A primary school in Wairoa that was ruined in Cyclone Gabrielle and has been operating out of a temporary site is furious and frustrated with the Education Review Office (ERO) over the timing of its evaluation.
Nuhaka School has flooded twice since February 2023, and while it waits for the entire school to be rebuilt, the more than 100 students have been taking their lessons at a chapel of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a nearby Mormon church.
The entire school had to be rebuilt after flooding twice in the past few years. Photo: Supplied
Last week, as the school was packing up to move back to its new buildings, ERO conducted a review.
ERO has admitted to RNZ that it got it wrong, and is apologising to Nuhaka School about the timing of its review.
From the outside it looks like a regular church, but step through the doors and every room is crammed with school tables and chairs, whiteboards and stationery supplies. The floor is covered in colourful blue mats and among the boxes of sporting trophies and rows of school bags hanging on the wall, framed paintings of Jesus peer out.
The chapel of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, where children have been going to school. Photo: RNZ/Jimmy Ellingham
As children help carry boxes out to the moving truck, Principal Raelene McFarlane tells RNZ how hard the past couple of years have been, and the struggle to get more resources.
"This has just been a fight. It didn't need to be this hard. I didn't need to lose staff through burnout," she said.
For most of the past 2.5 years, the students have been learning in makeshift classrooms - using the hall stage, offices, and meeting rooms to try and regain some sense of normalcy for the kids.
"The crowding is huge. It got quite heartbreaking at times when we had kids who had to crawl under tables to get out to the loo and you know, and if they didn't make it that was really upsetting for them, it was upsetting for staff and whanau.
"Without space you can't teach a quiet group, because the noise is just really compacted," said McFarlane.
Nuhaka School principal Raelene McFarlane. Photo: RNZ / Nick Monro
She said they were just weeks away from moving back into their newly rebuilt school site, when the Education Review Office, known as ERO, decided it was time to conduct a review.
McFarlane begged them to delay it by 10 weeks, so they would be settled back in their school buildings, but told RNZ that ERO would only shift the review by three weeks, to the last few days of term when they were still in the church.
"When I contacted them and said 'we are literally going to have boxes walking out the door, we can't even do a lesson for you, that's crazy'. We were just told that they'll be sensitive and that it was going ahead," she said.
Wairoa mayor Craig Little Photo: RNZ / Nick Monro
The local iwi and mayor also tried to get the ERO review moved, but mayor Craig Little said he was astonished when ERO went ahead with its inspection.
"These kids have absolutely gone through hell and back. And so now they're moving finally, thank God for the Mormon church. They've been in there and they're moving back to their school. But it's really hard and would you believe let's chuck an ERO report the same time they're moving.
"It's just crazy. I've been on school boards and the ERO report is the biggest thing that can disrupt your school ever. And you get one shot at it and everybody is under stress. ERO should be saying, 'hey, let's just sort of forget about that at the moment'," said Craig.
Flooding at Nuhaka School from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023. Photo: Supplied
Instead, ERO visited the school last week while it was still operating out of the church buildings.
"At least come and see us in the right place - do the right compliance checks on the right buildings - that would make more sense to me.
"We don't understand, we feel pretty much... we don't know if it's targeted," said McFarlane.
'We got this one wrong' - ERO apologises
ERO declined RNZ's request for an interview, but spokesperson Shelley Booysen told RNZ that where possible, they did their best to be flexible to meet the needs of schools.
"In this case, the School Review team made the decision to go ahead with the review following a number of rescheduled dates.
"In hindsight, the school's request for an extension during their move and until they are more settled into their new building was not unreasonable. We should have delayed the review. We got this one wrong and we sincerely apologise to the school and the community," she said.
ERO said it wished Nuhaka School 'all the best' in their new school building.
Flooding at Nuhaka School from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023. Photo: Supplied
But Little worried the damage was already done.
"Why would you do that to people? I'm getting calls from the parents, not only the school teachers, just saying 'hey, we're really worried about what's happening here'.
"These teachers have been enough stress. Let's not put them under anymore," he said.
Nuhaka School will reopen on 14 July for the first day of the new term.
Nuhaka School students. Photo: RNZ / Nick Monro
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