School given until next month to put its case

Nga Parirau Matauranga trustee Robert Carpenter (left) and Te Pumanawa o te Wairua charter school kaumatua Hori Parata. Photo / John Stone

A troubled Northland charter school has been given one month to tell the Ministry of Education why it should remain open or it will be shut down and any unused funding and assets, including taxpayer purchased land the school is on, will be recovered.

Education Minister Hekia Parata announced yesterday she proposes to terminate the agreement with Nga Parirau Matauranga Charitable Trust which operates the Te Pumanawa o te Wairua charter school near Whangaruru because of the kura's poor student achievement and inadequate curriculum leadership.

Minister of Education Hekia Parata in July when she announced she would allow the school to continue operating because of concerns about where its 39 students would go if it was closed. Photo / File

She has given the school until January 15 to provide the minister with reasons why the contract should not be terminated. A spokesman for Ms Parata said if the school closes, the ministry will seek to recover any unused funding or available assets through a commercial negotiation process, including the 81ha taxpayer purchased farm the school operates on.

Ms Parata, who met with the board on Tuesday, said a specialist audit conducted in October showed while the current board had made significant progress in addressing issues which saw her issue the trust with a performance notice in February, there were problems which remained unsolved.

"The core business of teaching and learning appears to have only marginally improved for some students, not for all, and not in a sustainable way."

The Advocate contacted the school's kaumatua, Hori Parata, and trustee Robert Carpenter but neither could comment.

As part of the specialist audit, the Education Review Office has identified: student achievement concerns remain and the quality of teaching remains poor; inadequate curriculum leadership continues to impact negatively on students; the curriculum is not and has not been consistent with the broad ranging curriculum vision articulated in the contract and a lack of basic literacy and numeracy underpinning qualification credits achieved.

Of the five original trustees, only one, Robert Carpenter, remained. Ms Parata said her decision was not a reflection on the current board.

"They have done what they could in the time available to install sound governance and administrative control and to stabilise the kura's finances. There has, however, been insufficient progress in teaching and learning and the long term viability of the kura remains uncertain due to its heavy reliance on third parties, the difficulty of attracting suitably qualified teaching staff and uncertainty over the future roll."

Labour's Acting Education spokeswoman Jenny Salesa said while the students of Whangaruru were the ultimate victims, the losers were taxpayers. More than $4.4 million has been spent on the kura, including $620,000 for a 81ha farm the trust bought for the school.