Birchville School

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

Birchville School provides education for students in Years 1 to 6. The school’s roll is 120, 38% of students are of Māori descent. The school vision is Love to Learn, Learn to Love – Ako ki te Aroha, Aroha ki te ko, which is underpinned by the GEM values of Growth, Empathy, Mana and Self-belief – Te Whanake, Aroha, Mana, and Tū Maīa.

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

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.

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.

Attendance

This section is about school attendance and the progress the school is making towards meeting the Government target of 80% regular attendance.

• The large majority of learners attend school regularly.
• The school is behind 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.
• 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 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

• Teachers use achievement information to plan effective teaching programmes, ensuring students experience success.
• Students actively engage in learning and demonstrate a strong sense of wellbeing and belonging, supported by a variety of successful community initiatives.
• Strategic and goal-oriented leaders drive improvement and set high expectations for teaching and learning.
• The school implements structured literacy in all areas and plans to strengthen its structured mathematics approach. Teachers dedicate one hour per day to reading, writing, and mathematics.
• The curriculum design offers rich, integrated learning opportunities, providing both breadth and depth across all learning areas.
• Leaders and teachers regularly identify and support professional strengths, and development needs to sustain high-quality teaching and improve student outcomes.

Key priorities 

• Embedding consistent, evidenced-based strategies for teaching and learning.
• Effectively responding to students’ strengths and needs to improve outcomes and accelerate learning.
• Implementing strategies to support students to monitor and evaluate their own progress and achievement.
• Strengthening systems and processes for monitoring and improving student attendance.

Actions to bring about improvement 

Within six months:

• leaders and teachers review teaching and learning approaches to see how they help student progress and achievement
• leaders set clear school-wide expectations for a learner-focused approach across the school
• leaders and teachers use attendance data to find and plan action to meet the Government’s attendance target

Every six months:

• leaders and teachers use classroom observations and progress data to evaluate the impact of teaching and learning approaches on student achievement
• teachers set and monitor students’ goals for progress and achievement and review the impact of learning-focused expectations
• leaders and teachers review attendance information and adjust targeted strategies for attendance improvement

Annually: 

• leaders and teachers look at how teaching approaches have improved achievement, attendance, and engagement using what they learn to make improvements
• the School Board and school leaders check attendance information and use this to plan ways to continue to improve attendance.

Expected outcomes

• A consistent, evidenced-based schoolwide approach to teaching and learning, leading to improved progress and achievement for all learners.
• Teachers consistently use learner-focused teaching strategies to engage learners and improve outcomes.
• Students are able to discuss their learning, progress and achievement.
• Improved levels of regular attendance to meet or exceed the Government target of 80%.

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

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

3 November 2025