Tamaki School

School Evaluation 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.

Context 

Tāmaki School in Panmure, Auckland provides education for students in Years 1 to 8. Special features of the school include Te Puna Wairua, a te reo Māori, tikanga, and a Māori world view at the heart of learning, and Talamuka-a-Tonga using bilingual education in Tongan. The school also hosts a Sommerville School satellite class. Since the previous ERO review a new principal was appointed in August 2024. 

There are two parts to this report.

Part A: An evaluative summary of learner success and school conditions to inform the school board’s future strategic direction, including any education in Rumaki/bilingual settings. 

Part B: The improvement actions prioritised for the school’s next evaluation cycle. 

Part A: Current State

The following findings are to inform the school’s future priorities for improvement.

Learner Success and Wellbeing 

The school is working towards equitable and excellent outcomes for all students.

• The majority of students achieve at or above expected curriculum levels in reading, a small majority achieve at or above expected levels in mathematics and almost half of the students are at the expected level in writing.
• School achievement information for students who are not yet at expected levels in reading, writing and mathematics indicates many are making accelerated progress in these areas.
• Students experience a welcoming, positive, and inclusive school environment that acknowledges home languages and cultures and contributes to a sense of wellbeing and belonging.
• The school is not yet meeting Ministry of Education 2024 attendance targets, with data for Terms 1 and 2, 2024 showing that less than half of learners attended regularly.

Conditions to support learner success

School leadership is beginning to strengthen the conditions necessary for effective teaching and learning.

• A culture of professional learning and growth is promoted by leaders to increase success for students in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Leadership set appropriate goals and targets to lift and accelerate students' progress in reading, writing and mathematics. 
• Leaders identify the need for ongoing professional learning and leadership development to better support teachers to consistently deliver well-paced lesson student learning time well and strengthen effective teaching practice.

Leaders and teachers are working to improve and use consistent schoolwide teaching and learning practices to raise student outcomes.

• Teachers collaboratively plan learning programmes that support student progress and achievement; the next step is to ensure lessons are well paced for student engagement.
• Positive relationships between teachers and students create inclusive, calm, and orderly classroom environments. Learning programmes, for the many learners who have English as an additional language, emphasise successfully building vocabulary in reading, writing and mathematics. 

The new leadership team are taking steps to strengthen the conditions to bring increased success for all students.

• Respectful partnerships and communication between whānau, teachers and leaders provide a supportive environment for students.
• Strengthened connections with mana whenua Ngāti Paoa supports the ongoing development of the school’s local curriculum.
• Staff know students and whānau well and many staff speak additional languages; these relationships support students and parents to be comfortable engaging with staff to seek support when required.
• Teachers and parents communicate regularly, parents value teachers making contact to share students' successes in class. 

Rumaki/Bilingual Outcomes and Condition to Support Learner Success 

Learner success and wellbeing

• Tamariki are beginning to confidently reflect te reo and mātauranga Māori.
• The majority of tamariki are achieving education success in literacy and numeracy.
• Opportunities are provided for tamariki to be proud champions of te reo and mātauranga Māori.

Conditions to support learner success 

• An inclusive and caring culture, focused on wellbeing contributes to strengthening tamariki identity.
• Consistent routines and clear expectations contribute to calm focused classrooms.
• Relational trust with parents and whānau enables the sharing of aspirations and challenges.

Priorities for Improvement

• Explicitly design and implement a local curriculum that continues to advance the development of conversational reo skills.
• Use effective assessment practices and critically reflect on tamariki data to inform next steps.
• governance and leadership to grow relational trust with Te Puna Wairua and support the development of strong Māori medium transitional pathways.

Part B: Where to next? 

The agreed next steps for the school are to: 

• continue to implement and evaluate how well current school strategies are lifting overall student attendance
• continue to build consistency of teaching practice to lift the achievement of all students in writing and mathematics
• ensure effective and consistent teaching and learning practices that are well paced to maximise student learning time and improve student outcomes in reading, writing and mathematics
• provide leadership development opportunities for team leaders to further support teachers to strengthen effective teaching practices 
• governance and leadership to grow relational trust with Te Puna Wairua and support the development of strong Māori medium transitional pathways.

The agreed actions for the next improvement cycle and timeframes are as follows.

Within three months:

• identify opportunities for board members to engage in Māori medium professional development.

Every six months:

• leaders and teachers will closely monitor the effectiveness of initiatives to improve the attendance of students who do not attend regularly 
• continue to monitor and analyse student achievement and wellbeing information to ensure levels of accelerated progress in writing and mathematics are improving 
• board members engage in Māori medium professional development.

Annually:

• the board will continue to use achievement data and information about the impacts of staff professional learning on student outcomes, to inform on-going and future professional learning decisions
• leaders will review how well strategies build consistent teaching practice and impact on student achievement 
• review the needs and requirements of learners in Māori medium in consultation with Te Puna Wairua staff and whānau.

Actions taken against these next steps are expected to result in:

• improved attendance, especially for those learners who do not attend regularly at present
• improved overall levels of accelerated progress and achievement for all learners in writing and mathematics
• greater consistency of effective practice across the school to drive improvements in the teaching of writing and mathematics
• board members and leadership have an increased understanding of Māori medium learner needs and an authentic partnership with Te Puna Wairua staff.

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 Evaluation 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

Shelley Booysen
Director of Schools

5 November 2024

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