Part 8: Gloriavale School – Summary
Opinion piece: Liz Gregory.
(Thoughts, opinions and views expressed here belong to Liz Gregory and may or may not represent the views of the Gloriavale Leavers’ Support Trust, former or current members of Gloriavale.).
Here’s a quick summary of what we’ve considered over the past few days of blog posts.
Blog Post #1: The Gloriavale school will be closing after failing to convince the Ministry of Education they could educate the children in a “physically or emotionally safe environment”.
Blog Post #2: Gloriavale’s reaction to the closure and the long road for advocates
Blog Post #3: Background to the Gloriavale School issues
Blog post #4: Leavers, supporters and current members’ reactions to the announcement.
Blog Post #5: Does home schooling have a place in Gloriavale? Is home schooling a hero solution or a hazard? We took a deep dive into the benefits and challenges of home schooling in Gloriavale.
Blog Post #6: It appears home schooling might be disallowed as an option, as this month’s home schooling ERO reviews were failed by all community members currently home-schooling. The community are hoping some legal support will assist them to challenge this blanket fail, but we examine why this might not be such a good idea.
Blog Post #7: The Ministry of Education have signalled one schooling option could involve children being bussed off site to receive their education. It might look like a hub or satellite concept on the premises of another local state school. We examined what the benefits and challenges will come with this approach.
It appears most leavers are very pleased with the position the MOE has taken. BUT they request that their expertise is harnessed to assist with training of staff in cultural competence. This will make the world of difference to how successful the transition is.
Educational navigators are going to be an essential part of this solution. Each family will need one to assist them with their upcoming decision-making.
This will cost Government money. Consider it an investment in humanity – and perhaps even payment of a fine to acknowledge their own failures in this space over 30 years. (All the ERO reviews from the 1990’s onwards expressed concern about Gloriavale’s sexist curriculum, but entirely missed all the abuse, and failing educational outcomes – even though there were ample media reports and leavers’ stories circulating widely.)
Conclusion
People spoke up to improve educational outcomes in Gloriavale – not knowing where it would lead. Leavers provided us with their views on schooling, and we gave them a platform to speak. We didn’t give up. They didn’t give up. Persistence is the key.
We will never regret the efforts we have gone to in order to ensure the safety of children and better educational opportunities for the children in Gloriavale.
I guess it’s watch this space and see what unfolds on 23 January 2026 and in the months ahead.