Ohakune 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 4 years to evaluate what is working well for learners and what needs to be improved. 

About the School 

Ohakune School, for students in Years 1 to 8, is located in the rohe o Ngāti Rangi. The current roll is 266, with 45% of learners as Māori.

The school’s vision is for all students to be caring and connected, contributing community members, who make positive decisions and achieve their aspirations. The values of PRIDE’; participation, respect, integrity, determination and environment, underpin everything they do and as a community they strive to show this in every area’.

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

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 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 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 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.

Progress

This section is about how well the school supports all learners to make sufficient 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 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

• Established school values create an inclusive, collaborative learning environment with respectful relationships that support learning.
• Learners’ strengths and needs are well understood by teachers; any additional learning needs are quickly identified and responded to effectively.
• Leadership builds relational trust and effective collaboration at every level of the school community; leaders integrate external requirements in ways that support achievement of the school’s vision, values, goals and targets.
• Students consolidate their learning over time through increasingly consistent schoolwide programmes for learning; they are well prepared for their transition to High School.
• Systematic, collaborative inquiry processes and professional learning opportunities align with the school vision, values, goals and targets; professional learning develops teacher knowledge and adaptive expertise using approaches that are informed by research.
• Attendance monitoring systems have been reviewed and strengthened as part of the school’s attendance plan.

Key priorities 

• Improve school attendance.
• Embed the required curriculum changes for English and mathematics.
• Sustain the schoolwide structured literacy approach and embed the schoolwide mathematics programme.
• Refine the use of assessment tools; prioritise those tools that will help all learners know about the progress they are making towards their learning goals.

Actions to bring about improvement 

Within three months: 

• the School Board fully implement the school’s attendance plan and regularly review the plan to improve the rates of regular attendance at school

Within six months: 

• the Board reviews the attendance plan for effectiveness to improve the rates of regular attendance at school and plan next steps
• leaders report the impacts of professional learning on school programmes and learner outcomes to the Board to guide future planning
• leaders collect, analyse and report achievement, progress, acceleration, wellbeing and attendance information to the Board 

Annually:

• the School Board reports achievement, progress, attendance and wellbeing information to the community using the school’s annual reporting mechanism. 

Expected outcomes 

• Increased levels of attendance, wellbeing, achievement, and progress evident 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

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

23 October 2025