The union for primary school teachers is reserving judgement on the likely effectiveness of a special telephone line for teachers to report child abuse.
Teachers come third after the police and health professionals as the people most likely to report child abuse, flagging suspected cases on average 43 times every school day.
Two Child, Youth and Family workers in Auckland will answer calls, giving advice and passing on serious reports to social workers.
New Zealand Educational Institute says that will involve a lot of work.
President Ian Leckie expects the line to be busy at times and CYF may not be able to answer every call.
Social Development Minister Paula Bennett says she will monitor workloads regularly.
The freephone line will be operational from 26 September.
