Fruitvale Road 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 

Fruitvale Road School provides education for students in Years 1 to 6. The current roll is 378; 13% of learners are Māori, 32% identify as Asian, and 29% are of Pacific heritage. The school is guided by the values of: Respect (Kia manaaki), Responsibility (Kia manawanui), Reflection (Kia whakaaro), Resilience (Kia kaha) and Risk Taking (Kia toa).

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 October 2022 ERO report. It includes an explanation of the expected improvements and findings.

Expected improvements

The school focused on evaluating how well a Māori holistic learning focus drives positive pedagogical change and improves equitable and excellent outcomes for all learners. 

The school expected to see full and systematic effect being given to Te Tiriti o Waitangi across the curriculum with positive relationships to help students succeed through an inclusive and supportive environment. The focus was on promoting student wellbeing, encouraging them to be confident and motivated learners.

They also wanted teachers to support every student by respecting their backgrounds, cultures, and languages, feel included, have a sense of belonging, and do well at school. The school aimed to maintain strong relationships with families and the community and provide teaching that helps students progress smoothly through each stage of learning.

Findings 

Fruitvale Road School is building partnerships with local iwi. The school added specialist resources and training to help staff use culturally inclusive practices that support all students. The school has begun to review its systems to improve the curriculum, strengthen assessment, and better track student progress for ongoing improvement in teaching and learning.

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 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 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 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          

• Students benefit from respectful and positive relationship with staff. Staff maintain calm, settled environments that support engagement, inclusion and wellbeing.
• Teachers regularly engage in professional learning to strengthen their practice. Deliberate strategies are used by teachers that help students develop effective skills to engage in learning and classroom activities.
• The school establish strong, collaborative relationships with families/whānau and community enhance learner outcomes and reinforce school values.
• The school values underpin daily interactions, encouraging learners to be their best selves and supporting learning outcomes through a broad, localised curriculum. 

Key priorities

• Raise achievement for all learners including priority learners and learners working above expected curriculum levels.
• Strengthen assessment approaches and analysis to track and monitor progress and achievement against the curriculum for all groups of learners.
• Develop internal evaluation capability to identify and understand the impact of programmes on teaching and learning, achievement and progress.
• Strengthen leadership and Board capacity so that strategic and annual planning is focused on improvement, meet legislative requirements and includes shared decision making with iwi and whānau.
• Improve regular attendance.

Actions to bring about improvement 

Within three months:

• senior leaders establish school-wide assessment systems that use a range of data and provide for the tracking of achievement over time for all learners
• the Board and leadership address all areas of noncompliance and implement systems and processes to ensure ongoing legislative and regulatory

Within six months:

• teachers set learning goals (including high expectations) for all learners to ensure that targeted teaching leads to accelerated achievement
• leaders and teachers establish and embed effective assessment practices for all learners, including the tracking of progress, and analysis of results inform teaching and promote equitable progress
• leaders and teachers establish systems and processes to evaluate the effectiveness of systems and initiatives and their impact on learner outcomes
• school leaders and the Board revise planning to identify strategic improvement priorities that will support improved learner outcomes

Every six months:

• teachers and leaders use assessment data to monitor progress, adapt programmes and report achievement for all learner groups
• teachers and leaders evaluate and refine initiatives to ensure that there is a consistent, schoolwide culture of learning with a focus on progress and achievement
• the board follows a cycle of strategic review and evaluation to ensure that there is progress against annual targets, identify priorities and plan next steps.
• leaders analyse attendance data, identify trends and priority groups, and plan targeted actions to improve attendance

Annually:

• leaders and teachers review and refine assessment practices including tracking and moderation practices
• leadership and the board collaboratively evaluate annual plans and targets to inform future priorities
• leadership and Board review capability and ensure governance practices are embedded
• leadership reports to board on attendance, progress and achievement for all groups of learners. 

Expected outcomes

• A school-wide culture of learning with high expectations, increased equity and improved outcomes for all learners.
• Effective assessment practices that support teachers to monitor progress and achievement and inform their practices.
• Robust internal evaluation systems and processes embedded school wide.
• Evidence informed decision-making with clear improvement targets underpins leadership and board planning and processes.
• Increased regular attendance toward government targets.

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

Actions for Compliance 

ERO has identified the following areas of non-compliance during the board assurance process:

• ensure satisfactory safety checking of persons employed by the Board, including keeping records of background and work history checks, identity verification and the completion of a risk assessment 
  [Sections 25, 26 and 27 of the Children’s Act 2014: Safety checks of children’s workers]
• ensure that robust Education Outside the Classroom (EOTC) school systems, including policy and procedures include risk assessments and records of board sign-off of high-risk activities and trips  
  [Health and Safety at Work Act 2015; Education Outside the Classroom (Ministry of Education)].
• ensure all procedures and practices relating to the stand-down of any student are implemented in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Education and Training Act 2020, the Education Stand-down, Suspensions, Exclusions and Expulsion Rules 1999 and guidance issued by the Ministry of Education [Sections 78-79 of the Education and Training Act 2020]
• ensure the board receives monthly reports on monitoring, maintenance and hazards, and is satisfied with compliance [Health and Safety at Work Act 2015; Health and at Work (General Risk and Workplace Management) Regulations 2016; Clause 17 of the Property Occupancy Document (MOE)] 

The board has since addressed the areas of non-compliance identified.

• ensure that suitable school systems and processes for regular trial evacuations and fire and earthquake drills are followed, reviewed and include six-monthly reporting to Fire and Emergency New Zealand
  [Health and Safety at Work Act 2015; Planning and Preparing for Emergencies (Ministry of Education)].
• ensure the complaints policy, processes and practices are followed with fidelity and with a clear resolution component [Sections 115–147 of the Education and Training Act 2020] 

The board has taken steps to address the areas of non-compliance identified.

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

19 March 2026