Review 22 May 2025
LatestSchool 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.
About the School
Otane School, a rural school located in the village of Otane, Central Hawke’s Bay, provides education for students in Years 1-8. At the time of this report the roll was 86. Māori students make up 57% of the school roll, with 34% identifying as European/Pākehā and 9% of Pacific heritage and other ethnicities.
The school vision, Together we inspire and empower children to make the best choices in life, is underpinned by the school values of (KAPAI) Kindness, Attitude, Participation, Achievement, Identifying.
Part A: Parent Summary
How well placed is the school to promote educational success and wellbeing?
| How well are learners succeeding? | The school is working towards high levels of success and progress for all learners. |
| What is the quality of teaching and learning? | Learners benefit from good quality teaching practice that improves progress and achievement in reading, writing and mathematics. |
| How well does the school curriculum respond to all learners needs? | Learners have sufficient opportunities to learn across the breadth and depth of the curriculum. There is an increasingly consistent focus on supporting learners to gain skills in literacy and mathematics. Learners with complex needs are well supported to achieve their education goals. |
| How well does school planning and conditions support ongoing improvement? | The school is establishing planning and conditions that support improvements in the quality of education for learners. |
| How well does the school include all learners and promote their engagement and wellbeing? | The school successfully promotes learners’ engagement, wellbeing and inclusion. |
| How well does the school partner with parents, whānau and its community for the benefit of learners? | The school is improving its reporting to parents / whānau about their child’s learning, achievement and progress. The school responds well to a wide range of information gathered through community consultation, to inform strategic planning and curriculum decisions. |
| Student Health and Safety | The school board is taking reasonable steps to ensure student health and safety. |
Achievement in Years 0 to 8
This table outlines how well students across the school meet or exceed the expected curriculum level.
Foundation Skills | |
| Reading | A large majority of learners meet or exceed the expected curriculum level. Results are equitable for all groups of learners. |
| Writing | Most learners meet or exceed the expected curriculum level. Results are equitable for all groups of learners. |
| Mathematics | Most learners meet or exceed the expected curriculum level. Results are equitable for all groups of learners. |
Attendance
The school is behind the target of 80% regular attendance.
The school is yet to have a suitable plan to improve attendance.
Regular attendance is improving towards or beyond the target.
Chronic absence is reducing over time.
Assessment
The school is improving its approach and the reliability of its practices to accurately find out about achievement against the curriculum.
Teachers are developing assessment information to adjust teaching practices to ensure ongoing improvement in teaching and student progress.
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 and/or pānui, tuhituhi and pāngarau targets for 2030 and agrees this will need to be a key strategic priority.
An explanation of the terms used in the Parent Summary can be found here: Reporting | Education Review Office
Part B: Findings for the school
This section of the report provides more detail for the school to include in strategic and annual planning for ongoing improvement across the school.
Areas of Strength
Staff have high expectations for student success. Students learn in an inclusive environment. Learners express a strong sense of belonging and enjoy the relationships that they have with staff and other learners across the whole school.
Students requiring additional support are identified and receive targeted support focused on literacy and numeracy.
Implementing structured literacy and numeracy approaches are progressing well and continue as a priority for all staff.
Teachers demonstrate highly collaborative practice with opportunities to plan, share and apply strategies acquired through their participation in professional learning to improve outcomes for learners.
Key priorities and actions for improvement
The agreed next steps for the school are to:
- further strengthen and evaluate the use of achievement and assessment data to inform practice in reading, writing and mathematics across the school
- regularly collate, analyse and interpret progress and achievement data to inform decision making at all levels of the school
- report progress and achievement to the board, staff and community in timely and appropriate ways
- develop an attendance plan and review the effectiveness of current initiatives to increase regular attendance for all students.
The agreed actions for the next improvement cycle and timeframes are as follows.
Within three months:
- implement an attendance strategy that includes informing whānau about how regular absences affect learner engagement and achievement
Every six months:
- leaders analyse attendance data and report, to the board, on the success of attendance strategies and adjust accordingly
- track, analyse and report on learner attendance, progress and achievement information to inform next steps and respond with targeted interventions for priority groups of learners
Annually:
- analyse, evaluate and report schoolwide attendance and achievement data for all groups of learners to the board; strategically plan actions with the community to improve attendance, progress and achievement
- evaluate and report assessment information on learner progress and achievement in reading, writing and mathematics to inform next steps for teaching and learning.
Actions taken against these next steps are expected to result in:
- all students regularly attending school
- improved learner progress, achievement and wellbeing for all learners
- strengthened capability in teaching and learning practices and assessment.
Part C: Regulatory and Legislative Requirements
Board Assurance with Regulatory and Legislative Requirements
All schools are required to promote student health and safety and to regularly review their compliance with legal requirements.
During this review the Board has attested to some regulatory and legislative requirements in the following areas:
Board Administration
Yes
Curriculum
Yes
Management of Health, Safety and Welfare
Yes
Personnel Management
Yes
ERO’s role will be to support the school in its evaluation for improvement cycle to improve outcomes for all learners. The next public report on ERO’s website will be a School Evaluation Report and is due within three 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
Acting Director of Schools
22 May 2025
Education Counts
This website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement. educationcounts.govt.nz/home