Small, but perfectly formed
There are 28 institutions with fewer than 10 students in New Zealand. Sharnae Hope travelled to Waikawau to find out what life is like at one of them.
WHENfour children were away this week, Whareorino School halved in size.
Take away the principal’s own children and the school’s left with one pupil and a pet goat named Summer.
The rural school is located in Waikawau, 79km southwest of Te Kuiti, with nothing but bush and farmland surrounding it.
The 1-8 year school isn’t the tiniest school in New Zealand, but it’s perhaps the most tightknit of them all.
‘‘Whenever people visit Whareorino School, the first thing they will say is ‘how cute, butwhen will it close?’’ principal Wendy Single says.
Single has been the principal and teacher of Whareorino School for five years, and her husband Ben is the substitute teacher.
The school has eight children on its roll this year, three of the children belong to the Singles. Their eldest son, 14, is the exception completing his learning through the correspondence school, Te Aho o Te Kura Pounamu.
Single says Whareorino School had become an extension of the family’s home.
‘‘We aren’t the only school this small, andwe are here because there’s a need for us. Some kids already travel around 30 minutes to get here. The next closest school is Mokau School, 35km down the road.’’
The school has one classroom, a principal’s office, a small tennis court, swimming pool, playing field and adventure playground.
The community hall adjacent to the school grounds used to be the Singles’ home, but after their four children grew up it became apparent it was far too small.
The family has since moved across the road into a new house, and the hall has been rented out to a farmworkerwho has become the school’s very first neighbour.
Single says what is unique to others has very much become their normal in Waikawau.
The Single family moved from New Plymouth to the small coastal community of Mokau in 2012, where Ben Single became principal of Mokau School, which had two teachers.
This was a significant lifestyle change at the time, but the family quickly fell in love with rural schools.
‘‘Whareorino School was part of our cluster, and we moved up here to Waikawau in 2016 when I took on the sole charge teaching principal position.
‘‘So we knew of the community, and theywere a part of our cluster, but a two-teacher school is very different to a oneteacher school.’’
Despite being small and remote, Wendy says the rural kids aren’t missing out on much.
‘‘I would say that maybe their social opportunities are different and maybe they don’t get to do the after school activities that other town children do, just because it’s so remote, but they get a lot of things city kids don’t.’’
She says the children get really quality one-on-one time, staff build closer relationships with the pupils and their families, and the children gain a sense of ownership over the school and valuable skills such as self-directed learning, collaboration and how to resolve issues with their peers.
The parents and children set their own curriculum at an annual hui.
‘‘This role can be challenging and hard and you’ve got to have broad shoulders but the reward is worth it.
‘‘I think we are in a better position than other small schools because we always have steady pupil numbers, butwe aren’t fighting to get that magic number of 26 kids to get funding for another full-time teacher.’’
All schools receive a minimum resource for two full time teachers. There are 110 schools that would otherwise qualify for less than two. The equivalent figures for 2019 were 88 schools and 113 schools in
2017.
As of July 1 there were 28 schools with less than 10 students on their rolls. Of those, one was a privately registered school and four were teen parent units. Afurther 87 schools had between 10 and 20 students.
Salisbury Special Residential School in Nelson, a girls school, and Mangamahu Primary
School in rural Whanganui win the titles for smallest schools, with four students on their rolls on July 1.
Smaller schools are provided with a higher base rate of funding than larger schools, to cover fixed costs.
As part of the most recent Primary Principals Collective Agreement it was agreed that primary schools with two or less full-time teacher equivalent would receive additional operational funding, from the 2020 school year, to make up the difference to two full-time equivalent employees (inclusive of the principal) during the school day.
This funding will be paid to these schools as part of their January operational grant instalment.
‘‘We originally said that we would commit three years to being here and it’s now almost five,’’ Single says.
‘‘This is a really special place, and we are privileged to be the people who get to teach and live here.’’
‘ Whenever people visit Whareorino School, the first thing they will say is ‘how cute, but when will it close?’’ PRINCIPAL WENDY SINGLE, RIGHT