State Highway 65 , Maruia
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.
Maruia School is in the heart of Maruia on the West Coast of the South Island. The school provides education for students in Years 1 to 8. The school’s roll is 19 with 88% of students identifying as European/Pākehā, 6% as Māori and 6% Pacific or Asian.
The school’s values of Manaakitanga, Whānaungatanga, Arohatanga and Kaitiakitanga underpin and drive the vision to realise each child’s unique potential so that they may find success.
| How well are learners succeeding? | Success and progress for all learners is increasing. |
| 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 rich opportunities to learn across the breadth and depth of the curriculum. There is a 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 | A large majority of learners meet or exceed the expected curriculum level. Results are equitable for all groups of learners. |
| Writing | A small majority of 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 behind the target of 80% regular attendance.
The school has a suitable plan in place to improve attendance.
Regular attendance is improving towards or beyond the target.
The school uses an appropriate approach and reliable practices to 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 making progress towards meeting Government reading, writing and mathematics targets and/or pānui, tuhituhi and pāngarau 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.
The principal and board have defined a clear direction and established expectations for learning through the school’s vision and strategic plan.
Classroom programmes integrate authentic and meaningful curriculum contexts that promote success in reading, writing and mathematics.
Teaching and learning programmes are well-structured to enable high levels of engagement and effectively support the learning needs and interests of every student.
Strong learning relationships and partnerships between the school and wider community support teaching and learning programmes; including with wider educational agencies.
School leaders promote a highly reflective culture that supports staff to effectively inquire into aspects of their teaching practice and positively impact learner outcomes; targeted professional learning builds collective capability of teachers and staff.
An established Enviroschools and sustainability programme is in place that enriches and makes learning relevant and meaningful for students, including valuing the school grounds and local area.
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)
19 May 2025
This website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement. educationcounts.govt.nz/home
Maruia School is a small rural school on the West Coast which provides education for students in Years 1 to 8. The school has a roll of 15 students who learn in a multilevel classroom.
The school’s vision is for all children to experience success, and make a worthwhile and lasting contribution to their world by using learning to grow in confidence and ability. The school values are: ‘respect for self, respect for others and responsibility for our actions’.
Leaders and teachers regularly report to the board, schoolwide information about outcomes for students in the following areas:
Since the last ERO review, there have been some changes in staffing. In connection with the local dairy industry, a significant number of students transition into and out of the school each year.
Maruia School is part of the TOSI (Top of the South Island) Kāhui Ako | Community of Learning.
The school is effective in achieving equitable and excellent outcomes for its students.
School information for 2016 to 2017 shows that most students achieved the school’s expectations in reading, writing and mathematics. In 2018 a large majority of students achieved at expected levels in reading, writing and mathematics.
The school does not yet analyse learning information to identify if learning is accelerated or not for specific groups of students, including those who remain at the school for shorter periods of time.
The vision and valued learning attributes for students are promoted in the curriculum. These are evident in the way students work collaboratively, their involvement in their learning and their use of the school values of respect for self, others and the environment.
Students are actively involved in making decisions about their learning, including what they learn, how they learn and setting and reviewing their learning goals. The multilevel classroom provides opportunities for students to share their learning and learn from each other. The use of local contexts and individual learning plans provides opportunities for teachers to respond to students’ learning needs and keep them engaged in their learning. Increasing use of digital technologies enhances this engagement, helps to build student agency and allows students to access increased learning opportunities at home and in school.
Educationally powerful connections enhance learning opportunities and engagement in learning. The school has built strong partnerships with other schools on the West Coast and made connections with local community expertise, such as the Department of Conservation, in order to enhance curriculum provision. Partnerships with parents support teaching and learning and help students to make smooth transitions into and out of the school.
Leadership is focused on collaboratively developing and pursuing the school’s vision, goals and targets for equity and excellence. Students are involved in the development of the curriculum and a learning environment that supports learning and engagement. Learning information is analysed and used to identify and plan for student needs and improved achievement.
Internal evaluation is used well to support school improvement. Assessment information is very well used to identify:
The board needs to follow a schedule of internal evaluation of key aspects of school operations. This will provide assurance that policies, procedures and curriculum are being enacted as expected.
School leadership has identified, and ERO agrees, that assessment and reporting practices need to be effectively reviewed. This should focus on improving the clarity and accuracy of information about students’ progress and achievement against curriculum levels over time.
Leaders and teachers should extend analysis and reporting on the progress and achievement of students to include:
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 Maruia 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.
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:
During the onsite stage of the review, ERO identified non-compliance in relation to:
In order to address this, the board of trustees must:
Dr Lesley Patterson
Director Review and Improvement Services Te Tai Tini
Southern Region
21 August 2019
| Location | Maruia |
| Ministry of Education profile number | 3204 |
| School type | Full Primary (Years 1 to 8) |
| School roll | 15 |
| Gender composition | Boys 5, Girls 10 |
| Ethnic composition | Māori 1 NZ European/Pākehā 14 |
| Students with Ongoing Resourcing Funding (ORS) | No |
| Provision of Māori medium education | No |
| Review team on site | June 2019 |
| Date of this report | 21 August 2019 |
| Most recent ERO report(s) | Education Review June 2015 Education Review May 2012 Education Review August 2008 |