913 Whirinaki Valley Road , Ngakuru, Rotorua
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.
Ngakuru School is a small rural primary school situated south of Rotorua and provides education for students in Years 1 to 8. The school values being the hub of their rural community and encourages positive community relationships and engagement. Ngakuru School’s vision, values and learner dispositions focus on students striving for personal excellence.
There are three parts to this report.
Part A: A summary of the findings from the most recent Education Review Office (ERO) report and/or subsequent evaluation.
Part B: 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 C: The improvement actions prioritised for the school’s next evaluation cycle.
Since the previous ERO report in August 2022, ERO and the school worked together to evaluate the quality and effectiveness of teaching and learning practices in supporting and maximising opportunities for every student to learn and achieve at their appropriate curriculum level.
The school expected to see:
Maximum and equitable opportunities for all learners to succeed.
Quality teaching and learning practices that are consistent and effective.
During the course of the evaluation, it was found that leaders and teachers have refined systems for regularly evaluating their impact on learner progress, resulting in consistent quality practices for teaching and learning and improved outcomes for learners.
The following findings are to inform the school’s future priorities for improvement.
| Almost all learners are achieving outcomes of equity and excellence. |
| Leaders foster a collective culture focused on high quality teaching and learning. |
| Teaching is intentional and responsive to the different needs of learners. |
| The school has well established conditions that underpin school improvement. |
The agreed next steps for the school are to:
The agreed actions for the next improvement cycle and timeframes are as follows.
Within six months:
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
Sharon Kelly
Acting Director of Schools
27 February 2025
The Education Counts website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement. educationcounts.govt.nz/home
As of October 2024, the Ngakuru School Board has attested to the following regulatory and legislative requirements:
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
For further information please contact Ngakuru 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.
Sharon Kelly
Acting Director of Schools
27 February 2025
The Education Counts website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement. educationcounts.govt.nz/home
This Profile Report was written within 12 months of the Education Review Office and Ngakuru School working in Te Ara Huarau, an improvement evaluation approach used in most English Medium State and State Integrated Schools. For more information about Te Ara Huarau see ERO’s website. www.ero.govt.nz
Ngakuru School is a small rural primary school situated approximately 30 minutes south of Rotorua and provides education for students in Years 1-8. The school is the hub of the community and shares strong relationships with family and whānau. Many families have enjoyed ongoing connections with the school over several generations. Ngakuru School’s learners are consistently supported and encouraged to strive for personal excellence in academic and sporting endeavours.
Ngakuru School’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are to:
ensure all students have maximum and equitable opportunities to learn, progress and achieve at or above their appropriate curriculum level
empower all learners with confidence and self-responsibility for life-long learning
continue to prioritise valued community and whānau partnerships that support successful outcomes for all learners.
You can find a copy of the school’s strategic and annual plan on Ngakuru School’s website.
ERO and the school are working together to evaluate how effective the school’s practices and strategies for quality teaching and learning are in supporting and maximising opportunity for every student to learn and achieve at their appropriate curriculum level.
The rationale for selecting this evaluation is:
the significant difference it will make in equitable outcomes for all learners
the focused opportunity to strengthen processes and systems for using valid assessment to respond most effectively to learner needs
to strengthen coherency and consistency of schoolwide teaching and learning practises across curriculum levels
to empower all learners to develop self-efficacy and agency.
The school expects to see improvement in consistent and quality teaching and learning practices schoolwide, resulting in all students having effective, sufficient, and equitable opportunities to learn and achieve at or above their appropriate curriculum level.
The school can draw from the following strengths to support its goal to embed valued practices and strategies for quality teaching and learning.
A well-established plan that clarifies actions and provides indicators of success.
Collaborative leadership and staff who are committed to improving valued outcomes for all learners.
Within school expertise to facilitate and support ongoing schoolwide development.
Established tools and resources to enhance sustained improvement.
Engaged learners with a ‘can-do’ attitude.
Moving forward, the school will prioritise:
supporting teachers to strengthen capability in quality teaching and learning practices, and in the effective use of valid assessment
building learner confidence and capability in using strategies and tools to guide self-efficacy and agency for learning
engaging whānau and community in home-school partnerships that support valued outcomes for all learners.
ERO’s role will be to support the school in its evaluation for improvement cycle to improve outcomes for all learners. ERO will support the school in reporting their progress to the community. The next public report on ERO’s website will be a Te Ara Huarau | School Evaluation Report and is due within three years.
Phil Cowie
Director Review and Improvement Services (Central)
Central Region | Te Tai Pūtahi Nui
2 August 2022
The Education Counts website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement. educationcounts.govt.nz/home
As of September 2021, the Ngakuru School Board of Trustees has attested to the following regulatory and legislative requirements:
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
For further information please contact Ngakuru School Board of Trustees.
The next Board of Trustees 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.
Phil Cowie
Director Review and Improvement Services (Central)
Central Region | Te Tai Pūtahi Nui
2 August 2022
The Education Counts website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement. educationcounts.govt.nz/home
Ngakuru School is a small rural school located in the district of Rotorua. It provides education for children in Years 1 to 8, who come from the local and surrounding area. The school roll of 51 includes 15 Māori, two Pacific and five children from other nationalities. The community is proud of the school’s rural culture and heritage. Many families have strong inter-generational connections with the school and are highly supportive and involved. The school is part of the Rotorua Central Community of Learning | Kāhui Ako (CoL).
Since the previous ERO review in 2013, there have been significant changes to staff with two new teachers employed. The board has also appointed a new principal at the beginning of 2017 and has established a relationship of trust and confidence. The board has had to manage a period of financial constraint and is now working towards a more sustainable position. Trustees aware of the need to consider the provision of digital technology resources, to support teaching and learning in the school.
Recent professional learning and development for teachers has focused on accelerating children’s learning. School strategic documents clearly identify children at-risk of not achieving and prioritise learning support. Data over the past three years shows most children including Māori have consistently achieved well in reading, writing and mathematics.
The school is responding well to Māori and other children whose learning and achievement need acceleration.
Many school processes are effective in enabling achievement of equity and excellence including:
effective leadership focused on building school-wide systems, expectations and professional knowledge to improve outcomes for all learners
teachers using many effective strategies to engage children in meaningful learning opportunities
trustees are working well to preserve close links between the school and its rural heritage
strong partnerships for learning with parents and whānau.
Further developments are needed to enable children to lead their own learning, improve internal evaluation processes and strengthen cultural responsiveness, to achieve equity and excellence.
At the time of this review, the 2016 achievement data shows that most children are achieving at high levels in reading, writing and mathematics.
Children are achieving well. The school demonstrates strong progress toward achieving equity in educational outcomes, supported by effective, sustainable processes and practices.
Agreed next steps are to:
improve children’s understanding of how to progress to their next levels of learning
use internal evaluation to focus and report on the effectiveness of interventions and programmes for priority children
fully embed the principles of Ka Hikitia and Tātaiako in the school’s curriculum.
ERO is likely to carry out the next review in three years.
The school is responding well to Māori and other children whose learning and achievement need acceleration. Data from 2014-2015 indicates a sustained pattern of high levels of achievement for all children, including Māori. The 2016 data indicates that the proportion of Māori students achieving at or above the National Standards slightly decreased.
Raising achievement is an important and valued outcome for Māori and other children. The 2017 targets are focused on accelerating the progress of children who are achieving below expected levels, and include all Māori students identified below the National Standards in the 2016 data. Children who require additional learning support are well identified and provided for, through individualised learning programmes. Leaders and teachers know the children very well and support them to be successful as part of an inclusive school whānau.
The school’s assessment schedule has clear expectations for the collection of data, using a range of appropriate assessment tools. There is a collaborative approach to making overall teacher judgements (OTJs) about children’s achievement in relation to National Standards in reading, writing and mathematics. Teachers work collegially to establish a shared understanding of the National Standards, use progressions and develop matrix indicators. Teachers share evidence of achievement in National Standards and this forms the basis for all professional discussions and informs collective OTJs.
Many school processes are effective in enabling achievement of equity and excellence.
Leadership is focused on building effective school-wide systems, expectations and professional knowledge to improve outcomes for all learners. The new principal is successfully developing a culture of professional collaboration and mutual respect with all staff. Frameworks to guide many aspects of professional practice including performance management, teaching as inquiry, collection and use of student voice, and a comprehensive professional learning and development schedule have been established. There is a clear focus on the needs of all children and a collaborative approach to school-wide identification and responsive planning for priority learners. Children’s learning needs are well considered and catered for resulting in improved outcomes.
Teachers are using many effective strategies to engage children in meaningful learning opportunities. There are strong relationships for learning and children are well engaged, settled and responding to the high expectations for learning and behaviour. Teachers know the children and their families very well and gather comprehensive achievement and assessment information to plan for needs and inform OTJs. They successfully collaborate and share information, which supports positive transitions across classes. There is an appropriate priority and focus on literacy and mathematics learning and additional support for priority learners. Teachers make good use of strategies to support children to be informed about their current learning. Children engage in a caring, inclusive environment and have equitable opportunities to accelerate their progress and achievement.
The board works effectively with the school and community. Trustees are working well to preserve close links between the school and its rural heritage. They have undertaken useful consultation with the community to review the charter and values, to strengthen the shared vision and purpose for the school. Trustees are well informed about learners’ achievement and guided by the school leader to set targets and to provide additional resources to support those whose learning progress requires acceleration.
There are strong partnerships for learning with parents and whānau. Parents have a strong sense of belonging, commitment and pride for Ngakuru School. They are actively involved in all aspects of school life and their contributions are welcomed and valued. Parents are well informed about their children’s learning and value the personalised approach from teachers to support productive partnerships. The recent establishment of three-way interviews is strengthening the understanding of learning and achievement for all students. Positive partnerships are contributing to a strong focus on accelerating children’s achievement, and the achievement of equity and excellence.
Further developments are needed to enable children to lead their own learning, improve internal evaluation processes and strengthen cultural responsiveness:
children are not yet consistently able to explain how to progress to their next levels of learning
internal evaluation needs to focus and report on the effectiveness of interventions and programmes for priority children
the principles of Ka Hikitia and Tātaiako are not fully embedded in the school’s curriculum.
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:
board administration
curriculum
management of health, safety and welfare
personnel management
asset management.
During the review, ERO checked the following items because they have a potentially high impact on student safety and wellbeing:
emotional safety of students (including prevention of bullying and sexual harassment)
physical safety of students
teacher registration and certification
processes for appointing staff
stand down, suspension, expulsion and exclusion of students
attendance
school policies in relation to meeting the requirements of the Vulnerable Children Act 2014.
To improve current practice, the board of trustees should:
implement the school’s strategic goal to consult with Maōri whānau and community on policies and/or procedures, plans and targets for improving the achievement of Māori students
consider planning for ongoing maintenance and upgrade of building and grounds.
Children are achieving well. The school demonstrates strong progress toward achieving equity in educational outcomes, supported by effective, sustainable processes and practices.
Agreed next steps are to:
improve children’s understanding of how to progress to their next levels of learning
use internal evaluation to focus and report on the effectiveness of interventions and programmes for priority children
fully embed the principles of Ka Hikitia and Tātaiako in the school’s curriculum.
ERO is likely to carry out the next review in three years.
Lynda Pura-Watson
Deputy Chief Review Officer Waikato / Bay of Plenty
5 October 2017
|
Location |
Rotorua |
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
1846 |
|
School type |
Full Primary (Years 1 to 8) |
|
School roll |
51 |
|
Gender composition |
Boys 30 Girls 21 |
|
Ethnic composition |
Pākehā 29 |
|
Provision of Māori medium education |
No |
|
Review team on site |
June 2017 |
|
Date of this report |
5 October 2017 |
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review December 2013 |