22 Kawhia Harbour Road , Taharoa
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.
Kinohaku School provides education for learners in Years 1 to 8. There are nine students on the school roll. The school’s vision of ‘Harbouring success in every learner’ is underpinned by the values of ‘to be proud, responsible, respectful, confident and independent’. The board employed a permanent principal in Term 3, 2024.
| How well are learners succeeding? | The school is working towards high levels of success and progress for all learners. |
| What is the quality of teaching and learning? | Learners benefit from good quality teaching practice that improves progress and achievement in reading, writing and mathematics. |
| How well does the school curriculum respond to all learners needs? | Learners have some opportunities to learn across the breadth and depth of the curriculum. There is a consistent focus on supporting learners to gain skills in literacy and mathematics. Learners with complex needs are well supported to achieve their education goals. |
| How well does school planning and conditions support ongoing improvement? | The school is establishing planning and conditions that support improvements in the quality of education for learners. |
| How well does the school include all learners and promote their engagement and wellbeing? | The school reasonably promotes learners’ engagement, wellbeing and inclusion. |
| How well does the school partner with parents, whānau and its community for the benefit of learners? | The school reports usefully and accurately to parents / whānau about their child’s learning, achievement and progress. The school is improving its collection and use of information gathered through community consultation to inform strategic planning and curriculum decisions. |
| Student Health and Safety | The school board is taking reasonable steps to ensure student health and safety. |
This table outlines how well students across the school meet or exceed the expected curriculum level.
Foundation Skills | |
| Reading | Almost all learners meet or exceed the expected curriculum level. Results are equitable for all groups of learners. |
| Writing | A large majority of learners meet or exceed the expected curriculum level. Results are equitable for all groups of learners. |
| Mathematics | A large majority of learners meet or exceed the expected curriculum level. Results are becoming more equitable for all groups of learners. |
The school is significantly behind the target of 80% regular attendance.
The school is developing a suitable plan to improve attendance.
Regular attendance is not yet improving towards or beyond the target.
The school is improving its approach and the reliability of its practices to accurately find out about achievement against the curriculum.
Teachers should improve their use of assessment information to adjust teaching practices to ensure ongoing improvement in teaching and student progress.
The school is developing good quality planning to increase the rate of progress for all groups of students.
The school has to some extent improved achievement and progress for those learners most at risk of not achieving since the previous review.
The school has to some extent extended achievement and progress for learners working at or above curriculum levels since the previous review.
The school is making progress towards meeting Government reading, writing and mathematics targets and/or pānui, tuhituhi and pāngarau targets for 2030 and agrees this will need to be a key strategic priority.
This section of the report provides more detail for the school to include in strategic and annual planning for ongoing improvement across the school.
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:
All schools are required to promote student health and safety and to regularly review their compliance with legal requirements.
During this review the Board has attested to some regulatory and legislative requirements in the following areas:
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
ERO has identified the following areas of non-compliance during the board assurance process:
The board has since addressed the areas of non-compliance identified.
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 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
Sharon Kelly
Director of Schools (Acting)
23 April 2025
This website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement. educationcounts.govt.nz/home
Kinohaku School is located 11km east of Tahaaroa at the southern end of the Kawhia Harbour. The school caters for children in years 1 to 8. At the time of this ERO review there were 20 students and 16 identify as Māori.
Since the January 2017 ERO report, the board have undertaken remodelling of classrooms and a multipurpose room has been added. Changes to local demographics have resulted in a roll decrease. Leadership and staff have remained largely the same with one new appointment of a principal release teacher.
The board of trustees has a mix of experienced and new members. The school operates a junior class, Years 1 to 3 and a senior class, Years 4 to 8.
The school vision of ‘harbouring success in every learner’ is underpinned by the values: ‘to be proud, responsible, respectful, confident and independent’. Staff have engaged in professional development relating to literacy learning, student agency, teacher inquiry and digital technology. School personnel have continued to review and develop their localised curriculum.
Leaders and teachers regularly report to the board, schoolwide information about outcomes for students in the following areas:
The school is working towards achieving equitable and excellent outcomes for all its students. The 2019 achievement data shows almost all students are achieving at or above curriculum expectations in reading, and all are achieving in mathematics. In writing, most students are achieving at or above curriculum expectations. Māori are achieving as well as, or better than their Pākehā peers in reading, writing and mathematics.
Schoolwide data from 2017 to 2019 shows improvement in reading and minor fluctuations in writing and mathematics. There is some identified disparity for boys in writing in 2019.
2018 and 2019 school assessment data shows improved outcomes in science. Almost all students are working within curriculum expectations in this area.
The school is effectively accelerating learning for Māori and other students who need this. Achievement information shows most priority learners make accelerated progress in reading, writing and mathematics. Māori student achievement is accelerating at similar or better rates than their Pākehā peers. Students who are not yet at curriculum expectations, have individual plans and goals in place and are working towards achieving these.
The principal is well supported by an experienced board who actively serve the school community in its stewardship role. Trustees are representative of a community that is committed to the sustainability of the school. Leaders and trustees consult widely to review and develop their school vision, values and strategic direction. Trustees are highly focused on improving student outcomes, and scrutinise information provided by leaders to inform decision making. School resourcing is focused on achieving equity and excellence for all students.
Effective professional leadership has established an environment to support equitable opportunities. Leaders are strongly focused on building relational trust in a collaborative environment. The strengths within the team are valued and utilised. Relevant professional learning and development supports improvement in teaching and learning. Ongoing evaluation and inquiry enables sustained improvement to support equitable outcomes.
Respectful and caring relationships create a culture focused on learning. Teachers use a wide range of effective strategies to meet the individual needs of a diverse range of students. Learners are encouraged to set goals and work towards achieving these independently. Additional support for individuals is accessed where necessary. Students with specific needs are identified, closely tracked and monitored to ensure their progress is accelerated. Teachers focus on building student strengths to foster confidence and a strong sense of identity and belonging.
Students benefit from a curriculum that is designed to respond to parent aspirations and student needs. The school is acknowledging and connecting with the rich Māori history, local environment, language and culture of the area. The school curriculum connects student lives, understandings and prior experiences. Authentic contexts for learning and opportunities for education outside the classroom are provided. Digital tools and online opportunities are integrated and support access to a differentiated curriculum. A wide range of reliable and valid assessment tools are used to measure progress and determine next steps for individual students. Learners are highly engaged in a relevant and broad learning programme.
School leaders have undertaken a comprehensive and collaborative review of the local curriculum. There is now a need to refine and document key priorities and communicate these to the school community. This should further inform and support strategic direction and continued learner success.
Priority should also be given to further enabling students to be self-managing learners through the understanding and use of learning progressions in key curriculum areas. This should promote continued positive outcomes, and acceleration for all who need this.
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 Kinohaku 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:
To improve current practice, the board of trustees should:
Darcy Te Hau
Acting Director Review and Improvement Services
Central Region - Te Tai Pūtahi Nui
4 June 2020