Hornby High School

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 

Hornby High School is a state co-educational school that provides education for students in Years 7 to 13. The school roll of 945 includes 37% of students who identify as Pākehā / NZ European, 35% Asian, 25% of students identify as Māori and 13% of Pacific heritage. Students can identify as more than one ethnicity. 

A new principal was appointed in 2023 and, since that time, three new deputy principals and one assistant principal have been appointed. Hornby High School is a member school in the Manaiakalani Outreach Programme which promotes a Learn, Create, Share approach to teaching and learning.

The school’s vision is A Centre for Creative Excellence; the school’s values are Commitment, Achievement, Resilience, and Respect. 

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

The school focused on evaluating how they can better measure successful student outcomes and the strategic initiatives that have had the most impact on learners.

Expected Improvements

The school expected staff to gather and use evidence to inform teaching and learning at all levels. Teachers were required to maintain a relentless focus on accelerating progress for all learners who needed it. This involved identifying what was working and what was not to help raise achievement and accelerate progress for individual students. A particular focus was placed on improving parity in achievement and pathways for Māori and Pacific learners. 

Findings

There have been significant changes to senior and middle leadership. The newly formed leadership team has worked with staff to identify school improvement priorities and is implementing changes to school organisational structures and systems. These initiatives are in the early stages, and the next step is for the school to evaluate their effectiveness in raising student achievement. 

The school developed their pastoral care system and enhanced coordination of learning support. A new approach to assessing student achievement in the junior school and professional learning and development for teachers in structured literacy and numeracy practices were introduced. Improving achievement and accelerating progress for students remains a priority. 

What we know about learner success

The judgments in this section are based on the ERO School Improvement Framework and the evidence provided to ERO during the evaluation.

Less than a third

Less than half 

Small majority 

Large majority 

Most 

Almost all 

0 to 33%  

34 to 49% 

50 to 64% 

65 to 79% 

80 to 90% 

Over 90%

Learner Success and Wellbeing 

This section provides a summary of learner success and wellbeing.   

Improvement is required to ensure all learners are attending regularly, reaching their academic potential, and achieving equitable outcomes.

• Most learners leave school having achieved National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) Level 1. A small majority of students achieve Level 2, and less than one-third achieve Level 3.
• Most learners achieve the NCEA reading corequisite, and a large majority achieve the writing and numeracy corequisites by the end of Year 12. Achievement outcomes vary significantly across learner groups, highlighting ongoing equity challenges.
• The school is developing systems and processes to consistently track and monitor junior learners’ progress against the New Zealand Curriculum levels.
• A significant proportion of learners enter the school below expected curriculum levels. The school has identified the need to accelerate their progress.
• Learners report a strong sense of inclusion, belonging and connection within the learning environment. They demonstrate a clear understanding of behaviour expectations and engage with attendance strategies.
• A small majority of students attend school regularly. The school is implementing a range of targeted strategies to improve attendance. 

Conditions to support learner success

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

School leaders work collaboratively to drive improvement across a range of areas of the school.

• Leaders focus on raising expectations and strengthening support to improve academic outcomes for all learners.
• School leaders and teaching staff recognise student diversity and are developing schoolwide approaches that respond to the learning needs of a wide range of learners.
• The leadership team works together to build staff and leadership capability to implement school improvement priorities.
• Leaders and teachers foster positive, respectful relationships to support learner engagement.

Teaching and curriculum are developing to respond to the diverse needs of learners.

• Teachers are working towards consistently applying evidence-based teaching strategies to address students’ diverse learning needs.
• Monitoring and building literacy and numeracy skills of learners is a priority across all levels of the school.
• Teachers increasingly adapt the curriculum and teaching practices to provide all students with appropriate challenge in their learning and the opportunity to succeed.
• Students report that teachers build respectful relationships and are responsive to their needs.

Schoolwide systems are developing to enhance learning, engagement and wellbeing outcomes for all learners.

• Leadership is actively strengthening structures, systems and processes to create a positive, settled environment for learning.
• School leaders are committed to developing staff understanding of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and related initiatives, with a focus on improving learner engagement and success, and improving equity of outcomes.
• The school is developing action plans to improve Māori and Pacific achievement and engagement, working in consultation with the school community to provide more targeted and culturally responsive support for learners. 

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 actions for improvement. 

 Key Priorities

• Improve achievement outcomes and equity in learning for all groups of learners.
• Develop and embed effective, consistent teaching practices that meet the needs of learners.
• Strengthen the collection, analysis and reporting of learning information, including student feedback, to inform decision-making at all levels.
• Grow tikanga, te reo Māori and culturally responsive practices throughout the school, to improve learner engagement and attendance.
• Regularly review and strengthen strategies to improve attendance.

Actions to bring about improvement

Within three months:

• leaders develop a framework for effective, consistent teaching practice
• leaders develop an effective system for collecting, analysing and reporting learning information in the junior and middle school
• leaders and teachers review and refine current attendance strategies

Within six months:

• leaders provide professional learning opportunities for staff to build their capability in gathering, analysing and using learning information effectively
• leaders and teachers analyse and respond to findings from the school’s review into culturally responsive practices
• leaders review and refine a planned process for regular reporting of learning area information to the Board

Every six months:

• leaders and teachers analyse and use data to identify learners needing targeted support and address equity gaps
• leaders monitor the implementation of consistent, effective teaching practices
• leaders review and monitor the growth of tikanga, te reo Māori and culturally responsive practices
• leaders analyse attendance information and refine strategies based on insights

Annually:

• the school Board and leaders review learner achievement, attendance and engagement information, and identify areas for ongoing improvement to guide future strategic direction and improvement
• leaders evaluate the impact of culturally responsive approaches on improving student engagement and attendance and use student and community feedback to guide next steps.

Expected outcomes

• Improved equity in learning and achievement outcomes for all learners.
• Consistent, high-quality teaching practices embedded across the school.
• Well-developed systems for gathering, analysing and using learning information to inform and drive continuous improvement.
• Increased learner engagement and regular attendance across all groups.

Recommendation to the Ministry of Education

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

• assessment practices for Years 7 to 10
• tracking and monitoring of students’ progress and achievement over time.

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