Te Mata School (Havelock North)

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 

Te Mata School is located in Havelock North and provides for learners in Years 1-6. The school values of tuakiritanga (belonging), manaakitanga (respect and kindness), whakapuawai (personal excellence) and auahatanga (creativity and innovation) underpin the vision of having a community of curious, courageous and confident learners.

There are three parts to this report.

Part A: A summary of the findings from the most recent Education Review Office (ERO) report and/or subsequent evaluation. 

Part B: 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 C: The improvement actions prioritised for the school’s next evaluation cycle. 

Part A: Previous Improvement Goals 

Since the previous ERO report of July 2022 ERO and the school agreed to evaluate how effectively learners are empowered to develop social, cultural and emotional competencies to care for self, others, establish positive relationships and respond to challenge.

Expected Improvements and Findings 

The school expected to see:

The continued growth in positive learner outcomes and engagement through the development of social and emotional capabilities.

• A sustained trajectory of improvement for learners’ wellbeing, engagement and achievement is evident over time.
• Learners are well supported in building their social and emotional capabilities through explicit and intentional processes, practices and activities; learners demonstrate an awareness of themselves that supports their learning.

Other Findings

During the course of the evaluation, it was found that the development of a localised wellbeing curriculum promoted and supported student engagement and positive learner outcomes.

The greatest shift that occurred in response to the school’s actions is the systematic, explicit attention to students’ social and emotional needs that has positively impacted on engagement. This has contributed to learner-focused classrooms, enabling leaders and teachers to provide greater levels of support for those students who need this most, in partnership with whānau. 

Part B: Current State 

The following findings are to inform the school’s future priorities for improvement.

Learner Success and Wellbeing 

Learning and wellbeing outcomes for learners are increasingly equitable and excellent.

• Achievement information for 2023 showed that most students achieve at or above curriculum expectations in reading, writing and mathematics; achievement information for 2024 indicates a continued trajectory of improvement.
• Wellbeing data collected by the school shows learners have a strong sense of belonging; they are well supported through positive relationships within a caring, inclusive environment.
• The school is approaching the Ministry of Education target for regular attendance; strategies to improve attendance are focused on building positive relationships with students and whānau to promote engagement in learning. 

Conditions to support learner success

Strategic and purposeful leadership builds and sustains improvement to systems, processes, teaching and learning.

• Leadership builds and sustains a culture of relational trust at all levels of the school, providing conditions for collaboration that continuously improve student outcomes. 
• Leaders establish and communicate clear expectations for high quality teaching and learning with a focus on inclusion; reducing barriers to learning is at the forefront of teaching practice.
• Well-analysed achievement and wellbeing information informs leaders’ considered decision making that improves student outcomes; this includes cohesive, ongoing development of structured literacy and mathematics approaches across the school. 

High quality teaching practice is increasingly adaptive to learner needs, through a curriculum that emphasises wellbeing and foundation skills in literacy and mathematics.

• Teachers know learners well and work collaboratively to provide purposeful, well-paced evidence-based learning programmes that support all learners; continuing to strengthen culturally responsive practice is a planned next step.
• Appropriate high-quality assessment information is well used to inform learner, class and whole-school insights into learner progress over time and determining next steps.
• The curriculum is coherent for learners as they move through year levels, reflects local contexts and provides students with a wide range of rich learning opportunities; continuing to support the integration of te reo Māori, tikanga Māori and mātauranga Māori is a planned next step.

The school has well established conditions, practices and programmes that prioritise and promote learners’ wellbeing, learning and engagement for success.    

• Professional learning in wellbeing, structured literacy and mathematics is well aligned to improvement goals and maintained until practices are fully embedded into everyday teaching; this approach sustains a culture of high-quality teaching and learning.
• The board represents and works well with the school community to develop the school’s vision, strategic direction and reflect community aspirations for student outcomes; strengthening the involvement of whānau and iwi in decision-making is a planned next step.
• Students with additional learning needs are identified and well supported within the school and through positive relationships with external agencies; their progress and achievement are closely monitored and reported to parents, whānau and the board.
• Collective capacity in evaluation, inquiry and knowledge building, increasingly supports improvement and innovation; evidence from a wide range of sources informs strategic decision-making and to know where improvement is needed.

Part C: Where to next? 

The agreed next steps for the school are to: 

• continue using the strategies in place to improve attendance rates for all learners 
• sustain focus on equitable and excellent outcomes for all learners
• strengthen the integration of te ao Māori, tikanga Māori and mātauranga Māori to further support learners’ strengths, identity and culture
• continue to strengthen culturally responsive teaching to support and promote student learning.

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

Within six months:

• analyse attendance data and measure progress towards improving regular attendance for all groups of learners
• gauge the progress in integration of te ao Māori in the curriculum and associated teacher professional development needs

Every six months:

• monitor the effectiveness of strategies to increase and sustain regular attendance and respond accordingly

Annually:

• evaluate, and report to the board progress against targets and actions in the school’s annual plan, including attendance, to inform next steps to sustain and improve learner achievement, wellbeing and engagement outcomes
• determine the extent to which te ao Māori, tikanga Māori, and mātauranga Māori are integrated and meets the aspirations of whānau and iwi 
• evaluate the impact of professional learning in strengthening culturally responsive teaching practices to inform ongoing decisions. 

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

• sustained equitable and excellent learner outcomes
• improved regular student attendance
• te ao Māori, tikanga Māori, and mātauranga Māori increasingly integrated within an embedded responsive curriculum that meets the needs and aspirations of all learners and their whānau.

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

Shelley Booysen
Director of Schools

29 January 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