KEY POINTS:
The board of trustees at a troubled Auckland secondary school will learn this week if they are to be sacked by the Education Minister after a "damning" ERO report.
Inspectors recommended further Government intervention after reviewing Selwyn College in Kohimarama late last year.
One board member has already resigned, calling the report "as damning as it gets".
Remaining members said they were disappointed by the findings and thought the school improved last year under their leadership.
The report is yet to be made public but a copy obtained by the Herald on Sunday reveals it contains scathing criticism of the board.
"ERO is not confident that the board of trustees has sufficient capacity without external support to govern the school in the interests of all students and the Crown," it reads.
The previous Government appointed a specialist adviser to the board in 2007 and the latest report recommends the Secretary for Education considers increasing the level of intervention under the 1989 Education Act.
Further steps could include appointing a limited statutory manager or replacing the board with a commissioner.
Speaking from Idaho, board chairman George Burrell described the statements as "surprising" and said they were "considered too harsh" by members. Burrell said the school faced problems with the socio-economic and cultural diversity of its students.
Selwyn College is in upmarket Kohimarama. Surrounding suburbs include St Heliers and less affluent Glen Innes.
Burrell said increased intervention by Education Minister Anna Tolley would not remove those challenges but acknowledged her decision was "totally out of our control".
Former board member Matesha Ababa accused the board of denying problems with the school because criticism was considered anti-Selwyn.
Ababa quit after a meeting with Education Ministry officials before Christmas and urged other members to follow her lead.
Ababa described the ERO report "as damning as it gets" but was still determined to help the school from outside the board. She claimed the board treated students as "experiments" at the expense of a solid education and criticised a "restorative justice" approach to bullying.
James Hoskins, spokesman for Vision Selwyn, a group of residents and parents who disagree with the school's direction, said the board should resign and a commissioner be appointed.
He was concerned about ERO comments on teaching standards, which said "overall teaching practice ranges from very good to poor" and that some lessons were lacking in elements to support and challenge students to achieve to a high standard.
Other aspects of the report were more favourable to Selwyn.
Student achievement at NCEA Level 1 and 2 had improved and inspectors noted the improved emphasis on ensuring students reached literacy and numeracy credits for university entry.
There was also praise for The Selwyn Way - an agreed set of values and expectations created by new principal Sheryll Ofner.
* Is your child a Selwyn student? Email anna.rushworth@heraldonsunday.co.nz
