- ERO evaluates and reports on the education and care of children and young people in early childhood services and schools.
Pine Hill School (Dunedin) is a small school where students of all ages know each other well. The school is situated on large grounds. Students have access to a range of spaces to enhance their learning and explore during break times. The extra classrooms are purposefully used to support students' learning in the arts and other curriculum areas. Students told ERO that they appreciate their small class sizes where teachers are able to give them individual help with their learning.
Students come from diverse backgrounds and cultures. Teachers know the students and their families well. They are accepting of and keen to celebrate students’ individual differences and family backgrounds. Teachers are finding ways to strengthen this cultural responsiveness by engaging in meaningful conversations with parents.
The board, principal and teachers place high importance on student wellbeing so that students feel warmly welcomed and have a strong sense of belonging that puts them in the ‘right space’ to learn.
Students spoke confidently about how the ‘school is their place and the home of their learning’.
The community is very supportive of the school. Many parents volunteer their time to work with individual children and share their expertise.
Other key features are the:
The school has made very good progress in addressing the areas identified for review and development in the 2012 ERO report. These included:
The school makes effective use of learning information to make positive changes to students’ engagement, progress and achievement.
The principal has identified that some students come with lower levels of readiness for school. Teachers have purposefully adapted programmes to respond to this challenge. They demonstrate a sense of urgency to have these students achieving at or above the National Standards by the end of their time in the school. Achievement information shows that most students who stay until the end of Year 6 achieve at or above the National Standards in reading, writing and mathematics. Students who need extra help with their learning are well supported through additional programmes and skilful teacher aides.
Students make very good use of learning information to:
Teachers use learning information well to:
The principal makes effective use of learning information to:
Trustees receive regular reports about students' progress against the achievement targets. They ask questions about how well students are being supported to make the necessary progress and what else can be done to accelerate progress.
Parents receive useful information in plain language about how well their child is achieving across all curriculum areas and how they can help at home.
Students benefit from a curriculum that effectively promotes and supports them to enjoy their learning and make appropriate progress.
Students engage well in the wide range of learning experiences teachers provide in response to their interests, needs and abilities. Teachers place a strong focus on literacy and mathematics while maintaining the breadth of the curriculum. They purposefully integrate ICT into many aspects of students’ learning.
Students benefit from high-quality teaching across the school. Teaching is varied, well paced and engaging. Teachers gather students’ ideas and preferences and respond to them.
The principal and teachers work hard to maintain purposeful partnerships with families to support students’ learning and engagement. They place a strong focus on helping students and families know the value of attending school and being on time for key learning to happen.
Student achievement in each curriculum area is reported to the board. Reports include what is going well and what needs to be improved. The board requires teachers to make the curriculum interesting and engaging for students. Trustees allocate funds to support aspects of the curriculum they see as important.
The school’s values are well integrated into teaching and known by the students.
The principal and teachers agree that it would be beneficial to evaluate how well students’ learning and behaviour show the school’s values in action and how well the values support students’ learning.
The school effectively promotes and supports success for Māori students. Teachers know Māori students and their families well. The principal and the teachers place a strong focus on celebrating and engaging Māori students in culturally appropriate ways. The board, principal and teachers regularly consult with Māori families about the aspirations they have for their children’s learning.
The school effectively promotes and supports success for Pacific students. Teachers know Pacific students and their families well. The principal and teachers place a strong focus on celebrating and engaging students in culturally appropriate ways. Pacific families are able to share the aspirations they have for their children’s learning and how the school can best reflect their culture. The school is actively involved in the Ministry of Education's Pacific Plan initiatives to improve learning outcomes for students and strengthen family involvement with the school.
The school is well placed to sustain and improve its performance.
Trustees and the principal work collaboratively to decide how the school needs to develop in the future. They develop action plans each year to show clearly how they intend to achieve the goals from the long-term plan. Trustees receive regular reports about how well the annual plan is being implemented.
Parents and students can regularly share their ideas and opinions in surveys or in other informal ways on a range of topics related to how well the school is supporting students. The school responds well to the suggestions made and preferences shared.
The principal is leading and managing the school well. She:
The board strategically funds professional learning and development (PLD) with an expectation that it will have a positive impact on identified areas of need. Trustees want to know about the positive impact teachers can show as a result of their PLD experiences. The board has useful and well documented processes for governance. Trustees carry out their governance roles well and ask useful questions about how well the school provides for students and what can be improved. They record process and outcomes of their work in a clear way that is likely to guide future boards effectively. They have useful succession planning to support continuity for future trustees.
The board and principal agree that the next steps for the school are to ensure reports to the board:
The school is a signatory to the Code of Practice for the Pastoral Care of International Students established under section 238F of the Education Act 1989. No international students were enrolled at the time of the ERO review.
Before the review, the board of trustees and principal of the school completed the ERO Board Assurance Statement and Self-Audit Checklists. In these documents they attested that they had taken all reasonable steps to meet their legislative obligations related to:
During the review, ERO checked the following items because they have a potentially high impact on student achievement:
Students benefit from a wide range of interesting learning experiences. Students appreciate the small class sizes where teachers give them individual help with their learning. Teachers celebrate students’ individual differences and family backgrounds. Students benefit from high-quality teaching across the school. The school is well governed and managed.
ERO is likely to carry out the next review in three years.
Graham Randell Deputy Chief Review Officer Southern Select Region
16 March 2015
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Location |
Pine Hill, Dunedin |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
3801 |
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School type |
Contributing (Years 1 to 6) |
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School roll |
44 |
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Number of international students |
0 |
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Gender composition |
Boys: 26 Girls: 18 |
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Ethnic composition |
NZ European/Pākehā Māori Pacific Other |
20 10 7 7 |
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Review team on site |
November 2014 |
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Date of this report |
16 March 2015 |
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Most recent ERO report |
Education Review Education Review Education Review |
February 2012 September 2008 November 2005 |
Pine Hill School (Dunedin)
