Red tape makes charter school return tempting for Māori designated character school

Act leader and Associate Education Minister David Seymour, who’s in charge of partnership schools, said they would be back by 2025. Photo / Dean Purcell

The principal of a former flagship charter school, Whangarei’s Te Kāpehu Whetū, says she’d consider shifting back as a way to get out from under the Ministry of Education’s red tape.

National and Act have committed to reintroducing publicly funded private schools and even to allow state schools to become so-called partnership schools.

Raewyn Tipene says Te Kāpehu Whetū and its parent He Puna Marama Trust have tried a number of models since entering the education sector in 1997, and took the option to become a designated character school when Labour scrapped the partnership school model.

While each change involves at least a year of disruption, regaining some autonomy could be worth it.

“I can see why lots of teachers and principals are leaving the profession. You spend most of your time ticking boxes and pleasing bureaucracy as opposed to doing the job we’re here to do,” she says.

Act leader and Associate Education Minister David Seymour, who’s in charge of partnership schools, said they would be back by 2025.

Reinstating kura hourua was one of the policy agreements made between National and Act to form the new coalition Government.

Charter schools were originally introduced by Seymour during Act’s confidence and supply arrangement with the National government in 2011. They were then scrapped by the Labour government in 2017.

Seymour says there’s legislation to go through before kura hourua can relaunch, as well as the tendering process.

“You certainly won’t see it in 2024 - firstly, [there’s] legislating, putting in place the policy seeking the applicants, and then making sure they can form and open their schools. That’s going to take at least a year. So, potentially in term one in 2025,” Seymour told waateanews.com.

Seventeen kura hourua were originally approved in 2012, with 12 reverting to special character status in 2017.

Kura hourua will retain its Māori name in spite of the coalition Government seeking to remove te reo names from public service agencies.

“We haven’t made a decision on the name, but I think kura hourua is a wonderful name. It represents the Crown, the operator of the kura and the two hulls of the waka.” said Seymour.

Charter schools can be found around the world. They sit outside state sector education, offering a more innovative curriculum and methods of teaching.

- waateanews.com.