Birkdale Intermediate

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 

Birkdale Intermediate provides education for students in Years 7 and 8. The school roll of 231 includes 38% New Zealand European/Pākehā, 20% Pacific, 19% Asian, 18% Māori and 5% from other ethnic groups. The school has nine English medium classes and one Māori medium class. The school vision is for ‘a quality education in a caring environment - Mā te manaakitanga te kounga o te mātauranga e whanake.’

The school appointed a new principal in mid-2023. A new SENCo was appointed in 2024 and transitioned to a deputy principal role in 2026.

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

Expected improvements

The school intended to improve the way it delivers and improves student outcomes by strengthening its subject expert teaching model and curriculum. This included expectations for higher achievement, more robust analysis of assessment data, clearer identification of learner competencies and next steps, and consistently high-quality teaching informed by professional learning.

Findings 

The school has yet to fully achieve the intended improvement outcomes. With a leadership change in mid-2023 and the significant change to the curriculum delivery in 2025, moving from a specialist teaching model to a traditional homeroom/whānau-based teaching model, the senior leadership team has focused on strengthening teaching capability. The move to whānau-based classes has assisted with developing schoolwide systems that support a positive learning environment. Momentum for improving teaching and learning programmes focused on lifting rates of progress and achievement is evident.  

Other findings 

Recent organisational changes by senior leaders continue to rebuild a positive trajectory of improvement. This includes a sustained focus on growing the school roll after a period of decline. 

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?The school is working towards high levels of success and progress for all learners.What is the quality of teaching and learning?Learners benefit from good 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 sufficient opportunities to learn across the breadth and depth of the curriculum.

There is an increasingly consistent focus on supporting learners to gain skills in 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?The school is establishing planning and conditions that support improvements in the quality of education for learners.How well does the school include all learners and promote their engagement and wellbeing?The school reasonably 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 is improving its reporting 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 SafetyThe school board is taking reasonable steps to ensure student health and safety.

Achievement in Years 7 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

A large majority of learners meet or exceed the expected curriculum level.

Results are not yet equitable for all groups of learners.

Writing

A small majority of learners meet or exceed the expected curriculum level.

Results are not yet equitable for all groups of learners.

Mathematics

A small majority of learners meet or exceed the expected curriculum level.

Results are not yet 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 students attend school regularly.
• The school is approaching the target of 80% regular attendance.
• The school has a suitable plan in place to improve attendance.
• Regular attendance is improving towards or beyond the target.
• Chronic absence is not yet 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.

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 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 making progress towards meeting Government reading, writing and mathematics targets for 2030 and agrees this will need to be a key strategic priority.

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

• Learners experience a welcoming, inclusive and orderly environment supported by caring staff, with a strong focus on wellbeing and engagement.
• Higher expectations for teaching and planning contribute to more consistent classroom routines and learning focused relationships between learners and staff.
• Targeted teacher professional development supports greater consistency in teaching practices in mathematics and increased cohesion in literacy programmes.
• Community consultation informs school improvement priorities and continues to support leadership actions for building stronger learning partnerships with parents and whānau.
• A focus on strengthening connections with local school networks and access to support agencies and resources continues.  
• Tikanga Māori practices continue to embed schoolwide, reflecting a strong commitment to culturally responsive schoolwide practices.

Key priorities

• Increase rates of progress and achievement in reading, writing and mathematics
• Consolidate structured teaching approaches, including the analyse of individual student gains between Years 7 and 8.
• Strengthen schoolwide use of reliable assessment data to identify next steps and adjust teaching practices so that more learners make expected or accelerated progress.
• Build coherent schoolwide evaluative capability through regular data analysis, monitoring and reporting of student achievement focused on improving progress, achievement and equity.
• Increase student attendance with a particular focus on Terms 3 and 4, so that more learners regularly attend school and sustain their progress and engagement in learning.

Actions to bring about improvement 

Within six months:

• senior leaders develop a coherent schoolwide evaluation framework to regularly monitor, analyse assessment data and report ongoing progress and actions to increase achievement and equity
• staff continue to implement structured literacy and mathematics professional development to accelerate rates of progress and achievement in reading, writing and mathematics
• staff embed the school attendance management plan, ensuring consistent systems are in place to improve and sustain higher regular attendance levels across the school year

Every six months:

• leaders evaluate the consistency of structured literacy and mathematics practices across teams, identifying good practices and where further support is required
• teachers analyse progress and achievement information to evaluate the impact of structured teaching approaches and adjust teaching to accelerate progress and achievement for all students, including those requiring targeted support
• senior leaders review data reliability and its moderation to enable consistent assessment practices and teachers to identify learner’s next steps and plan accordingly
• senior leaders and the Birkdale Intermediate school Board review attendance data and the impact of targeted strategies, adjust actions to improve regular attendance and respond to emerging patterns during the year

Annually:

• leaders and teachers, use the evaluation framework to analyse student progress and achievement patterns to identify the impact of teaching programmes, with a focus on priority learners and to reduce disparity in outcomes
• leaders report analysed schoolwide achievement data to the school Board to clearly show learners’ progress and achievement in reading, writing and mathematics, including the progress made between Years 7 and Year 8
• senior leaders review regular attendance trends and report on the impact of targeted strategies and identify priorities for sustaining ongoing improvements. 

Expected outcomes

• Improved rates of progress and student achievement in reading, writing and mathematics from quality structured teaching and learning programmes. 
• Increased schoolwide teacher assessment capability with reliable reading, writing and mathematics data to inform high quality teaching practices
• Strengthened schoolwide evaluative capability, with comprehensive, well-analysed progress and achievement data that informs decision making and shows gains made by Year 8 learners.
• Sustained higher rates of regular attendance including Terms 3 and 4. 

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. 

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

Provision for international students 

This section is about the quality of the provision of education for international students enrolled at the school.

Findings

The school is a signatory to the Education (Pastoral Care of Tertiary and International Learners) Code of Practice 2021 established under section 534 of the Education and Training Act 2020. The school has attested that it complies with all aspects of the Code and has completed an annual self-review of its implementation of the Code.

At the time of this review there were no international students attending the school.

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

14 May 2026