Tēnā koe mō tō īmēra mai ki te Tāhuhu o Thank you for your email to the
te Mātauranga.   Ministry of Education.  

     

He urupare aunoa tēnei hei whakaatu kua This is an auto generated response
tae mai tō īmēra confirming your email has been
ki a mātou. Kaua noa e whakautu i tēnei received. Please do not respond to this
karere.   message.  

     

Mea ake nei ka urupare tonu atu mātou ki We will respond to your email as soon
tō īmēra.   as possible.  

 

  

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Kia ora Ross

Thank you for your request for information below. The Ministry will
consider and respond to your request in accordance with the Official
Information Act 1982 (the Act).

 

Under section 15(1) of the Act, we are required to make and inform you of
our decision on your request as soon as reasonably practicable and in any
case not later than 20 working days after the day on which your request is
received.  You can therefore expect to receive our decision on your
request on or before the 2 September 2024.  If more than 20 working days
are needed due to the potential workload and/or consultations involved in
answering your request, we will notify you accordingly.

 

The Ministry may publicly release on our website the response to your
request five days after you have received it. Any personal information
will be removed.

 

In the interim, if you have any questions about your request, please email
[1][email address].

 

Ngā mihi

 

Enquiries National Team | Ministry of Education - TW
[2]education.govt.nz  |  [3]Follow us on Twitter: @educationgovtnz

[4]Te TD huhu o te MD tauranga

 

 

 

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Tēnā koe Ross

Thank you for your email of 5 August 2024 to the Ministry of Education
(the Ministry) requesting the following information about Mt. Wellington
Residential School.

Your request has been considered under the Official Information Act 1982
(the Act). I have set your questions out below with my response.

1.       What made the Department of Auckland Field officer suspect some
male/s pupils attending Mt. Wellington Residential school may have been
subjected to such improprieties being committed against them by a male
handyman/ relief housemaster employee?

The principal, along with the Superintendent of Child Welfare, were
notified by the District Child Welfare Officer (DCWO) that he had found
evidence that led him to suspect the missing staff member was guilty of
criminal impropriety towards males. There is no description of what this
evidence was in the documents we have.

2.       Did the Department of Education or the principl of Mt. Wellington
Residential School Mr. HILL ever inform any parents/guardians of pupils
regarding suspected  improprieties  may have been  committed against their
child by any male staff employee ?

We have not found any records about what assistance was offered to pupils
at the school who may have been abused by this individual or whether any
parents were notified.

3.       Did the department of Education or the principle (Mr. Hill) of
Mt. Wellington Residential School interview any pupils that may have been
subjected such suspected improprieties being committed against them or
conduct an enquiry regarding such suspected incidents of improprieties
being committed by suspected male employee? If not, why not?

We have not found any records of pupils at the school being questioned
about this individual. We have also not found any records that any
complaints were made to the school or the Department of Education at the
time about this individual.

4.       Did either Mt. Wellington Residential School principal Mr. Hill
or Department of Education at any time inform the NZ Police regarding the
Auckland education field Officer suspicions of improprieties may been
committed against pupil/s attending Mt. Wellington Residential school or
seek assistance locating suspected male handyman/relief house master
employee?

 

Allegedly Mr. Hill, Mt. Wellington Residential School principal contacted
the NZ police plus other government institutions seeking assistance in
locating the missing male handyman/relief House master employee suspected
of committing improprieties against pupil/s as NZ Police have no records
regarding any assistance being sought locating missing suspected male
employee or any reported incidents of improprieties being committed
against pupil/s attending   Mt. Wellington Residential school.

WHY?

The Police were notified of this individual's disappearance by the DCWO in
January 1961. We have not found any records that either the DCWO or the
Principal informed Police about the DCWO's suspicions or that a criminal
offence may have been committed by this individual against pupils at the
school.

Information regarding the questions you have asked has been retrieved from
documents which we can provide to you. However, as they contain sensitive
information, we ask that you provide us with a private email address to
which this information can be sent.

Please also note that the Ministry has recently published a report
regarding Mt. Wellington/Waimokoia Residential School which can be
accessed from the following page on our website:
[1]https://www.education.govt.nz/our-work/o...

Thank you again for your email. You have the right to ask an Ombudsman to
review my decision on your request, in accordance with section 28 of the
Act. You can do this by writing to [2][email address] or to
Office of the Ombudsman, PO Box 10152, Wellington 6143.   

Nāku noa, nā,

Official and Parliamentary Information | Ministry of Education | CM

[3]education.govt.nz

He mea tārai e mātou te mātauranga kia rangatira ai, kia mana taurite ai
ōna huanga
We shape an education system that delivers equitable and excellent
outcomes

[4]Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga

 

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Tēnā koe mō tō īmēra mai ki te Tāhuhu o Thank you for your email to the
te Mātauranga.   Ministry of Education.  

     

He urupare aunoa tēnei hei whakaatu kua This is an auto generated response
tae mai tō īmēra confirming your email has been
ki a mātou. Kaua noa e whakautu i tēnei received. Please do not respond to this
karere.   message.  

     

Mea ake nei ka urupare tonu atu mātou ki We will respond to your email as soon
tō īmēra.   as possible.  

 

  

show quoted sections