Children's Commissioner Dr Claire Achmad. Photo / RNZ, Cole Eastham-Farrelly
By Jean Edwards of RNZ
The Children’s Commissioner is calling for the urgent closure of Gloriavale Christian School, saying she has zero confidence that students are safe.
School leaders must next week show the Ministry of Education that they are fixing problems identified in a July Education Review Office (ERO) report or the ministry will consider cancelling the private school’s registration.
The deadline loomed at a time of leadership change at the West Coast Christian community, with Howard Temple resigning as Overseeing Shepherd after his conviction for sexual offending.
The ERO report found the 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.
Commissioner Dr Claire Achmad said the school should not remain open and called on the Government to 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 wellbeing at the school,” she said.
Achmad said she had raised her concerns with the ministry.
“The evidence has mounted now to a point where this is urgent. I repeat my call for the school to be closed so that the rights of children to education are upheld,” she said.
“The majority of people living at Gloriavale are children but it is well documented more widely that this is a coercive control environment that children are living in and that the community and the school is not a safe place for children.
“It is clear that children in Gloriavale are having to deal with a range of risks to their rights and direct violations of their rights. This is a crucial opportunity for the Government to step in to take brave action to protect children’s rights in Gloriavale.”
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.
Ministry of Education acting hautū (leader) Te Tai Runga (South) Andrea Williams said officials met Gloriavale school leaders on July 23 to express serious concerns about its compliance with registration requirements and issue a second formal “notice to comply”.
“To retain its registration as a private school, Gloriavale Christian School must submit an updated action plan that should outline how the school intends to meet the criteria that have not yet been satisfied. A follow-up meeting is scheduled for August 20, where the school is expected to present evidence of completed and ongoing actions,” she said.
“The ministry expects Gloriavale Christian School to take responsibility for addressing the unmet criteria independently and we are closely monitoring their progress. We understand the school has engaged an external education consultant to support these efforts.
“The ministry remains deeply concerned about the physical and emotional safety of students. The school has been advised that if it cannot present a viable plan within the required timeframe, cancellation of its registration as a private school is a possible outcome.”
Education Minister Erica Stanford said she had sought official advice about the school.
“I have been kept up-to-date by my officials at ERO. They have serious concerns, which is why they have gone in again, done a report, said ‘here are the things that need to be fixed’,” she said.
Asked if she thought children were safe at the school, Stanford repeated her remarks about the ERO’s concerns.
“I’ve made sure that they are going in regularly. I will be receiving that final report and we will make decisions after that,” she said.
Under the Education and Training Act, the ministry could cancel the registration of a private school if it no longer met the criteria, including providing suitable premises, staffing, curriculum or ensuring student safety and wellbeing.
The step was considered only after other avenues had been exhausted and where there was clear and ongoing non-compliance, the ministry said.
Gloriavale has been contacted for comment.
While July’s ERO report found Gloriavale Christian School staff were following the New Zealand curriculum and education provision was “slowly improving”, it identified a lack of suitable staffing for enrolled students with complex additional needs who could not attend because of insufficient equipment to support their physical needs.
The ERO report also noted the Teaching Council was investigating an allegation of staff misconduct and the school had been instructed to formally monitor the staff member.
The report said about 40% of the 224 school-aged children at Gloriavale attended the school, while about half were home-schooled and the remainder were enrolled with Te Kura (formerly the Correspondence School).
A damning 2023 ERO review found the school did not meet six of the eight criteria for private school registration and the provision of education was “inadequate and uncertain”.
Based on publicly available information, former education review officer Paul Matthews told RNZ the ministry’s process needed to happen “fairly urgently” because of the depth and extent of the school’s non-compliance.
Matthews, who was not involved with Gloriavale during his time at the ERO, said the best results were achieved with negotiation and consultation with school boards.
If a school was forced to close, the ministry also had a responsibility to help children find an alternative place to go, he said.
“Private schools rarely come up for cancellation because they rely on attracting fee-paying students, their public relations and profile is really important. They really can’t afford to be offering an inferior product to state schools because they just wouldn’t survive,” he said.
“Gloriavale is a different situation, almost unique because it’s a closed community. Market forces really don’t apply.”
Gloriavale Christian School sought to become an Independent Schools of New Zealand member last year but its application was declined.
Gloriavale member David Stedfast – who is a defendant in a multi-million-dollar slavery class action brought by former members against the Christian community – was on placement at Paparoa Range School in June, according to the school’s Facebook page.
When approached by RNZ, board of trustees presiding member Louise Gault said the school could not comment on individual student teachers or related personal matters because of privacy obligations.
“Paparoa Range School is committed to providing a safe and inclusive learning environment for all students. We regularly host student teachers as part of their professional training, in partnership with accredited tertiary institutions,” she said.
“We take our responsibilities seriously and have robust processes in place to assess and manage placements, including consideration of any potential risks. Where appropriate, we seek advice from relevant authorities and act in accordance with Ministry of Education guidelines.”
Last month, Temple pleaded guilty to five charges of indecent assault, five of doing an indecent act and two of common assault days into a judge-alone trial in Greymouth.
On Tuesday, the community confirmed Stephen Standfast had replaced Temple as overseeing shepherd.
“The overseeing shepherd of the Gloriavale Christian Community, Howard Temple, 85, has resigned,” Gloriavale said.
“His position has been taken by Stephen Standfast, who has been designated to replace Mr Temple for several years. Mr Temple succeeded the community’s founder, Hopeful Christian, upon his death in 2018. In the years since then, he has led a campaign to establish policies around child safety and wellbeing, as well as workplace health and safety.
“Mr Standfast, 48, has spent several years now working with outside agencies to support ongoing changes for safety and wellbeing.”
Temple is on bail and would be sentenced in December.