Her own boy has done okay - but over a 35-year teaching career Margaret McCaw has helped in the development of hundreds of other children.

The number of young school children achieving or bettering the national standard in reading has fallen or flat-lined in half of the country's regions.

New Zealanders would rather money was spent on improving teaching standards than on reducing class sizes, a Herald-DigiPoll survey reveals.

Labour will fund an extra 2000 teachers under its policy to reduce primary class sizes to 26 students by 2016 - a step expected to cost $350m over the next three years.

Labour's new teaching policies are response to National's proposal to pay good teachers and principals more and require them to work with others.

Labour wants to end "voluntary" school donations by offering a grants of $100 per student to schools that stop asking parents to fund "day to day" spending.

Act's education policy of allowing schools to opt into a charter school format has prompted an education union to urge National to steer clear of any coalition partnership deals.

Ghetto kid turned presidential hopeful Ben Carson is in New Zealand to help celebrate as the Duffy Books in Homes scheme turns 20.

With NZ's education system dropping in world rankings, is our curriculum keeping pace with a rapidly-changing world and do enough children have full access to new technology?

Health services at more than one in 10 New Zealand schools have been found to consist of little more than the offer of a sticking plaster.

A principal is flabbergasted at a decision to allow a liquor store to open in a former video parlour directly opposite his school in Mangere.

Researcher Hana Turner's reports of racist attitudes among her fellow teachers show prejudice is as deeply woven into our school system as ever.

Black leather shoes mandatory at many New Zealand schools in winter are causing harm to children's feet, say podiatrists.

Parents are raising more than $357 million a year in donations and fundraising to support the "free" schooling system.

A Government-funded survey, published today, finds our primary and intermediate schools are in 'mixed health'.

Phillipstown principal Tony Simpson said the community was "very disappointed" at today's news, after the decision to combine Phillipstown & Woolston School to create a 465-child super-school, which comes as part of the Government's $1 billion shake-up of post-earthquake Christchurch schools.

Primary teachers’ union NZEI said tonight its members were not happy about having the new $360 million school leadership package sprung on them.

There will be less chance of dodgy teachers resurfacing at other schools under legislation to be introduced in Parliament today, Education Minister Hekia Parata says.

More investment needs to go into the country's universities if they're to move higher up a list ranking the world's institutions, the head of Auckland University says.

Building stronger links with industry to enable students to leave university with skills employers want will be a focus of a new tertiary education strategy announced today.

Finding the right school is not an easy task. There are many complications, not least the relevance of data available on each school, and ongoing debate about the value of the qualifications offered.

International students are paying tens of thousands of dollars to attend our state schools - funding that is crucial to lessons, teacher development and other support for locals.

New Zealand's most at-risk school students should receive similar funding as those who are attending controversial charter schools, those involved in alternative education say.

Looking over the curriculum for Bible in Schools, what is most striking is how innocuous it is, writes Dr Paul Moon. It makes its critics appear self-righteous and doctrinaire.

An estimated 10,300 new entrants are just starting school - and beginning to learn the "three Rs". And their parents will soon have to learn to grapple with the fourth R: Reports.