Hurunui College

The roll ERO recorded, and when

ERO writes a roll into each report it publishes: a count taken for that report, on the day shown, by the review team that was there. The Ministry of Education’s current roll for this school is 190 — the figure at the top of this page, and the one to use for how big the school is now. These are a different measurement by a different body, so they will rarely agree, and a difference between them is not a change in the school.

1. June 2016

   241

   Counted while ERO’s review team was at the school. Education Review Office, report of 23 August 2016

2. September 2012

   227

   Counted while ERO’s review team was at the school. Education Review Office, report of 8 November 2012

We draw no line between these. Each was counted for its own report, years apart, by a different review team, and a roll moves between reviews for reasons none of these figures record — so the difference between any two of them measures nothing.

What ERO wrote in its latest report

This is ERO’s report of 25 February 2025 — “School Evaluation Report” — section by section, under ERO’s own headings, in ERO’s own order. Nothing is summarised, shortened or reordered.

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.

Context

Hurunui College is a rural area school for Years 1 to 13 learners located in Hawarden, North Canterbury. The school’s values are RISE: Respect, Integrity, Service, Excellence - the learners standing tall for what is right as they progress through and graduate from the school.

There are two parts to this report.

Part A: An evaluative summary of learner success and school conditions to inform the school board’s future strategic direction, including any education in Rumaki /bilingual settings.

Part B: The improvement actions prioritised for the school’s next evaluation cycle.

Part A: Current State

The following findings are to inform the school’s future priorities for improvement.

Learner Success and Wellbeing

Achievement across the school varies considerably with higher rates of progress in the first years of the junior school.

A large majority of learners in Years 1 to 8 are achieving at or above curriculum levels in mathematics and reading and a small majority in writing; the school is yet to have Māori learners achieving as well as their peers.

A large majority of learners in Years 9 to 10 are achieving at or above curriculum levels in mathematics and less than half in reading and writing; the school is yet to have Māori learners achieving as well as their peers.

A majority of learners in Years 11 and 12 achieve in Levels 1 and 2 in the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) and less than half of Year 13 learners in NCEA Level 3 and University Entrance; school leadership has prioritised improvement in NCEA achievement.

A small majority of learners are attending school regularly and the school is yet to meet the Government target; improving regular attendance is a school priority .

Conditions to support learner success

School leaders work strategically and collaboratively, improving outcomes for learners.

Leaders across the school work collaboratively to implement and review the annual goals to improve learning outcomes.

Leaders and teachers are taking steps to align the curriculum from Years 1 to 8 into Years 9 to 10, then through the senior qualification years.

Leaders are developing a framework of appropriate teaching strategies for teachers to use consistently when planning how best to meet the specific needs of learners.

Teachers increasingly use a range of evidence-based strategies and a breadth of curriculum to engage the diversity of learners across the school.

Learners in Years 1 to 10 experience an engaging and responsive curriculum; the senior curriculum for the NCEA years is also broad and varied.

Teachers know their students very well and increasingly target learning strategies for each individual.

Teachers of Years 9 to 13 are beginning to understand and implement appropriate teaching practices that meet the differing needs of learners.

Key conditions to support school improvement and success are becoming increasingly embedded.

The board and leaders work together to develop and implement the school’s strategic direction to improve outcomes for learners.

The school is taking steps to develop a bicultural framework across the school, growing capability and understanding of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

There is a positive and supportive culture across the school; learners state they have positive relationships with their teachers and value their learning.

Teachers have a focus on ensuring literacy strategies are used across the school in all curriculum areas and have identified cross-school numeracy as the next step.

Part B: Where to next?

The agreed next steps for the school are to:

in consultation with the community, implement a revised assessment and reporting system for increased learner and whānau engagement, and understanding of the present levels of achievement and next learning steps

continue the aligning of the school curriculum to the revised New Zealand Curriculum changes

teachers use attendance, wellbeing, and achievement data to inform their practice, particularly in the use of inclusive teaching strategies to meet the diverse needs of learners across the school, including NCEA achievement

build teachers’ cultural capability, responsiveness and confidence in mātauranga and te āo Māori for culturally responsive teaching.

The agreed actions for the next improvement cycle and timeframes are as follows.

Within three months:

consult with the community on the revised reporting to whānau and develop a consistent framework for annual reporting to the Board

in consultation with learners, create a schoolwide framework for collecting and responding to learner feedback

review teachers’ present capabilities in mātauranga Māori and te ao Māori and create an appropriate action plan to meet the identified needs

support teachers in their initial understanding and implementation of the revised curriculum and respond to any emerging findings

Every six months:

in response to learner feedback and progress data, review the implementation of inclusive teaching strategies schoolwide and respond to any emerging findings

review and evaluate progress in the implementation of culturally responsive teaching

review and evaluate implementation of literacy strategies and the development of the numeracy focus, and respond to any emerging findings

Annually:

use whānau , learner and teacher feedback to inform annual planning

use attendance, engagement and achievement data to evaluate the effectiveness of teaching practice on learner outcomes to inform annual planning

use the evaluation of the implementation of culturally responsive teaching to inform annual planning.

Actions taken against these next steps are expected to result in:

increased learner regular attendance

improved progress and achievement for all learners

increased teacher capabilities in culturally responsive practices for improved learner engagement and achievement.

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

25 February 2025

About the School

The Education Counts website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement. educationcounts.govt.nz/home

Read this report on ero.govt.nz →