Waikaia 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 

Waikaia School is a small rural full primary school located in northern Southland. The school roll is 18 students. The school’s mission is to provide positive and engaging learning experiences to nurture confident, capable learners. A new principal was appointed in 2025.

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

Improvement and progress 

This section is about the progress the school has made since the February 2023 ERO report. It includes an explanation of the expected improvements and findings.

Expected improvements 

The school focused on evaluating the implementation of a consistent reading programme across the school, and the use of assessment tools to give all children opportunities to succeed.

Findings 

The school made significant progress in the consistency of assessment and literacy teaching practices. Recent leadership changes bring a clearer focus to the school’s reading, writing and mathematics programmes which is resulting in increased learner progress and overall school improvement.

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.

A small majority of learners enter Waikaia School significantly behind the expected curriculum level. The school’s efforts are well focused on accelerated progress. 

Achievement in Years 1 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.

• Most learners attend school regularly.
• The school is at 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.

Assessment 

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

• The school is improving its approach and the reliability of its practices to accurately find out about achievement against the curriculum.
• Teachers are developing their use of 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 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 significantly 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 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

Learners benefit from a positive, inclusive school culture built on strong values. They experience a strong sense of belonging through supportive relationships with staff and develop resilience, self-regulation and readiness to learn through targeted strategies.

Leaders and the Waikaia School Board work collaboratively and strategically to ensure the focus is on learner wellbeing and progress. Leaders are embedding evidence-based review systems and process to support continuous improvement for all learners. 

Leaders set clear expectations and a strong vision for high-quality teaching and learning. All staff share expertise that draws on individual strengths and build collective capacity. Teachers are strengthening their use of learning data to individualise teaching strategies for each learner to make progress.

Key priorities

• Refine learning progression frameworks so that their learners and their families understand their achievement and next learning steps.
• Improve evaluation systems so that leaders and teachers measure the effectiveness of teaching and learning programmes.
• Revise teaching and learning programmes to more strongly reflect the local environment and community partnerships.

Actions to bring about improvement 

Within six months:

• the principal creates a schoolwide learning progression framework
• the principal and the School Board complete the review of the school’s present evaluation systems
• the principal and staff purposefully partner with the community to deepen understandings of the local context and integrate these insights into enriching of the school’s teaching programmes

Every six months:

• the principal reviews, evaluates and responds to schoolwide reading, writing and mathematics data and wellbeing information, reporting these findings to the Board to inform strategic decision making and support learner engagement and achievement

Annually:

• the principal and staff evaluate the impact of the school’s actions towards its strategic priorities in learner wellbeing and engagement, attendance, progress and achievement, to report these findings to the Board and community, and to inform strategic decision making.

Expected outcomes

• Learners and their families understand next learning steps to support learner success and wellbeing.
• Teachers know the impact of teaching and learning programmes and successfully adapt their practice in response.
• Improved progress and achievement in reading, writing and mathematics across the school.
• Learners consistently experience effective, inclusive teaching practices.
• Teaching and learning programmes reflect the aspirations of the local community and integrate local knowledge and environments.
• Sustained high levels of attendance.

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 areas of non-compliance during the board assurance process:

• sufficient evidence of identification checking of employees for Workforce Safety [Section 25 (1), Children's Act 2014]
• ensuring that the Board is informed of the required frequency and review of emergency drills [Health and Safety at Work Act 2015].

The board has since addressed 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

22 January 2026