As education bosses consider the future of Gloriavale’s private school, one of the commune’s highest-profile leavers has spoken of how schooling for girls focused on “what a woman’s place was”.
Last month the Ministry of Education (MOE) put leaders of Gloriavale on notice that it was considering closing its private school based on “serious concerns” raised in ERO audits that it was not a physically or mentally safe place for children.
Gloriavale was given a five-week period and a deadline of November 6 to provide its response.
That deadline was extended until last Friday following a request from Gloriavale.
The MOE confirmed today that Gloriavale had met the deadline’s response.
The ministry was now “carefully reviewing” it before making a decision.
“There is no set timeframe for this process, but the Ministry will make sure it moves forward within a reasonable period,” Andrea Williams, acting hautū (leader) Te Tai Runga (South), said.
“The school will be kept informed about when a decision can be expected.”
About 220 children are schooled inside Gloriavale, located on the West Coast.
Just under 100 go to the private school, which teaches children up to the age of 15, in a ministry-approved homeschooling programme.
The ERO has confirmed to the Herald that it is reviewing Gloriavale’s homeschooling system.
If the school is closed and homeschooling permissions are withdrawn, about 220 children will need to leave the commune daily to attend public schools on the outside.
Since 2023, the 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 – to the age of 15 – teaches girls sewing, cooking and childcare. Boys are taught subjects such as farming, carpentry and engineering.
Gloriavale was home for Pearl Valor until she and her husband, Paul, decided to leave in December 2021.
The couple – who then had four young children – have featured in documentary series Gloriavale – Life and Death and Gloriavale: A World Apart, including footage of their courtship and eventual marriage.
Those documentaries also touched on the limited education offered to boys and girls in the commune.
Gloriavale’s material says it is “not interested in education for the sake of education, nor in placing our people in university campuses where ungodly attitudes can prevail”.
“We are interested in education only where it can equip us to meet the needs of our community life,” the religious community leaders state.
For boys, that includes learning about building, engineering and farming.
For girls, Valor says she and others were taught about “running a household, looking after children, sewing, cooking, cleaning...”
“Basically, the education we were provided was what a woman’s place was in the society we were in,” Valor told the Herald.
“A woman’s place in Gloriavale was to be a keeper at home and a mum. So, [we were taught] anything that fitted into that role. If it didn’t, it just wasn’t an option.”
Those living in the community were told “this is normal and this is right”, Valor said.
While she was there, she had an internal awareness that it wasn’t right, “but there’s no way to express it”.
Valor – who now has five children – said she realised after leaving Gloriavale “how much I’d missed out on” education-wise.
She has now enrolled for tertiary studies.
Valor and her husband left because they wanted their children “to have better than me and to have safety”.
“It’s just about having the choices available to them, and they can make good decisions with the education and choices that they’re offered,” she said.
Gloriavale leadership have told the Herald they would not currently publicly comment whether they believed their school was up to standard.
“We will not be making comments on this while the matter is under investigation,” a statement said.
The Herald has been told by a source that a meeting was held in Gloriavale last Tuesday night where leaders talked to commune members about education and the ongoing wrangle with the MOE and the ERO.
Valor said the majority living in the community would have little idea of the variety and length of education their children could get in the outside world.
With the threat of closure of its school hanging over Gloriavale, she believed if that did happen many parents would soon be happy to send their kids outside the commune for schooling.
“I feel the parents, if they had options, they would make better choices for their kids,” she said.
“But from what they are offered in the community, they think that’s normal and they think it’s good because that’s what they’re told.
“But once they’re aware there’s more options, I think they would make really good choices for their children.”
The Herald revealed earlier this month that some West Coast schools were pro-actively investigating how they will upscale and absorb the children of Gloriavale if the Government decides to close the religious commune’s school.
Multiple buses and drivers will be needed for the job – and the local schools will need new teachers, classrooms and other specialist support.
A local education source told the Herald that counsellors would likely be needed to help the children adjust to the outside world.
Complex decisions will need to be made on clothing: local schools have uniforms that expose the lower limbs – something the children, who have worn Gloriavale clothing since birth, will not be used to.
Valor said closure would lead to a “really hard transition for the children and the parents”, but one that could benefit youngsters.
“There’s going to need to be a lot of support, support systems and scaffolding.”
Over the past month, head of the Gloriavale Leavers’ Trust Liz Gregory has intensified her calls for the school to be closed until commune leaders could prove it was a safe environment for children.
It is a view she said is shared by former members of the religious community that she has helped resettle in the wider community.
She described the scope of education offered to girls as akin to “Victorian England”.
As well as the housekeeping and domestic life tasks, they were also taught “very basic English and maths”.
“Certainly nothing like the breadth of the English and maths curriculum that you would expect out here [in the wider community],” Gregory said.
“It’s a very old view of women and the lack of need for them to have any academic rigour.
Gregory has spoken to leavers – both adults and school-aged – who feel they have been left behind education-wise because of their time in Gloriavale.
“A lot of leavers feel very ripped off and upset about the lack of opportunities they experienced now that they know what is available in the realms of education.”
Gregory believed the education offered at Gloriavale is solely based around ensuring students were prepared for the jobs they would need to do in later years within the community.
Her work in the trust brought her happiness to see former members enjoy a full range of life in the wider community.
At the same time, hearing stories on what they had missed out on education-wise was heartbreaking.
“I feel a deep sorrow that Gloriavale has limited male and female, learning and development,” she said.
“I feel a sadness. It’s like, they had this portion of their life stolen from them... it was theft of something that other people in New Zealand have a right to.”
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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