860 Tauhei Road , Tauhei
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.
Tauhei Combined School is a small, rural school on the north-eastern outskirts of Hamilton. It caters for students in Years 1 to 6. The school’s roll has increased significantly since 2021. The principal began at the school in 2023. Tauhei Combined School’s vision is for successful learners who aspire, contribute and grow.
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.
| The majority of students experience positive outcomes in relation to their learning and wellbeing. |
| Leadership provides well-considered direction for school improvement focused on outcomes for students. |
| The school’s curriculum and teaching practices are increasingly catering for students’ needs. |
| The school provides an inclusive learning environment for students. |
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:
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
19 November 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 July 2024, the Tauhei Combined School Board has attested to the following regulatory and legislative requirements:
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
ERO has identified the following areas of non-compliance during the board assurance process:
The board has since taken steps to address the areas of non-compliance identified.
For further information please contact Tauhei Combined 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
19 November 2024
The Education Counts website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement. educationcounts.govt.nz/home
The new principal has worked effectively with the commissioner, and more recently the new board of trustees, to address the areas of development. The principal and teachers work collaboratively to support and challenge students in their learning. The community supports the school and parents and whānau have confidence in the school. The school’s ability to use internal evaluation has improved.
On the basis of the findings of this review, ERO ‘s overall evaluation judgement of Tauhei Combined School’s performance in achieving valued outcomes for its students is: Well placed.
Tauhei Combined School is a small rural school located 13 km north west of Morrinsville, catering for students in Years 1 to 6. The current roll of 33 includes seven students who are Māori. At the time of the 2018 ERO review a commissioner had been appointed to act on the board’s behalf. A new board was elected in 2019 and the commissioner recommended that his position end in August 2019. A new principal was appointed early in 2019.
Re-establish productive relationships among teachers, parents and the wider community.
Students, teachers, parents, whānau and the community demonstrate a strong sense of belonging to the school. Leadership has prioritised re-establishing key relationships with parents, whānau and the wider community. This has resulted in strong connections with local iwi that support and promote the bicultural heritage of Aoetearoa New Zealand. Parents feel valued and confident that their aspirations for their children are acknowledged and acted upon. Teachers work alongside the principal in a collaborative and respectful relationship. Learning partnerships between parents, teachers and students have been strengthened and there is evidence of parents’ involvement in their children’s learning. Relationships are supported by the increased frequency and quality of school communications.
There is a clear focus on developing the capability of teachers. Teacher appraisal processes are now robust and useful. These processes, along with a collaborative approach to the analysis of student achievement data, have enabled teachers to plan effectively for the learning needs of their students. Teachers involvement in targeted professional learning and development (PLD) has helped build their confidence to further enhance their practice. Teachers regularly track and monitor student achievement. This enables them to plan differentiated programmes so that students’ learning needs are catered for.
Teachers have worked collaboratively to develop transparent processes to support their planning, administration and collation of student achievement data. They use a range of assessments to measure student achievement and rates of progress. Student achievement data is regularly discussed and recorded. Data is analysed and reported to the board of trustees. There has been an overall increase in student achievement and evidence that many students have made accelerated progress. Data is also used to identify target and priority students. These groups of students receive specific interventions to support their learning. Teachers’ professional inquiries also support the ongoing evaluation of the effectiveness of teaching practice.
The school’s ability to use internal evaluation has improved. Trustees have moved to an online portfolio of policies and procedures. This should support ongoing review and strengthen the sound practices already in place. It should also ensure policies and practices reflect current best practice guidelines and meet mandatory requirements. Student achievement is analysed against annual achievement targets and reported in the analysis of variance.
All areas of non-compliance have been addressed and no new non-compliance issues were identified. Procedures have been developed to support the enactment of policies.
ERO and the board agree that key next steps for the school are to:
The school has made significant progress towards addressing the areas for development identified in the previous ERO report. Leadership is transparent which contributes to a positive, collaborative school culture. Leaders and teachers use student achievement data effectively. Trustees have developed some systems and processes to strengthen internal evaluation with a focus on continual school improvement.
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:
The new principal has worked effectively with the commissioner, and more recently the new board of trustees, to address the areas of development. The principal and teachers work collaboratively to support and challenge students in their learning. The community supports the school and parents and whānau have confidence in the school. The school’s ability to use internal evaluation has improved.
On the basis of the findings of this review, ERO ‘s overall evaluation judgement of Tauhei Combined 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.
Darcy Te Hau
Acting Director Review and Improvement Services
Central Region - Te Tai Pūtahi Nui
18 June 2020
The Education Counts website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement.
Tauhei Combined School is a small rural primary school catering for students in Years 1 to 6. The school is located in the area of Tauhei, 13 km north west of Morrinsville. The current roll of 40 includes seven students who are Māori. The roll has declined since the last ERO review in 2015 and as a result one full-time teacher position has been lost. The principal and other teachers have remained the same.
In February 2018 all trustees resigned following a breakdown in relationships with the principal. A commissioner was appointed by the Ministry of Education in March 2018 and is now responsible for the governance of the school The school has not responded well to the areas of development identified in the 2015 ERO report..
The school’s mission statement is, ‘Learning together active minds – Akongia tātou hei kotahi te whakaaro’. Its vision statement is, ‘Through meaningful learning opportunities nurture a love of learning where children will develop an open and enquiring mind and interact positively with others’.
Teachers’ professional learning and development focus for 2018 is to build oral language and literacy skills to improve learning outcomes by promoting effective communication and social skills.
Tauhei Combined School is part of the Morrinsville Community of Learning|Kāhui Ako.
Leaders and teachers regularly report school-wide information about outcomes for students to the board in the following areas:
reading, writing and mathematics.
ERO does not have confidence in the dependability of the school’s achievement information. The school is unable to reliably demonstrate how well students progress and achieve in reading, writing and mathematics.
Students with additional learning and high health needs are well supported, however ERO is not confident in the reliability of the achievement data for these students.
Due to ERO’s concerns about the dependability of the school’s achievement information, leaders are unable to identify the rates of acceleration for Māori and students who are at risk of not achieving. Strengthening the management and use of student achievement information is an urgent priority for school leadership.
Aspects of the school’s curriculum support equity and excellence. Long standing links have been maintained with the local Māori community, including Tauhei Marae, that foster Māori students’ language, culture and identity. ERO observed high levels of student engagement in a calm and settled environment. Teachers know students well and successfully promote tuakana/teina relationships where older students support their younger peers. Caring and positive relationships are evident between teachers and students. There is an appropriate focus on literacy and mathematics learning in the curriculum. Students enjoy extra learning opportunities including regular trips, sporting competitions, events and school camps.
School leadership is not effective. Urgent priority should be given to:
re-establishing productive relationships between teachers, parents and the wider community
building teacher capability, including aligning professional learning and development to school goals and implementing a robust appraisal system
gathering reliable school-wide achievement data to inform internal evaluation and ongoing school improvement
developing consistent use of student achievement information at class level to inform specific learning programmes and to build students’ understanding of their learning progress and next steps
fully implementing the school’s policy and procedural guidelines to ensure the smooth operation of the school.
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
finance
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.
The principal and teachers must be appraised annually through an agreed and robust process aligned with the requirements of the Education Council.
ERO identified non-compliance in relation to health and safety and personnel.
In order to address this, the board of trustees must:
To improve current practice, the board of trustees should:
fully implement the school’s complaints policy and procedures.
For sustained improvement and future learner success, the school can draw on existing strengths in:
the school’s curriculum that supports students engagement and provides meaningful learning opportunities.
For sustained improvement and future learner success, priorities for further development are in:
school leadership to promote a shared approach to ongoing school development and improvement.
ERO intends to carry out a process of ongoing external evaluation to support development over the course of one-to-two years.
Lynda Pura-Watson
Deputy Chief Review Officer
Te Tai Miringa - Waikato / Bay of Plenty Region
19 June 2018
|
Location |
Tauhei |
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
1985 |
|
School type |
Contributing (Year 1 to 6) |
|
School roll |
40 |
|
Gender composition |
Girls 27 Boys 13 |
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori 7 |
|
Students with Ongoing Resourcing Funding (ORS) |
Yes |
|
Provision of Māori medium education |
No |
|
Review team on site |
May 2018 |
|
Date of this report |
19 June 2018 |
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review May 2015 |