Mangakahia Road , Whangarei
View on mapTēnā koutou e mau manawa rahi ki te kaupapa e aro ake nei, ko te tamaiti te pūtake o te kaupapa. Mā wai rā e kawe, mā tātau katoa.
We acknowledge the collective effort, responsibility and commitment by all to ensure that the child remains at the heart of the matter.
Pakotai School is a small rural school in Northland and provides education for learners in Years 1 to 8. The school’s mission is to provide students with a broad educational experience. The values that underpin school life include rangatiratanga, manaakitanga and kaitiakitanga. A new principal was appointed in April 2023.
There are two parts to this report.
Part A: An evaluative summary of learner success and school conditions to inform the school board’s future strategic direction, including any education in Rumaki/bilingual settings.
Part B: The improvement actions prioritised for the school’s next evaluation cycle.
The following findings are to inform the school’s future priorities for improvement.
| Improvement is urgently needed to ensure all students are engaged in learning, making sufficient progress, and are achieving well. |
| Leadership is beginning to establish strategic planning and identify the key school priorities for improvement. |
| Improvements are required to curriculum design and teaching practices. |
| Board governance and leadership require external support to bring about the improvement needed for learner success |
The agreed next steps for the school are to:
The agreed actions for the next improvement cycle and timeframes are as follows:
Within three months:
Every six months:
Annually:
Actions taken against these next steps are expected to result in:
To support the school’s improvement planning ERO will:
To support the school's improvement planning ERO will:
ERO’s role will be to support the school in its evaluation for improvement cycle to improve outcomes for all learners. The next public report on ERO’s website will be a School Evaluation Report and is due within three years.
Me mahi tahi tonu tātau, kia whai oranga a tātau tamariki
Let’s continue to work together for the greater good of all children
Shelley Booysen
Director of Schools
15 August 2024
The Education Counts website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement. educationcounts.govt.nz/home
As of June 2024, the Pakotai School Board has attested to the following regulatory and legislative requirements:
No
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
No
ERO identified the following areas of non-compliance during the board assurance process. The board:
ERO has since received evidence to show that these areas of non-compliance have been addressed.
ERO has also identified the following areas of non-compliance. The board:
The board have not yet addressed these areas of non-compliance.
For further information please contact Pakotai School Board.
The next School Board assurance that it is meeting regulatory and legislative requirements will be reported, along with the Te Ara Huarau | School Evaluation Report, within three years.
Information on ERO’s role and process in this review can be found on the Education Review Office website.
Shelley Booysen
Director of Schools
15 August 2024
The Education Counts website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement. educationcounts.govt.nz/home
Pakotai School, in a rural area west of Whangarei, is a full primary school catering for students from Years 1 to 8. The roll of approximately 11 children are all Māori and from the local area. The school is a central part of the community with intergenerational links with local whānau.
The school’s mission is to provide children with a diverse education that ensures their learning success now and into the future. It also aims to assist children to become well-balanced adults who contribute positively to New Zealand society. The board has identified four school values; whanaungatanga, aroha, manaakitanga and mana, to underpin school activities.
A new principal was employed in 2015. He is currently supported by a release teacher whose focus is on increasing students’ knowledge of te reo and tikanga Māori.
The principal regularly reports to the board, schoolwide information about outcomes for students in the following areas:
The school is a member of Ngā Kura mo te ako o Whangarei Group 4 Kāhui Ako|Community of Learning (CoL).
The school is making progress towards achieving excellent outcomes for all its students.
Most students achieved or exceeded achievement expectations in mathematics during 2016. Half of the students achieved or exceeded expectations in literacy.
The principal carefully monitors each student’s individual progress. He acknowledges that it is a priority to find ways to moderate the assessment of students’ achievement. This moderation would help to assure the board that the information that is reported to them is reliable.
The principal responds well to students whose achievement need acceleration.
The principal has in-depth knowledge of the individual progress and achievement of all children. He uses this information to identify children who need additional support to make accelerated progress. There is good planning to support these children, and some make accelerated progress.
The principal closely monitors the attendance patterns of students. This is because the school data show that good attendance contributes greatly to students sustaining accelerated progress.
The school’s effective systems for curriculum management and strong school leadership are helping to enable the achievement of equity and excellence.
Students have equitable opportunities to learn through differentiated programmes designed to meet their individual learning needs. They benefit from a warm and nurturing school environment, and participate and learn in ways that are collaborative and inclusive. Students relate well to their teachers, and are supportive of each other. Tuakana/teina practices are a feature of the school and support children’s ongoing learning.
Success as Māori is a focus and strongly encouraged. School practices value students’ whānau and heritage, and reflect and incorporate te ao Māori. There is a clear emphasis on the bicultural heritage of Aotearoa New Zealand.
Students’ engagement with the curriculum is strongly promoted. Children have opportunities to learn, achieve and progress in the breadth and depth of the NZ Curriculum. They are given valuable experiences within and beyond the classroom, and in the local area. These experiences include many hands-on, creative activities that develop their problem-solving skills. Parents and whānau are encouraged to participate in the curriculum to enrich students’ interests. The board provides resources that extend students’ access to digital learning. Students use digital devices well to support their learning.
The principal has a clear vision of a successful ‘Pakotai learner’ and implements appropriate strategies to achieve this. He has a close network of professionals that support him with his leadership role. He is proactive in seeking expertise for the benefit of students’ learning. He regularly canvases parent, whānau and students’ views, and includes these in school decision-making. There is a strong home-school partnership to support student success.
The school is developing appropriate and relevant strategic goals for ongoing school development. These could include further development to:
The principal is highly committed to the dual roles of being both a leader and a teacher. However, in order to undertake both roles successfully, the board needs to ensure that the principal has regular access to the release time to which he is entitled.
Before the review, the board and principal of the school completed the ERO Board Assurance Statement and Self-Audit Checklists. In these documents they attested that they had taken all reasonable steps to meet their legislative obligations related to the following:
During the review, ERO checked the following items because they have a potentially high impact on student safety and wellbeing:
To improve current practice, the board of trustees should:
For sustained improvement and future learner success, the school can draw on existing strengths in:
For sustained improvement and future learner success, development priorities are to:
ERO is likely to carry out the next external evaluation in three years.
ERO will provide an internal evaluation workshop for trustees and senior leaders.
Julie Foley
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern (Acting)
Te Tai Raki - Northern Region
28 March 2018
| Location | Whangarei | |
| Ministry of Education profile number | 1075 | |
| School type | Full primary (Year 1-8) | |
| School roll | 11 | |
| Gender composition | Girls 6 Boys 5 | |
| Ethnic composition | Māori | 11 |
| Provision of Māori medium education | No | |
| Review team on site | December 2017 | |
| Date of this report | 28 March 2018 | |
| Most recent ERO report(s) | Education Review Education Review Education Review | December 2014 October 2011 November 2008 |