Principal of the South Auckland Middle School, Alwyn Poole, spoke to Stuff before learning the fate of his charter school.

This is the story of one man, his two schools and a six-year struggle with education officials. National correspondent Steve Kilgallon reports on the making or breaking of two fledgling schools.

There are 15 weeks left in the school year. These could be the last 15 weeks in existence for two fledgling Auckland schools. Or not.

Alwyn Poole established the Villa Education Trust in 2002, launching Mt Hobson Middle School the following year. Then, in 2013, the trust was chosen by the National-led government to start a charter school. The decile-one South Auckland Middle School in Manurewa came first, followed by the West Auckland Middle School in Henderson.

Since the Labour Party took power last year, charter schools have been on notice to either change or shut down.

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Poole is seeking 'special character' status for the schools to stay open. He was told in writing by Education Minister Chris Hipkins on May 15 he should have a decision by the end of July. But he's still waiting.

The delays leave Poole five months to either cease all operations or hire staff and recruit students for the 2019 academic year. That should be enough, according to the Ministry of Education. It isn't, according to Poole.

"We can't advertise a place for next year, we can't offer certainty to staff, and we're worried for families who've found a niche for their child they don't want to lose," Poole says.

So what's the holdup?

Lawrence Smith/Stuff Alwyn Poole with pupils of South Auckland Middle School.

In order to be re-designated 'special character', the schools must show in some specific ways it's different from the character of ordinary state schools.

The schools cap class sizes at 15, offer free uniforms and no fees. They cover the regular curriculum each morning, then have 'activity-based' afternoons based around project work. Poole says it's clear they are very different.

According to the ministry, a "multi-disciplinary team" reviewed the two schools' applications and signed off most of them. But the group wasn't satisfied the schools' curriculum met the special character requirements.

Hipkins ordered an independent evaluation, which was carried out the consultancy Cognition Education. It gave the schools a glowing report and recommended they be allowed to continue under the 'special character' provisions.

The Cognition report points back to another report filed in April by a different consultant, which notes the schools are using "good and innovative practises [not usual in the state sector] … while still meeting high-quality standards".

The ministry did nothing between May 29 and July 3 to ask for extra information to help their decision, Poole says.

"It would have been very easy to ask," he says.

"Cognition took less than two weeks to research and consult and file a comprehensive report that makes it clear that our curriculum is different to that of an 'ordinary state school by a very significant margin.' "

GRANT MATTHEW/STUFF Education Minister Chris Hipkins has told a parent he shares concerns over the impact uncertainty over the school's future is having on students and families.

An exasperated Poole describes the ministry as "astonishingly incompetent".

The ministry, which would not be interviewed, said in a statement the schools could now expect a decision on their future within a fortnight.

In a letter to South Auckland Middle School parent Adele Baller on August 14, Hipkins said the delay was down to the school not "sufficiently demonstrating" how its curriculum met special character status and the need to hire Cognition. Hipkins said he "shared your concerns about the impact this uncertainty is having on students and families".

LAWRENCE SMITH/STUFF Adele Baller and her son Logan Fricker are dismayed at the threat to South Auckland Middle School.

South Auckland Middle School (SAMS) pupil Logan Fricker turned to his mum, Adele Baller, a couple of weeks ago and said: "Mum, I just think this school is made for me."

"It was such a wonderful way to describe the way he feels about his school," she says.

But Logan knows South Auckland Middle is under threat, and keeps asking his mum where he will be at school next year. She can't give him an answer yet.

Logan, who has autism, was up to three years behind National Standards when he started at SAMS this year. Although measured differently, he's now passing seven of 11 subject areas and is very happy in school, says his mother.

"I like everything about the school, there is nothing I don't like," she says. "It is very approachable and friendly, they are working really closely with us and the specialists to help him succeed. I don't have to fight against the school system."

He's sitting attentively in a lesson about Māori perspectives on the environment when Stuff visits the school. "This is first school where he has fitted and he feels where he belongs," Poole says. "At the beginning of the year he said he hated school."

Baller is deeply frustrated about the delay in decisions about the school's future, because she knows it will take months for Logan to successfully transition to a new school. She also fears that if the school remains open, class sizes will increase and Logan will lose the individual attention that has seen his behaviour and achievement improve.

"We spent months and months going around South Auckland trying to find the right place. [If SAMS closes] it doesn't leave many other options for him," she says. She doesn't want Logan in a bigger school where he would get lost, leaving home schooling or special schooling, neither of which are the right fit for her son. "All he ever wanted was to have a friend: it's quite sad for an 11-year-old child to say that. But now he has got a friend.

"He can walk around school and everyone high-fives him, and it's that closeness being built up that is just unreal for a kid that had no social skills and, being honest, because he is autistic, doesn't grow social skills very easily. He's developed that in a school environment he doesn't get anywhere else."

Baller has written twice to Hipkins, but was disappointed at his "bland" response. She says: "I know there is a lot of judgement about charter schools… but for kids like mine who have struggled in state schools, there has to be a place for them to go to have a chance of success."

LAWRENCE SMITH/STUFF Alwyn Poole describes the Ministry of Education as "astonishingly incompetent".

Poole and the ministry have been arguing since the schools were established. He says they are a continual handbrake on his schools' success. The handling of the move to special character, he says, has been "unbelievable".

In its written statement, the ministry's Katrina Casey says its relationship with Villa Education, is "professional and respectful".

Poole admits to being combative in his dealings, but says they've failed him on a series of occasions dating back to when the original contracts to operate the schools were signed. "We have been quite confrontational and they probably don't like it … I've said they need a shake up. It is a massive bureaucracy ... there should be some accountability."

When the first contract was signed, Poole says he only saw it for the first time on the day, and was told it had to be done as the then education minister, Hekia Parata, was due to make a public announcement naming the first wave of charter schools.

The contract included a clause stipulating how many year seven and eight students had to be above-average for national standards in reading, writing and maths.

Poole says his average student was some 30 months behind the average on their first day and only 35 per cent were at standard. But the contract included rising targets, with 85 per cent of year seven and eights expected to be above average in 2017.

"At that time, Remuera Intermediate wasn't above 75 per cent ... that standard wasn't being applied to state schools," says Poole. He says he signed under dispute and was promised a full review of the clause, which he says never happened.

That's one of six existing unresolved disputes between the ministry and Villa. The other, most serious one relates to South Auckland's expansion from 120 to 180 pupils: Poole says the ministry reneged on an agreement to fund the expansion, a claim it denies.

The ministry say the performance targets were initially between 50 and 62 per cent, then rising, because partnership schools had the "aim of delivering better than average outcomes" and note Poole twice signed up to these contracts.

Poole says the contract also omitted any measures of older students' attainment and the ministry, despite promising to, failed to develop any way of measuring it (they say NCEA exams were the measure).

"Logically, we could take our year nine and ten students outside and leave them under a tree ... and then we should take all our year seven and eights who are above [standard] and put them under a tree and just teach reading, writing and maths. We would meet the contract, but provide a terrible education."

SUPPLIED The Ministry of Education's Katrina Casey would not be interviewed, instead issuing a written statement.

When the Education Review Office (ERO) visited, Poole says they didn't ask for any year nine or ten data because their review was focused on whether he was meeting his contract.

They didn't meet the 75 per cent figure (but were close: 72 per cent for reading, 73 per cent for writing, 70 per cent for maths). An interim ERO report in 2014 said South Auckland Middle School had "made a good start," but a full report in 2016 noted: "South Auckland Middle School is not yet meeting all the [contract] obligations ... however it has demonstrated ... the capability to continue to improve educational outcomes for all its students."

ERO noted the ministry had agreed to work on measuring progress for years nine and ten. It also failed a standard for 'student engagement' and student attendance.

The contract also told the schools to ensure they enrolled 75 per cent 'priority learners' (those from Māori, Pasifika, or low socio-economic backgrounds) but Poole says they were also told they couldn't select their intake to meet the target (although they did). They have no school zone, offer preference only to siblings, with the remaining four-times-oversubscribed drawn by ballot at the local police station.

"We have quite quickly become part of the furniture and got a really good reputation as a hardworking school," Poole reckons. "Our kids are absolutely thriving on structure, expectations and the opportunity to do things a bit differently."

One longstanding issue between Poole and teaching unions has been over the school's funding model.

While other schools are allocated amounts tagged to budget areas such as maintenance, staff costs and sports, South Auckland is given a bulk sum and the freedom to spend as they see fit. Because they lease their buildings and don't have a gym, pool or sports fields (instead hiring public facilities), they can reassign money into slightly higher teacher salaries and to cover fees and uniform costs.

Adele Baller's fear is the school will have to bump up class sizes if it loses bulk funding - and worries for the impact on her son Logan.

The ministry say the school will not continue to be bulk funded and has always known that. Instead, it will have to "prioritise'" staffing, resource and operational funding to retain its key elements.

Poole says in that case, "we would become social entrepreneurs" and work out how to maintain its smaller class sizes, free uniform, no fees, higher salaries model. "We would not charge donations. We would have to be more creative."