Statutory Interventions Scoping Report
Key Intervention Details
Statutory Intervention:
Limited Statutory Manager appointed under section 180
of the Education and Training Act 2020
Board: Hokitika Primary School Board
Intervention Effective From: 12 June 2023
Name of Limited Statutory Manager: Gabrielle Wall
Note to Statutory Providers: All information produced in this document (and any other
document relating to this intervention including emails) may be accessible by the public under
the Official Information Act 1982. Personal information about individual employees at the
kura/school may also be accessible under the Privacy Act 1993. You may seek advice from
New Zealand School Trustees Association Advisory and Support Centre1 and/or look at the
Ombudsmen Guidelines2 to understand what can be withheld.
Situation Background
Hokitika Primary School is currently facing several issues relation to the effective operation of
the school. These issues include the effectiveness of operations and their sustainable
implementation across the school, a breakdown in effective communication between the
board, senior leadership and school staff, and corresponding concerns and complaints raised
against the Board in their capacity as the employer of school staff. There are also concerns
around human resource management and ensuring that the policies, procedures, and
documentation in place at Hokitika Primary School are effective, robust, and fit for purpose.
The appointment of a Limited Statutory Manager with responsibilities for all functions, powers
and duties of the board as an employer and advising the board about communications and
policies and procedures will support the school to be governed effective to the benefit of the
school’s students and wider community. Providing support and advice to the Board of Hokitika
Primary School will support them to consistently and effectively implement robust, fit for
under the Official Information Act 1982
purpose policies, procedures, and systems to support the effective and sustainable
governance of the school over time.
The Evidence for this Scoping
In compiling this report, I have been informed by discussions with the following stakeholders:
• Principal
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1 NZSTA Advisory and Support Centre: For governance advice contact 0800 782 435 (option 1) and for employment
advice contact 0800 782 435 (option 2).
2 Ombudsmen Guidelines: http://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/resources-and-publications/guides .
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• Current Board members
• Current staff members (teaching and support)
• Past staff members (teaching and support)
• Whānau
• Office Manager
I have also reviewed the following documents:
• ERO progress and outcomes reports
• Board governance documents
• SchoolDocs policies and procedures
• Hokitika Primary School Strategic Plan
• Hokitika Primary School Annual Reports (draft)
• Hokitika Primary School Charter 2022
• Assorted emails and letters
• Current and previous concerns and complaints
Identified Strengths
Hokitika Primary School is a Māori and English medium co-educational primary school for
students in Years 1 – 6. The school is an important feature of the Hokitika community with the
Friends of Hokitika Primary School fundraising group working hard to provide additional
opportunities for ākonga. Its membership of the Westland Kāhui Ako has further supported
Hokitika Primary School to proactively build and utilise relationships with other schools and
has provided them with greater access to educational resources and development
opportunities.
Hokitika Primary School is proud to of er Level 2 Māori immersion education with three mixed-
level Rūma Rumaki Reo supported by teachers, language experts, and support staff for
students from Years 0 – 6. The school also participates in a number of programmes including
Toki Pounamu (in partnership with the Manaiakalani Trust) and Enviroschools. They also
provide a range of extra-curricular activities for students and support for students with
additional learning needs.
The board is well equipped to govern Hokitika Primary School, with a range of newer and
longer-term members. They are committed to the school and are enthusiastic about improving
their governance capabilities to the benefit of the school and community. Iwi representatives
from Kāti Māhaki ki Makaawhio and Ngāti Waewae ensure that the school continues to
strengthen its relationships with local iwi for the benefit of ākonga.
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The Principal, Board and school staff are working collaboratively to support positive outcomes
for all students. This has resulted in significant progress against the areas for improvement
identified in the 2019 ERO report, namely increasing student achievement, curriculum
responsiveness, and ongoing evaluation and improvement of governance, leadership and
operations.
In ERO’s most recent report of Hokitika Primary School (2019) the following strengths were
identified:
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Relationships with the school community
• Continued representation of local iwi on the board.
• Ongoing strengthening of relationships with the local marae.
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under the Official Information Act 1982
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The currently outstanding concerns and complaints relating to employer responsibility need to
be resolved to ensure the effective governance of the school alongside robust, fit for purpose
human resource management policies and procedures.
Financial management
There is concern about the financial management of the school and whether the financial
systems and processes in place at Hokitika Primary School are robust, effective, and
consistently followed. A review of current finance policies, procedures, and systems will be
required to ensure that the school is effectively managing its finances, and that the individuals
performing roles relating to finance are appropriately skilled and supported.
Overall Assessment of Risk Level
It would appear that the overall risk level is slightly higher than what was anticipated by the
Ministry. The factors that occurred prior to the Ministry’s scoping and what make it slightly
higher than previously anticipated are:
• The escalation of concerns relating to the school as an employer to formal
complaints.
• Concern around the financial management of the school.
• A weakening of the relationship between the Principal and Board.
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