Some Upper Hutt residents are demanding officials be upfront with them about the release of a convicted child sex offender into the area.
The man, who was released last year, is being monitored by GPS and is subject to multiple exclusion zones, preventing him from entering specific areas.
Oxford Crescent School principal Leanne White will meet with the Department of Corrections and police this week, after authorities refused to name the offender or reveal what what he was convicted of.
Residents near the school told Radio New Zealand they either did know about the offender's release, or had heard about it through the media.
Shirley, who lives nearby, said the whole community should have been given more information.
"We don't even know where he is, where he's gone to," she said. "I can understand why the school's concerned."
Lynn, who lives across the road from the school, has six grandchildren ranging in age from four to 10, and said the release had been badly handled.
"Where I sit in my room I can watch them coming out of school. Some walk out down the street on their own, some are supervised by parents or caregivers," she said.
"I used to be a caregiver and I just think 'I don't like the idea of that guy wandering around'."
Further down the road, Keith, a father, said Corrections should reveal more information about the offender.
"It should be put into perspective because of what he's actually done. Because if it's minor, it's minor - if it's major, it's major.
"Otherwise people are going to jump to conclusions and a poor outcome is going to happen."
His neighbour Narish attended the school as a boy and also believed the Department of Corrections should have been more forthcoming.
"They should have been informed a lot, lot earlier. Especially in this time and day and this world we live in. There's people out there, I think, especially the children at the school should be protected," he said.
The department's operations director for the lower North Island, Matire Kupenga-Wanoa, told Morning Report she was confident the school and surrounding community had been adequately informed.
"My staff went to the neighbours that are neighbouring this particular offender, with police. We informed them, providing information, so we gave them booklets on managing safety in the community and making sure that we do know where our children are," she said.
Ms Kupenga-Wanoa said the man had been in the Upper Hutt community for several months and was complying with the conditions of his extended supervision order. The exclusion areas that applied to him included schools and parks.
Another resident, Rangi said while she was grateful to have been warned about the offender, everyone deserved a second chance.
"It's good to know. I believe people deserve second chances and if they've done everything to make sure he's okay to be released in the community, I'll just be a bit more wary of where my kids are and not let them roam around by themselves," she said.
Another resident Lita cautioned about making too much fuss, saying schools and parents prepared their children for stranger danger.
"Sometimes the more people talk about it and the more fuss that's made, the more difficult things become, the more fearful children become," she said.
"The more fearful the former perpetrator becomes, the more anxious he might become - the more risk there is that he will do something damaging again to someone else," she said.
Minister of Corrections Sam Lotu-liga has asked his officials to meet the school and said he'll be briefed on the outcome.
