Ōtaki MP Terisa Ngobi has a private member's bill ready for first reading

Ōtaki MP Terisa Ngobi is interviewed by media at Parliament.

First-term Ōtaki MP Terisa Ngobi has had a private member's bill allowing parents leave from work to meet with teachers pass its first hurdle in Parliament this week.

The Parent-Teacher Interview Amendment Bill proposes to amend the Holidays Act 2003 to allow employees with children to take leave from work to attend parent-teacher interviews.

The bill had been "pulled from the biscuit tin" and would soon have its first reading in Parliament.

It would equate to four hours' paid leave each year for any parent or caregiver of a child, for the sole purpose of attending arranged meetings with their teachers.

Ngobi said for some working parents, it can be hard to ask their employer to leave work so they could attend what was an important part of their children's educational journey.

"There's not too much pushback. It's a really good bill," she said.

"We've had good feedback from parents, grandparents, teachers, employers ... who doesn't want to support tamariki and their educational outcomes?"

With a husband and three young sons herself, she had previously served on the board of trustees at their school and had seen how hard it was for some working parents to attend what was an important part of their child's learning.

"We know that these educational outcomes for all our tamariki need a joint approach with parents or guardians and schools - parents know what's happening at school and the school knows what's happening at home," she said.

Ngobi said she was even finding support from employers themselves.

"We know that good employers are doing this already any way," she said.

The bill was now set for first reading in Parliament this week. From there it would now go to a select committee, then a second reading, then be brought back to the house before a third reading, before being passed into law.