Richmond Street , Waitara
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.
Waitara East School is located in Waitara township and provides education for learners in Years 1 to 6. The school’s roll in 2024 was 224. The ethnic composition is Māori 76%, New Zealand/European 28% and Pacific 2%. Learners are encouraged to know and use the school’s ‘MANA’ values of manaakitanga (respecting others), angitu (doing my best), ngakaunui (caring for the environment), and aroha (caring for others).
The school has a reo rua unit comprising three classrooms that offer level 2 te reo Māori immersion teaching.
| 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 good 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 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 is taking steps to improve 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 small majority of learners meet or exceed the expected curriculum level. Results are becoming more 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
| A small majority of learners meet or exceed the expected curriculum level. Results are becoming more equitable for all groups of learners. |
The school is significantly behind the target of 80% regular attendance.
The school has a suitable plan in place to improve attendance.
Regular attendance is not yet improving towards or beyond the target.
Chronic absence is not yet reducing over time.
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 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.
Leaders and teachers know their learners well and are responsive to the needs of groups and individuals; the achievement and progress of all learners is closely tracked and monitored. Learners requiring additional support are identified promptly and receive targeted teaching focused on literacy and numeracy.
Learners’ inclusion and wellbeing is effectively supported by embedded teaching practices that promote belonging and wellbeing.
Cohesive, focused leadership increasingly strengthens school conditions to support learner success and wellbeing. Strategic planning is well informed by research and achievement information to improve learner outcomes.
Structured literacy practices are embedded; the school is well placed for future curriculum adjustments in mathematics.
The school curriculum is well designed, appropriately structured to support learning and makes good use of technology and local contexts. Learners experience a broad range of rich, meaningful learning opportunities; this promotes progress and achievement across the curriculum.
Staff capability is intentionally developed through a professional learning programme that clearly aligns with strategic goals for learner achievement.
Effective processes are in place that ensure all staff participate in regular, ongoing evaluation and review of their professional progress and effectiveness in meeting the needs of learners.
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
Director of Schools (Acting)
12 May 2025
This website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement. educationcounts.govt.nz/home
Waitara East School caters for students from Years 1 to 6. At the time of this review there are 259 students enrolled, with 81% of the school identifying as Māori.
Te Kāhui O Nga Mātā Raukura, the three bilingual classes, use the framework of Toku Te Atiawatanga marāu ā kura to outline the skills, values and attitudes for teaching in te reo Māori medium.
The School ‘MANA’ values, Manaakitanga, Angitu, Ngākaunui, Aroha underpin the valued outcomes for students across the Marau ā Kura, school curriculum. There is a schoolwide focus on the understanding and application of tikanga o Te Atiawa, Taranaki.
The 2018-2020 strategic plan prioritises on-going student improvement. Current goals and targets include:
Leaders and teachers regularly report to the board, schoolwide information about outcomes for students, in the following areas:
There have been significant leadership and staff changes since the January 2015 ERO report.
At the time of this ERO review, school achievement data shows on-going increase in achievement against the New Zealand Curriculum levels in reading, writing, and mathematics. The majority of students are achieving at and above expectation for their level.
Māori student achievement in reading and writing is significantly higher than Pākehā. In mathematics achievement the gap is smaller, with Pākehā achieving slightly higher than their Māori peers.
The disparity between boys and girls in mathematic achievement is reducing. However, significant disparity remains between boys and girls in literacy.
Te Kāhui o Ngā Mātā Raukura data from 2016 - 2017 shows improvement across korero, pānui and tuhituhi, and indicates the majority of students are achieving at or above expectation in these areas.
The school is developing its effectiveness in responding to Māori and other children whose learning and achievement need acceleration.
The school-reported English medium data indicates the majority of targeted students, including Māori, in reading and writing, make accelerated progress. A smaller proportion of students make accelerated progress in mathematics.
Leadership is focused on ensuring schoolwide practices and processes enhance student wellbeing, promote culture, language and identity and enable students to learn and achieve at the appropriate level.
A collaborative, transparent strategic plan appropriately aligns schoolwide goals with teachers’ inquiry practices and appraisal. It is supported by external and internal professional development opportunities to facilitate teaching and learning focused on improved outcomes for learners.
The school’s MANA values are an explicit part of the teaching and learning programmes. These focus on supporting students to develop mutual respect for each other and create an environment of wellbeing for learning, to contribute to growing confident and connected students.
Te ao Māori is highly evident and central to the school ‘Pumanawatanga’; beating heart, that determines how a school looks, feels, and sounds from the perspective of students, teachers and whānau. The value held for the beliefs and practices of Te Atiawatanga are reflected through school practices. In the bilingual classes appropriate strategies are used to support student’s learning and acquisition of te reo Māori.
There is an emphasis on hauora, ensuring readiness for learning. Needs and strengths of children are identified and responded to through extensive and relevant interventions and external supports. Students requiring additional learning assistance are well supported through individual planning, and monitoring, consultation with whanau and well-considered teacher and teacher-aide provision.
Strong processes and systems are in place to support the pastoral care of children. The purposeful use of staff expertise and community connections enables whānau to provide increased learning opportunities and support student learning and wellbeing. Students enjoy a sense of belonging and connection to the school and its community.
Leaders, and ERO’s evaluation confirms, that the school should more strategically and relentlessly pursue a small number of aligned goals. Priority should be given to:
These improvements should be underpinned by ongoing evaluation of what is working, what is not and what needs to change.
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:
At the time of the onsite stage of this review ERO identified non-compliance in relation to:
The board has since developed satisfactory policies to address practices and procedures related to these two identified areas.
To improve current practice, the board of trustees should:
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:
internal evaluation processes and practices that use data from a range of sources to better identify what is working well for students learning and where improvements are needed [ERO will provide an internal evaluation workshop for trustees and senior leaders.]
ERO is likely to carry out the next external evaluation in three years.
Alan Wynyard
Deputy Chief Review Officer Central (Acting)
Te Tai Pokapū - Central Region
16 April 2018
| Location | Waitara, Taranaki |
| Ministry of Education profile number | 2261 |
| School type | Contributing Primary (Years 1 - 6) |
| School roll | 259 |
| Gender composition | Boys 55%, Girls 45% |
| Ethnic composition | Māori 81% Pākehā 15% Pacific and other ethnic groups 4% |
| Provision of Māori medium education | Yes |
| Number of Māori medium classes | 3 |
| Total number of students in Māori medium (MME) | 55 |
| Review team on site | February 2018 |
| Date of this report | 16 April 2018 |
| Most recent ERO report(s) | Education Review, January 2015 Education Review, December 2011 Education Review, November 2008 |