Maeroa Intermediate

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 

Maeroa Intermediate, in Hamilton, provides education for students in Years 7 and 8, and includes two bi-lingual te reo Māori classrooms, known as Te Puaawaitanga. The school’s stated vision is:

‘To develop confident and competent learners who are able to find their place within communities‘

‘Kia puta te tū pakari, te tū māia te ākonga: Kia whaiwāhi ai ia ki tōna hapori.’

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 large majority of students are achieving at or above expected curriculum levels in mathematics and reading, and just over half in writing.
• The school is working towards reducing disparity for Māori students in reading, writing and mathematics, for boys in reading and writing.
• The school is effectively accelerating the progress of some groups of students below expected curriculum levels in reading, writing, and mathematics over the two years of their intermediate schooling.
• The school is not yet meeting the 2024 Ministry of Education attendance target.

Conditions to support learner success

• Leaders ensure the school’s curriculum has a strong focus on building students’ foundational literacy and numeracy skills to raise achievement.
• Leadership has aligned teachers’ professional learning and development with the focus on strengthening effective teaching of literacy and mathematics to improve outcomes for learners.
• Leaders scrutinise a range of data to inform their decision-making; using this data to target improving student attendance and increasing rates of accelerated learning should remain a priority.

• Learners benefit from orderly learning environments with clear routines and respectful relationships.
• Teachers use a range of explicit teaching strategies to build students’ understanding of literacy and mathematical concepts.
• Teachers increasingly use achievement information to inform their planning and practices; schoolwide consistency in the use of assessment to effectively provide feedback to students, target teaching and evaluate the impact of teaching strategies on student outcomes should remain a priority. 

• Leaders and teachers are building partnerships with parents and community networks to support student learning and wellbeing.
• Strategies are in place to support students with additional needs; the next step is to use relevant progress and achievement data to review the effectiveness of the interventions on accelerating the progress of these students.
• Students are provided with a wide range of extra-curricular and leadership opportunities; data shows they feel safe in, and positive about, their learning environment.
• Aspects of te ao Māori are woven into the rituals of the school; further integration of mātauranga and te reo Māori in the curriculum and classrooms is an area for continued strengthening.

Bilingual Outcomes and Conditions to Support Learner Success

Te Puaawaitanga provides reo rua (bi-lingual Māori) provision and comprises of two classrooms. 

Learner success and wellbeing

• Ākonga proactively lead te reo and tikanga Māori practices within the classroom and across the kura.
• A large majority of ākonga are achieving in pānui while less than half achieved at or above the expected curriculum level in pāngarau and tuhituhi.
• Most ākonga in Te Puaawaitanga attend school regularly, meeting the MoE attendance target. 

Conditions to support learner success

• Kaiako encourage tuakana teina relationships within Te Puaawaitanga and across the kura building ākonga confidence and capabilities to be leaders in learning.
• Academic progress is monitored using English medium assessment tools and strategies.
• Continue to strengthen a Māori medium pathway plan to further support ākonga and whānau transitions into and beyond Te Puaawaitanga.

Part B: Where to next?

The agreed next steps for the school are to: 

• further strengthen the use of data and other learning information to evaluate the impact of leaders’ and teachers’ actions on student achievement, progress, and attendance
• accelerate the progress of students who are not yet achieving at expected curriculum levels in reading, writing and mathematics
• improve rates of regular student attendance for learners in English medium
• increase opportunities for students to experience mātauranga and te reo Māori in English-medium classrooms
• identify Te Puaawaitanga strategic goals, objectives and professional development opportunities to grow teacher capability and implement into strategic and annual kura plans. 

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

Within three months:

• continue to review and strengthen current processes in relation to how well teachers use data to evaluate the effectiveness of their teaching practices on accelerating the progress of at-risk students
• use relevant data to set strategic goals for improving student progress, achievement and regular attendance
• further develop clear expectations that build and support teachers confidence, in English medium classrooms, to incorporate mātauranga and te reo Māori in teaching programmes
• identify Te Puaawaitanga strategic goals, objectives and professional development opportunities to grow teacher capability and implement into strategic and annual kura plans.
• monitor the progress of Te Puaawaitanga kaiako, their growth and development in the delivery of te reo Māori particularly in teaching pāngarau and tuhituhi. 

Every six months:

• continue to evaluate and monitor how effectively teachers are accelerating the progress of all students below and well below expected curriculum level; provide targeted professional learning support as needed
• continue to monitor and report to the board rates of student progress and attendance and adjust planned responses as necessary
• continue to monitor consistency of schoolwide teaching practices in relation to the agreed expectations for the inclusion of mātauranga and te reo Māori
• review the short-term impact of professional development on the progress and achievement of ākonga in Te Puawaitanga especially for those ākonga who require acceleration. 

Annually:

• report on the annual and over time progress and achievement of all students below and well below expected curriculum level, and other targeted students
• continue to review and evaluate the outcomes of professional development on ākonga learning, wellbeing and achievement in Te Puaawaitanga. 

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

• increased rates of accelerated progress and improved learning outcomes for at-risk students
• improved rates of regular student attendance, sustained over time
• increased usefulness of data analysis and internal evaluation processes to identify the effectiveness of teaching practices and improvement actions on student outcomes, and to inform leaders’ and teachers’ next steps
• improvements in academic achievement, in Te Puaawaitanga, for all ākonga in te reo matatini and pāngarau. 

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

Sharon Kelly
Director of Schools (Acting)

10 April 2025

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