More than 300 mandatory reports against teachers, including cases involving inappropriate force, boundary breaches and failures to protect children, were filed in 2025.
The reports also canvassed concerns about professional competence, inappropriate relationships with colleagues, dishonesty, drug and alcohol issues, and neglect.
However, the Teaching Council says the vast majority of teachers uphold professional standards and work with children without incident.
The number of teachers subject to mandatory reports last year represented just 0.3% of the profession.
The data on misbehaving teachers was provided to the Herald under the Official Information Act (OIA).
Under the Education and Training Act, schools must immediately report serious misconduct by teachers to the Teaching Council.
A mandatory report must also be made if a teacher is dismissed for any reason.
Responding to the newly released figures, the Children’s Commissioner warned that even a single failure to meet professional standards could put students at serious risk, and she called for stronger oversight and mandatory child protection training.
The data was released to the Herald after a damning review of the Teaching Council this year found the Crown agency had lost sight of its core duty to safeguard children.
The review also found the council needed transformative change to ensure it was meeting its critical regulatory responsibilities.
The independent review was carried out late last year by consultant Debbie Francis. It was commissioned after the Herald reported on the case of predator teacher Timothy Fisher, who was able to become registered as a teacher and pass multiple police checks despite having historical indecency convictions.
Education Minister Erica Stanford requested an urgent independent probe into the Teaching Council in February to check whether child protection failures at the agency had allowed other potential sexual predators to gain access to classrooms.
According to the OIA figures, 339 mandatory reports were filed against educators in 2025. The figure excludes complaints from the public, covering only those made by people legally required to report.
Between July 2024 and July 2025, a combined total of 507 complaints about teachers, mandatory reports and self-reports were made to the Teaching Council, including those from the public.
Inappropriate use of force on a learner was the most common mandatory report concern last year (62), followed by competence issues (58), breaches of professional boundaries with students (34), and failures to protect a child or young person (31).
A spokeswoman for the Teaching Council said the 339 mandatory reports last year represented just 0.3% of the roughly 120,000 teachers holding practising certificates or Limited Authority to Teach.
“Every child and young person has the right to learn in a safe and supportive environment, free from harm and disruption,” the spokeswoman said.
“If anyone has concerns about a teacher or wishes to discuss any aspect of their conduct, we encourage them to reach out to us.”
Children’s Commissioner Dr Claire Achmad said she was concerned whenever a teacher failed to uphold their professional standards, especially behaviour that put students at risk of harm.
“The nature of their role meant that teachers were uniquely positioned to protect children from harm, and were often some of the first people in the villages around mokopuna to notice when something was not right in a child’s life.”
She said child protection training needed to be a “crucial mandatory component” in teacher training pathways and ongoing professional training.
“Robust training about power dynamics and relationships, and the duties and obligations that teachers held in relation to giving effect to children’s rights, including the right to be safe, should also have been important, required components of teacher training.
“The more teachers there were with that knowledge, the safer the profession would be, meaning children were more likely to be safe at all times in their schools, kura and other educational environments.”
The Herald sought comment from teacher unions and principal organisations, but they did not wish to respond to the figures.
Stanford said a number of serious concerns had been identified with the Teaching Council after the findings of recent reports.
“I have made my expectations clear – I am also taking steps through an upcoming bill to support the Teaching Council to look into previous cases of misconduct.
“As the Teaching Council works through significant change, I expect them to ensure our teaching workforce upholds the highest standards, and child protection must be the council’s top priority.”
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