Cashmere High School

School Evaluation 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.

Context 

Cashmere High School is a large state co-educational secondary school in Christchurch and caters for students in Years 9 to 13. A new principal has recently been appointed. The school values are citizenship, opportunity, vibrancy, and excellence.

There are three parts to this report.

Part A: A summary of the findings from the most recent Education Review Office (ERO) report and/or subsequent evaluation.

Part B: An evaluative summary of learner success and school conditions to inform the school board’s future strategic direction, including any education in Rumaki/bilingual settings.

Part C: The improvement actions prioritised for the school’s next evaluation cycle.

Part A: Previous Improvement Goals 

Since the July 2023 ERO report the school evaluated the extent to which culturally responsive teaching practice, and the monitoring and tracking of student achievement contribute to equity and excellence for all students.

Expected Improvements and Findings 

The school expected to see:

Improved academic outcomes for Māori students:

• The majority of Māori students achieved National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) Level 1, almost all achieved Level 2, and a large majority achieved Level 3. Significant disparity remains for Level 1 and University Entrance.

Improved academic outcomes for students identified as priority learners:

• The progress of priority learners is tracked and monitored throughout schooling; a large majority of identified priority learners achieved NCEA.

Sustained level of excellence and merit endorsements at NCEA Level 1 to3.

• Overall endorsements at NCEA Levels 1 to 3 have been sustained.
• There has been a decrease in learners achieving excellence endorsements at Levels 1 to 3.

Part B: Current State

The following findings are to inform the school’s future priorities for improvement.

Learner Success and Wellbeing 

• Positive, upward trajectories in progress and achievement outcomes for students in Year 9 and 10 are evident; almost all students achieve the literacy and numeracy requirements for NCEA.
• Most learners leave school with at least NCEA Level 2; girls achieve NCEA at a higher rate than boys in Levels 1 to 3; a small majority of students achieve University Entrance.
• Students with additional learning needs are effectively supported by an experienced learning support team
• The majority of students attend school regularly; the school is not yet achieving the Government’s target for regular attendance; chronic absence is not yet reducing over time.

Conditions to support learner success

• A range of evaluative evidence is used by faculties to evaluate the effectiveness of teaching practices and is linked to the identification of students’ next learning steps and teacher professional development to improve teaching and learning.
• Staff and students state a strong sense of belonging to the school community and enjoy engagement with the diverse range of curricular and cocurricular opportunities at the school.
• Effective faculty and department leaderships supports teachers to use innovative strategies which engage students well in relevant learning contexts.

• The curriculum is responsive, purposeful and focused on equipping students with the knowledge, skills and dispositions to contribute positively to their community.
• An explicit, evidence-based teaching framework and programme of regular classroom observations supports effective teaching practice.
• The bicultural capability of staff and students is successfully supported by school-developed frameworks and professional learning.

• Leaders and teachers undertake meaningful community consultation, useful data analysis and gather student feedback and ideas; this informs ongoing improvements to meet the needs of learners.
• The board is strongly supportive of the principal, staff and students; strategic goals are improvement focused, and resourcing is carefully considered for resulting initiatives
• A review of counselling services has led to increased resourcing
• Internal evaluation practices support the gathering, analysis and use of evidence of student learning and outcomes to improve individual and collective teaching practices.

Part C: Where to next? 

The agreed next steps for the school are to: 

• improve the percentage of students who attend school regularly and reduce the percentage of chronic absences.
• increase the percentage of students who attain University Entrance and investigate transition pathways to strengthen opportunities for future study
• further strengthen equity of achievement for Māori and Pacific students in NCEA
• implement changes to guidance services to improve student access and operations.

The agreed actions for the next improvement cycle and timeframes are as follows:

Within six months:

• consult the community to develop and refine processes to support more students to attend school regularly
• strengthen academic mentoring to support students to plan and achieve University Entrance
• enhance faculty reporting on achievement to track, monitor and better support the progress of Māori and Pacific students

Annually:

• track, monitor and evaluate the effectiveness and impact of strategies to improve attendance
• evaluate and report on the impact of the refined school systems for increased student achievement
• track, monitor and evaluate the effectiveness and impact of strategies to improve Māori and Pacific student achievement
• evaluate the impact of changes to guidance services.

Actions taken against these next steps are expected to result in:

• higher attendance levels that meet government targets and a reduction in chronic absence
• an increase in the percentage of students who attain University Entrance
• equitable and excellent outcomes for all Māori and Pacific learners
• strengthened access to and operation of the school guidance services.

ERO’s role will be to support the school in its evaluation for improvement cycle to improve outcomes for all learners. The next public report on ERO’s website will be a School Evaluation Report and is due within three 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 (Acting)

6 May 2025

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