Porirua College

School Evaluation 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 

Porirua College provides education for learners in Years 9 to 13. The school roll of 600 includes 68% of learners who are of Pacific heritage, 34% of students identify as Māori, 8% Asian and 13% Pākehā/New Zealand European students. 

The school's educational vision is to empower ākonga to strengthen their voices, actions and identities, to make a difference in their communities through the values of Manaaki, Tuakiri and Ako. 

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

Since the previous ERO report the school focused on growing student voice and learning partnerships between the school, whānau and community to improve equitable student outcomes.

Expected Improvements

The school expected to see learner ownership of their goals, progress and achievement, in collaboration with whānau and junior progress to improve, and progress measured, tracked and communicated across the junior school. Leaders focused on co-constructing school changes through learning partnerships.

Findings 

Leaders engaged with whānau Māori and identified that further involvement with whānau to support better outcomes is an ongoing focus. The junior school has implemented comprehensive systems for monitoring and reporting progress, enabling timely support for students in literacy and numeracy. Collaborative decision-making processes are reflected in both curriculum development and strategic planning initiatives.

Leaders identified the need to develop explicit school values as a priority and have consulted with their school community throughout 2025. Information gathered and analysed from this consultation is being used to inform strategic planning for 2026. 

What we know about learner success

This is a summary of learner success, which guides the school board’s future strategic direction, including any education in Rumaki/bilingual settings.

Learner Success and Wellbeing 

This section provides a summary of learner success and wellbeing.

• Less than a third of students enter the school at curriculum level in reading, writing and mathematics. By the end of Year 10 less than half of students are at curriculum level.
• In 2024, a small majority of learners achieved National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) Level 1 literacy, and a large majority achieved Level 1 numeracy.
• A small majority of Pacific learners achieve NCEA Level 2. Less than half of Māori and Pākehā / New Zealand European students left school with NCEA Level 2. Less than a third achieve NCEA Level 3 and University Entrance (UE). Patterns of disparity between male and female, Pacific and other students are evident.
• Less than a third of students attend school regularly. The school is significantly behind the Government target for regular attendance. 

Conditions to support learner success

This section provides a summary of leadership, teaching, curriculum and foundation school conditions for improvement.

• Leaders have established a settled school environment. They deliberately implement a range of programmes that are responsive to individual student needs.
• The leadership team is taking steps to build staff capacity to address the varied needs of students and support their progress and achievement.
• Leaders are beginning to track and monitor progress towards improvement targets and actions aligned with the school’s strategic goals to raise learner achievement.

• Teachers are developing a curriculum that is more responsive to learners’ needs and interests.
• Teachers provide respectful and inclusive classroom environments; they encourage students to participate and build supportive relationships.

• Leaders and teachers affirm and acknowledge students' cultures and identities.
• Students benefit from a collaborative learning environment enabling students to feel valued and ready to actively engage in learning and school activities.
• The school Board represents, serves and works with the school community to develop the strategic direction of the school.

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 identifies key priorities and actions for improvement.

Key priorities 

• Improve and sustain regular student attendance.
• Establish expectations for high quality teaching and monitor the implementation of these across the school.
• Implement coherent curriculum expectations in classroom teaching with a focus on mathematics and literacy.
• Evaluate the impact and effectiveness of current school initiatives and support programmes to improve learner success and outcomes.
• Scrutinise learner data and review information to identify strategic improvement priorities, plan, make appropriate resourcing decisions and action.

Actions to bring about improvement 

Within three months:

• leaders with the school Board strengthen the 2026 annual implementation plan to ensure clear targets and measures are in place for improving progress, achievement and attendance
• leaders’ complete attendance needs analysis, amend attendance plan and begin its implementation including resourcing 

Within six months:

• leaders with staff develop and implement expectations for high quality teaching and provide professional learning
• leaders implement and monitor expectations for literacy and numeracy teaching
• leaders with staff evaluate the impact on learner outcomes of the literacy and numeracy programmes and initiatives currently in place and make changes

Every six months:

• leaders monitor, review, report and refine school initiatives to further improve regular attendance
• leaders and teachers review the extent to which teaching strategies accelerate the progress of students, improve outcomes; identify areas for further professional learning
• leaders and teachers evaluate the impact of targeted initiatives on progress and achievement in literacy and numeracy and adjust as required
• teachers monitor and track the progress of students in gaining NCEA and their individual goals
• the School Board and leaders evaluate the progress in schoolwide goals and targets and report progress to the community

Annually:

• leaders and the school Board work together to review the impact of school initiatives, the consistency of teaching and learning practices for improving student progress, wellbeing and achievement; use findings to inform strategic planning
• leaders and the school Board evaluate strategies to increase regular attendance towards Government targets and barriers to learning; use findings to inform next steps to increase student attendance.

Expected outcomes

• Improved and sustained levels of attendance.
• Improved achievement and equitable outcomes for all learners.
• Consistent, high quality teaching practices, informed by data and responsive to the needs of all learners.
• High quality evaluation practices used by the staff and school Board for ongoing school improvement.

Recommendation to the Ministry of Education

ERO recommends that the Ministry of Education provide tailored support for:

• addressing sustained low student attendance
• addressing the progress and pace of bringing about school improvement. 

The next public report on ERO’s website 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