Pirinoa School

The same report — the board assurance report of 6 March 2024 — also sets out actions for compliance: the non-compliance ERO identified during that process. This is that section of the report in full, in ERO’s words.

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

the school needs to provide career education and guidance for all students in Year 7 and above [Section 103, Education and Training Act 2020]

the school needs to provide students opportunities for learning second or subsequent languages in Years 7 and 8 [New Zealand Curriculum]

the school must adopt a statement on the delivery of the health curriculum, at least once every two years, after consultation with the school community [Section 91, Education and Training Act 2020]

the school must ensure that physical restraint policies, procedures and guidelines are known and implemented [Section 99 – Section 101, Education and Training Act 2020; Education (Physical Restraint) Rules 2023, Ministry of Education]

the school must ensure that child protection policies, procedures and guidelines are known and implemented [Section 18 &19, Children’s Act 2014; Section 15 Oranga Tamariki Act 1989]

hazards and the response to these need to be recorded and reported to the Board monthly, and the board must be satisfied with compliance [Health and Safety at Work Act 2015]

regular emergency drills need to be undertaken, documented, and reported to the Board.

[National Civil Defence Emergency Plan Order 2015; Fire Safety, Evacuation Procedures, and Evacuation Schemes Regulations 2018]

The board has taken steps to address the following areas of non-compliance identified:

the school must ensure Education Outside the Classroom (EOTC) policies and procedures are consistently implemented and that risk management planning for any trips meets requirements [Health and Safety at Work Act 2015; Education Outside the Classroom Guidelines, Ministry of Education]

the school must ensure that safety checking of children’s workers, and periodic rechecking of existing children’s workers which includes police vetting occurs [Children’s Act 2014, and regulations 5–8 of the Children’s (Requirements for Safety Checks of Children’s Workers) Regulations 2015]

the school needs to check a primary identity document and a secondary identity document, required for safety checking of workforce [Children’s Act 2014].

Read this board assurance report on ero.govt.nz →

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 36 — 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 2019

   50

   Counted while ERO’s review team was at the school. Education Review Office, report of 12 August 2019

This is one count taken for one report. It says what the roll was on that day, and nothing about how the roll has moved.

What ERO wrote in its latest report

This is ERO’s report of 6 March 2024 — “Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report” — section by section, under ERO’s own headings, in ERO’s own order. Nothing is summarised, shortened or reordered.

Background

This Profile Report was written within 21 months of the Education Review Office and Pirinoa School working in Te Ara Huarau , an improvement evaluation approach used in most English Medium State and State Integrated Schools. For more information about Te Ara Huarau see ERO’s website. www.ero.govt.nz

Context

Pirinoa School is a rural primary school in the Southern Wairarapa . It caters for students in years 1 to 8.

Pirinoa School ’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are:

to provide highly effective teachers who embed their teaching in sound pedagogy and reflective practices

for all students to experience a deep, meaningful, and well-balanced curriculum that is goal driven and where learning is enhanced through the school values and the key competencies

to engage all stakeholders in the community and have them actively share in the life of the school.

You can find a copy of the school’s strategic and annual plan on Pirinoa School ’s website.

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate how well the implementation of the school’s new localised curriculum is supporting all students to be active participants in their learning, and the impact this has on learner outcomes.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is for trustees, leaders and teachers to know:

the impact of the new localised curriculum on learner engagement, progress and achievement.

The school expects to see:

consistent and effective teaching and assessment practices

confident students who can successfully articulate their learning and use their learning to make progress towards their goals

culturally responsive teaching and learning practices that promote equity and excellence for all learners.

Strengths

The school can draw from the following strengths to support its goal for all students to be active participants in their learning through their localised curriculum:

collaborative and positive relationships across the school

existing positive connections with the community

opportunities within the Kahui Ako to work collaboratively to support this goal.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise:

ensuring documentation is in place to clearly articulate expectations for teaching and learning through a culturally responsive and localised curriculum

strengthening the use of engagement and achievement information to inform strategic focus and direction

ensuring robust assessment and moderation practices underpin shared and known achievement information

enhancing the use of the local environment to explicitly promote learning through a rich place-based curriculum.

ERO has concerns about

The urgent need to:

implement robust evidence-based systems and processes to enable the board and school leadership to effectively use, report and scrutinise wellbeing, progress and achievement information schoolwide

ensure governance and leadership understand their legislative requirements, including the health and safety of students and staff.

Recommendation

ERO recommends that the school access the New Zealand School Trustees Association (NZSTA) training for boards to provide support for understanding their roles and responsibilities and legislative requirements.

ERO’s role will be to support the school in its evaluation for improvement cycle to improve outcomes for all learners. ERO will support the school in reporting their progress to the community. The next public report on ERO’s website will be a Te Ara Huarau | School Evaluation Report and is due within three years.

Shelley Booysen Director of Schools

6 March 2024

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 →