Matua School

Background

This Profile Report was written within nine months of the Education Review Office and Matua School 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 

Matua School is located on the Ōtūmōetai Peninsula in Tauranga and caters for students from Years 1 to 6.

Matua School’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are to:

• continue to grow and sustain the hauora of staff and students

• refine and embed a local curriculum that reflects the bicultural intent of Te Tiriti o Waitangi through growing and normalising tikanga and te reo Māori in daily school life

• strengthen student agency and ownership of their learning.

You can find a copy of the school’s strategic and annual plan on Matua School’s website.

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate how improved student hauora, including agency and culturally responsive teaching practices, increase student achievement and progress in mathematics.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is:

• the increasing impact of educational change and social impact on the lives of staff and students

• to enhance the school’s bi-cultural experiences and opportunities for all students, ensuring Māori learners enjoy and achieve educational success as Māori

• internal evaluation of mathematics highlighted the need to strengthen the consistency of pedagogy throughout the school.

The school expects to see:

• students developing effective strategies for maintaining personal hauora, and increased resilience

• a local curriculum that is reflective of the intent of Te Tiriti o Waitangi

• an established, coherent and consistent approach to the teaching of mathematics, with a focus on student agency.

Strengths

The school can draw from the following strengths to support its goal to improve student outcomes in mathematics:

• professional relationships and effective teaching that focus on the learning and wellbeing of each student

• commitment to ongoing professional learning and personal growth in mathematics and tikanga and te reo Māori

• leadership focused on equity and excellence and continuous school improvement.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise:

• implementation of strategic actions and the refinement of the local curriculum in partnership with whānau and iwi

• the growth and prioritisation of schoolwide systems to support the hauora of staff and students

• the provision of professional learning to strengthen a coherent schoolwide approach to mathematics, with a focus on empowering students to take ownership of their learning.

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.

Phil Cowie
Director Review and Improvement Services (Central)
Central Region | Te Tai Pūtahi Nui

6 April 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