Richmond principal heads up Gloriavale student learning programme
| The Press | Katy Jones | Nelson Mail |
The principal of Henley School, John Armstrong, has been seconded to the Ministry of Education to lead its Gloriavale work programme.
A letter to parents from the primary school in Richmond said the school board had accepted the ministry’s request for Armstrong’s one-year secondment to the ministry’s regional office, as special project lead for the programme.
Gloriavale Christian School was due to shut on January 23 after the ministry decided to cancel its registration as a private school last year, after a second failed Education Review Office audit in as many years.
But the school remained open after its board sought a judicial review of the ministry decision.
The ministry told the Nelson Mail Armstrong would oversee a programme supporting the leadership of Gloriavale Christian School on the West Coast, its governance, student support and family support, and education provision options for Gloriavale children and young people.
Ministry acting hautū (leader) for Te Tai Runga (South), Andrea Williams said Armstrong brought extensive experience, leadership expertise and strong local connections to the role, with 27 years as a principal across a range of schools.
A statement on the Henley School website said Armstrong also had strong family links to the West Coast, and was a member of the ministry’s interagency team supporting Gloriavale, with his work on-site at the school, “providing valuable insight into the needs of its students and families”.
On January 23, secretary for education Ellen MacGregor-Reid confirmed that the ministry agreed to allow the school to remain open after a review was sought.
“Following an application by the board of Gloriavale Christian School, the High Court … granted interim orders that the cancellation of the registration of the school should not take effect,“ MacGregor-Reid said.
The parties agreed that the school should remain open pending the hearing of Gloriavale’s application for judicial review of the secretary’s deregistration decision, “which the parties have agreed to progress expeditiously”, she said.
MacGregor-Reid wrote to the West Coast Christian community’s private school in October, advising she was considering the cancelling its registration after a second failed Education Review Office audit in as many years.
July’s ERO report found Gloriavale Christian School had not met three of eight registration criteria and was not a physically and emotionally safe space for students.
The ministry said last month that the school had provided insufficient evidence to assure the ministry it was consistently meeting all private school registration criteria and there was no evidence to suggest that it would be compliant with more time.
Education officials in January told the school community it would operate a Te Kura (former Correspondence School) in-person hub for term 1, and potentially into term 2 for former students of the school and was in the process of negotiating a Gloriavale Unit as part of an existing state school.
Armstrong’s background also included serving as a seconded education review officer, and as a Ministry of Education leadership adviser for Nelson Marlborough West Coast in 2023.