33 Halstead Road , Pleasant Point
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.
Pleasant Point Primary School is in South Canterbury and provides education for learners in Years 1 to 8. The roll is more than 280, drawing on the township and surrounding rural area. More than 80% of students are European/Pakeha and just over 10% are Maōri. Learners and staff, supported by the community, focus on the school’s CARE values: Curious, Awesome, Respectful and Engaged. A new Principal has been appointed since the previous review.
For sustained improvement and future learner success, the following priorities for further development were identified:
A structured, evaluative framework has been put in place to track, monitor and analyse student outcomes. Through this process it is possible to determine the progress of learners, and target those who need additional support to meet curriculum expectations. The framework is being used effectively. Achievement is carefully analysed and reported regularly to the board and community. Effective systems are in place to assist with decisions, programmes and resourcing for students needing additional learning support. Bicultural practices have been developed; there is growing visibility of te ao Māori in the school’s curriculum and programmes.
| 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 good 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 a 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 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 responds well to a wide range 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. |
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 becoming more equitable for all groups of learners. |
| Writing | Most learners meet or exceed the expected curriculum level. Results are becoming more equitable for all groups of learners. |
| Mathematics | Most learners meet or exceed the expected curriculum level. Results are 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 uses an appropriate approach and reliable practices to find out about achievement against the curriculum.
Assessment information is used well to adjust teaching practices to ensure ongoing improvement in teaching and student progress.
The school has 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 Government reading, writing and mathematics and/or pānui, tuhituhi and pāngarau targets and is likely to meet them by 2030.
This section of the report provides more detail for the school to include in strategic and annual planning for ongoing improvement across the school.
The agreed next steps for the school are to:
The agreed actions for the next improvement cycle and timeframes are as follows.
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’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
5 March 2025
This website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement. educationcounts.govt.nz/home
Pleasant Point School is a Year 1 to 8 full primary school situated near Timaru. The current roll is 299 students.
The school states that its vision is ‘a head and a heart for learning and life: a backpack for the journey’. The school values are ‘be curious, be awesome, be respectful, be engaged’.
Current priorities include building students’ capacity to be confident, capable learners and providing an inclusive learning environment. Targets are set to raise student achievement in writing and mathematics.
Leaders and teachers regularly report to the board, schoolwide information about outcomes for students in the following areas:
Whole school professional learning has included accelerated learning in mathematics (ALiM), the progress and achievement tool (PaCT), wellbeing, writing, reading, te reo Māori and digital technologies.
A Māori governance group provides support to the school for improvements in bicultural practices.
Leaders and staff are active participants in the Timaru North Kāhui Ako|Community of Learning.
The school is achieving equitable and excellent outcomes for most of its students.
School achievement information shows that high levels of achievement in reading, writing and mathematics have been sustained over time.
School data for 2019 shows that:
The school is not yet consistently successful in accelerating learning for those Māori and other students who need this.
Achievement data for writing in 2019 shows that 45% of targeted students made accelerated progress, and that most students made sufficient progress.
A broad and bicultural curriculum is responsive to students’ interests and needs. Students are well supported to be confident, connected, actively involved learners and leaders. The curriculum provides sufficient breadth and depth of learning experiences and is supported by strong systems and processes, including assessment for learning.
Leaders and teachers actively promote student learning and wellbeing. Student agency is supported through learning conversations and self-monitoring of learning-to-learn capabilities. Students experience a wide range of opportunities to develop leadership skills. Their pride in the school and sense of belonging is enhanced by teachers who provide challenge in learning. Transitions into and out of the school are well supported.
School leaders have a strong focus on building culturally responsive practices within the school. This focus allows students to experience aspects of their language, culture and identity. The Māori governance team leads changes in bicultural practices within the school.
Parents and whānau are effectively informed about their child’s learning and are involved in the life of the school. Trustees make informed decisions to prioritise resourcing that will improve outcomes for students.
Leaders build teacher capacity and capability through focused professional learning and a distributed leadership model. A robust appraisal system includes teacher inquiries that are aligned to current school priorities and improving outcomes for students.
The school does not yet analyse and report to the board on all students whose learning needs to be accelerated.
School leaders need to continue to build on the current useful practices in analysing schoolwide data. This will help to ensure that reports to the board of trustees clearly identify progress, achievement, acceleration and sufficiency of progress for those students with additional learning needs.
Internal evaluation within the school does not yet provide clarity about the impact of initiatives and innovations on student outcomes.
The school and ERO agree that:
Effective bicultural practices are not yet fully embedded in the school. The school has identified and ERO’s evaluation confirms, that there is a need to continue to grow and change in this area. Forging closer links between the Māori governance group and the Board of Trustees is a priority, so that te ao Māori is more visible and Māori students are able to learn in an environment that supports their language, culture and identity.
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 Pleasant Point Primary 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 to:
Dr Lesley Patterson
Director Review and Improvement Services (Southern)
Southern Region - Te Tai Tini
10 June 2020