KEY POINTS:
An Auckland Maori language immersion school has been pulled up for using too much English in class.
A new Education Review Office report on an Otara kura kaupapa said the prevalence of English as the main language of communication was a significant area of concern.
Kura kaupapa Maori are schools within the state system in which the principal language of instruction is te reo Maori.
But while speaking te reo was fostered, promoted and encouraged in the Otara school's junior syndicate, students in the middle syndicate often spoke English to each other and to the kaiako (teacher), the report said.
English was also "prevalent" in the wharekura.
The decile 1 Te Kura Kaupapa Maori O Piripono Te Kura Whakahou O Otara - with a roll of 126 pupils in Years 1 to 8 - last year adopted a strategy to encourage te reo development and planned to extend it to speaking te reo Maori this year.
"Despite this school-wide approach to improve te reo Maori, the momentum of progress has slowed across all age groups. Students appear to prefer to use English with each other and kaiako," the report read.
Other issues were also flagged, including the physical and emotional safety of students.
"Students do not receive good quality education," the report said.
In one classroom, curtains were apparently drawn for the whole day despite fine weather, and the ablution area of the wharekura needed "immediate attention".
The school has a troubled past.
In 2004, the Government appointed a limited statutory manager to provide financial then curriculum management support.
In 2006, a commissioner was appointed. But the report said that since the commissioner's key tasks were extended last year, relationships within the school deteriorated and this year a new acting principal and commissioner came in.
* Marked down
Kaiako (teachers) were absent or late to class and did not provide adequate supervision.
Students spoke English frequently during their interactions with each other and the kaiako.
Despite fine weather, curtains were drawn in one classroom.
Attention was needed for the ablution area at the wharekura.
Source: Education Review Office
