Out of office? Oranga Tamariki takes months to respond to Gloriavale child safety concerns

Oranga Tamariki took months to respond to an Education Review Office letter raising "serious and immediate concerns" about children at Gloriavale after it was sent to a former staff member whose inbox was no longer monitored.

The then-acting Education Review Office (ERO) chief executive Ruth Shinoda wrote to Oranga Tamariki's chief executive Andrew Bridgman on 17 December after a special review of homeschooling by 28 families at the West Coast Christian commune.

Shinoda detailed key safety and wellbeing concerns in the letter, including that Gloriavale's school "knowingly employed staff with prior convictions unsuitable for work with children" and "in at least one instance, the school failed to act when behaviours placing students at risk were identified".

Documents released to RNZ under the Official Information Act show the Ministry for Children did not reply until 8 June.

Shinoda's executive assistant had sent the December letter to Oranga Tamariki but the email sat in the former staffer's unmonitored inbox until Shinoda personally wrote to the new Oranga Tamariki chief executive Amanda Malu on 9 March to say she was yet to receive a response.

Internal Oranga Tamariki emails from 10 March show senior staff requesting a "look into this letter as a matter of urgency. Looks like it went to [the former staff member] after she had left and nothing happened with it?...(they should have received an out of office?!)".

In her 8 June reply to ERO's new acting chief executive Tim Fowler, Malu acknowledged the delay but said she did not believe an additional investigation was required.

"I have carefully considered Ruth's letter and sought the advice of Nicolette Dickson, our chief social worker. Nicolette met with members of your team last year to discuss specific safety and wellbeing concerns," Malu wrote.

"The concerns in your letter generally speak to known issues which are already the subject of the current cross government response to Gloriavale. For these reasons, I am in agreement with Nicolette that additional investigation by Oranga Tamariki into these concerns is not currently necessary or desirable under the Oranga Tamariki Act."

She said ERO could share any additional or new information about child safety and wellbeing concerns at Gloriavale through the "report of concern process" and included a link to the page on Oranga Tamariki's website, the national contact centre phone number and email address.

"Child protection and child safety issues are dynamic and each new concern should be considered on its merits," Malu said.

"As an additional step, I have asked Nicolette to ensure that the concerns raised in your letter are known to the wider interagency group. It will be made clear to the wider group that they are welcome to seek the support of Oranga Tamariki about any matters of child safety and wellbeing."

In her December letter, Shinoda said ERO had identified "serious and immediate concerns about health and safety across education settings" as a result of recent education reviews.

"These concerns relate to child protection, unsafe living and learning environments and systemic failures and governance and oversight," she wrote.

ERO's 2025 homeschooling review had heightened the agency's concerns about immediate risks to children's welfare, Shinoda said.

"These concerns go beyond educational quality and include lack of oversight, inadequate safeguarding measures and limited access to external support."

The key safety and wellbeing concerns Shinoda listed included overcrowded hostel accommodation and housing instability, some children learning in close proximity to students on safety action plans, inconsistently applied child protection policies, and a lack of oversight and accountability.

"These findings raise serious questions about the adequacy of current arrangements to safeguard children's welfare and best interests," she said.

In a statement, Oranga Tamariki national commissioner south Arihia Bennett said the agency was part of an integrated response to ensure the ongoing safety and wellbeing of children and young people at Gloriavale.

"We continue to work with the Gloriavale community alongside partner agencies to support their needs. This includes responding to specific concerns regarding the safety and wellbeing of individual children reported to us using our usual processes. It also includes working in a more joined up way across agencies and with the community to promote the wellbeing of all children and young people within Gloriavale," she said.

"By taking a holistic, collaborative and co-ordinated approach, we can provide the right type of support when it is needed for this community, as we would for any other families, groups or communities.

"Our responsibilities to these children and young people, including upholding their privacy, means we are unable to go into further details."

Oranga Tamariki noted that it met ERO on 11 November and "took immediate steps to address the concerns raised and provided the ERO with the steps taken in response", although this was before Shinoda sent her December letter.

ERO had requested confirmation of receipt of that letter but a spokesperson did not say whether it received confirmation or if the agency had sought a response before 9 March.

"As noted in our OIA response, ERO has engaged with Oranga Tamariki on the broader issues identified through our review, both through the interagency groups working on Gloriavale and directly on specific concerns," a spokesperson said in a response to RNZ's queries.

"Given the specific nature of the concerns we raised with them directly, it would be inappropriate to comment further as it may breach the privacy of the homeschool families."

The agency's special review had concluded 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)," its report said.

ERO found 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, and several families reported they did not feel that their children were safe.

The Ministry of Education told RNZ it would be arranging visits with Gloriavale homeschooling families in the coming weeks.

Last December, the secretary for education told Gloriavale Christian School's leaders that she was cancelling its registration because of serious concerns the private school was not a physically and emotionally safe place for students.

Ministry letters to Gloriavale obtained by RNZ in May detail concerns from community members, specialists and agencies about the school, including that it exists to indoctrinate children, maintain a caste system and grow a workforce rather than for teaching and learning.

The letters noted concerns about most teenagers being prevented from progressing beyond Year 11, a lack of support for young victims and abusers, and students not being able to use school toilets without fear.

The school remains open as a result of a High Court challenge by the board, and a judicial review hearing is set down for three days in October.

The Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care, which published its final report two years ago, recommended the "government should take all practicable steps to ensure the ongoing safety of children, young people and adults in care at Gloriavale".