19 May 2021
Iain Palmer
[FYI request #15225 email]
Tēnā koe Iain
I refer to your email of 20 April 2021 where you ask for the following information:
“How many complaints have been received by the Council against Secondary School Teachers
within the Wellington Region (Wellington / Hutt Valley / Wairarapa / Kapiti) in the last 4 years,
by year and school?
How many of these are currently unresolved?
How many of these complaints are by a member of the public compared to other teachers, by
year and school?”
We have collated the information you have requested as far as we are able having regard to the data
fields in the systems we use. This information is contained in the tables attached. Please note that
these figures are indicative only. In this respect, the data requires some clarification.
We have separated your request into complaints (generally made by members of the public including
other teachers) and mandatory reports (generally submitted by schools, principals and boards of
trustees) the latter of which are required by law. You can s
ee here for further information about these.
We do not routinely classify conduct or competence matters according to sector or location. Teachers
nominate the sector they work in at the time of registration; certification and recertification; and for
Governing Council voting purposes. This is not necessarily the sector they are working in when a
complaint or mandatory report is made.
However, please note that we changed to different customer management systems in 2019. Our old
system could provide regional information, and this is accommodated in the attached tables, but our
new system cannot yet readily deliver this level of detail. To yield more precise numbers from 2019
onwards would require significant data interrogation on an individual teacher level. We have provided
you with the information requested for the whole of New Zealand from mid 2019.
Issues are either open or closed, we do not have a category for “unresolved”. Open issues are generally
still under active consideration and/or because they are still going through Teaching Council processes
(e.g. referral to the Complaints Assessment Committee or Disciplinary Tribunal) or we may be waiting for
information from any party, including witnesses.
We are not prepared to provide data on an individual school basis as there is a likelihood of
identifiability. For this we rely on section 9(2)(a) to protect the privacy of individuals and there are no
countervailing public interests in its release.
You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of this response. Information
about how to make a complaint is available a
t www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or freephone 0800 802
602.
If you wish to discuss this decision with us, please feel free to contact Sandra Kelman, Government
Relations & Information Manager who may be able to provide further assistance should you be willing to
change or refine your request. Her email address is
[email address].
Nāku noa, nā
Pauline Barnes
Deputy Chief Executive Professional Services
Enc: 20210518OIAPalmer.pdf
