Crofton Downs Primary 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 

Crofton Downs Primary School provides education for learners in Years 1 to 6. Of the 172 learners enrolled, 58% identify as New Zealand European/Pākehā, 23% as Asian and 8% as Māori. The school’s values are Manaakitanga - kindness and care for people, Kaitiakitanga - guardianship and protection of the environment and Whanaungatanga - relationships and connectedness. 

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

Expected improvements

The school evaluated how effectively programmes and interventions enhanced, contributed and strengthened learners’ sense of belonging, understanding of their learning and sustained achievement.  

Findings 

Students’ achievement is supported and accelerated through skilled, highly inclusive teaching practices. Interventions and targeted support programmes are continually evaluated to enable all learners to make sustained improvement. 

Student’s confidence in their identity and sense of belonging has been enhanced through the weaving of te reo Māori and te ao Māori throughout learning programmes. Almost all Māori learners achieve well in reading, writing and mathematics. Proactive consultation with whānau continues to guide and shape this ongoing school improvement initiative. 

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 1 to 6

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 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 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 is developing good quality planning to increase the rate of progress for all groups of students.
• The school has significantly 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 and is likely to meet them by 2030.

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 are supported to achieve well in reading, writing and mathematics.
• The school provides a wide range of initiatives to support learners’ progress, wellbeing and sense of belonging.
• Strategic explicit structured literacy and mathematics approaches and programmes are embedded.
• A rich, inclusive school curriculum reflects the aspirations of whānau and enables all students to see themselves and their cultures in teaching and learning programmes.
• Leaders and teachers work collaboratively to grow professional capability and have a shared understanding of quality teaching practice through staff inquiries and evaluation and schoolwide initiatives.
• Regular attendance is improving due to targeted strategies in place.

Key priorities

• Further strengthen explicit teaching and assessment of reading, writing and mathematics programmes to increase equitable outcomes for all learners.
• Further extend strong learning partnerships with whānau and the school community.
• Improve and sustain high rates of regular attendance.

Actions to bring about improvement 

Within six months:

• leaders report to the school Board on the ongoing impact of learning programmes and assessment designed to accelerate and improve equity of achievement
• the Board and leaders work strategically together with whānau to develop initiatives designed to enrich learning relationships and partnerships between home and school
• the Board and leaders continue to embed in-depth planning, monitoring and reporting to improve regular attendance

Every six months:

• leaders review the impact of teachers’ professional practice through classroom observations and learners’ progress and achievement, and report planned next steps to the board
• the Board and leaders review the impact of initiatives developed to strengthen learning partnerships with whānau and the wider school community
• the Board and leaders review the impact of attendance planning on improving student attendance and make changes if needed to better target these strategies to sustain attendance levels

Annually:

• leaders and the Board analyse and report on the impact of strengthened teacher practice on schoolwide achievement in literacy and mathematics before setting annual improvement targets
• the Board, leaders and teachers with whānau evaluate the effectiveness of learning partnership initiatives and shape planning for next year
• leaders, teachers and the Board analyse and report on the impact of attendance planning to set annual attendance priorities.

Expected outcomes

• Consistent, high quality teaching programmes in reading, writing and mathematics that accelerates progress and increase equity in learner outcomes.
• Strong learning-centred partnerships between the school, whānau and community promote and support learning, achievement and wellbeing.
• Improved and sustained high rates of regular attendance.

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.

No international students were enrolled at the time of the ERO review.

The school undertakes regular self-reviews required under the Code of Practice 2021.

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

11 February 2026