Arowhenua Maori 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 four years to evaluate what is working well for learners and what needs to be improved.

About the School 

Arowhenua Maori School, located south of Temuka, provides Māori medium, Level 2 education for students in Years 1 to 8. The school roll of 39, comprises of almost all Māori learners. The school’s charter statement, He anga onamata-he aronga anamata (ancestrally driven-future focused) reflects the kaupapa of the school. 

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.

• Less than half of learners attend school regularly.
• The school is significantly behind the target of 80% regular attendance.
• The school has a suitable plan in place to improve attendance.
• Regular attendance is not yet 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 pānui, tuhituhi and pāngarau 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

• Leadership is collaborative and focused on improving outcomes for learners, fostering high expectations of and creating a strong sense of belonging and connection for learners.
• Leaders and staff collaboratively apply teaching and learning strategies for consistent teaching approaches to improve learner progress and achievement.
• Learners are confident in their culture, identity, and language and show deep understanding of Mātauranga Māori. They engage in a curriculum grounded in Te Tiriti o Waitangi and learn in well-resourced environments. Learners are well engaged.
• The school maintains strong partnerships with mana whenua and Arowhenua Marae, actively involving its community in strategic decision-making.
• The school board demonstrates strong support for the school’s kaupapa, strategically planning and allocating resources to effectively enhance learner outcomes.

Key priorities

• Improve regular attendance.
• Ensure high quality outcomes for all learners.
• Enhance data analysis to track progress and report learner outcomes and guide strategic decisions and resourcing
• Strengthen the school’s evaluation framework, to drive continuous school wide improvement.
• Support students to monitor their own progress and determine next steps, improving their engagement and achievement.

Actions to bring about improvement

Within three months:

• the School Board and leaders implement the school’s plan for raising regular attendance and the schools’ expectations for regular attendance with the community

Within six months: 

• leaders work with the School Board, to identify specific data and information needed, to support it in strategic planning for equitable outcomes for all learners
• teachers implement student self-assessment tools and goal-setting frameworks, to build learners’ ability to track their progress and identify next steps in their learning

Every six months:

• the School Board and leaders review the attendance plan and identify further action
• analyse and report learner progress to the board, identifying groups requiring additional support or extension
• review and modify the school’s evaluation process to focus on the impact of school initiatives to improve progress and achievement outcomes
• review students’ self-assessment practices for evidence of teacher reflection on these, to align to next steps to increase achievement outcomes

Annually:

• analyse attendance data looking for trends and patterns; report on the effectiveness of the attendance strategies to the school community and adjust the attendance plan as needed
• scrutinise data analysis, to ensure all learners are represented in reporting, and consequently inform decision making for all groups of learners
• analyse the evaluative process to identify the effectiveness, to inform strategic decisions and identify areas for improvement
• evaluate the quality and depth of students’ understanding of learning goals as evidence of ownership of learning. 

Expected outcomes

• Increased regular attendance for all students
• enhanced internal evaluative practices that effectively assesses the impact of actions and informs deliberate decision making for improved, equitable learner outcomes
• data analysis covers all learners, supporting more informed decision making
• students show ownership by clearly understanding, applying, and reflecting on learning goals.

Regulatory and Legislative Requirements

This section of the report is about how the school meet 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 areas of non-compliance during the board assurance process:

• ensure regular training for staff in the Child Protection Policy 2014
  [Children’s Act 2014, sections 18 and 19]
• ensure the board obtains police vetting every three years for each employee that works in the school.
  [Children’s Act 2014, section 104]

The board has since taken steps to address the areas 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

24 October 2025