Teachers’ conduct probed at Gloriavale

Gloriavale leavers have been lobbying the Government and its departments to investigate serious allegations about the Christian community’s school for more than a year.

The New Zealand Teaching Council is investigating Gloriavale’s former school principal, Faithful Pilgrim, after he allegedly failed to ensure the safety and wellbeing of pupils.

The Gloriavale Leavers’ Support Trust first raised concerns with Education Minister Chris Hipkins in November, 2019. He did not respond to the complaint nor the trust’s request for a meeting.

A government spokesperson said the complaint was transferred to police ‘‘because there was an ongoing police investigation’’. A police spokesman said police were unable to comment because there were matters before the court.

A 20-year-old man has been charged with doing indecent acts on three children at Gloriavale in 2015. He is next due to appear in court in February. Police have been investigating allegations of child sexual abuse at the West Coast community since July.

In June, an Education Review Office (ERO) report slammed Gloriavale’s school for failing to be a safe place for students. It ordered the school to implement a written policy for protecting children, which had since happened, ERO said.

ERO review and improvement deputy chief executive Jane Lee said a review team visited the school for three days in March.

‘‘School leaders attested in writing that they were fit and proper persons to be managers of a private school, that managers and staff who are teachers were registered, and that these staff had been through the background checks as part of the teacher registration process,’’ she said.

ERO did not publish its report until December because it was waiting for police to confirm their investigation did not include any concerns about education.

Ministry of Education sector enablement and support deputy secretary Katrina Casey said the ministry became aware in January 2018 that police and Oranga Tamariki were investigating an allegation of inappropriate sexual contact by a teacher against a student at Gloriavale. It advised the principal about mandatory reporting requirements.

‘‘We contacted the acting principal who confirmed the teacher had been stood down while the investigation was under way.’’

The ministry was contacted again in August about the complaint against Pilgrim, but police and the Teaching Council had already been informed and were investigating, she said. The council is investigating whether Pilgrim allowed a teacher to continue teaching after being told he had sexually abused a child.

The Teaching Council confirmed Pilgrim was under investigation.

A committee, made up of experienced teachers, would consider whether he should go before the Disciplinary Tribunal, which considers cases of possible serious misconduct. Teacher Just Standfast admitted a charge of sexual conduct with a child in March last year and was later sentenced to six months’ community detention and two years’ intensive supervision.

The court heard Pilgrim knew of the allegations against Standfast in 2012 but did not report them to police.

The offending came to light when the girl’s father left the community and went to police in 2018.

The trust’s complaint to the Teaching Council in August said Pilgrim continued to sign off Standfast’s teacher registration despite knowing the allegations against him.

The complaint also said parents were not able to make decisions about their children’s educational opportunities, and that children were excluded from school and not allowed to eat lunch for small indiscretions.

Stuff understands five former Gloriavale members have been interviewed by a Teaching Council investigator and that Pilgrim’s son took over as principal after Pilgrim did not renew his practising certificate in October. Requests to speak to senior leaders at Gloriavale were refused this week, with one person saying ‘‘no-one here is interested’’, and another saying ‘‘we don’t talk to journalists’’.

Ex-Gloriavale member Virginia Courage, who has 10 children who attended the school, said the leaders sent Standfast to Gloriavale’s community in India for a few months after the 2012 incident, but he returned and kept teaching until charges were laid five years later.

Former member Isabella Harrison said Pilgrim told her she was being too protective when she asked questions about her children’s school environment.

She alleged he had a ‘‘lack of responsibility’’ for the children in his care and was not transparent about what was happening with their parents.

‘‘We didn’t even know what was happening in the school,’’ she said.

Police have been investigating allegations of child sexual abuse at the West Coast community since July.