Frimley School

What ERO wrote in its latest report

This is ERO’s report of 17 October 2025 — “School Report” — section by section, under ERO’s own headings, in ERO’s own order. Nothing is summarised, shortened or reordered.

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

Frimley School (Hastings) provides education for learners in Years 0 to 6. Of the 545 learners enrolled, 38% identify as Māori , 22% are New Zealand European, 18% Indian and 8% of Pacific Island heritage. A range of other ethnicities comprise the remainder of the school population. The school roll includes a significant number of English Language Learners. A new principal started at the school in 2025.

The school’s vision, Tū Ake Nei , ensures all tamariki stand strong and confident in their language, culture and identity.

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

Expected improvements

The school expected to validate the quality of internal evaluation processes and practices used by the school, leading to improved outcomes for learners.

Findings

The school has systematically strengthened the use of internal evaluation to monitor the impact of school processes and practices on improving outcomes for learners. A culture of high-quality internal evaluation is embedded, and this information informs future school direction.

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.

How well are learners succeeding? Success and progress for all learners is increasing.

What is the quality of teaching and learning? Learners benefit from high 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 rich opportunities to learn across the breadth and depth of the curriculum. There is a consistent focus on supporting learners to gain foundational 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? School planning and conditions to support ongoing improvement to the quality of education for learners are well established.

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 reports usefully and accurately 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 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.

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%

Reading Most learners meet or exceed the expected curriculum level. Results are equitable for all groups of learners.

Writing A large majority of learners meet or exceed the expected curriculum level. Results are equitable for all groups of learners.

Mathematics Almost all learners meet or exceed the expected curriculum level. Results are equitable for all groups of learners.

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.

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.

Assessment information is used well 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 has 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 and mathematics targets and is likely to meet the writing targets by 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

Students learn in an environment that values their language, culture and identity within the learning context. The school’s intentional actions and effective partnerships with whānau, hapū and iwi impact positively on teaching and learning and are aligned to Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

The school’s inclusive approach supports all students, including those with additional needs, to experience success. A range of initiatives provide opportunities to enhance learners' wellbeing, culture and achievement.

Students engage in meaningful learning that focuses on the development of foundation skills.

Structured literacy is embedded schoolwide, and an effective mathematics programme is in place.

Significant improvement in achievement is evident in schoolwide mathematics and in writing for students of Pacific heritage .

Leaders implement a systematic approach to internal evaluation, ensuring that the school knows the impact of its programmes on learner outcomes.

Leaders and teachers work collaboratively to action the school’s vision. Staff continue to strengthen their knowledge of tīkanga Māori, te ao Māori and fluency in te reo Māori.

Powerful community partnerships are highly evident across the school’s multi-cultural community and drive school direction and decision making.

Key priorities

Improve and sustain high rates of regular attendance.

Engage in further professional development to support the implementation of structured learning programmes in mathematics.

Introduce and embed assessments that are aligned to developments in the literacy and mathematics curriculum to measure student progress schoolwide.

Collaborate with the school community to communicate changes to the school curriculum and how learning progress will be reported.

Actions to bring about improvement

Within three months:

leaders implement a plan focused on improving student attendance

Within six months:

leaders and teachers engage in professional learning in the teaching of structured mathematics and the implementation of new assessments in literacy and mathematics

Every six months:

leaders and the School Board review and evaluate the effectiveness of initiatives to improve student attendance and make changes, if required, to better target strategies

leaders report to the School Board regarding the ongoing review of curriculum developments, focusing on literacy and mathematics teaching programmes, and the use of assessment aligned with the curriculum to monitor student progress and inform teaching decisions

Annually:

leaders and the School Board evaluate the effectiveness of initiatives to increase student attendance, strategically plan for more targeted interventions and actions for the next year

leaders and the School Board analyse the achievement of all learners in structured literacy and mathematics and plan actions that will improve the achievement and learning outcomes of all students

leaders monitor community understanding of the curriculum and reporting changes, seeking feedback to ensure parents are informed about student learning.

Expected outcomes

High and improved rates of regular attendance.

Ongoing professional learning that allows staff to further strengthen their professional practice in delivering effective teaching and learning programmes.

Schoolwide assessment practices are embedded, aligned to the curriculum and used to inform teaching and learning.

A well-informed community who understands student progress and achievement in relation to The New Zealand Curriculum .

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

Actions for Compliance

ERO has identified the following area of non-compliance during the board assurance process:

ensure all staff employed have a current police vet (s104 Education and Training Act 2020).

The board has since addressed the area of non-compliance identified.

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

17 October 2025

Read this report on ero.govt.nz →