6 Hendley Road , Patoka, Napier
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.
Patoka School, a small rural school inland from Napier, has students from Years 1 to 8. Of the 40 students enrolled, 55% are New Zealand European/Pākehā includes, 40% are Māori and 5% are other ethnicities.
The school’s vision for learners is Through our school we are one – Kei te kura Patoka, ka Kotahi ra is underpinned by the core values of Confidence-Whakamahi, Honesty-Katoa, Respect-Whakatahi and Resilience-Whakamahi.
| 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 high quality teaching practice that improves progress and achievement in reading, writing and mathematics.
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| 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 foundational 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 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 reports usefully and accurately 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 large majority of learners meet or exceed the expected curriculum level. Results are becoming more equitable for all groups of learners.
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| Writing | A large majority of learners meet or exceed the expected curriculum level. Results are becoming more equitable for all groups of learners.
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| Mathematics | Most learners meet or exceed the expected curriculum level. Results are becoming more equitable for all groups of learners.
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The school is approaching the target of 80% regular attendance.
The school is yet to have a suitable plan to improve attendance.
Regular attendance is 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 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.
Leadership is highly collaborative and seeks the views of parents and staff for continuous improvement of learning. High levels of relational trust and communication between students, leadership and staff contributes to respectful classroom interactions that supports learning.
Learners are highly engaged in their learning and a strong sense of belonging and wellbeing is evident. Students learn in an inclusive environment that successfully differentiates learning to meet their needs.
Learners benefit from structured teaching practices in literacy. The implementation of a structured mathematics programme is underway.
Teachers work collaboratively and regularly use achievement information and evidence to inform teaching and learning. They monitor the impact of their actions on learner progress. Their professional learning aligns with the school’s improvement goals and learner needs.
Organisational conditions including leadership, policies, systems and practices align to provide learners with a well-run learning environment.
The current board provides stable stewardship and fulfils its rolls and responsibilities well; this provides the platform to encourage further parental involvement in the governance of their school.
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:
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
Director of Schools (Acting)
16 May 2025
This website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement. educationcounts.govt.nz/home
Patoka School, a small rural school inland from Napier, has students from Years 1 to 8. The current roll of 55, includes 10 students who are Māori and six of Pacific heritage.
The school’s vision for learning is ‘Through our school we are one.’ This is enacted through the values of ‘trustworthiness, respect, unity, enthusiasm and excellence: T.R.U.E.E’.
The current goals are focused on strengthening communication between school and community and teaching and learning. The achievement target is focused on mathematics for students in Years 1 to 4.
Leaders and teachers regularly report to the board, schoolwide information about outcomes for students in the following areas:
Since the December 2014 ERO report, there have been significant staffing changes. A new principal was appointed at the beginning of 2019, along with a new teaching team. Teachers’ professional learning and development for 2019 is focused on mathematics.
The majority of trustees are new to the board. A co-opted board chairperson provides direction for stewardship of the school. This has been in place for two years.
The school is strengthening its effectiveness in achieving equitable and excellence outcomes for all its students. These outcomes are often good with some variation.
The end-of-year 2018 achievement information showed that most students achieved at and above curriculum expectations in reading and mathematics, with a large majority in writing. Information about the achievement of specific groups of students overtime has not been collated.
The mid-2019 achievement data is showing a clearer picture of achievement across the school in reading and writing. Most students are at and above expectations in reading, with the majority of students at or above in writing. Schoolwide data for all year groups is not available for mathematics. The board has received whole school basic facts data, March 2019.
Māori students are achieving as well as their peers in reading, less so in writing. Pacific students are achieving better than their peers over all. Girls are achieving better than boys in writing.
In 2019, the school has improved its response to those students whose learning requires acceleration. Mid-year achievement data shows that teachers have been successful in accelerating the learning of most target students, including those Māori and Pacific children who need this, in reading, writing and mathematics.
The board and staff clearly identify where improvement is needed to promote excellence and equity in learner outcomes. Goals are prioritised in the annual plan through a range of actions and provide clear direction for school leadership. Progress is monitored and regularly reported to the board.
Leaders and teachers have strengthened processes and practices to respond to those students whose progress they need to accelerate. These practices are robust and enable close tracking and monitoring of these students. Trustees are regularly informed of their progress and achievement and use this information to make appropriate resourcing decisions.
Students experience a wide range of authentic learning opportunities responsive to their strengths and interests. Science learning is well integrated and reflected through an inquiry approach. There is an appropriate focus on literacy and mathematics, including a balance of targeted teaching, use of rich authentic tasks and student-led learning. Students participate in a wide range of academic, sporting and cultural activities within the school and wider community. They take on leadership roles and socialise with students from other schools.
Students are well engaged in purposeful learning and take pride in their achievements. They show a sense of belonging to their school. Learners work collaboratively. They use digital technologies to support and manage their learning. The learning environments reflect and celebrate students’ learning. Their culture, language and identity is acknowledged and valued.
Teachers are student-centred and highly collaborative in their approach. They value the knowledge and skills each bring and learn from each other, and with support from external facilitators, build their capability. They are reflective and regularly inquire into the effectiveness of their teaching strategies, programmes and interventions to promote positive outcomes for students.
A range of communication strategies is used to keep parents and whānau informed about the curriculum and school operation. Parents participate in a wide range of school activities. Their contribution to decision making is valued. Strengthening partnerships in learning continues to be a priority for the school with its families.
Some initial community consultation informed the development of the draft, documented curriculum that provides teaching and learning guidance to the new teaching team. Leaders and teachers acknowledge that further work is required to ensure the curriculum is reflective of the local context and responsive to the community’s aspirations for its students. The planned review of the school’s vision and values should support this development.
The school needs to develop a more planned approach to the integration of te reo me ngā tikanga Māori across the curriculum, to ensure continuation of this initiative. Responsive resourcing by the board has contributed to a positive start to this.
Systems to keep records of student achievement over time need to be firmly in place so that the school gets a clear picture of its effectiveness in progressing children’s learning and the improvement trajectory of groups of students.
A key next step is developing a shared understanding of internal evaluation and the use of data and other information to know the impact of new developments, programmes and initiatives to advance equity and excellence for students.
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 Patoka School’s performance in achieving valued outcomes for its students is: Developing.
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:
Phillip Cowie
Director Review and Improvement Services Central
Central Region
18 November 2019
| Location | Patoka |
| Ministry of Education profile number | 2642 |
| School type | Full primary (Years 1-8) |
| School roll | 55 |
| Gender composition | Female 33, Male 22 |
| Ethnic composition | Māori 10 NZ European/Pākehā 39 Pacific 6 |
| Students with Ongoing Resourcing Funding (ORS) | No |
| Provision of Māori medium education | No |
| Review team on site | September 2019 |
| Date of this report | 18 November 2019 |
| Most recent ERO report(s) | Education Review December 2014 Education Review September 2010 Education Review June 2007 |