Otaika Valley School

School 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.

Every New Zealand state and state integrated school has an ERO review at least once every four years to evaluate what is working well for learners and what needs to be improved.

About the School

Otaika Valley School provides education for learners in Years 1 to 6. From 2026 the school will provide education for learners in Year 7 and then the Year 8 over the following two years. 40% of the students at the school as Māori. The large majority of learners identify as New Zealand European/Pākehā. The school’s vision is ’Kā Tupu Kotahi Ai Tatou -Together We Grow ‘.

Education Counts provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement, school enrolments and school zones. educationcounts.govt.nz/home

An explanation of the terms and judgements used in this report can be found here: Reporting | Education Review Office

Improvement and progress

This section is about the progress the school has made since the January 2023 ERO report. It includes an explanation of the expected improvements and findings.

Expected improvements

The focus for the school was to evaluate how effectively they develop and implement its local curriculum and culturally responsive practices to ensure learning is relevant, authentic, and effective for all learners.

Findings

Since the review, the staff and community have significantly developed and strengthened culturally responsive practices in collaboration with Kahui Ako, whānau, hapū and iwi. There is now a focus on sustaining this across the school to ensure learning is relevant and authentic for all learners.

What we know about learner success

This section provides a summary of learner success and wellbeing. The judgments are based on the ERO School Improvement Framework and the evidence provided to ERO during the evaluation.

Achievement in 1 to 6 

This section is about learner achievement. It outlines how well learners across the school meet or exceed the expected curriculum level of The New Zealand Curriculum in foundational skills.

Attendance

This section is about school attendance and the progress the school is making towards meeting the Government target of 80% regular attendance.

• The small majority of learners attend school regularly.
• 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.

Assessment

This section is about how the school assesses learner progress and achievement.

• The school is improving its approach and the reliability of its practices to accurately find out about achievement against the curriculum.
• Teachers are developing their use of assessment information to adjust teaching practices to ensure ongoing improvement in teaching and student progress.

Progress

This section is about how well the school supports all learners to make sufficient 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 progress towards meeting Government reading, writing and mathematics targets for 2030 and agrees this will need to be a key strategic priority.

Next steps for improvement

This section provides more detail for the school to include in its strategic and annual planning for ongoing improvement across the school. It outlines what the school is doing well and identifies actions for improvement.

Areas of strength

• Strong, long-standing partnerships with the local community foster a welcoming, family-like environment that promotes a strong sense of belonging.
• School values are clearly understood and consistently embedded in interactions, shaping a positive culture and environment for learning.
• Learners demonstrate high levels of engagement and support for each other with warm and respectful relationships evident. Teachers work collaboratively with leaders to promote effective practice.
• Inclusive approaches support individual learners with additional needs. Structured teaching and learning programmes in reading, writing and mathematics are in place.

Key priorities

• Maintain and strengthen initiatives that promote regular attendance for all learners.
• Clearly identify which learners need support by using well-analysed data, set annual improvement targets to help these learners make accelerated progress.
• Strengthen leadership practices for regular monitoring and reporting on the impact of schoolwide acceleration strategies on targeted learners’ progress and outcomes.

Actions to bring about improvement

Every six months:

• leaders and the Otaika Valley School Board review attendance data, evaluate the effectiveness of initiatives, adjust planning to sustain or improve regular attendance
• leaders analyse and share summarised achievement data for targeted learners with staff and the Board to ensure clarity and focus to guide improvement
• teachers monitor the progress of boys’ reading achievement and refine accelerative strategies based on evidence of impact
• leaders plan meetings with teachers using an agreed framework to track and respond to the progress of targeted learners

Annually:

• leaders report to the Board on attendance trends and the impact of strategies on learner engagement 
• leaders provide the Board a comprehensive analysis of targeted learners’ progress and achievement, highlighting areas of acceleration and identify next steps
• teachers and leaders review and update acceleration strategies for boys’ reading to ensure continued improvement.
• leaders and the Board evaluate the effectiveness of leadership practices and frameworks in promoting improved outcomes for targeted learners.

Expected outcomes

• Sustained increased rates of regular attendance over time.

• Targeted learners demonstrate accelerated progress, particularly boys’ reading achievement.

• Leadership monitoring and evaluation practices are strengthened, enabling responsive and evidence-based decision-making that improve learner outcomes.

Regulatory and legislative requirements

This section of the report is about how the school meets regulatory and legislative requirements.

Board assurance with regulatory and legislative requirements

This section of the report reviews the school's policies, procedures, documentation, and checks that it meets all regulations, maintains a safe environment, and supports students' wellbeing.

During this review the Board has attested to meeting regulatory and legislative requirements in the following areas:

Board administration

Yes

Curriculum

Yes

Management of health, safety and welfare

Yes

Personnel management

Yes

The next public report on ERO’s website will be a School Report and is due within four 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

24 March 2026