Huge confidence in Whanganui kura

Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Atihaunui ā Pāpārangi students wait to welcome Education Review Office staff to their school. Photo/supplied

Whanganui's very first Māori immersion school is doing so well that the Education Review Office doesn't feel a need to check on it for at least four years.

Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Atihaunui ā Pāpārangi principal Miriama Harmer has been told it's the first primary-level kura kaupapa in New Zealand to achieve that.

"That's huge, and a great cause for celebration."

It was so significant that two representatives of the review office delivered their draft report in person. They were welcomed at the school on Thursday morning.

Most schools are reviewed every three years - more often if they are having problems. The four to five-year review period for the kura puts it in the Te Manakotanga-Enrichment Evaluation category, the one for "exceptional performers".

Not many primary schools get there, Ms Harmer said, because they don't have externally marked exams to use in comparisons.

The report noted the kura's high levels of academic achievement, the way it nurtures positivity and that it has already aligned its curriculum with Tupua Te Kawa, the values defined in the recent Whanganui River Settlement.

The review office encouraged the kura to extend its age range and add a wharekura (secondary school).

Doing so has been a dream for some years, Ms Harmer said, and will be followed up.

On their last visit to the school reviewers gave it a very positive verbal report. The current report has yet to be confirmed, but Ms Harmer is confident it will be.

Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Atihaunui ā Pāpārangi was the first kura kaupapa established in Whanganui. Next year it will celebrate 25 years at its Anaua St, Putiki, location.

It has 75 students and a total staff of 12. The staff include five teachers, and the school often adds to them by bringing in local experts.

"Our education doesn't come from a book. It's not generic," Ms Harmer said.