt and thrive in the face of adversity

12:30

Lunch

Governance and Mitigating Risk

13:30

Stronger Together: Building Board Partnerships to Navigate Risk

  • Building a strong relationship with your new board

  • Strengthening collaboration between school leaders and boards to effectively manage, communicate and mitigate risk

14:10

Leading Through Crisis – Communication and Contingency

  • Building trust and confidence through transparent, timely, and culturally responsive communication

  • Engaging with whānau, iwi, and community partners as part of a collective crisis response

14:50

Table discussion: Mitigating Risk for Your Context

15:00

Afternoon break

Managing People and Practice

15:30

Managing Performance with Confidence: Legal Guidance on Discipline, Competency, and Wellbeing

  • Understand the legal frameworks and best practices for addressing staff performance concerns, including misconduct, underperformance, and health-related issues.

  • Managing sensitive employment issues fairly within employment law obligations

15:50

Capability in Action: Building Expertise and Culture Through Development

  • Strategic approaches to building staff capability through targeted professional learning, mentoring, and leadership development

  • Fostering a positive, growth-focused school culture that supports staff wellbeing, satisfaction, and long-term retention

16:10

Tomorrow’s Teachers: Planning the Future Workforce Pipeline

  • Understanding workforce planning, teacher supply initiatives, and policy settings that impact recruitment and retention

  • Exploring how school leaders can engage in the national conversation to ensure a sustainable, diverse, and future-ready education workforce

16:30

Interactive panel Q&A

Bringing together the experts from the previous presentations, this panel discussion will allow the speakers and audience to dive deeper into the challenges schools are facing in staff attraction, retention and capability building.

17:15

Summary remarks from the Chair & Networking Drinks

8:00

Registration and Coffee

9:00

Welcoming remarks from the Chair

Digital strategy, AI & Ethics

9:10

Outlining AI in schools, opportunities, limitations & risks

  • Empowering educators in AI adoption, through a human-centric and pedagogical approach

  • Implementing effective policy for AI integration in New Zealand schools

9:40

Panel: Leading the shift: Ethics and digital strategy in education

  • The role of AI in teaching, learning, and administration

  • Navigating ethical concerns around AI use, data, and student privacy

  • Ensuring equity and access in a tech-rich learning environment

10:30

Morning break

Resource innovation and fundraising

11:00

Smart Spending: Innovative Resource Management in Schools

  • Innovative strategies for maximising limited resources to support student learning, staff development, and wellbeing

  • Real-world examples of flexible, future-focused budgeting aligned with school priorities and community needs

11:30

Beyond the Budget: Unlocking Alternative Funding for Schools

  • Exploring innovative funding models to support strategic school initiatives

12:00

More than Metrics: Making Data Informed Decisions in Schools 

  • Building a data-informed school culture that balances evidence with context, ensuring inclusive, culturally responsive, and needs-based decision-making

12:30

Lunch

Leading with Heart

13:30

Decoding the Stress Response: What Neuroscience Tells Us

  • Understand how stress affects teacher wellbeing, school culture, and classroom dynamics.

  • Learn how the brain’s stress response impacts learning and discover strategies to support calm, connected classrooms.

14:00

Panel: Managing wellbeing in schools

  • Developing whole-school approaches to wellbeing that support both staff and students

  • Leadership strategies for creating a culture of care, connection, and psychological safety

  • Balancing wellbeing priorities with workload, performance expectations, and systemic pressure

14:45

Table discussion: Leading by Example – Looking After Your Wellbeing 

  • Effective strategies to deal with stress, high levels of responsibility and burnout 

15:00

Student Voice and Future-Focused Leadership

  • Leveraging student insights to inform future-focused strategies, curriculum design, and innovation

  • Empowering young people as partners in leadership to build agency, belonging, and lifelong learning skills

15:25

Summary remarks from the Chair

15:30

Conference close

Back to top

Speakers

Speakers to be announced

Designed for Tomorrow’s Finance Leaders: The Emerging Leaders Forum 2025

Made in NZ, trusted worldwide: New Zealand trade and exports in a volatile world

Primary Industries New Zealand Awards finalists announced for 2025

Navigating the Fiscal Tightrope: Infrastructure, Migration, Climate Change

Rethinking Safety Leadership: From Heroes to Hosts

NZ Security Agencies Urge Cyber Vigilance: “Don’t Click on Dumb Sh*t”

From Checklists to Curiosity: How Boards Are Redefining Health and Safety Governance

Healthcare’s Crossroads: Why Medico-Legal and Ethical Foundations Matter More Than Ever

The Protected Disclosures Act: Understand Your Obligations

Building Resilience in a Time of Uncertainty

Upholding Workplace Safety: Driving Governance Changes

Enhancing Healthcare Access & Equity in New Zealand

Sponsors

Sponsors to be announced

Gold Sponsor

Umbrella Wellbeing

Silver sponsors

Umbrella Wellbeing

Umbrella Wellbeing

Umbrella Wellbeing

Umbrella Wellbeing

Exhibitors

Qizzle

Umbrella Wellbeing

Umbrella Wellbeing

Umbrella Wellbeing

Umbrella Wellbeing

Umbrella Wellbeing

Umbrella Wellbeing

Umbrella Wellbeing

Don't miss out on the connections and credibility boost!

Live B2B events are your chance to shine. Showcase your thought leadership, solidify your market position, and forge valuable connections with potential customers – all at once.

This exclusive event puts you in front of a highly skilled audience hungry for insights. Get ready for meaningful engagement that drives results.

Plus, we have some unique opportunities to put your company, products, and services in the spotlight.

Ready to take your brand to the next level? Contact us today to learn more or secure your spot at this leading event.

Why you should invest in audience marketing
CT105

Workshops

Workshops to be announced

POST CONFERENCE

Workshop title goes here

XX XXX 2025 | 9.00am - 12.30pm

This workshop you will cover:

  • Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
  • Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
  • Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
  • Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
  • Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
  • Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
  • Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
Buy your ticket

Speaker Photo

Job Title

Company Name

Want to join this conference?

Tickets

Double Pass

$ 900 PRICE PER PERSON + gst
  • Must be from same organisation and book at the same time. For valid tickets, payment by 21 October, 2025.
Buy ticket

Super Saver

$1750
$ 1450 + gst
  • For valid ticket, payment by 29 August, 2025.
Buy ticket

Early Bird

$1750
$ 1650 + gst
  • For valid ticket, payment by 19 September, 2025.
Buy ticket

Full Price

$ 1750 + gst
  • For valid ticket, payment by 21 October, 2025.
Buy ticket

Group tickets

Multi-Buy 3+ Tickets

Multi-buy 3+ Tickets - Pre Sale

$1599
$ 1499 per person + gst
  • Must be from same organisation and book at same time. Available until XX month 2025 OR until XX tickets sold, whichever occurs first. For valid ticket, payment by XX month 2025.
Buy ticket

Multi-buy 3 + Tickets - Full price

$ 1599 per person + gst
  • Must be from same organisation and book at same time.For valid ticket, payment by XX month 2025.
Buy ticket

Pre Sale

$ 1250 + gst
  • For valid ticket, payment by 18 July, 2025.
Buy ticket
Registration Conditions

Ticket Terms
All prices are in New Zealand dollars ($NZD)
A surcharge of 2.5% + GST applies to credit card payments on top of the total amount.
Pre-Sale Tickets are valid only for the specific event for which they were purchased and cannot be transferred to other events. To remain valid, Super Saver and Early Bird tickets must be paid by date quoted.
Group ticket options are valid for registrations from the same organisation, booked at the same time.
By selecting any special pricing offer for classes of organisation, sector, or individuals or using any promotion code, you are asserting to the organiser your right to claim any such pricing offer, and acknowledge the organiser’s right to audit such claim and, if in the opinion of the organiser using its sole discretion the conditions for special pricing are not met, reject any registration.

For full terms & conditions, please visit https://www.brightstar.co.nz/terms-and-conditions

Make an enquiry

Got questions? Write to us.

General Contact

This field is hidden when viewing the form
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
Tagged ,

Want to know more?

Ask us about any of our events by getting in touch below.

Contact us
Linkedin Facebook Instagram Youtube
Events by sector
Our events
About us
Copyright © 2024 Conferenz Ltd, trading as Brightstar. All rights reserved. Website by Harper Digital.