St Mary's Catholic School (Otorohanga)

What ERO wrote in its latest report

This is ERO’s report of 14 April 2026 — “School Report” — section by section, under ERO’s own headings, in ERO’s own order. Nothing is summarised, shortened or reordered.

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

St Mary’s Catholic School provides education for students in Years 1 to 8. The school’s roll of 31 includes 42% of students who identify as Māori students and small numbers of students from other ethnic backgrounds. The school’s vision “ Ka tupu marie i roto i te mōhia o Ihu Karaiti ” supports students to be nurtured in faith, hope and love.

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 June 2022 ERO report. It includes an explanation of the expected improvements and findings.

Expected improvements

Priorities from the last review were improving conditions to raise student achievement in writing and mathematics, monitor student progress to inform responsive planning, strengthen formative assessment, and build learning partnerships with parents and whānau.

Findings

The school has accelerated the progress of learners below expected curriculum levels and significantly raised overall levels of achievement particularly in writing and mathematics. Learners’ progress is closely monitored, and teachers use ongoing assessments to inform a responsive approach to meeting students learning needs. Increased opportunities for parents, families and whānau to be informed on their children’s progress and the new approaches to structured teaching support improved home and school partnerships.

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.

How well are learners succeeding? Success and progress for all learners is increasing.

What is the quality of teaching and learning? Learners benefit from high quality teaching practice that improves progress and achievement in reading, writing and mathematics.

How well does the school curriculum respond to all learners needs? Learners have sufficient opportunities to learn across the breadth and depth of the curriculum. There is an increasingly consistent focus on supporting learners to gain skills in foundational skills in literacy and mathematics. Learners with complex needs are well supported to achieve their education goals.

How well does school planning and conditions support ongoing improvement? School planning and conditions to support ongoing improvement to the quality of education for learners are well established.

How well does the school include all learners and promote their engagement and wellbeing? The school successfully promotes learners’ engagement, wellbeing and inclusion.

How well does the school partner with parents, whānau and its community for the benefit of learners? The school reports usefully and accurately to parents / whānau about their child’s learning, achievement and progress. The school is improving its collection and use of information gathered through community consultation to inform strategic planning and curriculum decisions.

Student Health and Safety The school board is taking reasonable steps to ensure student health and safety.

Achievement in 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.

Less than a third Less than half Small majority Large majority Most Almost all

0 to 33% 34 to 49% 50 to 64% 65 to 79% 80 to 90% Over 90%

Reading A large majority of learners meet or exceed the expected curriculum level. Results are not yet equitable for all groups of learners.

Writing A small majority of learners meet or exceed the expected curriculum level. Results are not yet equitable for all groups of learners.

Mathematics A small majority of learners meet or exceed the expected curriculum level. Results are equitable for all groups of learners.

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 students attend school regularly.

The school is behind 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 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.

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 is developing good quality planning to increase the rate of progress for all groups of students.

The school has to some extent 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 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

Inclusive school practices and personalised support prioritise the learning and needs of students and their families/ whānau .

Māori students experience success in their learning and demonstrate high levels of achievement especially in reading and writing.

The principal strengthens relational trust and effective collaboration at all levels of the school community to promote and achieve the school’s strategic vision and goals.

The school’s special Catholic character and deliberate focus on local Māori pūrākau enable students to have a strong sense of belonging to their school and community.

The provision of professional learning and collaboration strengthens the capability of teachers to respond appropriately to the ongoing needs of students.

The principal and teachers regularly inquire into students’ learning to inform responsive planning that supports individual needs in multi-level classes.

Key priorities

Increase rates of regular attendance.

Maintain a strategic focus on accelerating learning, raising overall levels of achievement and improving equitable outcomes for identified learners.

Strengthen evaluation to better inform targeted action for continuous improvement.

Actions to bring about improvement

Within three months:

Leaders and the board set clear targets to:

shift rates of student attendance from irregular to regular

accelerate the progress of students below expected curriculum levels

increase the number of boys achieving in reading and writing

Every six months:

the principal, teachers and the Board monitor progress against attendance targets and share key insights with families to strengthen collective responsibility for improvement

the principal and teachers review the progress of target students to develop further strategies that support accelerated learning, especially for boys in literacy

Annually:

the principal, teachers and Board strengthen the attendance plan strategies and work with parents and families/ whānau to address ongoing barriers to regular attendance

the principal and teachers inquire deeply into a range of school data to evaluate the effectiveness of programmes and practices to improve outcomes for learners

the principal reports on outcomes of the school’s targeted action and collaboratively develops a systematic approach to annual planning for continuous improvement.

Expected outcomes

Improved rates of regular attendance meet the Government target of 80%.

Increased levels of achievement and equity enable student success.

Strengthened evaluation practices improve outcomes for students.

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

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

14 April 2026

Read this report on ero.govt.nz →