Hastings Intermediate

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

Hastings Intermediate provides education for learners in Years 7 and 8. The school roll is 377, 45% of learners are Māori, 30% Pākehā/New Zealand European, 11% of Pacific heritage and 11% Asian. 

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

Expected improvements

The school focused on improving learning outcomes though strengthening engagement with whānau, hapū and iwi to improve learning outcomes and collaborating with Kāhui Ako (Community of Learning) to support the focus on partnerships for learning. Staff developed their analysis of pastoral care data to inform next steps.

Findings 

The school is creating more ways for families and whānau Māori to be involved in school governance to build trust and strengthen relationships. The school Board reflects the school community and decision making is inclusive and culturally responsive.

School leadership continues partnerships with other schools through Kāhui Ako to share ideas and resources to improve learning. Staff check in with each student every day to see how they are feeling and their readiness to learn. Teachers identify students who need support early and respond quickly. Leaders review check-in information daily to consider strategies, interventions or extra help. 

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.

Just over half of learners enter Hastings Intermediate behind the expected curriculum level. The school’s efforts are focused on accelerated progress.

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.

•  The small majority 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 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 not extended achievement and progress for learners working at or above curriculum levels since the previous review.
• The school is as yet not 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

• School leaders and teachers actively promote an inclusive environment where students feel valued, and their wellbeing is proactively supported. Students participate in a wide range of sports and cultural activities that enrich their school experience.
• Leaders and teachers have a consistent approach to behaviour management with clear expectations. This consistency in approach and shared understandings have a positive impact on learners and their school environment.
• The school is strengthening reciprocal relationships with whānau hapū and iwi, building student and teacher confidence and capability in tikanga Māori.
• Leaders are growing staff leadership capability in literacy and mathematics. Middle leaders have clearly outlined expectations for tasks they need to undertake and complete.
• Structured literacy is underway and a structured approach to mathematics is in its early stages.
• The Board is representative of the community and makes well considered decisions about resources, to make sure staff are well placed to support initiatives to improve learner outcomes.

Key priorities

• Clearly track the progress and achievement of Year 7 from the beginning of their intermediate years through to the end of Year 8. This will provide leaders and the School Board with comparative data to show the difference the school makes.
• Understand structured literacy and mathematics approaches and fully implement and embed across the school for consistency for learners.
• Strengthen analysis and the use of data to inform reading, writing and mathematics teaching across the school.
• Grow teacher confidence and capacity in te reo Māori.
• Implement the attendance plan that clearly outlines strategies for the school community to improve students’ regular attendance rates.

Actions to bring about improvement

Within three months:

• leaders and teachers engage in professional learning in structured literacy and approaches to mathematics, so that all learners have equitable opportunities to learn
• leaders and teachers collaboratively review current data analysis practices, to look at usefulness and accuracy across the school
• leaders support teachers to improve confidence and capacity in te reo Māori

Within six months:

• leaders and teachers review teaching and learning approaches in literacy and mathematics for alignment with The New Zealand Curriculum and assessment developments to identify further staff professional learning priorities
• leaders analyse the impact and effectiveness of teaching and learning programmes, with a focus on reading, writing and mathematics
• leaders review the attendance plan, review current attendance strategies and initiatives to inform next steps

Every six months:

• leaders and teachers evaluate the success of strategies to accelerate the progress of identified learners in reading, writing and mathematics to inform future actions
• leaders and the school Board monitor progress through informative achievement data analyses, to know learner outcomes over the two years

Annually:

• leaders evaluate the quality of teaching and the use of best practice approaches aligned to the new curriculum and assessment developments, identifying areas for future development
• leaders and the school Board use analysed achievement data to identify barriers to learning, inform strategic goals and implement effective targeted action
• leaders and the school Board evaluate the effectiveness of attendance strategies to increase regular learner attendance towards government targets.

Expected outcomes

• Improved progress, achievement and equity in outcomes for learners over their two years at school.
• Consistent and effective high quality teaching practices in literacy and mathematics are embedded schoolwide and align to curriculum and assessment expectations.
• Teachers and students using te reo Māori with greater proficiency.
• Increased regular attendance.

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

20 November 2025