Sir Edmund Hillary Collegiate Middle 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 

Sir Edmund Hillary Collegiate Middle School is in Ōtara and provides education for Year 7 and 8 students. The roll is 322. Pacific students make up the largest group in the school at 88% and 22% identify as Māori. The school’s vision is to nurture, inspire and empower every learner. The school Board appointed a new principal in March 2025.  

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 April 2023 ERO report. It includes an explanation of the expected improvements and findings.

Expected improvements

The school focused on evaluating how well learners experience teaching and learning that is relevant, engaging, rewarding and positive.

The school expected to see consistent learning opportunities focused on equity and excellence for all learners, and learners actively engaged in learning, making informed choices about their learning pathways. The school also expected to see consistent teacher practice focused on learners’ diverse strengths and needs, and learning experiences that are inclusive, positive, and culturally responsive.

Findings 

The school has experienced significant challenges since the previous ERO report, including changes in school leadership. A new management structure was established in 2025 after the appointment of a new principal. These changes have impacted the school’s progress with the evaluation focus for improvement.  

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 Years 7 to 8

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.

• Less than half of students attend school regularly.
• The school is  behind the target of 80% regular attendance.
• The school is developing a suitable plan to improve attendance.
• Regular attendance is not yet improving towards or beyond the target.
• Chronic absence is not yet reducing over time. 

Assessment 

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

• The school is not yet using an appropriate approach or reliable 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. 

• School leadership was unable to provide ERO with an analysis of schoolwide achievement information over time to show the extent to which learners have made progress in reading, writing and mathematics.
• The school is developing good quality planning to increase the rate of progress for all groups of students.
• The school is unable to identify if they are making progress towards meeting Government reading, writing and mathematics targets and/or pānui, tuhituhi and pāngarau targets for 2030 and agrees this will need to be a key strategic priority.

Support 

During the course of this review ERO had concerns about the quality of education being provided and made recommendations for support and/or intervention to the Secretary / Ministry of Education.

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

• Leadership is working to establish relational trust and effective communication with teachers, students and whānau to foster collective responsibility for schoolwide improvement.
• Teachers are taking steps to work together to plan and implement teaching and learning programmes across the school, sharing strategies and aligning expectations.
• Leaders and teachers are strengthening their partnerships with parents and whānau to ensure that they are informed and more actively involved in supporting their child’s educational journey.
• Leaders and teachers are working collaboratively to increase professional capability, consistent teaching practice and explicit schoolwide expectations.

Key priorities

• Accelerate student achievement in reading, writing, and mathematics, embedding structured approaches to the teaching of literacy and mathematics.
• Develop clear, consistent assessment systems and practices to produce reliable achievement data.  
• Improve the collection, analysis and use of achievement data to inform quality teaching and learning, strategic planning and improvement priorities.
• Increase all learners’ regular attendance.

Actions to bring about improvement 

Within three months:

• leaders actively contribute to the Collegiate Strategic Plan, ensuring middle school priorities are evident in the broader framework and focus on accelerating student progress and achievement
• leaders and teachers work together to develop a 2026 Annual Implementation Plan, outlining how the strategic plan will be actioned, ensuring shared ownership and collective responsibility
• leaders develop and implement schoolwide assessment systems and practices to support the reliable gathering, analysis and use of student achievement data
• leaders formalise an attendance action plan that incorporates improvement goals to increase rates of regular attendance

Within six months:

• leaders and teachers set schoolwide and class-specific achievement targets to ensure an improvement-focused culture of teaching and learning
• leaders provide staff with professional learning opportunities to support the consistent implementation of structured approaches to the teaching of literacy and mathematics

Every six months:

• teachers review and report on student progress and achievement, using data to evaluate the effectiveness of teaching initiatives and to identify future learning steps
• leaders report to the Board on progress with the annual implementation plan to inform the school’s strategic direction
• leaders provide ongoing professional learning opportunities for staff to strengthen consistency of teaching, learning and assessment practices
• leaders monitor and report to the Board on the impact of the attendance action plan to improve regular attendance rates for all learners, identifying further actions

Annually:

• leaders conduct a comprehensive review of student attendance, progress and achievement data to inform future resourcing decisions
• leaders and teachers evaluate the impact of professional learning opportunities on teaching, learning and assessment practices to support future actions.

Expected outcomes

• Accelerated progress and achievement outcomes for all learners in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Consistent teaching, learning and assessment practices embedded schoolwide.
• Improved rates of regular attendance for all learners.

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

Recommendation to the Ministry of Education

ERO recommends that the Secretary for Education consider intervention for specialist help as listed in section 171(1) of the Education and Training Act 2020 in order to bring about the following improvements:

• urgently accelerate progress and achievement of all learners
• develop and implement schoolwide assessment practices
• effectively use achievement data to plan for learning and monitor the impact on student progress.

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

10 December 2025