91A Smith Street , Matamata
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.
Matamata Christian School is in the township of Matamata and provides education for students in Years 1 to 8. The school draws upon its special Christian character and values as the guiding principles in all its operation. These values underpin teaching, learning and governance, embodying what the school is and how it functions.
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.
| Outcomes are improving for most students. |
| Collaborative leadership fosters and sustains a school culture committed to high quality teaching, and equity and excellence in learner outcomes. |
| Leadership and teachers provide students with a good range of appropriate learning opportunities that promote their progress and achievement. |
| Key conditions that underpin successful school improvement, including parent partnerships, board governance and evaluation, are well established. |
The agreed next steps for the school are to:
The agreed actions for the next improvement cycle and timeframes are as follows.
Every six months:
Annually:
Actions taken against these next steps are expected to result in:
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
3 September 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 Matamata Christian School Board has attested to the following regulatory and legislative requirements:
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
For further information please contact Matamata Christian School, 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
3 September 2024
The Education Counts website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement. educationcounts.govt.nz/home
Matamata Christian School is a state integrated school catering for students from Years 1 to 8. It is situated in a residential area of Matamata. The current roll of 73 includes eight students of Māori descent and number of students from a wide range of other ethnicities.
Since the 2015 ERO review school leadership has remained the same. During 2019 there has been significant changes within the teaching team. The proprietors board has changed its name from Matamata Christian School Association to Peria Christian Education Incorporated. The school board of trustees includes both long serving and newly elected members.
The school’s mission statement is, together with the parents, to work to provide a Christ-centred education based on biblical foundations. They strive for personal excellence in the academic, spiritual, physical and emotional realms. The school’s core values and purpose are to promote a strong Christian focus to encourage lifelong discipleship of Jesus Christ. Teaching values include: respect, service, compassion, truthfulness, self-control, initiative, perseverance and diligence.
Leaders and teachers regularly report to the board, schoolwide information about outcomes for students in the following areas:
The school is a member of two Kāhui Ako. The principal of Matamata Christian School is the lead principal of Ngā Whānau O Karaiti (Central North Islands Christian Primary Community of Learning). The school is also a member of the Matamata Community Kāhui Ako.
The school is making progress towards achieving equity and excellence for all students.
Information gathered for all students between 2016 and 2018 shows student achievement has improved in reading, writing and mathematics. The school reports that an increasing number of students enter at five years of age with low levels of oral literacy and the roll tends to fluctuate with a number of students enrolling and leaving throughout the year.
In 2018 most students achieved national expectations in reading, mathematics and writing, including Pacific and the majority of Māori students. Pākehā outperform Māori in reading, writing and mathematics. Achievement data also indicates that girls achieve at higher levels than boys in mathematics and significantly higher in reading and writing. This pattern of significant disparity for boys has remained consistent over the last two years in writing.
The school is able to show accelerated learning and progress for many students who need this.
The school has a small number of students whose learning needs accelerating to meet national expectations. Data for 2018 shows effective acceleration for at-risk learners including Māori in reading, writing and mathematics. This includes some students who have not yet reached expected levels but have made more than a year’s progress within a year.
Leaders’ collaboratively develop and pursue the school’s vision and goals for equity and excellence. They work well with the board of trustees. The board supports the school with effective resourcing. Leaders are focused on building teacher capability. They target recruitment and successfully induct and support new teachers into the school. Leaders have robust systems and practices to track and monitor at-risk students. They have a strong focus on improving outcomes for students.
The Christian values and character of the school are highly evident. The school’s curriculum is faith based, inclusive and clearly aligned to the New Zealand Curriculum. There ia a well-developed programme, Kid on the Rock, which integrates many curriculum areas. The curriculum includes local history and the Treaty of Waitangi. Respectful and productive relationships between students, parents and staff are highly evident. Students are encouraged to display the values of the school and are affirmed and celebrated for their efforts.
Students learn in an orderly and supportive environment. They have access to a range of useful interventions to support foundational literacy and numeracy skills. A wide range of effective teaching strategies is supporting students. Students are highly engaged in their learning.
Parents and whānau are welcomed and involved in school activities as respected and valued partners in learning. The school provides information and resources on how parents can support their children with home learning. Parents feel well informed about their children’s learning and progress. There are formal and informal opportunities for parents and whānau to share information about their child. Leaders and teachers have an open-door approach to foster parent partnerships.
There is a need to strengthen schoolwide consistency of student ownership of learning, particularly for at-risk learners. Leaders and teachers should consider ways to support students to further build their understanding and knowledge of their own learning pathways. This should include students being able to confidently talk about their learning goals and progress.
Leaders and ERO agree that with a significant change to the teaching team there needs to be a continued focus on building teacher capability to meet the needs of all learners, particularly those at-risk of not achieving.
There is a planned approach to further develop the bicultural dimension in the school, which includes building teacher’s confidence and capability in te reo Māori. This should remain a priority to strengthen the natural integration of Māori language into daily programmes.
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:
On the basis of the findings of this review, ERO’s overall evaluation judgement of Matamata Christian School’s performance in achieving valued outcomes for its students is: Well placed.
ERO’s Framework: Overall Findings and Judgement Tool derived from School Evaluation Indicators: Effective Practice for Improvement and Learner Success is available on ERO’s website.
For sustained improvement and future learner success, the school can draw on existing strengths in:
For sustained improvement and future learner success, priorities for further development are in:
ERO identified non-compliance in relation to developing a policy and training staff in physical restraint.
In order to address this, the board of trustees must:
To improve practice the board should undertake and maintain the regular review of policies and procedures that guide school operations.
Phillip Cowie
Director Review and Improvement Services
Central Region
18 December 2019
| Location | Matamata |
| Ministry of Education profile number | 1186 |
| School type | State Integrated Full Primary (Years 1-8) |
| School roll | 73 |
| Gender composition | Female 45 Male 28 |
| Ethnic composition | Māori 8 NZ European/Pākehā 32 Pacific 7 Filipino 6 African 6 Other ethnic groups 14 |
| Students with Ongoing Resourcing Funding (ORS) | No |
| Provision of Māori medium education | No |
| Review team on site | October 2019 |
| Date of this report | 18 December 2019 |
| Most recent ERO report(s) | Education Review May 2015 Education Review May 2012 Education Review May 2008 |
Matamata Christian School is providing high-quality educational services to its students and community through its special character. The needs of all students are being well met through the skilled delivery of effectively planned learning programmes. Staff and students benefit from well-informed governance, strong professional leadership, and ongoing parental support.
ERO is likely to carry out the next review in four-to-five years.
Matamata Christian is a state integrated school catering for students from Years 1 to 8 and currently has a roll of 58. It is situated in a residential area of Matamata and is set in spacious and attractive grounds. The proprietor of the school is the Matamata Christian School Association.
Since the last ERO review in 2012, the principal, deputy principal, board and proprietors have continued to provide effective leadership, management and governance for the school. Recently a new teacher has been appointed and two new members have been appointed to the board.
The school has made significant progress in addressing the areas for development identified in the 2012 ERO report. These related to use of assessment tools, moderating judgements about student achievement against National Standards, and using data to reflect on teaching practices. During this time teachers have received ongoing professional development to enhance their teaching in numeracy, literacy and information and communication technologies (ICT).
Teachers and students work in an inclusive, positive school culture where the Christian character permeates all aspects of school life. The school community and parents continue to strongly support activities and events.
The school uses school-wide student achievement information effectively to make positive changes to learners’ engagement, progress and achievement. A range of appropriate assessment tools is used to gather data in the core learning areas of reading, writing and numeracy.
Information at the end of 2014 indicates that most students were achieving at or above National Standards in all these learning areas. Girls and boys achieved at comparable levels. While a number of Māori students achieved at lower levels than other students, information gathered over time shows that there have been significant learning gains for this group.
Management has collated and analysed student achievement school wide to identify trends in achievement. Board members use this information to set appropriate targets for all students in reading, writing and numeracy, with a particular emphasis on students who are achieving below or well below National Standards. These targets and outcomes are carefully monitored to ensure that students are making accelerated progress, with school strategies and initiatives being adjusted if necessary.
Teachers use achievement information effectively to plan and implement learning programmes that match the abilities and learning needs of individual students in multi-level classrooms. Students with special learning needs are well catered for through specific support programmes and the use of experienced and knowledgeable teacher aides.
There is effective reporting to parents about each student’s progress and achievement. Parents spoken with by ERO reported that they felt very well informed about their children’s learning. Reporting is done regularly through interviews, written reports and student-led conferences as well as informal discussions with teachers. A feature of the reporting system is the 'Learning Journal' where samples of work and testing are collected and form a picture of students’ learning over time.
School management has identified and ERO agrees that to further enhance learning the school should continue its efforts to build learning partnerships with all parents.
The school curriculum strongly promotes and supports student learning and is responsive to the school’s students and context. It is closely aligned to The New Zealand Curriculum and is taught through the school’s special Christian character. The curriculum is implemented through a ‘Discipleship’ model of education where students are encouraged to learn about God and have a personal relationship with him. The school’s philosophy is linked to the ‘Kid on the Rock’ concept, which promotes eight core values in school life. These values of respect, initiative, compassion, self control, truthfulness, diligence, perseverance and service are strongly promoted in the life of the school.
The curriculum places priority on literacy and numeracy and promoting physical activity through school programmes. It also has special emphases on students making best use of technology, education outside the classroom, biblical studies and the provision of te reo and tikanga Māori. A special feature of the curriculum is a focus on the heritage of the school and how it fits into the world around it. This programme looks at Matamata history for the juniors, Waikato history for the middle school and NZ history for senior students. Guidelines and implementation plans are in place for the essential learning areas of the NZ curriculum framework.
Teachers demonstrate effective teaching practices and use authentic learning contexts for students. They know students very well and plan programmes that meet the varied learning needs. Teachers use a range of appropriate strategies to encourage purposeful student engagement and have high expectations for their learning and success.
Management and ERO agree that teachers should continue to develop the teaching as inquiry approach to enhance their teaching practice.
The school promotes educational success for Māori students. The staff are familiar with and have used Ka Hikitia:Accelerating Success 2013 and Tataiako to understand practical dimensions that can make a difference for Māori students. As a result they have made changes in school operations. These changes relate to the way:
In the two target areas of writing and numeracy in 2014 there were significant improvements in Māori student achievement.
ERO and management agree that a levels based sequential programme be developed and documented to guide teachers in delivering te reo and tikanga Māori programmes in their classrooms.
The school is very well placed to sustain and improve its performance because:
Before the review, the board of trustees 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:
During the review, ERO checked the following items because they have a potentially high impact on student achievement:
Matamata Christian School is providing high-quality educational services to its students and community through its special character. The needs of all students are being well met through the skilled delivery of effectively planned learning programmes. Staff and students benefit from well-informed governance, strong professional leadership, and ongoing parental support.
ERO is likely to carry out the next review in four-to-five years.
Dale Bailey Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern
8 May 2015
| Location | Matamata | |
| Ministry of Education profile number | 1186 | |
| School type | Full Primary (Years 1 to 8) | |
| School roll | 58 | |
| Gender composition | Girls 34 Boys 24 | |
| Ethnic composition | Pākehā Māori Other European Pacific South East Asian; Other | 30 12 9 3 1 3 |
| Special Features | Christian Special Character | |
| Review team on site | March 2015 | |
| Date of this report | 8 May 2015 | |
| Most recent ERO report(s) | Education Review Education Review Education Review | May 2012 May 2008 December 2004 |