Mokau 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 4 years to evaluate what is working well for learners and what needs to be improved.

About the School 

Mokau School is a rural school located in the coastal village of Mokau in the southwest of Waikato-Tainui. It provides education for students in Years 1 to 8. The current roll of 26 includes eight Māori students.

The school’s vision ‘Growing and nurturing respectful, confident individuals who strive to achieve their full potential’ is underpinned by the values ‘Mana Motuhake/ We make good choices, Outstanding /We use a growth mindset, Kaitiakitanga/ We are respectful and care for our environment, Atawhai/We are kind and caring, Unity/ We are connected and confident.

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

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 0 to 8

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. 

• 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.

Assessment

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

• The school uses an appropriate approach and reliable practices to find out about achievement against the curriculum.
• Assessment information is used well 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 has good quality planning to increase the rate of progress for all groups of students.
• The school has to some extent 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 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

• Students learn in caring, respectful, and inclusive environments. Students are engaged and valued; they have a strong sense of belonging and demonstrate pride in their learning.
• Leadership fosters a culture of quality learning and teaching through effective collaboration with staff; teachers regularly collaborate to inquire into aspects of their teaching practice to further support learners’ progress and achievement.
• Leadership builds educationally focused partnerships with the school community, which are informed by and benefit from supportive relationships with learners and their whānau.
• Leaders and teachers value and increasingly cater for the diverse needs, languages and cultures of all learners and their families; te reo, tikanga and mātauranga Māori are woven well through aspects of the school’s curriculum.
• Teachers’ professional development is strategically aligned with the school’s improvement goals; internal and external expertise is valued and utilised to further innovate and improve teaching programmes.
• Staff use a variety of effective strategies to reduce barriers to education and ensure access to learning for students; a strong and consistent focus for embedding foundational skills for learning is evident.
• The board involves the school community in decision making, including parent and whānau aspirations to inform the strategic vision and direction of the school.

Key priorities and actions for improvement

The agreed next steps for the school are:

• Leaders align assessment and reporting with the Refreshed New Zealand Curriculum (NZC); ensuring that assessment practices and reporting methods reflect the principles and priorities of the refreshed NZC.
• Leaders and teachers strengthen curriculum delivery and deepen staff knowledge through collaborative planning and sharing of best practices to ensure consistent, high-quality design and delivery of curriculum; focused on strategies that support all learners in reaching their full potential.
• Leaders enhance communication with the community on progress and achievement through deliberate engagement with families and whānau to share student outcomes.
• Leadership monitors the implementation of the school’s attendance plan and refine strategies to improve regular attendance rates to meet the Government targets for regular attendance.

Actions to bring about improvement

Within six months:

• leaders and teachers refine guidelines and assessment methods to ensure alignment with updates to the curriculum and reporting requirements
• leadership provides professional development to support staff in understanding and applying the updated curriculum

Every six months:

• leadership evaluate and report on the effectiveness of changes to teaching practice, through teacher observation, collection of learner voice and analysis of learner outcomes
• leaders and teachers collectively review, moderate and analyse student achievement information to further inform next learning steps

Annually:

• leaders review and evaluate the effectiveness of assessment practices and guidelines to guide and support robust and cohesive practices throughout the school
• leaders analyse, evaluate and report schoolwide attendance, progress and achievement information to the board to strategically plan actions to improve learner outcomes 

Expected outcomes 

• increased and sustained levels of progress and achievement for all learners in reading, writing and mathematics
• embedded systems and processes to guide cohesive schoolwide teaching, learning and use of assessment information, with a focus on informing next steps
• improved and sustained rates of regular attendance that 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 some 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

ERO and the board have identified the following area of non-compliance during the board assurance process:

• obtained a police vet for every person the board appoints or intends to appoint to a position at the school and who is to work at the school during normal school hours
  [Section 104 of the Education and Training Act 2020] 

The board has since addressed the area of non-compliance identified.

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 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)

4 September 2025