High-risk activities outside the Whangārei Boys’ High School classroom have been formally prohibited by WorkSafe until proven they can be safely managed.
WorkSafe began an investigation last Wednesday, the day after Karnin Petera went missing as the cave he and 14 other classmates were in flooded to head height in minutes. His body was found later that evening.
The school, which had already voluntarily paused education outside the classroom (EOTC) activities, was issued both a prohibition notice and an improvement notice.
WorkSafe’s Head of Specialist Interventions Dr Catherine Gardner said the prohibition notice applied to activities defined in the school’s EOTC management procedures as occurring in higher-risk environments, such as caving.
“This does not prevent other low-risk school trips from going ahead, for sport or cultural activities for example.”