Mokoia School

Mokoia School 

School Evaluation Report 

Tēnā 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.

Context 

Mokoia School, located in rural South Taranaki, provides education for students in Years 1 to 6. The school’s mission is to be a beacon of excellence, inspiring all students towards a lifetime of learning in a supportive, aspirational environment.

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. 

Part A: Current State 

The following findings are to inform the school’s future priorities for improvement.

Learner Success and Wellbeing 

Learners are engaged, make progress over time and the majority achieve well.
  • Achievement information shows that the majority of learners achieve at or above expected curriculum levels in reading, writing and mathematics.
  • Learners with additional needs are well catered for through programmes that support their progress and achievement.
  • Students have a strong sense of belonging and know and express the school values in their interactions. 
  • A small majority of learners attend school regularly; the school is yet to achieve Ministry of Education’s targets for regular attendance.

Conditions to support learner success

Leaders are strengthening school systems and conditions for learning.
  • Leaders set strategic goals and targets with a focus on improving learner progress, achievement and wellbeing outcomes.
  • Leaders regularly use external expertise to facilitate the ongoing development of curriculum priorities and strengthen teaching practices. 
  • Staff promote an inclusive school culture with a clear intent on enhancing learner engagement and wellbeing. 
Teaching is increasingly intentional and responsive to the diverse needs of learners.
  • Teachers collaborate and adapt teaching strategies to more effectively cater for students’ learning needs.
  • Leaders and teachers are improving the way they collect and analyse data to inform effective teaching and learning practices that meet the needs of learners.
  • The school’s curriculum strongly reflects the aspirations of whānau and mana whenua, enabling students to see themselves, their identity and culture in their learning.
Key conditions that support improved learner outcomes continue to be strengthened.
  • School and whānau interactions focus on student success and wellbeing; fostering a collaborative approach to learning partnerships that build positive outcomes for learners.
  • Staff, trustees and learners are maintaining a strong commitment to further developing their collective capabilities and understanding of te reo me ōna tikanga Māori and Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
  • Leaders and teachers are beginning to use internal evaluation to measure and understand the impact of initiatives designed to improve learner outcomes.

Part B: Where to next?

The agreed next steps for the school are to: 

  • further embed explicit, structured teaching approaches to improve achievement outcomes for all learners in reading, writing and mathematics
  • use an evidenced based process to evaluate teaching and learning strategies and monitor their impact on learner outcomes
  • continue to use partnerships with whānau and mana whenua to support implementation of the localised curriculum, with a focus on collaboratively improving learners’ achievement and attendance outcomes.

The agreed actions for the next improvement cycle and timeframes are as follows.

Within three months:

  • leaders and teachers continue to provide regular coaching and feedback to each other that supports effective implementation of agreed teaching and learning strategies.

Every six months:

  • track, monitor and report the achievement of all learners with a focus on the progress of learners at risk of underachievement 
  • use evaluative evidence such as teacher observation, student voice and learner outcomes to measure the effectiveness of teaching and learning strategies.

Annually:

  • gather and report achievement information to the board and school community, including progress made in achieving equitable outcomes for learners at risk of not achieving
  • report on the effectiveness of teaching and learning strategies designed to improve learner outcomes to inform future resourcing decisions
  • gather whānau and mana whenua voice to review the success of partnership initiatives designed to support implementation of the localised curriculum and improve learners’ achievement outcomes and attendance rates.

Actions taken against these next steps are expected to result in:

  • improved attendance, engagement, achievement outcomes and equity for all learners
  • a shared understanding of teaching and learning practices that facilitate and support improved outcomes for learners
  • leaders, teachers, whānau and mana whenua having a shared commitment to the provision of a localised curriculum that supports learner engagement, achievement and attendance.

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

3 December 2024

About the School

The Education Counts website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement.  educationcounts.govt.nz/home

Mokoia School

Board Assurance with Regulatory and Legislative Requirements Report 2024 to 2027 

As of June 2024, the Mokoia School Board has attested to the following regulatory and legislative requirements:

Board Administration

Yes

Curriculum

Yes

Management of Health, Safety and Welfare

Yes

Personnel Management

Yes

Finance

Yes

Assets

Yes

Actions for Compliance

ERO and the board have identified the following areas of non-compliance during the board assurance process:

  • complied with the requirement to adopt a statement on the delivery of the health curriculum,  
    at least once in every two years, after consultation with the school community.  
    (Section 91 Education and Training Act 2020) 

The board has since addressed the areas of non-compliance identified.

Further Information

For further information please contact Mokoia 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

3 December 2024

About the School 

The Education Counts website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement. educationcounts.govt.nz/home

Mokoia School - 01/07/2019

School Context

Mokoia School is a sole charge rural school in South Taranaki. It caters for children in Years 1 to 6. At the time of this review the roll was 16 students and six identified as Māori.

The school’s vision and values are aligned through the acronym ‘FLAME’; ‘Friendly, Know how to learn, Have a great attitude, Manage themselves, Empowered’ and ‘Lighting the way to the future’.

The school states its goals include:

  • providing the highest possible learning outcomes for all children

  • offering a wide range of experiences, programmes and skill development which challenge, extend and encourage children to achieve their personal best.

The 2019 schoolwide focus is on improving writing for all children.

Leaders and teachers regularly report to the board, schoolwide information about outcomes, progress and achievement for students in reading, writing and mathematics.

Professional development is aligned to the school’s targets to improve outcomes in literacy, numeracy and digital technologies.

The school is part of the South Taranaki Kāhui Ako.

Evaluation Findings

1 Equity and excellence – achievement of valued outcomes for students

1.1 How well is the school achieving equitable and excellent outcomes for all its students?

The school continues to achieve equitable and excellent outcomes for most students. Overall, almost all students achieve at and above school expectations in reading, writing and mathematics. Nearly all students leave Mokoia at and above expectation in reading, writing and mathematics.

1.2 How well is the school accelerating learning for those students who need this?

The school continues to respond well to children whose learning and achievement needs acceleration. The school identifies children’s needs and effectively addresses them through targeted teaching, support programmes and where appropriate, external expertise. Most children identified in 2018 as requiring acceleration in reading, writing and mathematics made accelerated progress.

2 School conditions for equity and excellence – processes and practices

2.1 What school processes and practices are effective in enabling achievement of equity and excellence, and acceleration of learning?

Children learn in settled environments. Learners needs are well known and responded to with appropriate support. Children know the expectations and are encouraged to collaborate, support and celebrate each other’s learning. Students are using digital devices appropriately to promote engagement and support their learning.

School programmes provide opportunities for students to engage with te ao Māori and te reo Māori. Connections with local schools provide further learning opportunities for children. Learning partnerships are encouraged through home and school programmes. Local community links are used to provide enrichment for students.

Leadership builds trust with students, parents and community. They set appropriate and meaningful targets that relate to the acceleration of students at risk of underachievement. A range of assessment tools and measures are used to gather data that is appropriately used for planning and meeting student’s needs. Children’s progress and achievement are regularly tracked, and parents and whānau are well informed.

Teachers undertake purposeful inquiry and knowledge building to build their professional capability. Professional development aligns to the school’s strategic goals. Teachers are engaged in the opportunities provided by the educational community to grow their practice.

Good collaboration between the board and principal has established a clear understanding of respective roles. The board of trustees demonstrate a commitment to provide resourcing to promote successful outcomes for all children.

2.2 What further developments are needed in school processes and practices for achievement of equity and excellence, and acceleration of learning?

The school has identified and begun to review the documented school curriculum to align its vision, values and goals and more clearly reflect a localised curriculum. Continuing this process should support the school to meet its community and parent aspirations for learning.

Developing teachers’ understanding of learner agency, extending opportunities for student choice, and the provision of more personalised learning programmes should promote greater levels of student engagement in learning.

Leaders and teachers need to strengthen internal evaluation processes to clearly identify how well teaching practices are promoting and accelerating learning, particularly for priority students.

3 Board Assurance on Legal Requirements

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 Children’s Act 2014.

4 ERO’s Overall Judgement

On the basis of the findings of this review, ERO’s overall evaluation judgement of Mokoia School’s performance in achieving valued outcomes for its students is: Well placed.

ERO’s Framework: Overall School Performance is available on ERO’s website.

5 Going forward

Key strengths of the school

For sustained improvement and future learner success, the school can draw on existing strengths in:

  • achieving outcomes for students that are equitable and show consistently high levels of achievement
  • tracking, monitoring and assessment systems that are effective in identifying needs and planning for students
  • connections and engagement with parents and community that increase the range of learning opportunities for students.

Next steps

For sustained improvement and future learner success, priorities for further development are in:

  • extending internal evaluation to more clearly know what is working well for students’ learning and where improvements are needed.

Phillip Cowie

Director Review and Improvement Services

Central Region

1 July 2019

About the school

Location

Hawera

Ministry of Education profile number

2201

School type

Contributing (Year 1 - 6)

School roll

16

Gender composition

Female 9, Male 7

Ethnic composition

Māori 6
NZ European/Pākehā 10

Students with Ongoing Resourcing Funding (ORS)

Yes

Provision of Māori medium education

No

Review team on site

May 2019

Date of this report

1 July 2019

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review January 2017
Education Review February 2014
Education Review December 2010