Waimataitai 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

Waimataitai School provides education for learners in Years 1 to 8. The school’s roll of approximately 500 students has a growing and increasingly diverse roll. 64% of students identify as New Zealand Pākehā | New Zealand European, 18% identify as Māori, 13% identify as Asian, 9% identify as having Pacific heritage, and 6% identify as Middle Eastern, Latin American and/or African. The school has established a Community Learning Education Hub onsite to support migrant families. There have been recent changes in the leadership team.

The school’s vision is Connected, Willing and Able. The school aims for its students to develop the WAI Learner attributes of being respectful, motivated, curious, reflective and being team players.

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 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 not yet reducing over time.

Assessment

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

• The school is not yet using an appropriate approach and reliable practices to accurately find out about achievement against the curriculum.
• Teachers are developing assessment information 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 is developing good quality planning to increase the rate of progress for all groups of students.
• The school is yet to show whether it has improved achievement and progress for those learners most at risk of not achieving since the previous review.
• The school has yet to show whether it has extended achievement and progress for learners working at or above curriculum levels since the previous review.
• The school is not making progress towards meeting Government reading, writing and mathematics targets and/or 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

• The school has well established expectations and practices for fostering positive behaviour for learning.
• Learners report having people they can go to for support, having a sense of belonging and having opportunities to lead and contribute within their school.
• Leaders and teachers value the diverse cultures of their learners.
• Teachers have been building their capacity to deliver inclusive structured literacy and mathematics practices.
• Significant resourcing is being provided to support learners with a wide range of needs to participate and learn alongside their peers.
• Teachers are well supported and have many opportunities to participate in professional development, collaborate and share effective practice.

Key priorities

• Develop schoolwide teaching, assessment and reporting practices in literacy and mathematics.
• Align teaching, assessment and reporting practices with the New Zealand Curriculum and provide clear, coherent guidelines for teachers.
• Refine and embed achievement targets to accelerate the learning of identified learners.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of teaching and interventions for improving the achievement and progress of learners.
• Increase regular attendance rates to meet the Government’s target.

Actions to bring about improvement

Within six months:

• leaders and teachers develop a schoolwide assessment plan for literacy and mathematics and provide clear and coherent guideline for teachers
• leaders and teachers develop and align school planning, monitoring and reporting practices to help accelerate learners’ progress and achievement

Every six months:

• leaders and teachers report to the Board on learner’s progress including the strategies used to accelerate their progress to their guide decision making
• leaders and teachers review progress towards attendance targets and use this information and learner and whānau feedback to adjust strategies as required

Annually:

• the Board and leaders review information about the impact of teaching, assessment and reporting practices across the school to identify areas for improvement, professional learning needs and next steps to improve learner outcomes
• the Board and leaders review the progress and achievement of target learners, and the impact of strategies to support and accelerate their learning, to inform target setting and resourcing decisions
• the Board and leaders and use data and information about the impact of attendance strategies on student attendance rates to adjust as required.

Expected outcomes

• Consistent teaching, assessment and reporting practices to support progress, achievement and equity in literacy and mathematics.
• Improved achievement and reduced disparity in learner outcomes, particularly in writing.
• Improved engagement and attendance for all learners.

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 has identified the following areas of non-compliance during the Board assurance process:

• The school must check two identity documents and evidence referee checking and sighting qualifications as part of safety checking of the workforce
  [Sections 25, 26 and 27, Children’s Act 2014: Safety checks of children’s workers; Regulations 5 – 8, Children’s (Requirements for Safety Checks of Children’s Workers) Regulations 2015].
• Police vetting for non-teaching staff must be obtained prior to employment and every three years
  [Section 104 and Schedule 4, Education and Training Act 2020].

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 4 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

18 September 2025