The principal of St Peter’s College in Gore has called on the board of trustees chairperson to apologise in the wake of a report highlighting flaws in the school’s governance.
The Catholic co-ed school was in April placed into the limited statutory management of lawyer Nicola Hornsey after the board and principal sought Education Ministry support to govern the school.
Hornsey’s report highlights issues that “pose risks to the educational performance and health and safety of students, and to the operation of the school”.
These are: poor employment practices; incohesive governance framework; dysfunctional relationship between the school and the school board; and diminished student voice.
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“The current model of governance is posing a significant risk to the operation of the school, student achievement and health and safety,” the report says.
In May, principal Tara Quinney said she had no confidence in the ability of the school’s board chairperson Ruth Mitchell to lead, and she wanted her to resign.
On Monday, after the report was released, Quinney said the intervention had led to “notable strides forward” for the board.
But she wanted Mitchell to “acknowledge her responsibility for the lapse in appropriate governance practices that led us to this predicament”.
She said Mitchell should demonstrate “genuine accountability and extend a heartfelt public apology to the students, staff and wider community”. This would “exemplify true leadership and humility in accordance with our Catholic values”, Quinney said in a statement.
Hornsey, answering questions on Mitchell’s behalf, did not address the apology request.
When addressing the dysfunctional relationship between the school and board, Hornsey’s report said the principal was the conduit for communicating information between the board and school.
However, communication regarding decisions made by the board had been detrimentally affected by the dysfunction in the relationship between the principal and board.
“This has led to a measure of loss of trust and confidence of some school staff members in the board, of the board in the principal, and of the principal in the board.”
A high turnover of board members and board chairs had contributed to a lack of alignment between the principal and board regarding the strategic direction of the school, the report said, and the Catholic education service envisaged the principal and senior staff working with the board.
“Efforts were made by the board to facilitate this model of working, however this was not successful,” the report said.
Kavinda Herath/Stuff
Gore’s St Peter’s College principal Tara Quinney has called on board chair Ruth Mitchell to apologise to the school’s staff, students and community.
It also said the board members were committed to meeting their duties, and had already participated in training and sought advice from the New Zealand Schools Trustee Association to add to their governance knowledge.
Regarding employment practices, the report said there had been breaches of good faith obligations, employment policies and procedures, confidentiality and privacy duties and codes of conduct in the past year.
These breaches had impacted on relationships between staff members, the report said.
“The failure to follow proper employment processes poses a significant risk to school operations and the educational performance and health and safety of students,” the report said.
Regarding governance framework, the board recognised that the policies governing the school, and the procedures to implement them, needed reviewing to ensure the board was meeting its statutory duties.
Until that happened, there was a moderate risk to the operation of the school and student achievement and health and safety.
Students at St Peter’s College valued their education but held concerns about “inconsistencies in the teaching practices and attitudes shown towards them”.
Avenues to raise issues and suggest solutions were not currently effective and posed a moderate risk to student engagement and learning, the report said.
An “outcomes plan” would now be devised between the board and the Education Ministry.
Among the outcomes sought, were that the board must have a shared understanding of individual roles and responsibilities; and ensure ongoing improvement in governance through training and planning.
The board must also develop relationships with the principal and staff based on trust, integrity and clarity about roles; build trust with the school community and diocese; and promote the care of students, the report said.
Hornsey said many of the actions to address the issues, as set out in the “outcomes plan” were already being implemented.
The ongoing intervention will be reviewed in April 2024.
