‘About bloody time’: Former student deplores years of inaction as Gloriavale school looks to be shut
The possible closure of Gloriavle school came as a relief but feels like “the bare minimum”, former student Lilia Tarawa says.
The Ministry of Education wants to cancel the school’s registration, effectively closing it, after a special report by the Education Review Office (ERO) found it was not providing a physically and emotionally safe place for students.
It’s the Ministry of Education’s second move to cancel the school’s registration in less than a year.
The school remains open after an attempt in December was challenged at the High Court by the school’s board. On Thursday the ministry applied to the court to lift the orders preventing the school’s closure, which has a roll of about 80 students.
Former Gloriavale Christian School student Lilia Tarawa, who is the granddaughter of the founder Hopeful Christian, fled with her family from Gloriavale in 2009.
She described her life there in her autobiography Daughter of Gloriavale, including shocking descriptions of her experiences as a student.
She told Morning Report she had seen a church leader come into her classroom, pull down the pants of his son and assault him with a leather belt.
“This type of behaviour is not OK and it’s the government’s duty to protect the children who are part of that organisation.
“My initial reaction [to the school closure] was about bloody time. We’ve been fighting for change and for safety for the kids in Gloriavale a very long time.”
Many had been calling loudly for change, she said.
“It is a relief for a lot us but at the same time it feels like the bare minimum.”
She criticised Social Development Minister Louise Upston’s view there was no threat to children’s safety.
Tarawa said there had been many reports from leavers about the abuse they had suffered, meanwhile, Gloriavale continued to enjoy tax benefits.
“The fact that it didn’t lose its school licence years ago is just horrific to me. It’s not good enough.”
Gloriavale’s leadership maintained it had changed but it was only two years ago that a leader Howard had stepped down because he was facing criiminal charges.
He had mentored leaders who had taken over, Tarawa said.
“It’s really not good enough when you have the same men in power inside Gloriavale who stood aside and let this happen on their watch while they were supposed to be stewards of the children of those schools.”
The Gloriavale Leavers Trust wanted a transitional facility to provide extra support for the current pupils and their families before they could be integrated into other schools.
Tarawa compared their situation to refugees.
“We really do have to provide them with some additional support around that.”
Morning Report has invited the Minister to be interviewed on the programme.
Should have happened years ago
A barrister representing Gloriavale leavers says the Christian community’s school should’ve been shut down decades ago.
Barrister Brian Henry, who has fought for Gloriavale leavers to be recognised as employees, backed the move, but simultaneously criticised the ministry for what he described as decades of inaction.
He said the ERO report revealed nothing new and that the school should have been closed 20 years ago.
“They have, as a historic department, not done their job. Finally someone’s done it and I applaud them for that.”
However, Henry said the fact that it had taken two attempts to cancel the registration was “appalling”.
He said the ministry should have been ready to follow through with it in December but wasn’t, meaning the school’s closure got “bunged up” in litigation.
The ministry rejected Henry’s criticism and said closing a registered school was a significant statutory decision that had to follow a robust process.
After Gloriavale filed court proceedings, the ministry and the school agreed to defer the decision until the legal process had finished, it said.
Henry wouldn’t speculate on when the school would shut its doors, but said the students would need to be educated elsewhere.
“They just need to put on a school bus and shift them – like all country kids are shifted – to a public school.”
Education services deputy secretary Geoff Short said the ministry would work with the school community to determine the most practical timing for the school’s closure.
In a statement, the Gloriavale Christian School board said it was considering its options.
“The school strongly disagrees with the ministry’s decision and is currently considering its options to challenge it. Given that the matter is ongoing, we will not be making any further comment at this time,” the board said.
The ERO special review report said the school had failed to meet one of eight criteria – to provide a physically and emotionally safe place for students.
While the school met the other criteria, such as providing suitable premises, provision of tuition, and suitable staffing, and that there had been “some improvement”, it said the improvement was “partial and, in key areas, not yet sustained”.
“ERO is not yet confident that the school’s systems are sufficiently embedded, consistent and reliable to ensure ongoing compliance with the requirements for registration over time.”