The Remarkables Primary School board says the school is in a "positive place" as it starts the 2018 school year, but its limited statutory manager will continue working with the board.
Madeleine Hawkesby was appointed as the Frankton school’s LSM in late November.
At the time, board chairwoman Jane Hughes said that was a "voluntary and unanimous" board decision and one made because it "required specialised support".
Ms Hawkesby, of Christchurch, was to carry out the "functions of the board in the areas of employment and to manage communication" but the board maintained all other functions.
In an update to parents and caregivers yesterday, the board outlined the actions it would be taking to strengthen its "governance and management practices" over the next 12 months, based on Ms Hawkesby’s advice and support.
"The key outcomes identified the need to form more solid foundations in systems and processes in order to support our rapidly growing school.
"Having outside support has been a proactive step enabling us to obtain additional guidance on how we can take our school forward over the next seven years as we manage the ‘growing pains’ we have faced and continue to face."
The school is rated decile 10 and does not qualify for extra funding.
It opened to junior pupils in February 2010 and fully opened for years 1 to 8 in 2012.Its roll has increased 10-fold since it opened, and in August last year school principal Debbie Dickson told the ODT it was expected to reach 620 by the end of this year, 10 spaces shy of its capacity.
Ms Hawkesby told the ODT yesterday the school would open this year with 567 pupils.
Another 10 were expected to arrive this month.
"This is the highest start of year roll the school has had.
"The school is looking at being around 620-plus, at the end of the year, based on actual enrolments that they are aware of."
It was previously reported the Ministry of Education was working on plans to further expand the school, which in May last year took over the neighbouring former Frankton Playcentre building, converted into teaching space equivalent to two classrooms.
In the update to the school community, the board attributed some of its struggle to rapid growth over a short period of time, which impacted the "development of embedding effective systems and processes in some areas" and operating with "constant change".
That had included some external factors "particular to the Queenstown area", such as "property" and the transient nature of the community.
Actions included strengthening professional relationships across the school and ensuring clarity on roles and responsibilities; ensuring clear governance and management protocols were maintained; and to continue to ensure staffing structures met the needs of the school, subject to Ministry of Education staffing allocation.
Other actions included reviewing and modifying performance management systems and reviewing how and what human resources information was provided to the board.
The school would also recruit a deputy principal to replace Sarah Graham, who had been appointed as Alexandra’s Terrace School principal.
