Fencing at school

Get guidance on installing or replacing fencing at your school, and the design standards you need to meet.

Installing fencing

Schools and kura should be safe, welcoming and inclusive environments, and as such we don't have a specific requirement for them to be fenced. However, your school board may decide to install fences for security or privacy reasons. Fences can also support student safety, particularly for younger students and those with learning support needs.

If you do decide to install new fencing at your school, it must meet our standards for design.

Fencing at schools (1.1 MB, PDF)
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Boards should consider fencing based on the priorities identified in their 10 Year Property Plan and pay for it using 5-Year Agreement funding. Fencing needed for student safety can sometimes be paid for with learning support modification funding.

Learning support property modification funding

If you have a student at risk of leaving school boundaries, you may need to consider fencing. Contact the learning support team or your property advisor to discuss it.

A member of the learning support team will meet with the student's whānau and wider support team to understand their needs. Then, we’ll complete a serious risk assessment and write a recommendations report.

We'll consider a range of strategies for creating a safe and inclusive environment – this will include information on whether fencing is a suitable solution or not.

If the serious risk assessment does recommend fencing, it will be included in the property modification report and we’ll fund it.

You may need to contribute to the cost if you already have a fencing project in planning, or if you need the fencing to meet building code requirements.

Funding for accessibility in schools

Hazardous fences

Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, you must not have fencing that could harm people. A hazardous fence may have:

  • cut-steel ‘arrow heads’, sometimes called ‘spear heads’
  • single and triple-pointed palisades, or a rod or tube cut on an angle to form a point
  • other deterrent features that could potentially harm people.

If you have hazardous fencing on your school grounds, you must remove the hazard. This could mean removing the hazardous features or replacing the fence.

Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 – New Zealand Legislationopen_in_new

Building or replacing a boundary fence

If you're planning to build or replace a boundary fence, you need to discuss it with your neighbour and issue them a notice under the Fencing Act 1978. The notice will formally advise them of your intentions and their responsibilities. Contact your property advisor for advice on this process.

The Fencing Act 1978 has more information – Schedule 1 has an example of a fencing notice.

Fencing Act 1978 – New Zealand Legislationopen_in_new

If your neighbour issues the school with a notice under the Fencing Act 1978, contact your property advisor.

You’ll usually be able to resolve any minor issues that arise with your neighbour, but our Ownership and Occupancy team can review more substantial issues for you.

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