Rawene School

School 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.

Every New Zealand state and state integrated school has an ERO review at least once every four years to evaluate what is working well for learners and what needs to be improved.

About the School

Rawene School is located on the shore of the Hokianga Harbour and provides education for learners from Years 1 to 8. Māori learners make up 83% of the school roll, with Pākehā / New Zealand European learners comprising 13%. The school has longstanding connections with the local community.

Rawene School places its vision, ‘Ka Angitu’ - Leading the Way to Success at the centre of its teaching and learning. The school culture is underpinned by its six pou: Pūmautanga/excellence, Rangatiratanga/leadership, Auahatanga/creativity, Kaitiakitanga/protection, Manaakitanga/respect and Whanaungatanga/connections.

Education Counts provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement, school enrolments and school zones. educationcounts.govt.nz/home

An explanation of the terms and judgements used in this report can be found here: Reporting | Education Review Office

Improvement and progress

This section is about the progress the school has made since the December 2022 ERO report. It includes an explanation of the expected improvements and findings.

Expected improvements

The school evaluated the impact of teacher professional development in literacy on student achievement.  The school expected to see teachers using achievement data in literacy effectively to identify and respond to learner needs. 

Findings

School leaders focused on improving consistent and high-quality teaching in literacy, supported by effective professional learning and development and the use of achievement data to plan and evaluate programmes.  Professional development in literacy supports teachers to strengthen their skills in delivering a structured literacy curriculum to respond to changing need of learners. Staff turnover and the absence of standardised assessment data have impacted its delivery. Learners’ achievement in literacy has remained constant over recent years. 

Other findings

Leaders found that creating greater consistency in teaching and a focus on learners who are not yet achieving are priority areas to raise achievement. The use of reliable and standardised assessments is an important next step to enable teachers and leaders to effectively monitor the success of teaching and learning programmes. 

What we know about learner success

This section provides a summary of learner success and wellbeing. The judgments are based on the ERO School Improvement Framework and the evidence provided to ERO during the evaluation.

Achievement in Years 1 to 6

This section is about learner achievement. It outlines how well learners across the school meet or exceed the expected curriculum level of The New Zealand Curriculum in foundational skills.

Attendance

This section is about school attendance and the progress the school is making towards meeting the Government target of 80% regular attendance.

• Less than half of learners attend school regularly.
• 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.
• Chronic absence is reducing over time. 

Assessment

This section is about how the school assesses learner progress and achievement.

• The school is improving its approach and the reliability of its practices to accurately find out about achievement against the curriculum.
• Teachers should improve their use of assessment information to adjust teaching practices to ensure ongoing improvement in teaching and student progress.

Progress

This section is about how well the school supports all learners to make sufficient progress.

• The school is developing good quality planning to increase the rate of progress for all groups of students.
• The school has not 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 not making progress towards meeting Government reading, writing and mathematics targets for 2030 and agrees this will need to be a key strategic priority.

Next steps for improvement

This section provides more detail for the school to include in its strategic and annual planning for ongoing improvement across the school. It outlines what the school is doing well and identifies actions for improvement.

Areas of strength

The school reflects its community and school leaders demonstrate an active commitment to Ngāpuhitanga. Students have a strong sense of pride and belonging in their school. Teachers and leaders know learners and their whānau well, relationships are respectful.

The school meets the one hour a day requirement. Teachers use explicit teaching strategies and structured approaches in literacy and mathematics.

The principal has established systems that support a learner-centred school culture and a clear focus on improving learner outcomes. She provides support to colleagues in local schools and creates opportunities for teachers and learners to take on leadership opportunities. 

Key priorities

• Improve teaching and learning programmes by embedding curriculum updates, identify and use effective teaching strategies to increase engagement and achievement.
• Build teacher knowledge and use of assessment information, including the introduction of appropriate standardised assessments in reading and mathematics.
• Accelerate achievement in reading, writing and mathematics so that most learners achieve at expected curriculum levels.
• Implement and monitor the school’s attendance plan to increase regular attendance. 

Actions to bring about improvement 

Within three months:

• leaders revise the school’s curriculum plan/Ngā Pou Angitū to incorporate curriculum changes and provide clear expectations for teachers on planning, teaching and assessment
• teachers introduce and use appropriate, standardised assessments
• teachers set progress and acceleration goals for all learners who are not achieving at expected levels

Within six months:

• teachers use standardised assessments as part of their overall teacher judgements in reading, writing and mathematics
• the school Board work with community leaders to strengthen the school’s attendance plan

Every six months:

• teachers and leaders use achievement data, classroom observations and learner voice to monitor literacy and mathematics programmes
• leaders collect and analyse results from a range of appropriate assessment tools to reliably measure progress and achievement across the school
• teachers monitor the progress of all learners who need additional support to ensure there is an improvement in achievement

Annually:

• leaders and teachers evaluate the success of curriculum development in literacy and mathematics to inform future professional development and resource needs
• leaders and the Board use reliable assessments to report on progress and achievement and to inform strategic planning
• leaders and the Board evaluate the success of attendance initiatives to improve attendance.

Expected outcomes

• Consistently high-quality teaching in reading, writing and mathematics and improved achievement.
• Reliable achievement data used regularly by teachers and leaders to set goals and adapt practice.
• All learners make sufficient progress in reading, writing and mathematics to improve overall achievement.
• Improved attendance to meet Government targets.

Regulatory and legislative requirements

This section of the report is about how the school meets regulatory and legislative requirements.

Board assurance with regulatory and legislative requirements

This section of the report reviews the school's policies, procedures, documentation, and checks that it meets all regulations, maintains a safe environment, and supports students' wellbeing.

During this review the Board has attested to meeting regulatory and legislative requirements in the following areas:

Board administration

Yes

Curriculum

Yes

Management of health, safety and welfare

Yes

Personnel management

Yes

Actions for compliance

The board and ERO has identified the following areas of non-compliance during the board assurance process:

• Safety Checking of Workforce: the board should consider available information to assess and ensure that a thorough risk assessment is carried out for all staff appointed to positions and updated every three years [Children’s Act 2014].

The Rawene School Board has since addressed the areas of non-compliance identified.

The next public report on ERO’s website will be a School Report and is due within four 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

17 December 2025