596 Rawhitiroa Road , Eltham
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.
Rawhitiroa School is located on the outskirts of Eltham in South Taranaki. The school provides education for 48 students in Years 1 to 8, 9% are Māori.
The school’s vision is for students to be lifelong learners, who shine and stand out. Learners are encouraged to demonstrate whanaungatanga, aroha, kaitiakitanga and ahuatanga, showing respect for people, property and the environment, think of others, themselves and the surroundings by acting sensibly, safely and appropriately.
| How well are learners succeeding? | Learners experience high levels of success and make excellent progress; outcomes are similarly high for all groups. |
| What is the quality of teaching and learning? | Learners benefit from high 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? | School planning and conditions to support ongoing improvement to the quality of education for learners are well established. |
| How well does the school include all learners and promote their engagement and wellbeing? | The school successfully 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 reports usefully and accurately to parents / whānau about their child’s learning, achievement and progress. The school responds well to a wide range 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 | Most learners meet or exceed the expected curriculum level. Results are equitable for all groups of learners. |
| Writing | Most learners meet or exceed the expected curriculum level. Results are equitable for all groups of learners. |
| Mathematics | Most learners meet or exceed the expected curriculum level. Results are equitable for all groups of learners. |
The school is approaching the target of 80% regular attendance.
The school is developing a suitable plan to improve attendance.
Regular attendance is improving towards or beyond the target.
Chronic absence is reducing over time.
The school is improving its approach and the reliability of its practices to accurately find out about achievement against the curriculum.
Assessment information is used well to adjust teaching practices to ensure ongoing improvement in teaching and student progress.
The school has 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 meeting Government reading, writing and mathematics targets set for 2030.
This section of the report provides more detail for the school to include in strategic and annual planning for ongoing improvement across the school.
The agreed next steps for the school are to:
The agreed actions for the next improvement cycle and timeframes are as follows.
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’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
14 April 2025
This website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement. educationcounts.govt.nz/home
Rawhitiroa School, for students in Years 1 to 8, is located east of Eltham. The current roll is 48 and six students identify as Māori.
The school’s mission statement is ‘Preparing our children for their future. Children preparing themselves for their future’. The expressed vision is ‘for all students who rode in the Rawhitiroa Waka, to have developed learner qualities and show the traits of whanaungatanga, aroha, kaitiakitanga and ahuatanga; students will demonstrate respect for people and for property and the environment, think of others, themselves and the surroundings by acting sensibly, safely and appropriately’.
Annual achievement objectives for 2019, seek to increase the number of students achieving at or above the relevant curriculum level in reading, writing and mathematics. Alongside this, a specific target focuses on accelerating the progress of learners in the junior school below expectation in reading.
Leaders and teachers regularly report to the board, schoolwide information about outcomes for students in the following areas:
There have been some changes to teaching staff and trustees since the July 2016 ERO report. During 2019, school personnel have participated in professional development in Positive Behaviour for Learning (PB4L) and student-led learning. Teachers also undertook professional learning to improve the quality of teaching and learning in mathematics.
The school actively participates in the Central Taranaki Kāhui Ako.
The school’s reported achievement data overtime shows equitable outcomes for students are achieved. At the end 2019, school achievement information shows most students achieved at or above expectations for their year level in reading, writing and mathematics. Trends since 2017 for Year 8 leavers show nearly all achieve at or above curriculum expectations in reading, writing and mathematics.
School reported attendance data shows high levels of attendance for most students.
Teachers are purposeful in their approach to accelerate the progress and achievement of those students who require this.
Data from the end of 2018 to the end of 2019 shows an increase in the numbers of students achieving at curriculum expectations. Many of the 2019 identified students achieved accelerated progress and learning in reading, writing or mathematics.
Students actively participate in a range of well-considered learning experiences within the school and local community aligned to the school’s evolving localised curriculum. Children are supported to develop attributes and skills conducive to self-led learning across the breath of curriculum experiences provided.
Students’ wellbeing, sense of belonging and academic progress are enhanced in an inclusive learning environment. The school’s ‘WAKA’ values are taught and enacted. Respectful reciprocal relationships promote a positive school culture. Senior students have plentiful opportunities to undertake leadership roles, which further enrich the culture of the school.
Students requiring their progress accelerated receive appropriate support. Tracking and monitoring processes are thorough, promoting a timely response to the learning and engagement needs of individuals. Effective strategies are in place that enable parents and whānau to be involved in their child’s learning, including support for learning at home. Transition to school is well managed. The developing partnerships with early learning services support this. Significant resourcing by trustees, including the allocation of additional personnel, impacts positively on student outcomes.
Together, leaders and the school’s community have reaffirmed the school’s strategic vision and values. Trustees and staff work collaboratively to enact their shared expectations for learner success. Practices that promote partnership meaningfully involve families and whānau in decision making in relation to curriculum innovations. Strategic and annual plans suitably reflect relevant priorities and guide developments that contribute to improved outcomes for students.
The school continues to implement a range of innovations to strengthen curriculum delivery, build teacher capability and meaningfully include culturally responsive practice. As these actions progress, leaders should continue to support teachers to inquire into their teaching practice and use evaluation to establish how effectively improvement planning achieve the schools’ vision and valued outcomes for learners.
Changes have occurred to the teaching team. It is timely to strengthen the collective capability of teachers to:
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:
During the review, ERO checked the following items because they have a potentially high impact on student safety and wellbeing:
On the basis of the findings of this review, ERO’s overall evaluation judgement of Rawhitiroa 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.
For sustained improvement and future learner success, the school can draw on existing strengths in:
For sustained improvement and future learner success, priorities for further development are in:
Darcy Te Hau
Director Review and Improvement Services Central (Acting)
Central Region
25 February 2020
| Location | Eltham |
| Ministry of Education profile number | 2228 |
| School type | Full Primary (Years 1 to 8) |
| School roll | 48 |
| Gender composition | Male 26, Female 22 |
| Ethnic composition | Māori 6 NZ European/ Pākehā 42 |
| Students with Ongoing Resourcing Funding (ORS) | No |
| Provision of Māori medium education | No |
| Review team on site | December 2019 |
| Date of this report | 25 February 2020 |
| Most recent ERO report(s) | Education Evaluation July 2016 Education Review January 2013 Education Review December 2009 |