Tamatea Intermediate

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 

Tamatea Intermediate is located in Napier and provides educations for learners in Years 7 to 8. The roll is 447, comprising approximately 48% of learners who identify as Māori, 37% New Zealand European |Pākehā learners and the remainder are from a range of ethnicities. 

The school’s vision, learning from our past, creating our future, is supported by virtues of kawenga/ responsibility, ngākau tapatahi/integrity/, manaakitanga/caring and hiringa/perseverance.

The school has two Rūmaki Reo classes, consisting of approximately 18 students in each class.

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 small majority of learners attend school regularly.
• 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.
• Chronic absence is reducing over time. 

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 significantly 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. 

Rumaki/Bilingual Outcomes and Conditions to Support Learners Success 

This section of the report provides more detail about the quality of teaching and learning through the provision of te reo Māori in rumaki/bilingual classroom/s within in English medium schools.

Learner success and wellbeing

• School leaders are yet to implement consistent evaluative assessment approaches that support kaiako to understand ākonga achievement and inform evidence-based decisions and actions.
• Ākonga receive quality teaching through the provision of te reo Māori within a nurturing and authentic Māori environment that strengthens both their language proficiency and cultural identity.
• The rumaki is approaching the Ministry of Education target for regular attendance. The kura is engaging with whānau and community to address issues impacting attendance.

Conditions to support learner success

• Strong relationships between ākonga and kaiako, within a positive and authentic Māori learning environment, enable ākonga to express their identity in a safe and inclusive space that supports learning.
• Senior leadership and governance prioritise strategic planning and resourcing, with a focus on improving outcomes for ākonga in the rumaki setting.
• School leaders to prioritise support for ākonga and whānau during the transition beyond Tamatea Intermediate, so that Māori language education remains strong and accessible.

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

• Learners are highly engaged and participate in an inclusive and responsive environment that supports their interests and culture. This results in a strong sense of belonging and positive wellbeing outcomes. The school environment embraces a te ao Māori way of being.
• Learners benefit from a range of quality teaching approaches, including structured practices in literacy, with improvement significant over the two years at the school.
• Cohesive, focused leadership increasingly strengthens school conditions to support student success and wellbeing. Strategic planning provides clear direction for priorities and targets to improve student outcomes. Ongoing professional development is well aligned to support school goals.
• The curriculum is embedded consistently across the school, and teachers link learning to local contexts and connect with iwi. The curriculum reflects what whānau, hapū and iwi want for their children.
• A culture of inquiry is evident across most classrooms that well informs teaching decisions and monitors the impact of practice on student outcomes.

Key priorities 

• Sustain and further improve regular attendance.
• Embed structured mathematics approaches.
• Enhance teacher knowledge and practice to enhance and improve achievement outcomes for all learners.
• Monitor how professional development in writing accelerates student achievement and promotes equitable outcomes.
• Strengthen the use of assessment tools in the rumaki to analyse the progress of all ākonga and support data informed decisions.    

Actions to bring about improvement 

Within six months: 

• school leaders continue reporting to the School Board on school attendance trends and patterns, analysing the impact of the action plan, to inform next steps
• staff continue to use assessment data to identify the effectiveness of teaching approaches in writing in accelerating progress for all learners

Every six months:

• school leaders with staff review the alignment of teaching and learning approaches in mathematics with the new curriculum and assessment developments and identify next steps to meet learner needs
• school leaders monitor the progress of ākonga achievement and the impact of targeted interventions in the rumaki 

Annually:

• senior leaders and the School Board evaluate the impact of strategies used to further improve students’ regular attendance, identify and plan next steps
• senior leaders with staff evaluate progress with embedding structured teaching approaches in mathematics to identify ongoing staff professional development and resourcing
• the School Board responds to reported information about progress and achievement in reading, writing and mathematics in strategic planning
• school leaders review the effectiveness of assessment practices and evaluation within the rumaki in relation to ākonga outcomes, to inform targeted actions and resourcing decisions.  

Expected outcomes 

• Improved and sustained regular student attendance.
• Effective high quality teaching practices in mathematics embedded schoolwide.
• Improved and equitable achievement outcomes for all learners in writing.
• Improved progress and achievement for all ākonga in the rumaki. 

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 meeting 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 has identified the following area of non-compliance during the board assurance process:

• sight and record a primary source of identification on appointment of staff. 
  [Education and Training Act 2020; Children’s Act 2014]

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

The next public report on ERO’s website will be a School Report and is due within four 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 

16 October 2025