28 days for school to improve

Fix your problems within 28 days or face closure, a Northland charter school has been told

A Northland charter school plagued with issues since opening last year has been given 28 days to remedy the problems or face closure.

Minister of Education Hekia Parata issued the Whangaruru charter school, recently renamed Te Pumanawa O Te Wairua, with a performance notice yesterday after issues with truancy and a declining roll.

The Northern Advocate spoke to Ms Parata in Whangarei, where she was flanked by ACT leader David Seymour. The controversial charter schools were part of the National Party's confidence and supply agreement with ACT.

"It's clear there has been a pattern of concerns and I have reached the point ... to be able to say today to them that it is not satisfactory and they need to demonstrate in the next 28 days that they are able to deliver a remedial plan," Ms Parata said.

The kura, located on a farm 65km north-west of Whangarei, was one of five charter schools that opened last year.

Charter schools are funded by the Government but set their own curriculum, school hours, holidays and pay rates.

The four members of the Nga Parirau Matauranga Charitable Trust, sponsors of the kura, who had met Ms Parata had taken the issue very seriously.

She said it would be up to the trust to fix the problems before an audit commissioned by the Ministry of Education on March 20.

In a letter to the trust, Ms Parata found the school failed to meet two of the standards required in the contract.

While truancy was supposed to be at 2.8 per cent, in 2014 it was much higher at 11-17 per cent.

The school also did not meet roll requirements after it started last year with 61 students, despite being funded for 71. The roll now sits at 37, the lowest it has been.

Ms Parata declined to speculate when a final decision on the school would be made.

The school received a $1.68 million grant to set up, of which $620,000 was used to buy the 81ha farm property which is in the name of the trust.

If the school did close, the Government would enter into negotiations to get back unused funds and assets, Ms Parata said.

Mr Seymour said the situation showed the "strength" of the charter school system.

"We require and demand high standards under the contract and we are now using the contract to say to the school that there are some areas where they haven't met the standard," he said.