Natone Park School teacher Stacey Reriti, 30, was convicted of sex with a minor after a trial in the High Court at Wellington.

The Ministry of Education intervened at a Porirua school after complaints about the school's handling of allegations that a teacher was sexually abusing a boy.

Stacey Reriti, 30, who was co-deputy principal of Natone Park School in Porirua, was convicted last month of sexually violating the boy, now 14, over a three-year period, starting when he was 10.

ROSS GIBLIN/ FAIRFAX NZ Natone Park School, in Porirua, whose former co-deputy principal Stacey Reriti has been convicted of molesting a boy.

A jury trial heard the pair had sex last year, after three years of Reriti sharing intimate photos and text messages with the boy, and engaging in other sex acts.

She called him a liar in her defence.

Reriti's foster mother, Kiri Smith, is Natone's principal, and her grandfather is on the board of trustees.

Wellington police laid a complaint about the board's handling of the case, accusing it of not declaring a conflict of interest when Reriti's grandfather sat in on a board meeting at which detectives detailed the allegations against her.

Kiri Smith had declared her conflict of interest as a family member, and sat out of the meeting.

Police were later tipped off about the grandfather's presence at the meeting, and complained to teacher watchdog the Education Council.

Ministry head of sector enablement and support Katrina Casey confirmed the complaint was passed to the ministry. It was satisfied with the way Reriti was hired when she first started, but intervened when it was informed of the conflict of interest issue.

"With one exception that we're aware of, we're satisfied with the way the school has managed those conflicts over time," Casey said.

The ministry confirmed Kiri Smith had declared a conflict of interest and excluded herself from the hiring process when Reriti applied for a job at the school in 2010.

At that time, Reriti's grandfather was not a trustee, Casey said.

When the school was made aware of the allegations against Reriti in August 2014, it suspended her, which was a decision the ministry approved of, Casey said.

However, it intervened when it was made aware of the police concerns about the board meeting.

"The police raised concerns with us in early October 2014 that their investigation could be hindered due to family links," Casey said.

"As we understand it, their concerns were the result of a meeting they held with some board members in late August 2014 that Ms Reriti's grandfather was at.

"We were informed that the grandfather didn't declare his conflict at this initial meeting. He should have, and should have excluded himself from the meeting."

The ministry told the school what its obligations were, and asked the School Trustees' Association to offer it advice.

The board had since established a separate subcommittee for matters involving Reriti, which did not include her family members. The ministry was "satisfied" with its handling of potential conflicts since, Casey said.

The ministry remained involved involved in supporting the school "in this challenging time".

Reriti is due to be sentenced later this month. She will then face a disciplinary tribunal, which has the power to strip her of her teaching certificate.