Fairfield Primary 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

Fairfield Primary School is in north-east Hamilton and provides education for students in Years 0 to 6. The school roll is 378. The student roll includes 57% who identify as Māori, 19% as Pacific and the remaining 24% of students from an increasing number of ethnic backgrounds. The school has high expectations for all learners with the Fairfield learner values of respect, excellence and resilience underpinning school life.

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

Expected improvements

Priorities from the last review were to evaluate how effectively school programmes and practices improve outcomes for all students in literacy. Strengthening home-school learning partnerships and improving student attendance continue to be ongoing priorities for the school.

Findings 

The school expected to see planned actions implemented to improve progress and increase equitable outcomes for all learners in literacy. 

The school implemented a structured literacy approach which is improving learner progress and increasing equitable outcomes for all learners. The structured literacy programme has been well resourced and included specific training for teachers. 

Other findings 

Teachers have noticed that learners are more confident to take risks in their writing and are making good attempts with their spelling. 

Leaders report that introducing parents and whānau to the structured literacy programme provides opportunities to share how families/whānau can help at home and develop a learning partnership between the school and whānau.

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 0 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.

• Less than half of learners 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 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

• Leaders, staff and the school Board consistently focus on meeting the needs of all learners. They prioritise improving regular attendance and raising achievement in literacy and mathematics.
• Collaborative leadership creates and maintains a culture increasingly focused on quality teaching and the school’s goals.
• There is a well-planned approach to develop leadership and teachers’ skills so effective, responsive programmes meet diverse learners’ needs.
• Structured approaches to teaching literacy and mathematics are being implemented. The curriculum offers a range of relevant learning opportunities that align with local contexts.
• Leaders regularly use evaluative evidence to plan improvement actions and check how these changes help learners. 

Key priorities

• Improve all students’ regular attendance.
• Review assessment practices and align with updates to The New Zealand Curriculum and assessment requirements.
• Accelerate the rates of progress for all students in reading, writing and mathematics. 

Actions to bring about improvement

Within three months:

• leaders and teachers implement the attendance plan

Within six months:

• leaders and teachers review literacy and mathematics assessment practices, align with The New Zealand Curriculum; and identify further staff learning priorities 

Every six months:

• leaders monitor the effectiveness of strategies to improve regular attendance and report to community
• leaders and teachers monitor and review the effectiveness of actions, including professional learning, to accelerate achievement in reading, writing and mathematics
• leaders and teachers review assessment practices schoolwide to ensure they are useful, consistent and accurate

Annually:

• leaders and the Board evaluate the effectiveness of attendance strategies to see what is working well and adjust those strategies that are not
• leaders review and report to the Board on student progress and achievement information, identify barriers to learning and inform ongoing strategic planning for improvement.

Expected outcomes

• Sustained and improved regular student attendance.
• Consistent high-quality teaching practices and improved equitable outcomes for all learners.
• Alignment of the school curriculum and The New Zealand Curriculum. 

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 to bring about the following improvements in:

• Improving all students’ regular attendance.
• Reviewing assessment practices and align with updates to The New Zealand Curriculum and assessment requirements.
• Accelerating the rates of progress for all students in reading, writing and mathematics.

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

29 January 2026