44 McKenzie Street , Taneatua
View on mapOn the basis of the findings of this review, ERO’s overall evaluation judgement is that Tāneatua School has made sufficient progress to address the areas that were identified and will now transition to ERO’s School Evaluation for Improvement | Te Ara Huarau model.
Tāneatua School is located in the rural township of Tāneatua near Whakatāne, with students in Years 1 to 8. There are five English medium and two Māori medium classes. Most of the current 129 students whakapapa to various hapū within Ngai Tūhoe, the local iwi. A new principal, deputy and board chair started in April 2019 after the 2018 ERO report was confirmed.
The areas for review and development in the 2018 ERO report focused on:
Clear and high expectations for teacher planning and delivery are in place. The board has committed significant funding to a range of teacher professional development that responds to identified student needs and builds on effective practice. The principal has led school-wide professional development in the teaching of mathematics. More recently there has been a significant focus on innovative approaches to literacy teaching.
The use of effective and innovative teaching strategies to respond to students’ learning needs is highly visible, particularly in literacy and te reo matatini. Effective strategies observed by ERO include:
The development of a positive culture for learning amongst teachers has resulted in high levels of consistency across many areas of practice. There is a strengths-based approach to teacher support and development. Teachers have been supported to develop their leadership capability. The learnings from professional development are freely shared and professional discussions are common. Teachers plan collaboratively and they celebrate their development.
Students in many classrooms can discuss their current learning level, the level they are aiming for by the end of the year and the next steps in learning. There are examples of highly effective practice in giving feedback and feedforward that align with students’ current goals and promote learner agency. Sharing these good practices across all classrooms is the next step.
Continuing to strengthen the professional leadership of the Rūmaki classes is needed to ensure teachers are able to keep up to date with evidence-based best practice, derived from research in the fields of Rūmaki education and second language acquisition.
Respectful, caring, and supportive relationships between students and teachers are highly visible contributing to a calm and settled learning environment. A well-embedded approach to behaviour management promotes student self-management. Students with high behaviour needs and other special needs participate fully in the day-to-day life of the classroom within an inclusive school culture. They participate in interventions that strengthen pro-social behaviours and self-management of emotions. There has been a significant decrease in the number of serious behaviour incidents in the school.
The school has reviewed its assessment and aromatawai schedules. An appropriate range of assessment and aromatawai tools is being used. The principal has led professional development about how to make overall teacher judgements (OTJs). They meet with each teacher twice a year to discuss the robustness of these OTJs. Many informal professional discussions occur particularly when there are contradictions in the data.
The school tracks student progress and achievement using the learning progressions of the NZC and the kauneketanga of TMoA through a new student management system (SMS). Curriculum expectations for achievement are being developed and the assessment schedule will continue to be reviewed as the SMS becomes embedded.
The school agrees they need to continue to move the focus of assessment from achievement to both progress and achievement, specifically to accelerating the progress of students at risk of not achieving.
To do this, there needs to be:
The school has recently engaged with an external provider to provide a comprehensive and regularly updated policy framework. The framework includes a full cycle of review to ensure policies and procedures remain current.
The school’s strategic plan contains a range of appropriate strategic goals across several areas of school operation. It contains annual goals that generally align with these. The strategic plan has the potential to be strengthened as a tool for evaluation, by ensuring a clear and coherent alignment between strategic and annual goals and student outcomes.
Trustees, leaders, and teachers have established a foundation of values, leadership, tone, climate and relationships likely to sustain and improve student learning - engagement, progress and achievement. They have developed the capacity to respond effectively to current or emergent issues and have built the capability to sustain and continue to improve student achievement.
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:
On the basis of the findings of this review, ERO’s overall evaluation judgement is that Tāneatua School has made sufficient progress to address the areas that were identified and will now transition to ERO’s School Evaluation for Improvement | Te Ara Huarau model.
Shelley Booysen
Acting Director Review and Improvement Services (Central)
Central Region - Te Tai Pūtahi Nui
2 August 2021
Taneatua School has made some progress in addressing the areas for development identified in the 2015 ERO report. Students at risk of underachieving are now better supported in ways underpinned by their culture and identity as Tāneatua and Tūhoe. However, low levels of achievement and poor rates of progress continue.
ERO intends to carry out another review over the course of one-to-two years.
Taneatua School is located in the small rural township of Taneatua near to Whakatane. The school caters for students from Years 1 to 8. The current roll is 148. All students are Māori, of Tūhoe descent. In two classes, the curriculum is delivered exclusively through the medium of te reo Māori. In the other seven classes students are taught mainly through the English language, with te reo Māori being used as a language of instruction up to 50% of the time.
The current principal was appointed shortly after the last ERO review in 2015 but has been a long standing member of the staff in other roles. There have been significant changes to teaching staff since the last review.
Trustees are representative of the local community. Most teachers have strong intergenerational links with whānau and their children. Raising overall levels of student achievement must be an urgent priority for the school.
Systems and processes needed to strengthen teacher capability and raise and accelerate student progress and achievement are:
Systems and processes to strengthen compliance with legislative requirements:
Some progress has been made in strengthening systems and processes that strengthen teacher capability to raise student progress and achievement. However, progress and achievement data indicates insufficient progress for improved outcomes.
Progress has been made in developing systems for measuring, tracking and reporting student achievement throughout the year, especially for students who are at risk in their learning. A new school-wide process for the Auraki section of the school focusses on measuring students’ rates of progress. Professional discussions by individual classroom teachers and syndicate groups to identify and discuss students whose progress needs to be accelerated are beginning to take place. School leaders are able to identify trends and patterns of progress and achievement across the school. This information should be used to assist the board to develop appropriate targets for acceleration and achievement, and to report progress against these targets.
At the classroom level some teachers, have developed useful systems for tracking the progress of students in relation to their identified needs. Some teachers are able to identify the at-risk students in their classes, and their next learning steps in some curriculum areas.
Some progress has been made in strengthening overall teacher judgements. An appropriate range of assessment tools is being used. Teachers have undertaken professional learning in the use of assessment tools and interpretation and analysis of data. The timing of assessments is increasingly aligned to reporting rates of progress for at-risk learners. Further development is necessary to strengthen the dependability of teachers' assessment judgements.
Progress has been made in strengthening teachers' use of the literacy and mathematics progressions of TNZC, and those of Te Ara Ako i Te Reo Matatini. Some teachers are using the progressions to:
Leaders must urgently address the need for more consistent quality of practice across all classrooms and in all the areas of literacy, mathematics and te reo matatini.
Some progress has been made in developing students as self-managing learners. Some students are able to talk about their current levels of attainment in relation to where they need to be by the end of the year, and what they need to do next in order to get there. There is an urgent need for leaders to ensure these practices are consistent across all classrooms.
Significant progress has been made in developing a unique curriculum document for Taneatua School that aligns the NZC, the TMoA and Te Reo o Tūhoe. Tāneatua knowledge and heritage is now highly visible in classrooms across the school and all classrooms have undertaken units of work that deepen and enhance students’ understanding of their rich culture and heritage – Tāneatua Ariki, Tāneatua Tohunga, Tāneatua Tangeta, Tāneatua Uruuru Whenua. Teachers have identified a need to further explore and embed a sequential approach to the delivery of Tāneatua and Tūhoe culture and to whakaū i ngā tāonga tuku iho nei ki te wairua ra anō.
Internal evaluation remains as an area requiring urgent development as follows:
The school is not well placed to continue to improve and review its performance. There is an urgent need to develop and embed conditions necessary to improve:
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:
ERO identified non-compliance in relation to performance management. In order to address this, the board of trustees must:
In order to improve current practice the board should:
Recommendations, including any to other agencies for ongoing or additional support.
ERO recommends that the Secretary for Education consider intervention under Part 7A of the Education Act 1989 in order to bring about improvement in:
Taneatua School has made some progress in addressing the areas for development identified in the 2015 ERO report. Students at risk of underachieving are now better supported in ways underpinned by their culture and identity as Tāneatua and Tūhoe. However, low levels of achievement and poor rates of progress continue.
ERO intends to carry out another review over the course of one-to-two years.
Adrienne Fowler
Director Review and Improvement Services
Te Tai Miringa - Waikato / Bay of Plenty Region
15 November 2018
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Location |
Taneatua, near Whakatane |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
1978 |
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School type |
Full Primary (Years 1 to 8) |
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School roll |
148 |
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Gender composition |
Boys 56% Girls 44% |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori |
100% |
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Special Features |
Dual medium |
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Review team on site |
August 2018 |
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Date of this report |
15 November 2018 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
October 2015 |