Northland Health Camp faces closure

A Northland principal is anxious about the future of his school after receiving a letter from the Ministry of Education outlining plans to close it by the end of the year.
The Northland Health Camp School is the educational arm of the Maunu Children's Health Camp and together they provide care, support and education to more than 200 vulnerable children a year.
The school, which is run by a local board of trustees and receives its funding from the Ministry of Education, got a letter from the ministry in April outlining plans to hand over governance of the school to Te Puna Whaiora Children's Health Camps by next year.
Principal Bill Mariner said the letter gave him until June 3 to consult with the educational community and send a submission to the ministry.
"What the ministry is proposing is they actually give away responsibility for running the school," Mr Mariner said.
"They want to shut down the school, disband the board and give the running of the school to the health camp foundation.
"I don't have a beef with the health camp foundation, I'm just concerned with the lack of consultation and the speed with which they've done it."
Mr Mariner said the school could suffer if management was transferred from a local board to a national organisation based in Wellington.
"My fear is that we'll lose our personal voice, we'll lose our touch, the contact that we have with our community.
"It might be a good thing, it might not be, but at the moment no one knows anything.
"We sort of walk around with that uncertainty, it doesn't do much for our morale."
Job security was also a concern for staff, Mr Mariner said.
"We've got five staff here, it's not big but we all depend on this place for our livelihood."
When contacted by the Northern Advocate, Minister of Education Anne Tolley said she was "absolutely committed to education at health camps - but it needs to be improved and strengthened".
Ms Tolley said a review of health camp schools had highlighted a number of issues.
"The transition process into and out of health camps needs to be smoother for students.
"The education provided needs to include best practices for teaching and learning, and must be consistent across the country.
"Students also need to be supported, despite their complex social and behavioural issues."
Mr Mariner said the ministry plans to make a decision on the future of the school, and four others like it around the country, by July 8. "I'm thinking, two months, it takes longer to get a dog licence. What's the rush?"