The Herald earlier this month revealed the principal had been on extended leave, with members of the school community concerned about the absence.<\/p>\n
A spokeswoman for the Teaching Council said the Teachers Disciplinary Tribunal made the order to suspend the principal\u2019s practising certificate while an investigation was carried out.<\/p>\n
The Ministry of Education says it is now aware of the matter following the Herald\u2019s coverage and that the school has asked for support.<\/p>\n
Members of the school community say they are in the dark over the principal\u2019s sudden departure and are anxious for answers about why the principal is absent.<\/p>\n
A concerned parent told the Herald that the only information the school had given them was that the principal was \u201csick\u201d.<\/p>\n
The Herald has seen a copy of a letter sent to the board of trustees last year by a person closely connected to the school, asking for an investigation into the principal\u2019s conduct.<\/p>\n
The Herald has been told at least four staff members sent letters to the board about the principal.<\/p>\n
A source connected to the school \u2013 who spoke to the Herald on the condition of anonymity \u2013 says they are among those who have raised allegations about the principal\u2019s behaviour and leadership.<\/p>\n
They allege the principal belittled and harassed staff and that some teachers were pushed to such a breaking point that they would leave in the middle of teaching classes for reprieve.<\/p>\n
Staff allegedly felt disrespected and dismissed by the principal and felt unable to speak up because of fears of being targeted and marginalised.<\/p>\n
The school\u2019s cultural identity was allegedly harmed because of the principal\u2019s lack of understanding and care.<\/p>\n
It was alleged the principal\u2019s actions undermined staff morale and created risks for people\u2019s wellbeing and progress, and that the leadership failed to provide an environment that was safe, supportive and inclusive for both students and staff.<\/p>\n
Pleas for urgent intervention by the school board were allegedly met with promises of help, but ultimately, staff felt nothing was done, the source claimed.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s also claimed the school experienced a high turnover of staff during the principal\u2019s tenure.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s understood staff have been told to tell the school community the principal is currently on sick leave.<\/p>\n
A concerned parent said a lot of \u201cfrustration and anxiety\u201d had been caused by the principal\u2019s disappearance.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have felt so disrespected by not being told what is happening.\u201d<\/p>\n
They said they were \u201cpretty angry\u201d at what they felt was a lack of transparency.<\/p>\n
Trust depended on authorities \u201cbeing upfront, telling the truth and not trying to hide behind silence\u201d, they said.<\/p>\n
The ministry\u2019s acting director of education Racheal Laurenson said: \u201cMatters at the school have been brought to our attention, and the school has asked the ministry for support.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are working with the school to assess how that support can best be provided and what this will look like. Our focus, alongside the school, is on maintaining continuity for students and staff and minimising any disruption to teaching and learning.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Teaching Council spokeswoman said the Teachers Disciplinary Tribunal made an order to suspend the principal\u2019s practising certificate while an investigation was carried out.<\/p>\n
A wide range of suppression orders was also imposed by the tribunal, including the principal\u2019s name, the school and identifying details of any complainants.<\/p>\n
Earlier this month, the council would not confirm when the principal\u2019s practising certificate was suspended, the nature of any complaint received or whether a hearing had been scheduled.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs this matter is ongoing, we are unable to comment on the individual case, including the circumstances or timeline. This is to ensure we uphold privacy and natural justice.\u201d<\/p>\n
The spokeswoman said it was a \u201csensitive matter\u201d and urged consideration of the wellbeing of those involved.<\/p>\n
The current acting principal declined to comment when approached by the Herald last week.<\/p>\n
She earlier said there were \u201cpeople working on that\u201d when asked about the principal\u2019s absence and why she could not comment.<\/p>\n
The presiding member of the school board did not respond when approached last week.<\/p>\n
He earlier said: \u201cI cannot discuss the issues you have raised, as to do so would breach privacy obligations, and at this time, non-publication orders are in place in relation to the school and staff.\u201d<\/p>\n
The principal has been approached for comment.<\/p>\n
Rachel Maher is an investigative reporter covering Auckland issues and education. She started at the Herald as a breaking news journalist in 2022, before joining the Auckland team this year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Herald earlier this month revealed the principal had been on extended leave, with members of the school…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":432344,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[221343,87543,50559,95,51,1647,13912,3620,35855,2396,221344,2893,147938,1043,101,111,43,139,221345,69,3111,423,29192,26520,4062,58218,544,1516,18843,8229,8238,126532,3608,102],"class_list":["post-432343","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-absent","tag-accusations","tag-allege","tag-and","tag-auckland","tag-breaking","tag-broken","tag-bullying","tag-classroom","tag-culture","tag-demoralised","tag-fear","tag-fearful","tag-leadership","tag-left","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nowabsent","tag-nz","tag-out","tag-point","tag-principal","tag-pushed","tag-school","tag-single","tag-some","tag-staff","tag-teachers","tag-they","tag-under","tag-unsupported","tag-were","tag-with"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/432343","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=432343"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/432343\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/432344"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=432343"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=432343"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=432343"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}