Porirua 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 

Porirua School provides education to students in Years 1 to 6. Of the 158 students, 54% of learners identify as Māori and 46% of Pacific heritage.

The school’s vision We are all kaitiaki, supporting students, welcoming everyone - He kaitiaki tātou, e tautoko ana i ngā ākonga, e manaaki ana i ngā tāngata katoa is underpinned by its mission statement of Active learners achieving success with the support of a committed, inclusive learning community.

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

Expected improvements

The school expected to see an alignment of school-wide systems and processes to support acceleration of students’ learning and achievement. They focused on further development of the localised curriculum through strengthening cultural knowledge, perspectives and contexts.

Findings 

The school has strengthened and aligned strategic planning with a clear focus on increasing educational outcomes for learners. The school’s strategic direction is informed by student achievement data, and staff, whānau and student voice.

Curriculum changes are the focus of curriculum development, and staff receive professional learning to embed these. Staff cultural knowledge and capability continue to be supported through connections in the community and targeted staff learning.

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 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 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 not 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.

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

• Collaborative leadership is improvement focused with shared leadership responsibility ensuring that systems, practices, and processes are well known and sustainable.
• Senior leaders are responsive and prioritise students’ wellbeing and engagement for learning.
• Teaching and learning of structured literacy and mathematics is prioritised across all classes.
• Warm, relationships are evident between teachers and students with well understood classroom routines promoting a good pace of learning.
• A comprehensive range of professional learning and development are aligned to Government and school priorities.
• Leaders have strong connections with external agencies which promotes a cohesive response for learners requiring additional support.  
• An extensive range of initiatives to promote positive relationships with whānau are established.

Key priorities

• Increase regular attendance, working towards the Government’s target.
• Accelerate the progress and achievement of all students in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Develop and implement a school-wide approach to gathering, analysing and using data aligned to new curriculum and assessment expectations. 

Actions to bring about improvement 

Within three months:

• leaders implement a robust assessment schedule that aligns with new curriculum and assessment requirements and provides reliable information for reporting, and teaching and learning purposes
• leaders review the school’s attendance strategy to identify effective initiatives and plan actions for improving attendance

Within six months: 

• leaders and teachers embed and monitor schoolwide assessment practices to ensure they continue to align to national requirements and school priorities

Every six months:

• the school Board and leaders analyse attendance and achievement information to know the impact of teaching and learning to inform next steps for learners and resourcing decisions

Annually:

• leaders analyse schoolwide achievement in structured literacy and mathematics, use this data to report to the Board and strategically plan actions to improve the achievement and learning outcomes of all learners
• leaders and the school Board evaluate the effectiveness of the attendance plan initiatives and develop a plan for the following year. 

Expected outcomes

• Improved achievement outcomes and accelerated progress in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Improved 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

Recommendation to the Ministry of Education

ERO recommends that the Secretary for Education consider intervention for an action plan as listed in section 171(1) of the Education and Training Act 2020 in order to bring about the following improvements:

• Student attendance, achievement and engagement.

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

16 December 2025