State Highway 43 , Stratford
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.
Huiakama is a small, rural school that provides education for learners in Years 1 to 8. The school roll is 13. The ethnic composition is Māori 46% and New Zealand European/Pākehā 54%.
The school’s values of respect, responsibility and relationships underpin their mission to support every student to become engaged lifelong learners who strive to reach their potential.
| 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 sufficient opportunities to learn across the breadth and depth of the curriculum. There is an increasingly 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 is improving its reporting 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 | A small majority of learners meet or exceed the expected curriculum level. Results are becoming more equitable for all groups of learners. |
| Writing | Less than a third of learners meet or exceed the expected curriculum level. Results are not yet equitable for all groups of learners. |
| Mathematics | A small majority of learners meet or exceed the expected curriculum level. Results are becoming more equitable for all groups of learners. |
The school is 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.
Chronic absence is not yet reducing over time.
The school is improving its approach and the reliability of its practices to accurately find out about achievement against the curriculum.
Teachers are developing 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 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.
Teachers and staff respond well to individual wellbeing and learning needs, contributing to a positive and inclusive learning environment. All learners benefit from high expectations for learning and experience a strong sense of belonging through positive relationships with staff and their peers.
Leaders are establishing systematic processes to analyse progress and achievement to inform strategic planning and decision making.
The school is using a structured approach to literacy and mathematics to support learner progress and achievement, with ongoing teacher professional development planned. Staff professional learning is targeted, planned and strategically implemented to align to the school’s strategic goals.
Teachers work collaboratively to provide balanced curriculum coverage. Embedded school values support learner wellbeing, inclusion and self-responsibility.
Teachers use a variety of evidence-based and differentiated teaching strategies to provide purposeful and well-paced learning.
Established partnerships with other local education providers, positively supports teaching and learning programmes and increases opportunities for learners.
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:
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 and the board have identified the following areas of non-compliance during the board assurance process:
The board has since addressed the area 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
Acting Director of Schools
13 May 2025
This website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement. educationcounts.govt.nz/home
Leaders, teachers and trustees have made considered changes to improve the school’s response to the needs of learners and their community. The school is well placed to sustain improvements and further strengthen internal capability to achieve equity and excellence for students.
ERO is likely to carry out the next review in three years.
Huiakama School is a small rural primary school in northern Taranaki for Year 1 to 8 students. There are 18 students enrolled, including 3 who are Māori.
The vision is to create life-long learners. The school aims to provide quality learning programmes in the core areas of literacy and numeracy, a challenging curriculum that enhances student engagement and achievement, and develop skills required for success as confident learners.
The July 2017 ERO report expressed concerns in a number of areas of school practice, systems, capability and performance. The principal and trustees have taken a well-considered approach in addressing the areas identified for development. External support and professional learning and development (PLD) has been undertaken to address the areas identified. The Ministry of Education has provided targeted support to the school in 2018. The New Zealand School Trustees Association (NZSTA) has provided ongoing support to trustees in the area of stewardship.
The school is involved in the Central Taranaki Kāhui Ako
The ERO report, July 2017, stated that trustees, school leaders and teachers had substantial work to do to achieve and sustain equity and excellence schoolwide. This included continuing to:
Trustees and leaders were required to strengthen key operational practices. These included:
Trustees, leaders and teachers have made good progress in addressing the priorities identified for improvement.
Student achievement has improved. There is evidence of acceleration of learning in all areas especially in the targeted areas of writing and mathematics. Appropriate use is made of standardised assessment tools to track learning and inform student’s next steps of learning. A useful framework has been developed for tracking individual children’s progress in reading and writing at mid and end of year.
Enabling students to take ownership of their learning, become independent and follow their passions has been a focus in 2018. Digital technology has been introduced and is progressing well. The school is taking a leadership role in developing this among schools in the area.
Students experience a curriculum that is broad and gives an appropriate focus to literacy and numeracy. An emphasis is placed on writing, maths, sustainability, and an inclusion of shared local activities such as camps and sporting events. Students have opportunities to collaborate and develop their skills in authentic learning contexts. Good use is made of technology to support learning and the sharing of student work.
Students with additional learning needs are well identified, their needs known and their learning is appropriately supported. Additional staff are effectively used in classrooms to support delivery of the curriculum. External agencies are accessed when required.
Leaders continue to develop their cultural understanding in order to be able to meaningfully integrate te ao Māori into the curriculum.
Trustees receive useful information and evaluative commentary from the principal about the effectiveness of initiatives and programmes. Information about the impact on student achievement and progress helps them make informed decisions about resourcing.
Policy review and trustees understanding of their roles and responsibilities have been strengthened. Trustees have reviewed these practices with personalised support from NZSTA. The principal and trustees are beginning to use internal evaluation to measure the impact of initiatives on student outcomes.
Teachers continue to build their capabilities to effectively inquire into improving their practice to better support those students whose learning and achievement requires acceleration. Leaders should determine how they can provide specific feedback from teacher observations to help inform the next steps for development.
ERO has identified, and school leaders agree, that the school should continue to build their effectiveness by:
The school is well placed to sustain and continue to improve and review its performance. Trustees have engaged with external support and PLD to effectively fulfil their stewardship role. Well considered systems and processes are now in place to promote ongoing improvement across the school.
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:
Leaders, teachers and trustees have made considered changes to improve the school’s response to the needs of learners and their community. The school is well placed to sustain improvements and further strengthen internal capability to achieve equity and excellence for students.
ERO is likely to carry out the next review in three years.
Alan Wynyard
Director Review & Improvement Services Central Te Tai Pokapū - Central Region
8 November 2018
| Location | Stratford | |
| Ministry of Education profile number | 2173 | |
| School type | Full Primary (Year 1 to 8) | |
| School roll | 18 | |
| Gender composition | Female 10, Male 8 | |
| Ethnic composition | Māori Pākehā | 3 15 |
| Review team on site | September 2018 | |
| Date of this report | 8 November 2018 | |
| Most recent ERO report(s) | Education Review Education Review Education Review | July 2017 April 2014 February 2011 |