Watch: State school becomes the first to convert to charter

Pakaraka School in Northland has become the first state school to convert to a charter school.

Associate Education Minister David Seymour said the conversion has been driven by the local community.

“In 2024, the school partnered with a local kindergarten to introduce a Steiner classroom,” Seymour said.

“The programme was successful and attracted more families to the school. Families saw the positive impact this partnership was having on their children and wanted to build further on that approach.”

The same parents who serve on the school’s board of trustees have established a charitable trust called the Society of Holistic Learners to run the school, Seymour said.

A survey conducted by the trust in May found that more than 95% of respondents supported conversion, while no respondents supported remaining a state school.

Students will take a hands-on approach to learning about things like food growth, harvest and storage.

Associate Education Minister David Seymour at a charter school stand-up today. Photo / Michael Craig

“For example, they might build a traditional Māori storehouse raised on posts to keep it safe from pests [pātaka] to store kūmara they’ve grown and harvested to feed community events,” Seymour said.

The model also provides “greater accountability”, he said.

It will continue to use the same testing state schools use and must prove its students are achieving as well as, if not better than, comparable state schools.

A Steiner classroom at Pakaraka School. Photo / Supplied

“For current students and families, very little will change day to day. They’ll keep the same teachers, school leaders and learning spaces, while the school builds further on the teaching approach that is already working for them.”

School principal Patricia Simeon said: “The heart of our kura remains the same.

“This is about creating the conditions for tamariki to thrive in a school environment that honours who they are and how they learn best. Our teaching team shares this community vision, and they’ve taken an active role in shaping it. I’m very excited about what comes next.”