Gloriavale has been given a seven-day extension to provide education officials with a response why the religious commune’s private school should be allowed to remain open.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) last month put Gloriavale on notice that its school was on the brink of closure based on “serious concerns” raised in Education Review Office (ERO) audits that it was not a physically or mentally safe place for children.
Secretary for education Ellen MacGregor-Reid wrote to Gloriavale Christian School with a warning that she was considering cancelling its registration and giving them five weeks to respond with solutions.
That deadline was today.
But in a statement to the Herald, Andrea Williams, acting hautū (leader) Te Tai Runga (South), said Gloriavale had now been given an extension to respond until November 14.
“The Ministry met with the school this morning and Gloriavale has sought additional information to support the preparation of its response to the notice,” Williams said.
“This was provided today, and a one-week extension has been granted to allow the school time to consider the new information in preparing its response. The school now has until Friday, November 14 to submit its response.”
Williams said after the response is received, the Ministry would “carefully review all relevant information” before making a decision on the school’s future.
“There is no fixed timeframe for this process, but the Ministry will ensure it proceeds within a reasonable period and will keep the school informed about when a decision can be expected.”
The Ministry did not specify why Gloriavale had waited so long to ask for the additional information.
On Wednesday, Gloriavale’s leadership told the Herald they are working on the issues raised by education officials.
In a statement to the Herald, Gloriavale’s leadership said it did not have an issue with the way the MoE or ERO had handled the matter of its school.
“School staff and the school board have been working on a response to the ministry’s concerns, and this will be completed shortly,” it said.
The leaders would not say whether they believed their school was up to standard.
“We will not be making comments on this while the matter is under investigation,” their statement said.
If the school is closed and homeschooling permissions are withdrawn, about 220 children will need to leave the commune daily to attend public schools on the outside.
A succession of reviews by the ERO over several years has highlighted a raft of problems, including staff misconduct and understaffing.
In particular, a damning 2023 ERO review found the school did not meet six of the eight criteria for private school registration, and the education was “inadequate”.
Since 2023, ERO has been asking Gloriavale to allow full attendance to children with “complex additional needs”.
The curriculum has also been criticised as sexist. Senior schooling – from age 15 – teaches girls sewing, cooking and childcare. Boys are taught subjects such as farming, carpentry and engineering.
Ahead of the extended deadline, Children’s Commissioner Dr Claire Achmad has again spoken out with her opposition to the religious commune’s private school.
After repeated ERO audits failing the school on important markers, Achmad called on the school to be closed “urgently”.
While Gloriavale’s response is pending, she told the Herald she believed the only way it could continue operating was if the “physical and emotional safety” of students was “assured”.
“I would want to see a clear and comprehensive process of oversight, independent oversight of the school, to ensure that any change was enduring,” Achmad told the Herald before the MOE issued the deadline extension.
That oversight would also have to feature the direct input from young people living in Gloriavale.
Achmad said such feedback was required “so that there can be a clear and direct understanding of what children’s experiences are in the school”.
“Let me be very clear,” Achmad said.
“All children have a right to participate in matters that affect their lives, the things that are important to them. That is enshrined in Article 12 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. New Zealand is a state party to that convention.
“And I call on everyone in New Zealand, all adults, all decision-makers, all family and whānau members to give effect to that right for children.”
Information collected in the 2023 Census revealed that 60% of Gloriavale’s 468-strong population is aged under 15.
That compares with nationwide statistics showing just 18.7% of New Zealand’s population was aged under 15.
Achmad said “the safety and the rights of the children and young people in this school, in this community” had to be at the forefront of decisions around the school’s future.
She had been alarmed by some of the contents of the ERO reports, including the 2024 Special Report that stated: “The inconsistent application of some policies and procedures poses risk to children given a history of unsafe practices within the Gloriavale community.”
“My interest here is in children and young people being safe and well, no matter where they are in New Zealand, no matter who they are,” Achmad said.
“And that includes the children who are living in Gloriavale.”
Neil Reid is a Napier-based senior reporter who covers general news, features and sport. He joined the Herald in 2014 and has 33 years of newsroom experience.
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