Marewa School

The same report — the board assurance report of 23 January 2025 — also sets out actions for compliance: the non-compliance ERO identified during that process. This is that section of the report in full, in ERO’s words.

ERO and the board have identified the following areas of non-compliance during the board assurance process:

requirement to use a primary form of identification on the appointment of teaching staff [Children’s Act 2014]

requirement to display no vaping signs at school entrances. [Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Act, 2020]

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

Read this board assurance report on ero.govt.nz →

What ERO wrote in its latest report

This is ERO’s report of 23 January 2025 — “School Evaluation Report” — section by section, under ERO’s own headings, in ERO’s own order. Nothing is summarised, shortened or reordered.

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

Marewa School is located in Napier and provides education for students in Years 1 to 6. The school’s vision is to be your best always, to matou pai mo ake tonu atu . This is supported by the values of Ngākau Manaaki (build up the mana of others) , Ngākau Akonga (always learn) , Ngākau Kaitiaki (guard all that surrounds) and Ngākau Ora (strengthen wellbeing).

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 have been working together to evaluate how effectively literacy practices promote improved outcomes for learners from new entrants to year 3.

Expected Improvements and Findings

The school expected to see:

Enhanced academic progress and achievement ensuring equitable literacy outcomes for all.

An improved trajectory in literacy achievement for learners in Years 1 to 3, with accelerated progress for some learners are evident over time.

A significant reduction in the number of students identified as being at risk of not achieving curriculum expectations in reading and writing at the end of Year 3.

The school is working towards equitable outcomes for Pacific students.

Girls are achieving more highly than boys in reading and writing; this disparity is reducing.

Assessment activities that are fit for purpose and support targeted instruction.

A range of appropriate assessment tools and practices reliably inform teaching instruction.

Growth in teacher capacity and capability through professional learning leading to improved literacy outcomes for learners.

Professional development, aligned to school goals, has supported teachers to effectively implement schoolwide structured approaches to reading and writing.

Other Findings

During the course of the evaluation, it was found that teachers have significantly changed their approach to the teaching of reading, writing and mathematics by implementing structured, evidence-based practices.

The greatest shift that occurred in response to the school’s action is the development of stronger foundational skills in literacy schoolwide. This has resulted in improved outcomes for learners in reading.

Part B: Current State

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

Learner Success and Wellbeing

The majority of learners make sustained progress over time.

The large majority of learners achieve at expected curriculum levels in reading and mathematics; a small majority achieve at expected curriculum levels in writing.

Students have a strong sense of belonging and are well supported to be confident in their identity, language and culture.

Boys and girls achieve at similar levels in reading and mathematics, girls achieve more highly in writing; the school is working towards addressing disparity for Pacific students.

The school is yet to reach the Ministry of Education target for regular attendance with fewer than half of students attending regularly; a range of initiatives are in place to reduce barriers to attendance and further collaboration with whānau to improve attendance is an identified priority.

Conditions to support learner success

Leaders effectively use analysed student progress and achievement information to evaluate the effectiveness of strategies designed to improve learner outcomes.

Leadership identifies a small number of relevant improvement goals and targets, including acceleration of progress for those learners who are at risk of underachievement.

Professional learning is well aligned to school goals and effectively supports staff in growing their capacity to meet student needs.

Leaders foster a collegial culture committed to quality teaching with a strong inquiry focus; effective teaching and assessment practices are identified and implemented with increasing consistency schoolwide.

Teaching practice increasingly adapts to meet learner needs, through a curriculum that emphasises foundational skills.

Students have sufficient opportunity to engage in meaningful learning within warm and affirming classroom environments.

The curriculum increasingly reflects local contexts in ways that build on learner experiences, knowledge and understanding; providing a range of opportunities for students to broaden their understanding of the world is an important part of the school’s philosophy.

The school is embedding the ways that te reo Māori, te ao Māori, tikanga Māori and mātauranga Māori are woven through all aspects of the school’s curriculum.

Well established systems and processes align to support school programmes and initiatives.

Appropriate assessment practices and progress markers aligned to the school’s curriculum are agreed upon schoolwide; the impact of actions on learner progress is clearly measured.

Targeted resourcing and strategies align to support learner wellbeing and to improve access to learning for all, including those with learning support needs.

Leaders and teachers seek the expertise of external agencies and professional learning providers, working collaboratively to support the learning and wellbeing of students.

The board serves and works with the school community to ensure that the vision and strategic direction represents what the community wants for its children.

Part C: Where to next?

The agreed next steps for the school are to:

collaborate with whānau to create an action plan to improve regular attendance at school

plan and implement approaches to accelerate the progress and achievement of individuals and groups of students who need this, with a particular focus on writing outcomes

review and align the Marewa School curriculum and assessment practices with developments in The New Zealand Curriculum

implement a coaching approach to further strengthen staff teaching and leadership capability.

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

Within three months:

to improve regular attendance, a plan is created with whānau input, and actions are in place

Within six months:

staff are engaged in professional learning to develop their skills in using a coaching approach that builds leadership, further strengthens teacher practice and focuses on improved outcomes for all learners

review the Marewa School curriculum and assessment schedule to ensure alignment to developments in The New Zealand Curriculum

Every six months:

critically review school attendance and the actions that support attendance, and share this information with the board and community

analyse and review progress for target groups of students to identify successful approaches that accelerate learning, with focus on achievement in writing

reflect and review on the effectiveness of the coaching approach to give feedback to teachers, and its impact on teacher practice and student outcomes.

Annually:

review the Marewa School curriculum and assessment schedule to ensure it reflects developments in The New Zealand Curriculum

report to the board in relation to annual and over time progress and achievement for all groups of students, including the levels of disparity between these groups to inform planning.

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

an increase in the number of students who attend regularly and a reduction in those who have chronic attendance

robust professional dialogue that influences teaching practices, resulting in improved outcomes for learners and accelerated progress for those who need it

a school curriculum and assessment practices that align with The New Zealand Curriculum.

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

23 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

Read this report on ero.govt.nz →