Waiau Area School

The same report — the board assurance report of 15 May 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:

an average of five hours of mathematics, reading and writing teaching and learning is not provided per week [section 90 of the Education and Training Act 2020 (2023 Amendment)]

ensured authorisation of suitably trained non-teachers to enact physical restraint is done in writing and that a copy of the authorisation is given to the authorised employee [section 99 and 100 of the Education and Training Act 2020]

undertaken a full workforce safety check of every person engaged as a paid children’s worker including requiring two forms of identity documentation [sections 25, 26 and 27 of the Children’s Act 2014]

renewals of Police vet every three years for non-teaching employees. [section 104 of the Education and Training 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 15 May 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

Waiau Area School provides education for students from Years 1 to 13 and is located in the Western Southland town of Tuatapere . The school’s mission statement is Live to learn, learn to live . The three core values are: Respect Self, Respect Others and Respect the Environment .

There are two parts to this report.

Part A: 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 B: The improvement actions prioritised for the school’s next evaluation cycle.

Part A: Current State

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

Learner Success and Wellbeing

Learners are engaged, make progress and overall outcomes for learning are improving.

A large majority of students in Years 1 to 10 are achieving at or above expected curriculum levels in literacy and mathematics. Māori students achieve consistently well. Disparity for boys in reading, writing and mathematics is evident.

In 2024, fewer than a third of students achieved Level 1 of the National Certificate in Educational Achievement (NCEA): most students achieved at Level 2 and the majority of students achieved at Level 3 and University Entrance.

Students with additional needs are well supported to access the curriculum and make good progress; those at risk of underachievement are quickly identified and targeted interventions are put in place.

The school is not yet approaching the government’s target for regular attendance.

Conditions to support learner success

Well-considered leadership provides strong vision for school direction and ongoing schoolwide improvement.

Leaders build and sustain high levels of relational trust and effective collaboration at every level of the school community; this supports progress towards achieving the strategic vision and improvement goals.

Leaders ensures alignment between the needs of learners, teachers’ professional learning goals and the provision of professional learning development.

The leadership team is highly collaborative, utilising sound organisational processes and practices to achieve strategic goals and support better outcomes for learners.

Staff collaborate and use agreed teaching strategies well to respond to the needs of learners.

Teachers and leaders know students well and implement learning programmes aligned to individual student needs.

Teachers establish warm, learning-focused environments and learners actively engage in programmes, initiatives and activities.

Learners benefit from highly collaborative staff who regularly share and apply new learning to build their collective practice.

Well-aligned systems and effective conditions ensure ongoing school improvement.

Staff develop productive partnerships within the local community; the school is perceived as a welcoming and inclusive environment that supports students’ wellbeing and sense of belonging.

The school facilitates regular parent, whānau and community participation in the life of the school to enhance learning opportunities through the school’s curriculum.

The board and leaders are establishing robust systems for monitoring and reporting on the school’s improvement and achievement goals and are using these increasingly well to inform strategic decisions.

Part B: Where to next?

The agreed next steps for the school are to:

embed structured approaches to literacy and mathematics schoolwide

strengthen the focus on accelerating the progress of boys at risk of not achieving in reading, writing and mathematics

consolidate assessment practices to inform planning and programmes to meet learner needs

further strengthen the engagement with parents and whānau to improve regular attendance rates of learners.

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

Within six months:

plan and provide appropriate professional learning opportunities for leaders and staff to understand changes to The New Zealand Curriculum

Every six months:

evaluate and refine practices that identify and support learners so that they make accelerated progress

monitor teachers' knowledge and implementation of structured approach to literacy and mathematics and assessment practices to ensure consistency across the school

monitor the impact of strategies and initiatives to raise attendance and continue to adjust these as needed

Annually:

leaders to provide evaluative reports on learners’ progress and achievement to the board to inform ongoing strategic planning and resourcing

evaluate and report on the effectiveness of professional learning to ensure staff are growing their knowledge and skills to improve outcomes for learning and identify areas for ongoing improvement

gather feedback from whānau , parents and the wider community to evaluate the impact of actions on strengthening learner engagement, attendance and wellbeing at school; and use this information to inform next steps.

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

improved attendance, engagement, achievement and wellbeing outcomes for all learners

increased levels of data literacy across the staff and evidence-informed practices leading to accelerated progress for those most at risk of not meeting curriculum expectations

regular communication and engagement with the community to ensure the school’s curriculum and strategic direction continues to reflect their aspirations for learners.

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 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

Sharon Kelly Director of Schools (Acting)

15 May 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 →