Rawhitiroa 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.

About the School

Rawhitiroa School is located on the outskirts of Eltham in South Taranaki. The school provides education for 48 students in Years 1 to 8, 9% are Māori. 

The school’s vision is for students to be lifelong learners, who shine and stand out. Learners are encouraged to demonstrate whanaungatanga, aroha, kaitiakitanga and ahuatanga, showing respect for people, property and the environment, think of others, themselves and the surroundings by acting sensibly, safely and appropriately.

Part A: Parent Summary

How well placed is the school to promote educational success and wellbeing?

How well are learners succeeding?Learners experience high levels of success and make excellent progress; outcomes are similarly high for all groups.What is the quality of teaching and learning?Learners benefit from high quality teaching practice that improves progress and achievement in reading, writing and mathematics. How well does the school curriculum respond to all learners needs?

Learners have sufficient opportunities to learn across the breadth and depth of the curriculum.

There is an increasingly consistent focus on supporting learners to gain skills in literacy and mathematics.

Learners with complex needs are well supported to achieve their education goals.

How well does school planning and conditions support ongoing improvement?School planning and conditions to support ongoing improvement to the quality of education for learners are well established.How well does the school include all learners and promote their engagement and wellbeing?The school successfully promotes learners’ engagement, wellbeing and inclusion.How well does the school partner with parents, whānau and its community for the benefit of learners?

The school reports usefully and accurately to parents / whānau about their child’s learning, achievement and progress.

The school responds well to a wide range of information gathered through community consultation, to inform strategic planning and curriculum decisions.

Student Health and SafetyThe school board is taking reasonable steps to ensure student health and safety.

Achievement in Years 0 to 8

This table outlines how well students across the school meet or exceed the expected curriculum level.

Foundation Skills

 Reading

Most learners meet or exceed the expected curriculum level.

Results are equitable for all groups of learners.

Writing

Most learners meet or exceed the expected curriculum level.

Results are equitable for all groups of learners.

Mathematics

Most learners meet or exceed the expected curriculum level.

Results are equitable for all groups of learners.

Attendance

The school is approaching the target of 80% regular attendance.

The school is developing a suitable plan to improve attendance.

Regular attendance is improving towards or beyond the target.

Chronic absence is reducing over time. 

Assessment

The school is improving its approach and the reliability of its practices to accurately 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

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 meeting Government reading, writing and mathematics targets set for 2030. 

An explanation of the terms used in the Parent Summary can be found here: Guide to ERO school reports

Part B: Findings for the school

This section of the report provides more detail for the school to include in strategic and annual planning for ongoing improvement across the school.

Learner success and wellbeing

• Learners demonstrate a strong sense of belonging and wellbeing at school.
• A wide range of opportunities are provided for students to undertake leadership roles that fosters an inclusive school culture.
• Leaders are highly inclusive, gathering aspirations from parents and whānau to set and pursue relevant strategic goals that promote successful outcomes for learners.
• The school’s curriculum appropriately prioritises the acquisition of foundation skills; delivery of reading, writing and mathematics is meeting the one hour per day expectation.
• Teachers systematically introduce structured approaches in the delivery of literacy and mathematics; a consistent focus to support all learners to gain sound foundational skills in literacy and mathematics is evident.
• Teachers are well supported with professional learning to upskill, inquire and collectively reflect on their practice, which builds their professional capability and practice to meet the needs of all learners. 

Key priorities and actions for improvement 

The agreed next steps for the school are to:

• develop an attendance plan that identifies actions to ensure the positive trajectory in regular attendance continues and is sustained overtime
• extend approaches in delivery of structured literacy into the senior school to promote continuity for learners and support positive progress and achievement in literacy
• participate with other schools to moderate overall teacher judgments; incorporate newly introduced assessments in literacy and mathematics and further strengthen teaching, learning and reporting.

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

Every six months:

• leaders gather and analyse attendance information termly to evaluate the impact of their actions on further raising the regular attendance of learners
• teachers engage collaboratively in professional learning and development to extend the approach structured literacy in the senior school and analyse progress information to determine the impact on learner outcomes
• teachers participate in external moderation using the range of assessments gathered to inform their overall teacher judgements in establishing achievement outcomes for learners

Annually:

• leader’s statement of variance reports evaluative evidence which shows the impact of planned actions, including extending structured literacy in the senior school, on literacy progress, achievement and attendance
• rigorous moderation of assessments used by staff determines learner progress and achievement aligned to curriculum expectations and informs reporting. 

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

• learner attendance achieves the Government target and is sustained over time
• effective implementation of approaches to structured literacy schoolwide supports consistency in practice for learners and impacts positively on learner outcomes
• the breadth of assessments is used effectively for teaching, learning and reporting. 

Part C: Regulatory and Legislative Requirements

Board Assurance with Regulatory and Legislative Requirements

All schools are required to promote student health and safety and to regularly review their compliance with legal requirements.

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

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
Acting Director of Schools

14 April 2025

Education Counts

This website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement. educationcounts.govt.nz/home