Cheviot Area School — Ministry-held complaint, governance, student discipline, staff-conduct, parent-access, and inter-agency records, 2019–present
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From: SPENCER JONES
Tēnā koutou Ministry of Education,
I request the following official information under the Official Information Act 1982.
This request concerns Cheviot Area School, Hall Street, Cheviot, and covers the period from 1 January 2019 to the date this request is processed.
This request is directed to information held by the Ministry of Education. If any part of the request is more closely connected with information held by another agency or public body, including Cheviot Area School Board, the Education Review Office, or the Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand, please transfer that part under section 14 of the Official Information Act and advise me.
Scope and privacy safeguards
This request is focused on institutional records, Ministry oversight, complaint handling, Board governance, student wellbeing, student discipline processes, staff-conduct processes, parent-school engagement, use of trespass notices, and restrictions on parent or caregiver access.
I am not seeking:
1. private medical information;
2. home addresses;
3. personal student information;
4. identifying details of students, complainants, witnesses, or private individuals;
5. private Police operational information;
6. information about any person’s private residence;
7. untested allegations or gossip.
Where privacy, confidentiality, or sensitivity issues arise, please consider releasing the information in redacted, de-identified, aggregate, summary, or schedule form.
Where information is withheld, please identify:
1. the document or category of information withheld;
2. the date, where this can be released;
3. the broad subject matter;
4. the OIA withholding ground relied upon;
5. whether partial release, redaction, de-identification, or summary release was considered.
Please distinguish clearly between:
1. information not held by the Ministry;
2. information held but withheld;
3. information held by another agency or body;
4. information that requires transfer under section 14.
If the Ministry considers any part of this request is broad or may require substantial collation, please consult me before refusing the request. I am willing for the Ministry to process this request in stages, beginning with registers, tables, counts, schedules, and de-identified summaries.
Part 1 — Complaints, concerns, enquiries, or notifications about Cheviot Area School
Please provide any Ministry-held register entries, tables, complaint logs, file summaries, or other records showing complaints, concerns, enquiries, or notifications received by the Ministry about Cheviot Area School from 1 January 2019 to the date of this request.
Please include, where held and releasable:
1. date received;
2. broad source category, such as parent/caregiver, student, staff member, Board member, community member, agency, or other;
3. broad issue category;
4. Ministry team or office involved;
5. whether the matter was referred, transferred, closed, monitored, escalated, or otherwise actioned;
6. whether the matter involved Board governance, complaints handling, leadership, management, staff conduct, student wellbeing, bullying, health and safety, parent-school engagement, parent access restrictions, trespass notices, stand-downs, suspensions, exclusions, expulsions, or inter-agency involvement;
7. outcome category, where recorded.
Please do not release identifying details of students, complainants, witnesses, or private individuals.
Part 2 — Records of Ministry action, advice, involvement, or escalation
For each matter identified under Part 1, please provide the Ministry-held records of action taken, including:
1. triage notes;
2. file notes;
3. internal emails;
4. correspondence with the school, Board, principal, presiding member, or other school representatives;
5. records of phone calls or meetings;
6. advice notes;
7. escalation notes;
8. risk assessments;
9. closure notes;
10. records of referral to another agency or body.
If full release is not possible, please provide a schedule of the records with dates, document types, broad subject matter, and withholding grounds.
Part 3 — Board governance, complaints handling, and Board capability
Please provide Ministry-held records from 1 January 2019 to the date of this request concerning Cheviot Area School and:
1. Board governance;
2. Board capability;
3. Board complaints handling;
4. Board complaint policies or processes;
5. Board decision-making;
6. Board delegation or authority issues;
7. Board handling of parent or caregiver complaints;
8. Board interaction with Ministry regional staff;
9. Board interaction with NZSBA, NZSTA, or GovHub where known to or facilitated by the Ministry;
10. any consideration of statutory intervention, Limited Statutory Manager support, specialist adviser support, or other Ministry governance support.
This includes records held by the relevant regional office, Education Advisors, national office, legal services, complaints teams, or any Ministry unit involved in school governance or Board support.
Part 4 — Parent-school conflict, trespass notices, and parent access restrictions
Please provide Ministry-held records from 1 January 2019 to the date of this request concerning Cheviot Area School and:
1. the use, proposed use, review, withdrawal, or maintenance of trespass notices;
2. trespass notices involving parents, caregivers, whānau, or community members;
3. restrictions on parent or caregiver access to school grounds;
4. restrictions on parent or caregiver attendance at meetings, interviews, school events, sport, netball, transport arrangements, or school activities;
5. communication restrictions placed on parents or caregivers, including email-only or online-meeting-only arrangements;
6. guidance, advice, or correspondence about procedural fairness, natural justice, proportionality, less restrictive alternatives, child wellbeing, or parent participation where parent access has been restricted;
7. any Ministry advice to Cheviot Area School or its Board about use of the Trespass Act 1980 or parent access restrictions.
Please provide both specific Cheviot-related records and any Ministry guidance that was applied, referred to, or relied on in responding to Cheviot-related matters.
Part 5 — Student discipline: stand-downs, suspensions, exclusions, expulsions, and ENROL records
Please provide de-identified Ministry-held data for Cheviot Area School from 1 January 2019 to the date of this request showing, by year:
1. number of stand-downs;
2. number of suspensions;
3. number of extended suspensions;
4. number of exclusions;
5. number of expulsions;
6. broad reason categories recorded in ENROL or Ministry systems;
7. year level or age-band information, where release will not identify students;
8. gender, ethnicity, disability, or learning-support category data only where already held and where release will not identify students;
9. whether Ministry follow-up, placement support, education adviser involvement, or other intervention occurred.
Please also provide any Ministry-held records from 1 January 2019 to the date of this request concerning Cheviot Area School’s compliance with stand-down, suspension, exclusion, or expulsion processes, including:
1. ENROL notifications;
2. late, corrected, withdrawn, or amended notifications;
3. Ministry advice to the school about SSEE process;
4. Ministry involvement following exclusion or expulsion;
5. records of any concerns about procedural fairness, natural justice, parent notification, guidance and counselling, educational programmes, or record keeping in SSEE matters.
If student privacy prevents full release, please provide aggregate statistics, suppressed-cell tables, or a summary explaining what is held and what is withheld.
Part 6 — Student wellbeing, pastoral support, safeguarding, bullying, and school climate
Please provide Ministry-held records from 1 January 2019 to the date of this request concerning Cheviot Area School and:
1. student wellbeing concerns;
2. pastoral support concerns;
3. bullying or harassment complaints;
4. safeguarding concerns;
5. student safety concerns;
6. student exclusion from ordinary school life or school activities;
7. parent concerns about student wellbeing;
8. Ministry advice or involvement relating to student support plans, pastoral support, learning support, guidance, counselling, or school climate.
Please release information in redacted, de-identified, or summary form where necessary.
Part 7 — Staff conduct, professional standards, employment-process concerns, and Teaching Council referrals
Please provide Ministry-held records from 1 January 2019 to the date of this request concerning Cheviot Area School and:
1. staff conduct concerns;
2. professional standards concerns;
3. competence concerns;
4. complaints about leadership or management conduct;
5. complaints about staff treatment of students, parents, caregivers, or other staff;
6. employment-process concerns known to the Ministry;
7. mandatory reports;
8. referrals or notifications to the Teaching Council;
9. referrals or notifications received from the Teaching Council;
10. Ministry advice to the school or Board about staff conduct, employment process, professional standards, natural justice, investigation process, or complaints handling.
I am not seeking private employment files or private disciplinary details where these cannot lawfully be released. If individualised records cannot be released, please provide:
1. the number of relevant matters by year;
2. broad categories of concern;
3. whether the matter was referred to the Teaching Council or another body;
4. whether the Ministry provided advice, support, monitoring, or escalation;
5. a document schedule with withholding grounds.
For search purposes only, please include records containing any of the following names where those records are connected with Cheviot Area School or Ministry oversight of Cheviot Area School:
1. Cheryl White;
2. Cheryl Anne White;
3. Cheryl Anne Brady;
4. Ginny Neal;
5. Fiona Bush.
This is not a request to publish private personal information about those individuals. The purpose is to identify Ministry-held institutional records relevant to Cheviot Area School governance, staff conduct, complaints handling, student wellbeing, parent engagement, or Ministry oversight.
Part 8 — Inter-agency correspondence and referrals
Please provide Ministry-held records from 1 January 2019 to the date of this request involving Cheviot Area School and correspondence, referrals, notifications, advice, file notes, or records of contact between the Ministry and any of the following:
1. Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand;
2. Education Review Office;
3. Office of the Ombudsman;
4. Office of the Privacy Commissioner;
5. NZSBA, NZSTA, GovHub, or Te Whakarōpūtanga Kaitiaki Kura o Aotearoa;
6. New Zealand Police, but only where the Ministry-held record relates to school governance, school safety, student wellbeing, staff conduct, complaints handling, parent access, school grounds, or school operations.
I am not seeking private Police operational information, information about any person’s private residence, or personal information about private individuals.
Part 9 — Ministry guidance, policies, templates, and advice applied to Cheviot Area School matters
Please provide any Ministry guidance, policy, template, instruction, checklist, or advice document that was applied, referred to, or relied upon by the Ministry from 1 January 2019 to the date of this request in relation to Cheviot Area School matters concerning:
1. Board complaints handling;
2. parent-school conflict;
3. parent access restrictions;
4. trespass notices involving parents, caregivers, or whānau;
5. procedural fairness or natural justice;
6. child wellbeing where parent access is restricted;
7. staff safety and wellbeing in parent-school conflict;
8. staff conduct or professional standards concerns;
9. Teaching Council referrals or mandatory reporting;
10. stand-downs, suspensions, exclusions, and expulsions;
11. Ministry regional-office handling of complaints about school Boards.
If the relevant material is publicly available, please provide the document title and link. If internal guidance exists, please provide the internal document or a schedule identifying it and any withholding grounds.
Part 10 — Records about Cheviot Area School policies, Board minutes, or school-held material known to the Ministry
Please provide any Ministry-held copies, extracts, summaries, or references to Cheviot Area School documents from 1 January 2019 to the date of this request concerning:
1. complaints policy;
2. parent complaints process;
3. Board delegations;
4. staff conduct or disciplinary process;
5. trespass or site-access policy;
6. health and safety policy;
7. student wellbeing or pastoral-care policy;
8. SSEE process documents;
9. Board minutes or Board resolutions relating to complaints, governance, parent access, trespass, staff conduct, student wellbeing, or SSEE matters.
If the Ministry does not hold these records but considers the Cheviot Area School Board is more likely to hold them, please transfer this part of the request to the Board under section 14.
Part 11 — Search record and response schedule
To assist transparency, please identify:
1. which Ministry business units, teams, offices, or databases were searched;
2. whether regional office records were searched;
3. whether Education Advisor records were searched;
4. whether ENROL/SSEE records were searched;
5. whether complaint-tracking systems or correspondence systems were searched;
6. whether legal, governance, learning support, student support, or Board support records were searched;
7. what search terms were used, where relevant.
Please provide a document schedule for any documents withheld in full or in part, including:
1. date;
2. document type;
3. author or team role, where this can be released;
4. recipient or receiving team, where this can be released;
5. broad subject matter;
6. whether withheld in full or in part;
7. OIA ground relied upon;
8. whether redaction, summary, or de-identification was considered.
Part 12 — Prioritisation if refinement is required
If the Ministry considers the request may require substantial collation or research, please do not refuse without first consulting me.
If staged processing is required, please prioritise release in this order:
Priority 1:
Complaint registers, logs, tables, summaries, or aggregate counts for Cheviot Area School from 2019 to present.
Priority 2:
SSEE / ENROL aggregate data and any Ministry records of SSEE advice, intervention, or concern.
Priority 3:
Records relating to parent access restrictions, trespass notices, parent-school conflict, and Ministry advice about procedural fairness, proportionality, and child wellbeing.
Priority 4:
Records relating to Board governance, Board complaints handling, Board capability, statutory support, or Ministry regional-office involvement.
Priority 5:
De-identified or aggregate records relating to staff conduct, professional standards, Teaching Council referrals, or Ministry advice about staff-conduct processes.
Priority 6:
Inter-agency correspondence and document schedules.
Preferred format
Please provide the information electronically.
Where tables, registers, spreadsheets, or structured data exist, I prefer these in searchable electronic form.
Purpose of request
The purpose of this request is to understand Ministry-held records and oversight concerning Cheviot Area School from 2019 to the present, including complaints handling, Board governance, student wellbeing, student discipline, staff-conduct processes, parent access restrictions, and inter-agency involvement.
This request is not intended to seek private medical information, identify students or complainants, publish untested allegations, or intrude into private matters. Where privacy applies, I ask that the Ministry provide de-identified, redacted, aggregate, or schedule-based information wherever possible.
Kind regards,
Spencer Jones
From: Enquiries National
Ministry of Education
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From: Enquiries National
Ministry of Education
[UNCLASSIFIED]
Kia ora
Thank you for the information request 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 24th of July 2026. 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.
In the interim, if you have any questions about your request, please email [email address].
Ngā mihi
Enquiries National Team | Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga | Ministry of Education | MC education.govt.nz
We shape an education system that delivers equitable and excellent outcomes He mea tārai e mātou te mātauranga kia rangatira ai, kia mana taurite ai ōna huanga
-----Original Message-----
From: SPENCER JONES <[FOI #34970 email]>
Sent: Thursday, 25 June 2026 8:16 pm
To: Enquiries National <[email address]>
Subject: Official Information request - Cheviot Area School — Ministry-held complaint, governance, student discipline, staff-conduct, parent-access, and inter-agency records, 2019–present
[You don't often get email from [FOI #34970 email]. Learn why this is important at https://aka.ms/LearnAboutSenderIdentific... ]
Tēnā koutou Ministry of Education,
I request the following official information under the Official Information Act 1982.
This request concerns Cheviot Area School, Hall Street, Cheviot, and covers the period from 1 January 2019 to the date this request is processed.
This request is directed to information held by the Ministry of Education. If any part of the request is more closely connected with information held by another agency or public body, including Cheviot Area School Board, the Education Review Office, or the Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand, please transfer that part under section 14 of the Official Information Act and advise me.
Scope and privacy safeguards
This request is focused on institutional records, Ministry oversight, complaint handling, Board governance, student wellbeing, student discipline processes, staff-conduct processes, parent-school engagement, use of trespass notices, and restrictions on parent or caregiver access.
I am not seeking:
1. private medical information;
2. home addresses;
3. personal student information;
4. identifying details of students, complainants, witnesses, or private individuals; 5. private Police operational information; 6. information about any person’s private residence; 7. untested allegations or gossip.
Where privacy, confidentiality, or sensitivity issues arise, please consider releasing the information in redacted, de-identified, aggregate, summary, or schedule form.
Where information is withheld, please identify:
1. the document or category of information withheld; 2. the date, where this can be released; 3. the broad subject matter; 4. the OIA withholding ground relied upon; 5. whether partial release, redaction, de-identification, or summary release was considered.
Please distinguish clearly between:
1. information not held by the Ministry; 2. information held but withheld; 3. information held by another agency or body; 4. information that requires transfer under section 14.
If the Ministry considers any part of this request is broad or may require substantial collation, please consult me before refusing the request. I am willing for the Ministry to process this request in stages, beginning with registers, tables, counts, schedules, and de-identified summaries.
Part 1 — Complaints, concerns, enquiries, or notifications about Cheviot Area School
Please provide any Ministry-held register entries, tables, complaint logs, file summaries, or other records showing complaints, concerns, enquiries, or notifications received by the Ministry about Cheviot Area School from 1 January 2019 to the date of this request.
Please include, where held and releasable:
1. date received;
2. broad source category, such as parent/caregiver, student, staff member, Board member, community member, agency, or other; 3. broad issue category; 4. Ministry team or office involved; 5. whether the matter was referred, transferred, closed, monitored, escalated, or otherwise actioned; 6. whether the matter involved Board governance, complaints handling, leadership, management, staff conduct, student wellbeing, bullying, health and safety, parent-school engagement, parent access restrictions, trespass notices, stand-downs, suspensions, exclusions, expulsions, or inter-agency involvement; 7. outcome category, where recorded.
Please do not release identifying details of students, complainants, witnesses, or private individuals.
Part 2 — Records of Ministry action, advice, involvement, or escalation
For each matter identified under Part 1, please provide the Ministry-held records of action taken, including:
1. triage notes;
2. file notes;
3. internal emails;
4. correspondence with the school, Board, principal, presiding member, or other school representatives; 5. records of phone calls or meetings; 6. advice notes; 7. escalation notes; 8. risk assessments; 9. closure notes; 10. records of referral to another agency or body.
If full release is not possible, please provide a schedule of the records with dates, document types, broad subject matter, and withholding grounds.
Part 3 — Board governance, complaints handling, and Board capability
Please provide Ministry-held records from 1 January 2019 to the date of this request concerning Cheviot Area School and:
1. Board governance;
2. Board capability;
3. Board complaints handling;
4. Board complaint policies or processes; 5. Board decision-making; 6. Board delegation or authority issues; 7. Board handling of parent or caregiver complaints; 8. Board interaction with Ministry regional staff; 9. Board interaction with NZSBA, NZSTA, or GovHub where known to or facilitated by the Ministry; 10. any consideration of statutory intervention, Limited Statutory Manager support, specialist adviser support, or other Ministry governance support.
This includes records held by the relevant regional office, Education Advisors, national office, legal services, complaints teams, or any Ministry unit involved in school governance or Board support.
Part 4 — Parent-school conflict, trespass notices, and parent access restrictions
Please provide Ministry-held records from 1 January 2019 to the date of this request concerning Cheviot Area School and:
1. the use, proposed use, review, withdrawal, or maintenance of trespass notices; 2. trespass notices involving parents, caregivers, whānau, or community members; 3. restrictions on parent or caregiver access to school grounds; 4. restrictions on parent or caregiver attendance at meetings, interviews, school events, sport, netball, transport arrangements, or school activities; 5. communication restrictions placed on parents or caregivers, including email-only or online-meeting-only arrangements; 6. guidance, advice, or correspondence about procedural fairness, natural justice, proportionality, less restrictive alternatives, child wellbeing, or parent participation where parent access has been restricted; 7. any Ministry advice to Cheviot Area School or its Board about use of the Trespass Act 1980 or parent access restrictions.
Please provide both specific Cheviot-related records and any Ministry guidance that was applied, referred to, or relied on in responding to Cheviot-related matters.
Part 5 — Student discipline: stand-downs, suspensions, exclusions, expulsions, and ENROL records
Please provide de-identified Ministry-held data for Cheviot Area School from 1 January 2019 to the date of this request showing, by year:
1. number of stand-downs;
2. number of suspensions;
3. number of extended suspensions;
4. number of exclusions;
5. number of expulsions;
6. broad reason categories recorded in ENROL or Ministry systems; 7. year level or age-band information, where release will not identify students; 8. gender, ethnicity, disability, or learning-support category data only where already held and where release will not identify students; 9. whether Ministry follow-up, placement support, education adviser involvement, or other intervention occurred.
Please also provide any Ministry-held records from 1 January 2019 to the date of this request concerning Cheviot Area School’s compliance with stand-down, suspension, exclusion, or expulsion processes, including:
1. ENROL notifications;
2. late, corrected, withdrawn, or amended notifications; 3. Ministry advice to the school about SSEE process; 4. Ministry involvement following exclusion or expulsion; 5. records of any concerns about procedural fairness, natural justice, parent notification, guidance and counselling, educational programmes, or record keeping in SSEE matters.
If student privacy prevents full release, please provide aggregate statistics, suppressed-cell tables, or a summary explaining what is held and what is withheld.
Part 6 — Student wellbeing, pastoral support, safeguarding, bullying, and school climate
Please provide Ministry-held records from 1 January 2019 to the date of this request concerning Cheviot Area School and:
1. student wellbeing concerns;
2. pastoral support concerns;
3. bullying or harassment complaints;
4. safeguarding concerns;
5. student safety concerns;
6. student exclusion from ordinary school life or school activities; 7. parent concerns about student wellbeing; 8. Ministry advice or involvement relating to student support plans, pastoral support, learning support, guidance, counselling, or school climate.
Please release information in redacted, de-identified, or summary form where necessary.
Part 7 — Staff conduct, professional standards, employment-process concerns, and Teaching Council referrals
Please provide Ministry-held records from 1 January 2019 to the date of this request concerning Cheviot Area School and:
1. staff conduct concerns;
2. professional standards concerns;
3. competence concerns;
4. complaints about leadership or management conduct; 5. complaints about staff treatment of students, parents, caregivers, or other staff; 6. employment-process concerns known to the Ministry; 7. mandatory reports; 8. referrals or notifications to the Teaching Council; 9. referrals or notifications received from the Teaching Council; 10. Ministry advice to the school or Board about staff conduct, employment process, professional standards, natural justice, investigation process, or complaints handling.
I am not seeking private employment files or private disciplinary details where these cannot lawfully be released. If individualised records cannot be released, please provide:
1. the number of relevant matters by year; 2. broad categories of concern; 3. whether the matter was referred to the Teaching Council or another body; 4. whether the Ministry provided advice, support, monitoring, or escalation; 5. a document schedule with withholding grounds.
For search purposes only, please include records containing any of the following names where those records are connected with Cheviot Area School or Ministry oversight of Cheviot Area School:
1. Cheryl White;
2. Cheryl Anne White;
3. Cheryl Anne Brady;
4. Ginny Neal;
5. Fiona Bush.
This is not a request to publish private personal information about those individuals. The purpose is to identify Ministry-held institutional records relevant to Cheviot Area School governance, staff conduct, complaints handling, student wellbeing, parent engagement, or Ministry oversight.
Part 8 — Inter-agency correspondence and referrals
Please provide Ministry-held records from 1 January 2019 to the date of this request involving Cheviot Area School and correspondence, referrals, notifications, advice, file notes, or records of contact between the Ministry and any of the following:
1. Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand; 2. Education Review Office; 3. Office of the Ombudsman; 4. Office of the Privacy Commissioner; 5. NZSBA, NZSTA, GovHub, or Te Whakarōpūtanga Kaitiaki Kura o Aotearoa; 6. New Zealand Police, but only where the Ministry-held record relates to school governance, school safety, student wellbeing, staff conduct, complaints handling, parent access, school grounds, or school operations.
I am not seeking private Police operational information, information about any person’s private residence, or personal information about private individuals.
Part 9 — Ministry guidance, policies, templates, and advice applied to Cheviot Area School matters
Please provide any Ministry guidance, policy, template, instruction, checklist, or advice document that was applied, referred to, or relied upon by the Ministry from 1 January 2019 to the date of this request in relation to Cheviot Area School matters concerning:
1. Board complaints handling;
2. parent-school conflict;
3. parent access restrictions;
4. trespass notices involving parents, caregivers, or whānau; 5. procedural fairness or natural justice; 6. child wellbeing where parent access is restricted; 7. staff safety and wellbeing in parent-school conflict; 8. staff conduct or professional standards concerns; 9. Teaching Council referrals or mandatory reporting; 10. stand-downs, suspensions, exclusions, and expulsions; 11. Ministry regional-office handling of complaints about school Boards.
If the relevant material is publicly available, please provide the document title and link. If internal guidance exists, please provide the internal document or a schedule identifying it and any withholding grounds.
Part 10 — Records about Cheviot Area School policies, Board minutes, or school-held material known to the Ministry
Please provide any Ministry-held copies, extracts, summaries, or references to Cheviot Area School documents from 1 January 2019 to the date of this request concerning:
1. complaints policy;
2. parent complaints process;
3. Board delegations;
4. staff conduct or disciplinary process; 5. trespass or site-access policy; 6. health and safety policy; 7. student wellbeing or pastoral-care policy; 8. SSEE process documents; 9. Board minutes or Board resolutions relating to complaints, governance, parent access, trespass, staff conduct, student wellbeing, or SSEE matters.
If the Ministry does not hold these records but considers the Cheviot Area School Board is more likely to hold them, please transfer this part of the request to the Board under section 14.
Part 11 — Search record and response schedule
To assist transparency, please identify:
1. which Ministry business units, teams, offices, or databases were searched; 2. whether regional office records were searched; 3. whether Education Advisor records were searched; 4. whether ENROL/SSEE records were searched; 5. whether complaint-tracking systems or correspondence systems were searched; 6. whether legal, governance, learning support, student support, or Board support records were searched; 7. what search terms were used, where relevant.
Please provide a document schedule for any documents withheld in full or in part, including:
1. date;
2. document type;
3. author or team role, where this can be released; 4. recipient or receiving team, where this can be released; 5. broad subject matter; 6. whether withheld in full or in part; 7. OIA ground relied upon; 8. whether redaction, summary, or de-identification was considered.
Part 12 — Prioritisation if refinement is required
If the Ministry considers the request may require substantial collation or research, please do not refuse without first consulting me.
If staged processing is required, please prioritise release in this order:
Priority 1:
Complaint registers, logs, tables, summaries, or aggregate counts for Cheviot Area School from 2019 to present.
Priority 2:
SSEE / ENROL aggregate data and any Ministry records of SSEE advice, intervention, or concern.
Priority 3:
Records relating to parent access restrictions, trespass notices, parent-school conflict, and Ministry advice about procedural fairness, proportionality, and child wellbeing.
Priority 4:
Records relating to Board governance, Board complaints handling, Board capability, statutory support, or Ministry regional-office involvement.
Priority 5:
De-identified or aggregate records relating to staff conduct, professional standards, Teaching Council referrals, or Ministry advice about staff-conduct processes.
Priority 6:
Inter-agency correspondence and document schedules.
Preferred format
Please provide the information electronically.
Where tables, registers, spreadsheets, or structured data exist, I prefer these in searchable electronic form.
Purpose of request
The purpose of this request is to understand Ministry-held records and oversight concerning Cheviot Area School from 2019 to the present, including complaints handling, Board governance, student wellbeing, student discipline, staff-conduct processes, parent access restrictions, and inter-agency involvement.
This request is not intended to seek private medical information, identify students or complainants, publish untested allegations, or intrude into private matters. Where privacy applies, I ask that the Ministry provide de-identified, redacted, aggregate, or schedule-based information wherever possible.
Kind regards,
Spencer Jones
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DISCLAIMER:
This email and any attachments may contain information that is confidential and subject to legal privilege. If you are not the intended recipient, any use, dissemination, distribution or duplication of this email and attachments is prohibited. If you have received this email in error please notify the author immediately and erase all copies of the email and attachments. The Ministry of Education accepts no responsibility for changes made to this message or attachments after transmission from the Ministry.
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From: Enquiries National
Ministry of Education
[IN-CONFIDENCE - RELEASE EXTERNAL]
Kia ora Spencer
Thank you for your email of 25 June 2026 to the Ministry of Education (the
Ministry) requesting the following under the Official Information Act 1982
(the Act):
This request concerns Cheviot Area School, Hall Street, Cheviot, and
covers the period from 1 January 2019 to the date this request is
processed.
This request is directed to information held by the Ministry of Education.
If any part of the request is more closely connected with information held
by another agency or public body, including Cheviot Area School Board, the
Education Review Office, or the Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand,
please transfer that part under section 14 of the Official Information Act
and advise me.
Scope and privacy safeguards
This request is focused on institutional records, Ministry oversight,
complaint handling, Board governance, student wellbeing, student
discipline processes, staff-conduct processes, parent-school engagement,
use of trespass notices, and restrictions on parent or caregiver access.
I am not seeking:
1. private medical information;
2. home addresses;
3. personal student information;
4. identifying details of students, complainants, witnesses, or private
individuals; 5. private Police operational information; 6. information
about any person’s private residence; 7. untested allegations or gossip.
Where privacy, confidentiality, or sensitivity issues arise, please
consider releasing the information in redacted, de-identified, aggregate,
summary, or schedule form.
Where information is withheld, please identify:
1. the document or category of information withheld; 2. the date, where
this can be released; 3. the broad subject matter; 4. the OIA withholding
ground relied upon; 5. whether partial release, redaction,
de-identification, or summary release was considered.
Please distinguish clearly between:
1. information not held by the Ministry; 2. information held but withheld;
3. information held by another agency or body; 4. information that
requires transfer under section 14.
If the Ministry considers any part of this request is broad or may require
substantial collation, please consult me before refusing the request. I am
willing for the Ministry to process this request in stages, beginning with
registers, tables, counts, schedules, and de-identified summaries.
Part 1 — Complaints, concerns, enquiries, or notifications about Cheviot
Area School
Please provide any Ministry-held register entries, tables, complaint logs,
file summaries, or other records showing complaints, concerns, enquiries,
or notifications received by the Ministry about Cheviot Area School from 1
January 2019 to the date of this request.
Please include, where held and releasable:
1. date received;
2. broad source category, such as parent/caregiver, student, staff member,
Board member, community member, agency, or other; 3. broad issue category;
4. Ministry team or office involved; 5. whether the matter was referred,
transferred, closed, monitored, escalated, or otherwise actioned; 6.
whether the matter involved Board governance, complaints handling,
leadership, management, staff conduct, student wellbeing, bullying, health
and safety, parent-school engagement, parent access restrictions, trespass
notices, stand-downs, suspensions, exclusions, expulsions, or inter-agency
involvement; 7. outcome category, where recorded.
Please do not release identifying details of students, complainants,
witnesses, or private individuals.
Part 2 — Records of Ministry action, advice, involvement, or escalation
For each matter identified under Part 1, please provide the Ministry-held
records of action taken, including:
1. triage notes;
2. file notes;
3. internal emails;
4. correspondence with the school, Board, principal, presiding member, or
other school representatives; 5. records of phone calls or meetings; 6.
advice notes; 7. escalation notes; 8. risk assessments; 9. closure notes;
10. records of referral to another agency or body.
If full release is not possible, please provide a schedule of the records
with dates, document types, broad subject matter, and withholding grounds.
Part 3 — Board governance, complaints handling, and Board capability
Please provide Ministry-held records from 1 January 2019 to the date of
this request concerning Cheviot Area School and:
1. Board governance;
2. Board capability;
3. Board complaints handling;
4. Board complaint policies or processes; 5. Board decision-making; 6.
Board delegation or authority issues; 7. Board handling of parent or
caregiver complaints; 8. Board interaction with Ministry regional staff;
9. Board interaction with NZSBA, NZSTA, or GovHub where known to or
facilitated by the Ministry; 10. any consideration of statutory
intervention, Limited Statutory Manager support, specialist adviser
support, or other Ministry governance support.
This includes records held by the relevant regional office, Education
Advisors, national office, legal services, complaints teams, or any
Ministry unit involved in school governance or Board support.
Part 4 — Parent-school conflict, trespass notices, and parent access
restrictions
Please provide Ministry-held records from 1 January 2019 to the date of
this request concerning Cheviot Area School and:
1. the use, proposed use, review, withdrawal, or maintenance of trespass
notices; 2. trespass notices involving parents, caregivers, whānau, or
community members; 3. restrictions on parent or caregiver access to school
grounds; 4. restrictions on parent or caregiver attendance at meetings,
interviews, school events, sport, netball, transport arrangements, or
school activities; 5. communication restrictions placed on parents or
caregivers, including email-only or online-meeting-only arrangements; 6.
guidance, advice, or correspondence about procedural fairness, natural
justice, proportionality, less restrictive alternatives, child wellbeing,
or parent participation where parent access has been restricted; 7. any
Ministry advice to Cheviot Area School or its Board about use of the
Trespass Act 1980 or parent access restrictions.
Please provide both specific Cheviot-related records and any Ministry
guidance that was applied, referred to, or relied on in responding to
Cheviot-related matters.
Part 5 — Student discipline: stand-downs, suspensions, exclusions,
expulsions, and ENROL records
Please provide de-identified Ministry-held data for Cheviot Area School
from 1 January 2019 to the date of this request showing, by year:
1. number of stand-downs;
2. number of suspensions;
3. number of extended suspensions;
4. number of exclusions;
5. number of expulsions;
6. broad reason categories recorded in ENROL or Ministry systems; 7. year
level or age-band information, where release will not identify students;
8. gender, ethnicity, disability, or learning-support category data only
where already held and where release will not identify students; 9.
whether Ministry follow-up, placement support, education adviser
involvement, or other intervention occurred.
Please also provide any Ministry-held records from 1 January 2019 to the
date of this request concerning Cheviot Area School’s compliance with
stand-down, suspension, exclusion, or expulsion processes, including:
1. ENROL notifications;
2. late, corrected, withdrawn, or amended notifications; 3. Ministry
advice to the school about SSEE process; 4. Ministry involvement following
exclusion or expulsion; 5. records of any concerns about procedural
fairness, natural justice, parent notification, guidance and counselling,
educational programmes, or record keeping in SSEE matters.
If student privacy prevents full release, please provide aggregate
statistics, suppressed-cell tables, or a summary explaining what is held
and what is withheld.
Part 6 — Student wellbeing, pastoral support, safeguarding, bullying, and
school climate
Please provide Ministry-held records from 1 January 2019 to the date of
this request concerning Cheviot Area School and:
1. student wellbeing concerns;
2. pastoral support concerns;
3. bullying or harassment complaints;
4. safeguarding concerns;
5. student safety concerns;
6. student exclusion from ordinary school life or school activities; 7.
parent concerns about student wellbeing; 8. Ministry advice or involvement
relating to student support plans, pastoral support, learning support,
guidance, counselling, or school climate.
Please release information in redacted, de-identified, or summary form
where necessary.
Part 7 — Staff conduct, professional standards, employment-process
concerns, and Teaching Council referrals
Please provide Ministry-held records from 1 January 2019 to the date of
this request concerning Cheviot Area School and:
1. staff conduct concerns;
2. professional standards concerns;
3. competence concerns;
4. complaints about leadership or management conduct; 5. complaints about
staff treatment of students, parents, caregivers, or other staff; 6.
employment-process concerns known to the Ministry; 7. mandatory reports;
8. referrals or notifications to the Teaching Council; 9. referrals or
notifications received from the Teaching Council; 10. Ministry advice to
the school or Board about staff conduct, employment process, professional
standards, natural justice, investigation process, or complaints handling.
I am not seeking private employment files or private disciplinary details
where these cannot lawfully be released. If individualised records cannot
be released, please provide:
1. the number of relevant matters by year; 2. broad categories of concern;
3. whether the matter was referred to the Teaching Council or another
body; 4. whether the Ministry provided advice, support, monitoring, or
escalation; 5. a document schedule with withholding grounds.
For search purposes only, please include records containing any of the
following names where those records are connected with Cheviot Area School
or Ministry oversight of Cheviot Area School:
1. Cheryl White;
2. Cheryl Anne White;
3. Cheryl Anne Brady;
4. Ginny Neal;
5. Fiona Bush.
This is not a request to publish private personal information about those
individuals. The purpose is to identify Ministry-held institutional
records relevant to Cheviot Area School governance, staff conduct,
complaints handling, student wellbeing, parent engagement, or Ministry
oversight.
Part 8 — Inter-agency correspondence and referrals
Please provide Ministry-held records from 1 January 2019 to the date of
this request involving Cheviot Area School and correspondence, referrals,
notifications, advice, file notes, or records of contact between the
Ministry and any of the following:
1. Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand; 2. Education Review Office;
3. Office of the Ombudsman; 4. Office of the Privacy Commissioner; 5.
NZSBA, NZSTA, GovHub, or Te Whakarōpūtanga Kaitiaki Kura o Aotearoa; 6.
New Zealand Police, but only where the Ministry-held record relates to
school governance, school safety, student wellbeing, staff conduct,
complaints handling, parent access, school grounds, or school operations.
I am not seeking private Police operational information, information about
any person’s private residence, or personal information about private
individuals.
Part 9 — Ministry guidance, policies, templates, and advice applied to
Cheviot Area School matters
Please provide any Ministry guidance, policy, template, instruction,
checklist, or advice document that was applied, referred to, or relied
upon by the Ministry from 1 January 2019 to the date of this request in
relation to Cheviot Area School matters concerning:
1. Board complaints handling;
2. parent-school conflict;
3. parent access restrictions;
4. trespass notices involving parents, caregivers, or whānau; 5.
procedural fairness or natural justice; 6. child wellbeing where parent
access is restricted; 7. staff safety and wellbeing in parent-school
conflict; 8. staff conduct or professional standards concerns; 9. Teaching
Council referrals or mandatory reporting; 10. stand-downs, suspensions,
exclusions, and expulsions; 11. Ministry regional-office handling of
complaints about school Boards.
If the relevant material is publicly available, please provide the
document title and link. If internal guidance exists, please provide the
internal document or a schedule identifying it and any withholding
grounds.
Part 10 — Records about Cheviot Area School policies, Board minutes, or
school-held material known to the Ministry
Please provide any Ministry-held copies, extracts, summaries, or
references to Cheviot Area School documents from 1 January 2019 to the
date of this request concerning:
1. complaints policy;
2. parent complaints process;
3. Board delegations;
4. staff conduct or disciplinary process; 5. trespass or site-access
policy; 6. health and safety policy; 7. student wellbeing or pastoral-care
policy; 8. SSEE process documents; 9. Board minutes or Board resolutions
relating to complaints, governance, parent access, trespass, staff
conduct, student wellbeing, or SSEE matters.
If the Ministry does not hold these records but considers the Cheviot Area
School Board is more likely to hold them, please transfer this part of the
request to the Board under section 14.
Part 11 — Search record and response schedule
To assist transparency, please identify:
1. which Ministry business units, teams, offices, or databases were
searched; 2. whether regional office records were searched; 3. whether
Education Advisor records were searched; 4. whether ENROL/SSEE records
were searched; 5. whether complaint-tracking systems or correspondence
systems were searched; 6. whether legal, governance, learning support,
student support, or Board support records were searched; 7. what search
terms were used, where relevant.
Please provide a document schedule for any documents withheld in full or
in part, including:
1. date;
2. document type;
3. author or team role, where this can be released; 4. recipient or
receiving team, where this can be released; 5. broad subject matter; 6.
whether withheld in full or in part; 7. OIA ground relied upon; 8. whether
redaction, summary, or de-identification was considered.
Part 12 — Prioritisation if refinement is required
If the Ministry considers the request may require substantial collation or
research, please do not refuse without first consulting me.
If staged processing is required, please prioritise release in this order:
Priority 1:
Complaint registers, logs, tables, summaries, or aggregate counts for
Cheviot Area School from 2019 to present.
Priority 2:
SSEE / ENROL aggregate data and any Ministry records of SSEE advice,
intervention, or concern.
Priority 3:
Records relating to parent access restrictions, trespass notices,
parent-school conflict, and Ministry advice about procedural fairness,
proportionality, and child wellbeing.
Priority 4:
Records relating to Board governance, Board complaints handling, Board
capability, statutory support, or Ministry regional-office involvement.
Priority 5:
De-identified or aggregate records relating to staff conduct, professional
standards, Teaching Council referrals, or Ministry advice about
staff-conduct processes.
Priority 6:
Inter-agency correspondence and document schedules.
Preferred format
Please provide the information electronically.
Where tables, registers, spreadsheets, or structured data exist, I prefer
these in searchable electronic form.
Purpose of request
The purpose of this request is to understand Ministry-held records and
oversight concerning Cheviot Area School from 2019 to the present,
including complaints handling, Board governance, student wellbeing,
student discipline, staff-conduct processes, parent access restrictions,
and inter-agency involvement.
This request is not intended to seek private medical information, identify
students or complainants, publish untested allegations, or intrude into
private matters. Where privacy applies, I ask that the Ministry provide
de-identified, redacted, aggregate, or schedule-based information wherever
possible.
Your request, as currently worded, is broad in nature and scope. As it
stands your request covers a broad range of document types, relating to 10
different topics for over a seven-year period.
While we appreciate your suggestion to prioritise aspects of your request,
taken altogether, your request would still amount to substantial collation
under the OIA.
To avoid refusal of your request, we would like to invite you to refine
the scope.
We have identified the following which may assist you in clarifying your
request:
o Limiting your request to a summary of complaints received by the
Ministry about Cheviot Area School AND stand-down, suspension,
exclusion, or expulsion data held by the Ministry about Cheviot Area
School, for a narrower timeframe, such as the 2023 – 2025 full
calendar years.
We look forward to hearing from you. Once we have your
refinement/clarification, we will commence work on your request.
Please note that, in line with section 15 (1AA) of the Act, if refinement
or clarification of a request is sought within seven working days of the
date on which the request was received, the Ministry may treat the amended
or clarified request as a new request that replaces the original request
for the purposes of calculating the timeframe.
Ngā mihi
Official and Parliamentary Information | Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga |
Ministry of Education | KJ
[1]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
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References
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hide quoted sections
From: Enquiries National
Ministry of Education
[IN-CONFIDENCE - RELEASE EXTERNAL]
Tēnā koe Spencer,
Thank you for your email of 25 June 2026 to the Ministry of Education (the
Ministry) requesting information about Cheviot Area School.
Your request has been considered under the Official Information Act 1982
(the Act).
On 6 July 2026, we wrote to you seeking clarification of your request, as
we considered it was likely to require substantial collation and research
(please see the email below). We invited you to refine the scope of your
request and suggested a more targeted approach.
As we have not received a response, we have assessed your request as
originally framed.
Your request seeks a broad range of information across multiple subject
areas over a period of more than seven years. Responding to that request
would require extensive searches across multiple business groups, systems,
records repositories, and staff-held information, together with
significant review and assessment of any information identified.
We have therefore determined that the information requested cannot be made
available without substantial collation or research. Accordingly, your
request is refused under section 18(f) of the Act.
The Ministry remains willing to assist should you wish to submit a more
targeted request. A request focused on particular topics, records, or a
shorter timeframe would be more manageable and more likely to enable us to
provide information.
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 [1][email address] or to
Office of the Ombudsman, PO Box 10152, Wellington 6143.
Nāku noa, nā,
Official and Parliamentary Information | Ministry of Education | TF
[2]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
From: Enquiries National
Sent: Monday, 6 July 2026 1:40 pm
To: '[FOI #34970 email]'
<[FOI #34970 email]>
Subject: OIA GEMS-48879 - Clarification
Kia ora Spencer
Thank you for your email of 25 June 2026 to the Ministry of Education (the
Ministry) requesting the following under the Official Information Act 1982
(the Act):
This request concerns Cheviot Area School, Hall Street, Cheviot, and
covers the period from 1 January 2019 to the date this request is
processed.
This request is directed to information held by the Ministry of Education.
If any part of the request is more closely connected with information held
by another agency or public body, including Cheviot Area School Board, the
Education Review Office, or the Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand,
please transfer that part under section 14 of the Official Information Act
and advise me.
Scope and privacy safeguards
This request is focused on institutional records, Ministry oversight,
complaint handling, Board governance, student wellbeing, student
discipline processes, staff-conduct processes, parent-school engagement,
use of trespass notices, and restrictions on parent or caregiver access.
I am not seeking:
1. private medical information;
2. home addresses;
3. personal student information;
4. identifying details of students, complainants, witnesses, or private
individuals; 5. private Police operational information; 6. information
about any person’s private residence; 7. untested allegations or gossip.
Where privacy, confidentiality, or sensitivity issues arise, please
consider releasing the information in redacted, de-identified, aggregate,
summary, or schedule form.
Where information is withheld, please identify:
1. the document or category of information withheld; 2. the date, where
this can be released; 3. the broad subject matter; 4. the OIA withholding
ground relied upon; 5. whether partial release, redaction,
de-identification, or summary release was considered.
Please distinguish clearly between:
1. information not held by the Ministry; 2. information held but withheld;
3. information held by another agency or body; 4. information that
requires transfer under section 14.
If the Ministry considers any part of this request is broad or may require
substantial collation, please consult me before refusing the request. I am
willing for the Ministry to process this request in stages, beginning with
registers, tables, counts, schedules, and de-identified summaries.
Part 1 — Complaints, concerns, enquiries, or notifications about Cheviot
Area School
Please provide any Ministry-held register entries, tables, complaint logs,
file summaries, or other records showing complaints, concerns, enquiries,
or notifications received by the Ministry about Cheviot Area School from 1
January 2019 to the date of this request.
Please include, where held and releasable:
1. date received;
2. broad source category, such as parent/caregiver, student, staff member,
Board member, community member, agency, or other; 3. broad issue category;
4. Ministry team or office involved; 5. whether the matter was referred,
transferred, closed, monitored, escalated, or otherwise actioned; 6.
whether the matter involved Board governance, complaints handling,
leadership, management, staff conduct, student wellbeing, bullying, health
and safety, parent-school engagement, parent access restrictions, trespass
notices, stand-downs, suspensions, exclusions, expulsions, or inter-agency
involvement; 7. outcome category, where recorded.
Please do not release identifying details of students, complainants,
witnesses, or private individuals.
Part 2 — Records of Ministry action, advice, involvement, or escalation
For each matter identified under Part 1, please provide the Ministry-held
records of action taken, including:
1. triage notes;
2. file notes;
3. internal emails;
4. correspondence with the school, Board, principal, presiding member, or
other school representatives; 5. records of phone calls or meetings; 6.
advice notes; 7. escalation notes; 8. risk assessments; 9. closure notes;
10. records of referral to another agency or body.
If full release is not possible, please provide a schedule of the records
with dates, document types, broad subject matter, and withholding grounds.
Part 3 — Board governance, complaints handling, and Board capability
Please provide Ministry-held records from 1 January 2019 to the date of
this request concerning Cheviot Area School and:
1. Board governance;
2. Board capability;
3. Board complaints handling;
4. Board complaint policies or processes; 5. Board decision-making; 6.
Board delegation or authority issues; 7. Board handling of parent or
caregiver complaints; 8. Board interaction with Ministry regional staff;
9. Board interaction with NZSBA, NZSTA, or GovHub where known to or
facilitated by the Ministry; 10. any consideration of statutory
intervention, Limited Statutory Manager support, specialist adviser
support, or other Ministry governance support.
This includes records held by the relevant regional office, Education
Advisors, national office, legal services, complaints teams, or any
Ministry unit involved in school governance or Board support.
Part 4 — Parent-school conflict, trespass notices, and parent access
restrictions
Please provide Ministry-held records from 1 January 2019 to the date of
this request concerning Cheviot Area School and:
1. the use, proposed use, review, withdrawal, or maintenance of trespass
notices; 2. trespass notices involving parents, caregivers, whānau, or
community members; 3. restrictions on parent or caregiver access to school
grounds; 4. restrictions on parent or caregiver attendance at meetings,
interviews, school events, sport, netball, transport arrangements, or
school activities; 5. communication restrictions placed on parents or
caregivers, including email-only or online-meeting-only arrangements; 6.
guidance, advice, or correspondence about procedural fairness, natural
justice, proportionality, less restrictive alternatives, child wellbeing,
or parent participation where parent access has been restricted; 7. any
Ministry advice to Cheviot Area School or its Board about use of the
Trespass Act 1980 or parent access restrictions.
Please provide both specific Cheviot-related records and any Ministry
guidance that was applied, referred to, or relied on in responding to
Cheviot-related matters.
Part 5 — Student discipline: stand-downs, suspensions, exclusions,
expulsions, and ENROL records
Please provide de-identified Ministry-held data for Cheviot Area School
from 1 January 2019 to the date of this request showing, by year:
1. number of stand-downs;
2. number of suspensions;
3. number of extended suspensions;
4. number of exclusions;
5. number of expulsions;
6. broad reason categories recorded in ENROL or Ministry systems; 7. year
level or age-band information, where release will not identify students;
8. gender, ethnicity, disability, or learning-support category data only
where already held and where release will not identify students; 9.
whether Ministry follow-up, placement support, education adviser
involvement, or other intervention occurred.
Please also provide any Ministry-held records from 1 January 2019 to the
date of this request concerning Cheviot Area School’s compliance with
stand-down, suspension, exclusion, or expulsion processes, including:
1. ENROL notifications;
2. late, corrected, withdrawn, or amended notifications; 3. Ministry
advice to the school about SSEE process; 4. Ministry involvement following
exclusion or expulsion; 5. records of any concerns about procedural
fairness, natural justice, parent notification, guidance and counselling,
educational programmes, or record keeping in SSEE matters.
If student privacy prevents full release, please provide aggregate
statistics, suppressed-cell tables, or a summary explaining what is held
and what is withheld.
Part 6 — Student wellbeing, pastoral support, safeguarding, bullying, and
school climate
Please provide Ministry-held records from 1 January 2019 to the date of
this request concerning Cheviot Area School and:
1. student wellbeing concerns;
2. pastoral support concerns;
3. bullying or harassment complaints;
4. safeguarding concerns;
5. student safety concerns;
6. student exclusion from ordinary school life or school activities; 7.
parent concerns about student wellbeing; 8. Ministry advice or involvement
relating to student support plans, pastoral support, learning support,
guidance, counselling, or school climate.
Please release information in redacted, de-identified, or summary form
where necessary.
Part 7 — Staff conduct, professional standards, employment-process
concerns, and Teaching Council referrals
Please provide Ministry-held records from 1 January 2019 to the date of
this request concerning Cheviot Area School and:
1. staff conduct concerns;
2. professional standards concerns;
3. competence concerns;
4. complaints about leadership or management conduct; 5. complaints about
staff treatment of students, parents, caregivers, or other staff; 6.
employment-process concerns known to the Ministry; 7. mandatory reports;
8. referrals or notifications to the Teaching Council; 9. referrals or
notifications received from the Teaching Council; 10. Ministry advice to
the school or Board about staff conduct, employment process, professional
standards, natural justice, investigation process, or complaints handling.
I am not seeking private employment files or private disciplinary details
where these cannot lawfully be released. If individualised records cannot
be released, please provide:
1. the number of relevant matters by year; 2. broad categories of concern;
3. whether the matter was referred to the Teaching Council or another
body; 4. whether the Ministry provided advice, support, monitoring, or
escalation; 5. a document schedule with withholding grounds.
For search purposes only, please include records containing any of the
following names where those records are connected with Cheviot Area School
or Ministry oversight of Cheviot Area School:
1. Cheryl White;
2. Cheryl Anne White;
3. Cheryl Anne Brady;
4. Ginny Neal;
5. Fiona Bush.
This is not a request to publish private personal information about those
individuals. The purpose is to identify Ministry-held institutional
records relevant to Cheviot Area School governance, staff conduct,
complaints handling, student wellbeing, parent engagement, or Ministry
oversight.
Part 8 — Inter-agency correspondence and referrals
Please provide Ministry-held records from 1 January 2019 to the date of
this request involving Cheviot Area School and correspondence, referrals,
notifications, advice, file notes, or records of contact between the
Ministry and any of the following:
1. Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand; 2. Education Review Office;
3. Office of the Ombudsman; 4. Office of the Privacy Commissioner; 5.
NZSBA, NZSTA, GovHub, or Te Whakarōpūtanga Kaitiaki Kura o Aotearoa; 6.
New Zealand Police, but only where the Ministry-held record relates to
school governance, school safety, student wellbeing, staff conduct,
complaints handling, parent access, school grounds, or school operations.
I am not seeking private Police operational information, information about
any person’s private residence, or personal information about private
individuals.
Part 9 — Ministry guidance, policies, templates, and advice applied to
Cheviot Area School matters
Please provide any Ministry guidance, policy, template, instruction,
checklist, or advice document that was applied, referred to, or relied
upon by the Ministry from 1 January 2019 to the date of this request in
relation to Cheviot Area School matters concerning:
1. Board complaints handling;
2. parent-school conflict;
3. parent access restrictions;
4. trespass notices involving parents, caregivers, or whānau; 5.
procedural fairness or natural justice; 6. child wellbeing where parent
access is restricted; 7. staff safety and wellbeing in parent-school
conflict; 8. staff conduct or professional standards concerns; 9. Teaching
Council referrals or mandatory reporting; 10. stand-downs, suspensions,
exclusions, and expulsions; 11. Ministry regional-office handling of
complaints about school Boards.
If the relevant material is publicly available, please provide the
document title and link. If internal guidance exists, please provide the
internal document or a schedule identifying it and any withholding
grounds.
Part 10 — Records about Cheviot Area School policies, Board minutes, or
school-held material known to the Ministry
Please provide any Ministry-held copies, extracts, summaries, or
references to Cheviot Area School documents from 1 January 2019 to the
date of this request concerning:
1. complaints policy;
2. parent complaints process;
3. Board delegations;
4. staff conduct or disciplinary process; 5. trespass or site-access
policy; 6. health and safety policy; 7. student wellbeing or pastoral-care
policy; 8. SSEE process documents; 9. Board minutes or Board resolutions
relating to complaints, governance, parent access, trespass, staff
conduct, student wellbeing, or SSEE matters.
If the Ministry does not hold these records but considers the Cheviot Area
School Board is more likely to hold them, please transfer this part of the
request to the Board under section 14.
Part 11 — Search record and response schedule
To assist transparency, please identify:
1. which Ministry business units, teams, offices, or databases were
searched; 2. whether regional office records were searched; 3. whether
Education Advisor records were searched; 4. whether ENROL/SSEE records
were searched; 5. whether complaint-tracking systems or correspondence
systems were searched; 6. whether legal, governance, learning support,
student support, or Board support records were searched; 7. what search
terms were used, where relevant.
Please provide a document schedule for any documents withheld in full or
in part, including:
1. date;
2. document type;
3. author or team role, where this can be released; 4. recipient or
receiving team, where this can be released; 5. broad subject matter; 6.
whether withheld in full or in part; 7. OIA ground relied upon; 8. whether
redaction, summary, or de-identification was considered.
Part 12 — Prioritisation if refinement is required
If the Ministry considers the request may require substantial collation or
research, please do not refuse without first consulting me.
If staged processing is required, please prioritise release in this order:
Priority 1:
Complaint registers, logs, tables, summaries, or aggregate counts for
Cheviot Area School from 2019 to present.
Priority 2:
SSEE / ENROL aggregate data and any Ministry records of SSEE advice,
intervention, or concern.
Priority 3:
Records relating to parent access restrictions, trespass notices,
parent-school conflict, and Ministry advice about procedural fairness,
proportionality, and child wellbeing.
Priority 4:
Records relating to Board governance, Board complaints handling, Board
capability, statutory support, or Ministry regional-office involvement.
Priority 5:
De-identified or aggregate records relating to staff conduct, professional
standards, Teaching Council referrals, or Ministry advice about
staff-conduct processes.
Priority 6:
Inter-agency correspondence and document schedules.
Preferred format
Please provide the information electronically.
Where tables, registers, spreadsheets, or structured data exist, I prefer
these in searchable electronic form.
Purpose of request
The purpose of this request is to understand Ministry-held records and
oversight concerning Cheviot Area School from 2019 to the present,
including complaints handling, Board governance, student wellbeing,
student discipline, staff-conduct processes, parent access restrictions,
and inter-agency involvement.
This request is not intended to seek private medical information, identify
students or complainants, publish untested allegations, or intrude into
private matters. Where privacy applies, I ask that the Ministry provide
de-identified, redacted, aggregate, or schedule-based information wherever
possible.
Your request, as currently worded, is broad in nature and scope. As it
stands your request covers a broad range of document types, relating to 10
different topics for over a seven-year period.
While we appreciate your suggestion to prioritise aspects of your request,
taken altogether, your request would still amount to substantial collation
under the OIA.
To avoid refusal of your request, we would like to invite you to refine
the scope.
We have identified the following which may assist you in clarifying your
request:
o Limiting your request to a summary of complaints received by the
Ministry about Cheviot Area School AND stand-down, suspension,
exclusion, or expulsion data held by the Ministry about Cheviot Area
School, for a narrower timeframe, such as the 2023 – 2025 full
calendar years.
We look forward to hearing from you. Once we have your
refinement/clarification, we will commence work on your request.
Please note that, in line with section 15 (1AA) of the Act, if refinement
or clarification of a request is sought within seven working days of the
date on which the request was received, the Ministry may treat the amended
or clarified request as a new request that replaces the original request
for the purposes of calculating the timeframe.
Ngā mihi
Official and Parliamentary Information | Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga |
Ministry of Education | KJ
[3]education.govt.nz
He mea tārai e mātou te mātauranga kia rangatira ai, kia mana taurite ai
ōna huanga
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outcomes
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References
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Things to do with this request
- Add an annotation (to help the requester or others)
- Download a zip file of all correspondence (note: this contains the same information already available above).
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SPENCER JONES left an annotation ()
Public clarification regarding scope and privacy
I wish to clarify that this request is intended to seek Ministry-held institutional records about Cheviot Area School, including complaints handling, governance, student wellbeing, student discipline processes, staff-conduct processes, parent access restrictions, and Ministry oversight from 2019 to the present.
The purpose of the request is not to make or publish allegations about any individual person. Any reference to individual staff or office holders in the original wording should be treated only as a search aid for locating relevant Ministry-held institutional records, not as an allegation or assertion of wrongdoing.
I do not seek private medical information, home-address information, private employment files, personal student information, identifying details of complainants or witnesses, or private operational Police information.
Where privacy or confidentiality applies, I ask that the Ministry provide information in redacted, de-identified, aggregate, summary, or schedule form wherever possible.
For future requests in this matter, I will use institution-level wording and avoid naming individual people unless it is strictly necessary to identify a specific official record.
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