800 State Highway 6 , Nelson
View on mapTēnā 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.
Hira School is located in Nelson and provides education for learners in Years 1 to 6. There are approximately 60 learners. European/Pākehā make up the largest proportion of learners and 27% identify as Māori. The school’s vision is to empower children to value themselves and develop the skills to become lifelong learners who are resilient, responsible and caring members of the community.
| How well are learners succeeding? | The school is working towards high levels of success and progress for all learners. |
| 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 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 reasonably 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 is improving its reporting 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 needs to ensure a physically and emotionally safe learning environment. |
This table outlines how well students across the school meet or exceed the expected curriculum level.
Foundation Skills | |
| 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 large majority of learners meet or exceed the expected curriculum level. Results are not yet equitable for all groups of learners. |
| Mathematics | Most learners meet or exceed the expected curriculum level. Results are becoming more equitable for all groups of learners. |
The school is behind the target of 80% regular attendance.
The school has a suitable plan in place to improve attendance.
Regular attendance is improving towards or beyond the target.
Chronic absence is reducing over time.
The school is improving its approach and the reliability of its practices to accurately find out about achievement against the curriculum.
Teachers are developing assessment information to adjust teaching practices to ensure ongoing improvement in teaching and student 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 some progress towards meeting Government reading, writing and mathematics and/or pānui, tuhituhi and pāngarau targets for 2030 and agrees this will need to be a key strategic priority.
This section of the report provides more detail for the school to include in strategic and annual planning for ongoing improvement across the school.
Leaders are focused on ensuring an inclusive environment for all learners to enable them to see themselves as learners, experience success and increase equitable outcomes.
Leaders and board work effectively with staff to set and achieve the schools’ strategic goals and targets.
The school is implementing a structured approach to literacy across the school with one hour a day focused on reading, writing and maths. Learning is planned around a termly theme and increasingly reflects local contexts that build on learners’ experiences, knowledge, engagement and understanding.
Learners with differing needs are well-supported to increasingly experience a sense of belonging, connection and support within the school community resulting in improvements in behaviour and engagement. Individual learners at risk of not achieving are clearly identified; evidenced-based and differentiated strategies are implemented to effectively support them.
Professional learning for teachers is targeted to strategic goals and strengthens teaching practices. Leaders and teachers use a range of good quality evidence to systematically reflect and inquire together on the impact of their work on learner outcomes and progress towards school goals.
The agreed next steps for the school are to:
The agreed actions for the next improvement cycle and timeframes are as follows.
Within six months:
Every six months:
Annually:
Actions taken against these next steps are expected to result in:
All schools are required to promote student health and safety and to regularly review their compliance with legal requirements.
During this review the Board has attested to some regulatory and legislative requirements in the following areas:
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
ERO has identified the following areas of non-compliance during the board assurance process:
The board has since taken steps to address the areas of non-compliance identified.
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
Sharon Kelly
Acting Director of Schools
12 March 2025
This website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement. educationcounts.govt.nz/home
Hira School in Nelson caters for students in Years 1 to 6 in a rural setting. The roll of 90 students has increased by a third since the June 2016 ERO report. Ten percent of students are Māori.
The school’s vision is to empower children to value their own skills and gifts and to become life-long learners who are resilient, responsible and caring members of their community. Values promoted are kotahitanga|getting on together, manaakitanga|kindness and respect, manawaroa|resilience, whanaungatanga|belonging, kaitiakitanga|guardianship and whakamana|self belief and agency.
Key goals in 2019 are to develop the curriculum and culturally responsive practice.
Leaders and teachers regularly report to the board, schoolwide information about outcomes for students in the following areas:
Professional learning and development in 2019 is focusing on culturally responsive pedagogy, mathematics and play-based learning.
Since the previous ERO review, the number of teachers has doubled.
The school is an enviro school and is part of the Kāhui Ako Ki Whakatū | Community of Learning in Nelson.
Most students achieve at or above curriculum expectations in reading, writing and mathematics. This level of achievement has been consistent since 2016.
At the end of 2018 the percentage of Māori students achieving at and above expectations in reading was higher than for New Zealand European/Pākehā students.
More girls than boys are achieving at or above curriculum expectations in writing.
Current school data shows that most students below curriculum expectations are making accelerated progress, particularly in reading.
Students benefit from a supportive, inclusive and positive learning environment. Teachers know individual children well. Relationships among students and staff are warm, caring and responsive. The tone in classrooms is relaxed and purposeful. Children are co-operative and confident, and can talk about what they are learning and why. They display a strong sense of belonging and ownership of their school.
Progress has been made in enacting a curriculum that supports learner engagement and agency, and reflects the views of the community. Students benefit from the range of authentic and interesting learning opportunities presented. Curriculum features include:
A ‘big picture’ document shows alignment between the vision and values, the enacted curriculum and current initiatives.
Parent and community input is regularly sought and valued to inform decisions about school direction. A range of useful strategies has supported the gathering of parents’ views.
Teachers use a suitable range of assessment tools, including nationally normed tests, to make overall judgements about learners’ achievement and progress. Specific initiatives are in place to identify and support students at risk in their learning. External specialist support is accessed for those with additional learning needs.
The board has a well-organised approach to their stewardship role. Meeting minutes are a good record of discussion, decision-making and actions taken. Trustees receive regular reports about accountabilities. Succession planning has been appropriately considered to support the induction of new trustees.
Through the strategic plan, trustees and leadership have identified priorities for development. ERO’s evaluation supports this direction. These include:
This should support sustainability and consistency of practice, and understanding of expectations about teaching and learning.
ERO has identified the need for the school to increase the focus on tracking and regularly reporting the progress and achievement of those students achieving below curriculum expectations.
The school’s appraisal process should be strengthened by including a documented observation of, and feedback about, each teacher’s practice. In addition, feedback in relation to each Standard for the Teaching Profession should also be recorded.
Regular review is undertaken, including policy review, which emphasises consultation and collection of parent feedback. The process of internal evaluation is likely to be better facilitated through the identification of an evaluative question and indicators of success. These should support measurement of the impact of initiatives and strategies on outcomes for students and the identification of next development steps.
Before the review, the board and principal of the school completed the ERO board assurance statement and self-audit checklists. In these documents they attested that they had taken all reasonable steps to meet their legislative obligations related to the following:
During the review, ERO checked the following items because they have a potentially high impact on student safety and wellbeing:
On the basis of the findings of this review, ERO’s overall evaluation judgement of Hira School’s performance in achieving valued outcomes for its students is: Well placed.
ERO’s Framework: Overall Findings and Judgement Tool derived from School Evaluation Indicators: Effective Practice for Improvement and Learner Success is available on ERO’s website.
For sustained improvement and future learner success, the school can draw on existing strengths in:
For sustained improvement and future learner success, priorities for further development are in:
To improve current practice, some documentation relating to health and safety matters should be strengthened.
Dr Lesley Patterson
Director Review and Improvement Services Te Tai Tini
Southern Region
25 November 2019
| Location | Nelson |
| Ministry of Education profile number | 3195 |
| School type | Contributing (Years 1 to 6) |
| School roll | 90 |
| Gender composition | Girls 45, Boys 45 |
| Ethnic composition | Māori 10% NZ European/Pākehā 79% Other ethnic groups 11% |
| Students with Ongoing Resourcing Funding (ORS) | Yes |
| Provision of Māori medium education | No |
| Review team on site | September 2019 |
| Date of this report | 25 November 2019 |
| Most recent ERO reports | Education Review June 2016 Education Review June 2013 |