View Hill 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 

View Hill School is a small primary school providing education for learners in Years 1 to 8. It has a roll of around 70 students, almost all who identify as Pākehā | New Zealand European.

The vision of the school is to be A happy place to learn and its values are respect | maanaki, caring | kaitiaki, individuality | takitahi, and excellence | kairangatira.

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

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 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 learners attend school regularly.
• The school is approaching 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.

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 to some extent extended achievement and progress for learners working at or above curriculum levels since the previous review.
• The school is meeting Government reading, writing and mathematics targets and/or pānui, tuhituhi and pāngarau targets set for 2030.

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

• Leaders and teachers have sustained high levels of achievement in reading and mathematics. School leaders recognise the need to accelerate the learning of some learners in writing and this is a priority.  
• Students report a strong sense of belonging in the school. The school’s learning programmes are reflective of the local environment and community.
• Leaders are building trust across the school community and are focused on implementing the school’s strategic priorities. The principal has made changes to strengthen school systems.
• Teachers and leaders have positive relationships with learners and use knowledge of their needs and strengths to plan for learning. Teachers have begun implementing structured approaches in literacy and mathematics.
• Leaders and teachers review their teaching practice to improve outcomes for all learners. Professional learning is linked to the school’s strategic focus.

Key priorities 

• Implement and then review changes to the English and mathematics curriculum requirements.
• Identify areas for professional learning to support implementation of the new English and mathematics curriculum requirements.
• Strengthen evaluative capability across the school, including gathering and responding to learner feedback to guide decision making and improve learner outcomes.
• Engage with families and whānau to formalise plans to improve learner attendance. 

Within six months:

• leaders and teachers develop school guidelines for teaching expectations in mathematics
• leaders develop a framework for the collection and use of learner and family and whānau feedback to review the school’s implementation of strategies and initiatives
• leaders and teachers implement an attendance plan to improve regular attendance.

Every six months:

• leaders and teachers monitor and review ongoing to the curriculum to inform teaching, assessment, and reporting practices
• leaders and teachers consult with the school’s community to evaluate and update attendance strategies to improve regular attendance rates.

Annually:

• leaders and teachers will evaluate the impact of teaching, assessment and reporting practices in reading, writing and mathematics to identify what is effective for learners and areas that need strengthening
• leaders and teachers will evaluate the impact of initiatives to improve attendance and use the results to inform future planning.

Expected outcomes

• Teachers and leaders provide cohesive teaching, assessment and reporting practices in literacy and mathematics.
• Effective evaluation enables learner progress and achievement and school improvement.
• Improved and sustained rates of attendance. 

Regulatory and Legislative Requirements

This section of the report is about how the school meets regulatory and legislative requirements. This includes the provision of education for international students and provision of boarding at a school hostel. 

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

Actions for Compliance 

ERO and the board have identified the following areas of non-compliance during the board assurance process:

• Trial fire evacuations must be undertaken at intervals of not more than 6 months.
  [Section 29 (1) (a), Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Fire Safety, Evacuation Procedures, and Evacuation Schemes) Regulations 2018]
• A workforce safety check must be completed before employment commences.
  [Section 25 (1), Children's Act 2014]

The Board has since  addressed the areas of non-compliance identified.

The next public report on ERO’s website will be a School Report and is due within 4 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

15 September 2025