Matawai School

Education institution number:
2611
School type:
Full Primary
School gender:
Co-Educational
Total roll:
49
Telephone:
06-8624813
Address:

29 Raumati Street , Matawai

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Matawai 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 

Matawai School provides education for students in Years 1 to 8, in a rural community north-west of Gisborne. The school is guided by a vision that promotes high aspirations for students, underpinned by the values of respect, excellence, community, and perseverance.  A new principal was appointed in 2021.

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 

Most students make sustained progress and achieve at appropriate curriculum levels.
  • Almost all students achieve at or above expected curriculum levels in reading, most students achieve at or above expected curriculum levels in writing and mathematics.
  • The school is working towards addressing some disparity in the achievement of Māori students as compared to their in-school peers, particularly in writing.
  • Attendance information shows that half of the students attend regularly; this is below the Ministry of Education target for regular attendance.
  • Students are well supported by an inclusive school culture that supports wellbeing and increasingly reflects their languages, cultures and identities. 

Conditions to support learner success

Leadership effectively fosters a collaborative culture within the school and across the wider community that is focused on positive student outcomes.
  • Leaders identify and pursue a small number of improvement goals; professional development for staff is well aligned to support the school’s strategic direction. 
  • To support student success, leadership ensures planning, coordination and evaluation of the school’s curriculum and expectations for high quality teaching are clear.   
  • Leaders increasingly involve parents and whānau in decision making and are establishing relationships with hapū and iwi; goals and priorities are anchored in sound understanding of the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. 
Teaching practice effectively responds to the diverse range of learners within multi-level classrooms.  
  • Learners have opportunity to learn through a curriculum that prioritises the development of foundational skills; a framework to guide the delivery of The New Zealand Curriculum in multi-level classes is being developed. 
  • Assessment practices increasingly support insights into learner progress; identifying the most appropriate assessment tools to measure learner progress against curriculum requirements is a priority. 
  • Te ao Māori, tikanga Māori and mātauranga Māori are increasingly woven through all aspects of the school’s curriculum; an identified next step is to increase staff capability in te reo Māori and tikanga Māori.
Leaders and teachers are aligning systems and practices towards meeting the school’s vision and goals for improved student outcomes.
  • Leaders and staff use data with increasing capability to identify patterns and trends and to closely monitor student progress; effective use of a digital platform to support this is a planned next step.
  • The school board represents and works closely with the school community to pursue improvement priorities and goals for learner wellbeing, achievement, and progress. 
  • The school gives effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi by strengthening understanding of māturanga Māori, participation in tikanga Māori and is beginning to develop capability in teaching and using te reo Māori.
  • Organisational conditions including policies, systems and processes are embedded, regularly reviewed and strengthened to drive strategic improvement. 

 

Part B: Where to next? 

The agreed next steps for the school are to: 

  • improve student attendance, and across the school community, understanding about why this is important
  • review and strengthen assessment practices to ensure these provide valid and reliable information that guides teaching and learning practices and measures student progress and achievement aligned to The New Zealand Curriculum
  • ensure delivery of the integrated curriculum meets the requirements of The New Zealand Curriculum for students within multi-level classrooms, and over their time at the school
  • build teachers’ knowledge of tikanga Māori practices and capability in using and teaching te reo Māori.

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

Within six months:

  • review the effectiveness of strategies and approaches that promote attendance and support the school community to understand the link between regular attendance, academic progress and achievement
  • conduct a whole school review of assessment tools and practices
  • build staff capacity to use a digital platform and assessment evidence to inform teaching decisions and monitor the progress of learners, particularly Māori students in writing
  • engage in professional learning opportunities that support teachers to gain confidence to use and teach te reo Māori and further incorporate tikanga Māori into school life, including a regular programme of te reo Māori teaching. 

Termly:

  • analyse attendance data and measure progress to support the improvement of regular attendance at school.

Every six months:

  • use an agreed monitoring process to review and report on the extent to which staff are building capacity in using and teaching te reo Māori and implementing tikanga practices
  • review the impact of the integrated curriculum and its delivery on student progress in all areas of learning
  • review assessment procedures to ensure they are effectively supporting teaching and learning.

Annually:

  • report to the board in relation to annual and over time progress and achievement of all learners, including levels of disparity for groups
  • evaluate and report progress towards improving attendance, identifying contributing factors
  • use a range of evidence to review the effectiveness of the integrated curriculum on student outcomes to inform future planning.

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

  • increased regular student attendance, leading to improved learning progress and achievement
  • learners engaging in an integrated curriculum that clearly covers curriculum requirements as they progress across the school
  • assessment practices that align with The New Zealand Curriculum are used to inform teaching decisions leading to improved outcomes for students, in particular Māori students’ writing
  • learners and teachers improving skill and confidence in speaking te reo Māori and engaging in te ao Māori.

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

4 September 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

Matawai School

Board Assurance with Regulatory and Legislative Requirements Report 2024 to 2027

As of June 2024, the Matawai 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 has identified the following areas of non-compliance during the board assurance process:

  • undertake and record sufficient identity and referee checks on the appointment of staff. 

[Children’s Act 2014] 

The board has since taken steps to address the areas of non-compliance identified. 

Further Information

For further information please contact Matawai 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

4 September 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

Matawai School - 20/06/2017

Summary

Matawai School caters for Years 1 to 8 students in a rural community, north-west of Gisborne. The roll of 49 includes 14 learners who identify as Māori.

Since the June 2011 ERO report, a new principal has been appointed.

In 2017, the school is part of the Ministry of Education initiatives for Accelerating Literacy Learning (ALL) and the Progress and Consistency Tool (PaCT).

How well is the school achieving equitable outcomes for all children?

Reducing the disparity for Māori learners has been identified as a key priority by the school. Further strengthening the response to accelerating the achievement of Māori learners is needed to achieve excellent and equitable outcomes for all learners.

The school uses and analyses a wide range of data to inform programmes of learning. Leaders and teachers know the children well. Success for all learners is the priority of the school.

At the time of this ERO review, the following strengths were highly evident:

  • the vision and values of the school are strongly embedded and visible throughout the school
  • a strong sense of identity, pride and belonging
  • the community is embraced and valued as essential to the life of the school.

The school has capacity and capability to accelerate learning for all children.

The school agrees to:

  • develop more targeted planning to accelerate learning for children
  • monitor targeted planning, improved teaching, and children’s progress
  • discuss the school’s progress with ERO.

ERO is likely to carry out the next review in three years. 

Equity and excellence

How effectively does this school respond to Māori and other children whose learning and achievement need acceleration?

Most learners achieve at or above expectations in relation to National Standards. Mathematics has been appropriately identified by the school as a learning focus for 2017. The school reports increasing dependability of data from 2015.

The school is yet to successfully accelerate learning for all students. Disparity in achievement for Māori children has widened in reading, writing and mathematics. Reducing this difference in achievement for Māori learners has been identified as a key priority by the school.

The school uses a wide range of assessment tools to identify at-risk learners. Their progress is tracked and monitored well. The collaborative decision making process for forming overall teacher judgements aligned to National Standards is well considered.

School conditions supporting equity and excellence

What school processes are effective in enabling achievement of equity and excellence?

The school uses and analyses a wide range of data to inform programmes of learning. Leaders and teachers know their learners well. Success for all is the priority of the school.

The board of trustees have high levels of trust and confidence in the teachers and leader of the school. They are improvement focused and actively seek professional development to support the building of their stewardship knowledge. The board regularly seeks the views and aspirations of the community for the direction of the school. Trustees are well informed about schoolwide achievement and inquire into the trends and patterns of this data.

A strong vision for and commitment to learner success is evident. Leaders are highly reflective and focused of building knowledge and understanding for effective leadership. A supportive and collaborative environment supports teaching and learning.

Parents are well informed about their child’s progress and achievement. The school has identified that extending these positive relationships to learner-centred partnerships is a key area of focus going forward.

The local surrounding environment is well used to provide authentic and meaningful contexts and programmes. Children can confidently discuss their learning. They actively support and seek guidance from their peers. The curriculum framework is currently under review. The intention is to better reflect the current community’s aspirations, te ao Māori, and provide guidance for high quality teaching and learning at Matawai School. 

Sustainable development for equity and excellence

What further developments are needed in school processes to achieve equity and excellence?

Matawai School needs to further strengthen their response to accelerating the learning and achievement of Māori learners in order to achieve excellent and equitable outcomes for all.

Sharpening the focus, and the consistent implementation of effective targeted teaching for those children whose learning and achievement need acceleration is a next step. This should better support leaders and teachers to:

  • track and monitor learner progress against expected outcomes over time
  • inquire into their practice to identify strategies that have the most impact on these learners
  • ensure an ongoing improvement focused appraisal system that supports improving outcomes for learners
  • develop more coherent and aligned processes across the school
  • identify what high quality teaching and learning looks like at Matawai School.

The leaders, teachers and trustees reflect, research and review well. Building understanding and effectively implementing evaluation for schoolwide improvement and innovation is a next step.

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
  • 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. 

Going forward

How well placed is the school to accelerate the achievement of all children who need it?

The school has capacity and capability to accelerate learning for all children. However, disparity in achievement for Māori and/or other children remains.

Leaders and teachers:

  • know the children whose learning and achievement need to be accelerated
  • need to develop and implement approaches that effectively meet the needs of each child
  • need to improve the school conditions that support the acceleration of children’s learning and achievement.

The school agrees to:

  • develop more targeted planning to accelerate learning for children
  • monitor targeted planning, improved teaching, and children’s progress
  • discuss the school’s progress with ERO.

ERO will provide an internal evaluation workshop to support the school to develop effective planning and monitoring processes to support equity and excellence for all children.

ERO is likely to carry out the next review in three years.

Patricia Davey

Deputy Chief Review Officer Central (Acting)

20 June 2017

About the school

LocationMatawai
Ministry of Education profile number2611
School typeFull Primary (Years 1 to 8)
School roll49
Gender compositionMales 26, Females 23
Ethnic compositionMāori 14
Pākehā 35
Provision of Māori medium educationNo
Review team on siteMay 2017
Date of this report20 June 2017
Most recent ERO report(s)Education Review June 2011 
Education Review May 2007 
Education Review June 2004