Pukenui School (Kaitaia)

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report 

Background

This Profile Report was written within 12 months of the Education Review Office and Pukenui School (Kaitaia) working in Te Ara Huarau, an improvement evaluation approach used in most English Medium State and State Integrated Schools. For more information about Te Ara Huarau see ERO’s website. www.ero.govt.nz

Context

Pukenui School located on the Te Aupōuri Peninsula, north of Kaitaia, provides education for tamariki from years 0 – 8. Most children affiliate to Ngati Kuri and Te Aupōuri iwi. The school values of manaakitanga, whanaungatanga, kaitiakitanga and ako are embedded into the school curriculum and school activities.

A new principal was appointed in 2020.

Pukenui School (Kaitaia)’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are to:

• Provide high quality teaching and learning that challenges and builds confidence in students to take ownership of their learning.
• Accelerate students’ learning and progress in literacy and numeracy towards or above appropriate NZC levels.
• All Māori students to achieve educational success with pride in their unique identity, language and culture as Māori.
• Promote high levels of student engagement.
• Te Kāhui Ako goals – Tū Tangata Marama.

You can ask the school to see a copy of the strategic and annual plan.

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate how effectively the school’s local curriculum is providing equitable and excellent outcomes for all tamariki. 

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is to: 

• reinforce a sense of belonging and connection for tamariki, whānau, school and the wider community
• strengthen the cultural competence of staff, tamariki and whānau
• further develop tamariki, whānau, families and staff learning partnerships that support positive attitudes, improve achievement and learning behaviours.

The school expects to see:

• tamariki who are proud of who they are and are confident in their identity, language and culture
• tamariki and staff who are confident in the protocols to lead pōwhiri
• tamariki, whānau, staff and community who have knowledge and understanding of our unique place.

Strengths 

The school can draw from the following strengths to support its goal to evaluate how effectively the school local curriculum is providing equitable and excellent outcomes for all tamariki:

• learners who are well supported to achieve success with a strong secure sense of their cultural identity
• teachers who are strengthening curriculum planning and implementation to improve achievement outcomes and are refining their strengths-based approach for all learners
• leaders who are taking steps to progress professional knowledge-building approaches with teachers to support teaching effectiveness.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise:

• engaging with whānau and community about development and direction of the schools local curriculum
• building on marae experiences to support tamariki growth and confidence in tikanga and te ao Māori. 

ERO’s role will be to support the school in its evaluation for improvement cycle to improve outcomes for all learners. ERO will support the school in reporting their progress to the community. The next public report on ERO’s website will be a Te Ara Huarau | School Evaluation Report and is due within three years. 

Shelley Booysen
Director of Schools

27 November 2023 

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