Northland charter school set to close

  • 28/01/2016
Northland charter school set to close

The Government has terminated an agreement to run a troubled charter school in Northland because its challenges were 'too great to overcome'.

Education Minister Hekia Parata and Parliamentary Under-Secretary David Seymour made the announcement this morning to end the Nga Parirau Matauranga Charitable Trust's contract to run the school in Whangaruru.

The trust was handed a performance notice in February last year, and a specialist audit in October showed the Board had made "significant progress" in addressing governance and management.

However, its "core business" of teaching and learning had got slightly better for some students though not for all and "not in a sustainable way".

The Trust was told of the decision on Tuesday.

Ms Parata says while progress had been made, it still faced a number of challenges which were "too great to overcome".

This included:

But Ms Parata says the decision "is not a reflection on the Trust Board's efforts or capabilities".

"The current Trust Board has worked hard, been extremely professional and acted in the best interests of the kura's students throughout."

The termination will come into effect on March 7, with the Ministry of Education working with the board, students and families to transition to other education providers.

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