Dear Education Review Office,

Tēnā koutou,

I am making the following request under the Official Information Act 1982.

I am seeking information relating to whether, and if so how, the Education Review Office (ERO) considers school governance, wellbeing, educational participation, or family engagement issues where a school Board or Principal issues a trespass notice against the parent(s) of an enrolled student.

This request is intended as a governance and evaluation clarification request. I am not asking ERO to investigate an individual school or complaint through this correspondence.

Requested information

Please provide copies of any:

1. Guidance, internal practice material, evaluation indicators, frameworks, policy documents, reviewer guidance, aide memoires, manuals, or training material held by ERO relating to:

• school use of trespass notices involving parents or caregivers of enrolled students;
• parent exclusion from school grounds;
• restrictions on parent participation or engagement;
• family-school relationship breakdowns where they may affect an enrolled child;
• impacts on student wellbeing, belonging, attendance, educational participation, or pastoral support arising from parent access restrictions.

2. Any ERO evaluation indicators, review criteria, internal guidance, exemplars, or examples of good practice relevant to:

• maintaining student wellbeing and belonging where a parent is excluded from school grounds;
• preserving constructive family-school relationships during conflict;
• communication arrangements where ordinary parent-school access is restricted;
• Board governance and proportionality considerations where restrictions involving parents may affect an enrolled child.

3. Any reports, discussion papers, internal briefings, governance papers, internal correspondence, or other material held by ERO since 1 January 2015 concerning:

• school trespass notices involving current parents of enrolled students;
• parent exclusion and educational participation impacts;
• concerns regarding student wellbeing, attendance, belonging, or family engagement associated with such restrictions;
• whether ERO should consider or evaluate these matters as part of school review activity.

4. Any publicly available or releasable material identifying ERO’s position regarding whether school-parent relationship breakdowns may be relevant to:

• student educational participation;
• child wellbeing and belonging;
• school culture;
• family and community engagement;
• effective school governance.

Clarification requested

If no specific records exist, please advise:

1. Whether ERO considers the effects of parent exclusion or trespass decisions on:

• child belonging;
• attendance;
• wellbeing;
• educational participation;
• family-school partnership;
• communication arrangements affecting ordinary school life.

2. Whether ERO regards such matters as potentially relevant to its evaluation of school culture, governance, student wellbeing, or educational engagement.
3. Whether ERO holds any expectation, evaluative lens, or good practice understanding relating to how schools should maintain student wellbeing and family engagement where restrictions on parent access are in place.

If any part of this request is considered too broad, I would be grateful if ERO could contact me to refine scope under section 13 of the Official Information Act before refusing the request.

I would appreciate the information electronically where possible.

Kind regards,

Spencer Jones