Secretary for Education warns Gloriavale Christian School it may lose registration as private school

Photo: RNZ / Jean Edwards The Secretary for Education has written to Gloriavale Christian School advising that she is considering cancelling its registration as a private school. A July Education Review Office (ERO) report found the West Coast Christian community's school had not met three of eight registration criteria and was not a physically and emotionally safe space for students, marking Gloriavale's second failed audit in as many years. Ministry of Education acting hautū (leader) Te Tai Runga (South) Andrea Williams said the school's leadership had been given five weeks to respond to secretary Ellen MacGregor-Reid's letter, which must be received by 7 November. "Under clause 12 of Schedule 7 to the Education and Training Act 2020, the Secretary for Education has issued Gloriavale Christian Community School a letter advising that she is considering cancelling its registration as a private school," she said. "This is based on the serious concerns raised about whether the school is meeting its obligation to provide a physically and emotionally safe environment for students." Education officials met Gloriavale school leaders on 23 July to express serious concerns about its compliance with registration requirements and issue a second formal "notice to comply". Since then, the acting Director of Education had reviewed a range of evidence: 12 August - Gloriavale Christian School provided an updated action plan to the ministry, detailing how it intended to meet the three unmet criteria required for registration as a private school - Gloriavale Christian School provided an updated action plan to the ministry, detailing how it intended to meet the three unmet criteria required for registration as a private school 20 August - Ministry staff met the school to review the action plan and supporting evidence - Ministry staff met the school to review the action plan and supporting evidence 20 August to 19 September - Ministry staff were on site daily to support teaching staff and observe the consistent implementation of required policies, procedures and actions - Ministry staff were on site daily to support teaching staff and observe the consistent implementation of required policies, procedures and actions 19 September - The ministry determined that the school continued to fall short of providing a physically and emotionally safe environment for students, as identified in the ERO's July report Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly In August, Children's Commissioner Claire Achmad called for the school's urgent closure, saying she had zero confidence that students were safe. She told RNZ the government should show bravery and protect children's rights. "I'm hugely concerned to see yet another report from ERO outlining a very troubling situation at the Gloriavale school. This is now clear-cut. I'm calling for the school to be closed. I have zero confidence about children's physical and emotional safety and well-being at the school," she said. If the ministry decided to close the school, Achmad said it would need to create a bespoke transition plan for Gloriavale children to access alternative education. 'It is a big deal' Gloriavale Leavers' Support Trust manager Liz Gregory said the community would "pull out all the stops" to try to avoid a school closure. "It is a big deal. They will be out there looking for allies on the outside but I think it's a bit risky to be associated with Gloriavale or even helping the Gloriavale school because at the end of the day it's about the welfare of the children," she said. Photo: "The best outcome would be independently delivered education off the site." Gregory said the community's hostels were not an appropriate place for homeschooling, with the trust favouring a special transitional model for the children's education if the school closed. "It's not as simple as just putting them on the bus to the local school. It would be quite daunting for parents but I think the children would adjust incredibly quickly. There is going to need to be some very careful thought around this," she said. Gregory said that might involve establishing a place for Gloriavale children on the grounds of another school or a temporary school staffed and managed independently, with health and well-being checks and educational assessments, to give members time to make decisions about schooling. "Perhaps they would like to go homeschooling, perhaps they would like to send them to a local school, perhaps they would like to leave Gloriavale," she said. Gloriavale leaver Hopeful Disciple taught at the school for five years and his wife for 17 years before they left the community in 2021. He said children were not safe at the "toxic" school, which must close, with proper support for parents. "They're going to be pretty scared, a bit bewildered as to how to move on and that's why I think there's going to have to be a pretty good, sound plan to help them through that," he said. "When...

Secretary for Education warns Gloriavale Christian School it may lose registration as private school

Continue Reading on RNZ

How do you feel about this article?

📝 Article Information

Author

Original Publisher

Published Date

Disclaimer

Secretary for Education warns Gloriavale Christian School it may lose registration as private school

Continue Reading on RNZ

How do you feel about this article?

📝 Article Information

Author

Original Publisher

Published Date

Disclaimer

More from RNZ