Some Gloriavale homeschooling families are living and learning in overcrowded hostels that could be unsafe and some of the children are struggling to write, the Education Review Office has found.
By Jean Edwards of RNZ
The findings are detailed in a summary of the agency's special review of homeschooling by 28 families at the West Coast Christian community, which was requested by the Secretary for Education Ellen MacGregor-Reid last September.
More than 100 children, aged between six and 16, had been granted certificates of exemption from enrolment at registered schools by the Ministry of Education.
Documents released by the Education Review Office (ERO) include a letter from acting chief executive Ruth Shinoda to Macgregor-Reid on 13 March this year, concluding that Gloriavale parents were not meeting legal homeschooling requirements.
"Of the 103 children's home school provisions reviewed, 96 were judged as not being taught at least as regularly and as well as in a registered school. The remaining seven children have been classified as too early to judge due to exemptions being granted recently (within 3-4 months)," she wrote.
Shinoda said she had written to the chief executive of Oranga Tamariki to report safety and wellbeing concerns, particularly where children were learning in close proximity to students on safety action plans.
In a December 2025 letter summarising the ERO's provisional findings and key concerns, Shinoda said more than half of the children were learning in crowded places, most commonly in hostels where rooms were used for sleeping, dining and schooling.
"Ten hostel families lacked ready access to drinking water and toilets. In one instance, two families comprising 18 people shared a single toilet and a shower down a corridor. Overcrowding was compounded by infants, preschoolers and older teenagers being at home during learning times," the letter said.
Despite each family having a copy of the community's child protection policy in their homeschool folder, "several families reported that they did not feel their children were safe and considered the policy and processes inadequate in practice".
The ERO said some students on safety action plans required constant supervision, which was challenging in large family settings or shared spaces.
Families did not always know who in close proximity was subject to a plan for confidentiality reasons, although many were aware of arrangements on their hostel floor.
"The positioning of hostel families with young children next to those subject to a plan, coupled with shared facilities and limited access to drinking water, intensified risk. Older students could generally state the policy and identify the team responsible for responding to concerns, but home education about physical and emotional safety appeared minimal and focused largely on fire drills," the ERO said.
The review office said the curriculum remained "narrow" and was typically limited to English, mathematics, social studies and science, while exposure to health, physical education, technology, the arts, languages and careers education was minimal.
"Many students complete only one commercial course booklet per term and learning beyond formal booklets such as cooking, gardening and crafts lacks clarity about intended outcomes or progression," the ERO said.
It said assessment practices were inadequate.
"ERO could not verify progress and achievement for more than half of the children reviewed and found that none were achieving at expected levels in a way that could be reliably measured," it said.
"Writing was a particular area of concern. Samples were often transactional, confused with handwriting and frequently transcribed or typed by parents, limiting authentication."
Of the 103 children observed, 26 were identified as having special education needs, 16 had dyslexic tendencies, seven were behind in learning or behaviour, three had autism spectrum disorder and one had vision impairment without specialist support, the ERO said.
"Only two children have received formal diagnoses since the last review, with cost frequently cited as a barrier to accessing professional assessment and intervention," the December letter said.
The ERO said many children with suspected learning difficulties were not receiving targeted support and families expressed concern about a lack of specialist services and unaffordable private help.
"There is also evidence of reluctance among some families to request additional resources from the community fund, which further limits access to help," the ERO said.
"Concerns initially noted for eight-to-nine year-olds now extend to younger children from age six, with low oral language, weak writing skills and fragile reading confidence by ages eight and nine. Without systematic intervention, these gaps risk becoming entrenched and will have long-term implications for educational outcomes.
"ERO observed low levels of oral language development and limited writing skills with some children struggling to form letters or write independently."
The ERO said careers education was largely absent and learning was frequently disrupted by completing household demands and caregiving responsibilities.
"Senior secondary and tertiary pathways remain restricted and vocational choices are commonly prescribed by community expectations. Provision does not extend beyond Year 10, further limiting pathways for senior students," it said.
The ERO observed that some teenage girls who continued their education beyond the age of 16 primarily remained at home helping their mothers with childcare, cooking and other household responsibilities.
Although a homeschool exemption was not required for teenagers over the age of 16, the ERO said the patterns further substantiated concerns about "direction-setting and gender bias" in subject choices and opportunities for younger students.
Shinoda told MacGregor-Reid that she had also commissioned an independent investigation following "legal correspondence challenging the reviews".
"The investigation found that the reviews were lawfully commissioned, that families were provided with adequate notice and opportunities to respond and that ERO exceeded standard natural justice requirements through proactive disclosure of evidence. It also found that judgements were evidence based, moderated and not predetermined," she said.
In requesting the review, MacGregor-Reid said she would need to consider revoking exemption certificates if she was not satisfied that home-educated Gloriavale children were being taught at least as regularly and as well as in a registered school.
A Ministry of Education spokesperson said staff would work with Gloriavale homeschooling families.
"Following ERO's review, the Ministry of Education will be engaging with the families involved, in line with our responsibilities. This will include working directly with families to check education requirements are being met," they said.
Separately, MacGregor-Reid advised the Gloriavale Christian School's board chairperson and acting principal last December that she was moving to cancel the private school's registration.
The school remains open as a result of an appeal by the board to the High Court, with a three-day hearing set down for October.
On 18 May this year, the Education Minister Erica Stanford revealed proposed amendments to the Education and Training (System Reform) Amendment Bill aimed at strengthening oversight of home education.
The National Council of Home Educators said it was disappointed to discover the proposed changes after the select committee stage and second reading in the parliament, saying they would give the government "far-reaching powers".
"We are not opposed to regulation to make sure our kids are safe, we are opposed to home schoolers intentionally being left out of the discussion," the council said in a statement.
Stanford and Gloriavale were contacted for comment.
SHARE ME