Statement from Hato Paora College School Board of Trustees

Feilding-based Maori Catholic boys’ school Hato Paora College has instituted increased safety measures over the last three years in light of revelations of abuse in 2007 and the subsequent conviction of former principal Elvis Shepherd.

Board of Trustees Chairman Peter Douglas said Hato Paora is a safer school as a result of changes introduced since charges against Shepherd were laid. On Friday 30 July, Shepherd was found guilty of sexually abusing students at an Auckland school in the early 1990s and is currently in prison awaiting sentence.

The court process has meant that the school has been prevented from speaking publicly about the issue over the last three years including how the school has moved to improve safety for students.

“We have not been able to discuss this until now. It is important that our community knows the Board has implemented preventative measures to reduce the chances of similar abuse from occurring. Staff and students are also now much more aware of their responsibilities in combating abuse,” Mr Douglas said.

Thorough background checks, including police checks, are undertaken on all people applying for positions at the school. Applicants will follow strict requirements in regards to being open about previous work history. Other measures include shutting off all but one entrance to the school grounds and ensuring the school is aware of where staff, visitors and students are at any one time.

Mr Douglas said the Board has confidence in the Acting Principal Debbie Marshall-Lobb to embed agreed safety measures and to regularly review them to ensure their continual effectiveness, and thanked her for her tireless commitment to our school.

“Hato Paora values excellence in education and upholds the ideals and aspirations of whanau and the wider Maori community. We all have responsibility in protecting our boys and ensuring their safety as they navigate their teenage years, which can be a difficult and vulnerable time for many. We are a community that does not condone any abuse of children no matter by who, or what other good work they may have done.”

“I am pleased that we can now put this episode behind us and concentrate on a new generation of students at our college,” Mr Douglas said.