● Save school boards time in drafting policies so they can focus on meeting the needs of their community and the Crown, including improving student achievement.

● Ensure policies reflect school values, goals, and special character, making them more meaningful and aligned with the school's unique context.

● Strengthen board ownership over the policies they produce, ensuring they are fully aware of the expectations outlined within them.

School boards are required to maintain a suite of policies to ensure effective governance, compliance with legislation, and alignment with their school's unique values and priorities.

However, the traditional policy development process is time-consuming and complex. Boards must navigate numerous legislative requirements, adapt generic policies to suit their context, and ensure regular updates, all while balancing their governance responsibilities.

‍Key issues include:
‍● Time-intensive policy development: Writing and updating policies requires significant effort, detracting from time spent on strategic governance.

● Compliance risks: Ensuring that policies remain legally compliant is challenging without expert guidance.

● Limited customisation: Generic policy templates do not always reflect the individual needs of each school.

New Zealand school boards must develop or update their suite of policies on a regular cycle. The process from drafting to approval and implementation can take weeks, slowing down critical governance decisions and administrative efficiency.

To address these challenges, NZSBA has developed the Numa Policy Designer app, powered by Generative AI technology from Amazon Bedrock and Amazon Q for Business.
The tool enables school boards to co-create policies in collaboration with AI, ensuring compliance while allowing for greater customisation.

The key features of the Numa Policy Designer include:
‍● Automated compliance integration: The AI incorporates relevant legislative requirements, ensuring policies are up-to-date.

● Customisable content: Boards can adapt policy language to align with their values and priorities.

● Time-saving automation: The tool reduces manual drafting time, allowing board members to focus on strategic governance.

This tool has only recently been developed and is yet to be trialled on a large scale. However, initial pilot testing demonstrates a number of advantages of this approach:

Time savings in contextualisation

The tool saves boards a significant amount of time contextualising their policies to their specific school environment.

Enhanced ownership and relevance

Because boards co-construct these policies through the AI tool, they feel they have ownership over them and that the policies reflect their unique school context.

Accessible language

The language generated is accessible to a range of audiences in the school community, improving understanding and engagement.

Enhanced engagement

Board members in the pilot actively contributed to shaping policies rather than just reviewing static templates.

Compliance assurance

Automated legislative updates reduce the risk of non-compliant policies.

Te Whakarōputanga is exploring additional applications of AI to further support school boards.

Potential applications for generative AI include risk management support and automated meeting notes and action tracking. By continuing to harness AI-driven efficiencies, NZSBA aims to modernise school governance and enhance board members' ability to focus on what matters most—supporting students and communities.