Who are we?

National Trust and National Office

We are a not-for-profit organisation. The national trust, Life Education Trust (NZ), was incorporated under the Charitable Trusts Act of 1957, on 2 November 1988 (WN/406124).

The national trust is the controlling authority for Life Education in New Zealand. Situated in Wellington, the national office (a small team of six) works for the national trust and is responsible for programme development, the professional development of educators and the overall philosophical and strategic direction of Life Education in New Zealand. It arranges the construction and refurbishment of mobile classrooms, provides research and technical assistance for educators and acts as a support centre and quality control function for community trusts. We aim to keep our administration costs low because of our charitable trust status. To contact us call (0800) 454-333.

Community Trusts

Dotted around New Zealand we have 36 community trusts (however this number is growing!). These community trusts are separate legal entities that are bound philosophically to the national trust and have licensing arrangements to deliver the programme to the children in their area. Each trust owns a mobile classroom and employs an educator, who is a registered school teacher.

The community trusts are run by volunteers who are dedicated, hard working individuals that have an interest in building a better world for the children. We have approximately 350 volunteers working as trustees in community trusts, who are committed to raising funds to deliver the programme. All money that is raised in a community stays in the community – no fees are paid to the national office or trust. To find your local community trust click here.

Educators

The delivery of our programmes hinges on our educators, registered teachers, who have charisma, commitment, and competence, and the ability to create mystery and drama in the classroom.

Our educators work closely with classroom teachers to ensure our programme is integrated into the overall school programme. At the end of each visit, a comprehensive evaluation is carried out by the school.

We have approximately 40 educators delivering our programme right across New Zealand. To find out who your local educator is, click here...