Somerville Intermediate 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. 

About the School  

​​Somerville Intermediate is a large Year 7 and Year 8 school. The school features a modern learning environment and serves a multicultural population. Leaders and teachers value excellence and creating an environment where every learner can be the best they can be.​ 

Part A: Parent Summary 

How well placed is the school to promote educational success and wellbeing? 

How well are learners succeeding? ​​Success and progress for all learners is increasing.​ What is the quality of teaching and learning? Learners benefit from ​excellent 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 ​rich​ opportunities to learn across the breadth and depth of the curriculum. 

There is ​a consistent​ focus on supporting learners to gain 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? ​​School planning and conditions to support high quality education for learners are driving excellent school performance.​ How well does the school include all learners and promote their engagement and wellbeing? ​​The school successfully 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 ​reports usefully and accurately​ 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 Safety ​​The school board is taking reasonable steps to ensure student health and safety.​ 

Achievement in Years 0 to 8 

This table outlines how well students across the school meet or exceed the expected curriculum level. 

Foundation Skills 

 Reading 

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

Results are ​becoming more equitable​ for all groups of learners. 

Writing 

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

Results are ​becoming more equitable​ for all groups of learners. 

Mathematics 

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

Results are ​becoming more equitable​ for all groups of learners. 

Attendance 

The school is ​exceeding​ 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 

​​The school uses an appropriate approach and reliable practices to 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 

The school ​has​ 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 significantly​ 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. 

An explanation of the terms used in the Parent Summary can be found here: Reporting | Education Review Office 

Part B: Findings for the school 

This section of the report provides more detail for the school to include in strategic and annual planning for ongoing improvement across the school. 

Areas of Strength 

​​Learners have regular opportunities to reflect on their own learning, and to improve their own skills through a broad range of curricular activities, including mātauranga Māori activities.   

​A strategic and experienced leadership team ensure school planning and conditions support high expectations for all learners. Actions to support students' wellbeing and inclusion are regularly evaluated and prioritised. 

​Structured mathematics, reading and writing are consistently well taught across the school, by highly skilled teachers with a deep understanding of the learners’ needs. Additional support for English language learners is seamlessly woven into programmes, through repetition, scaffolded learning and vocabulary-rich tasks.  

​The school values improving each learner’s dispositions and critical thinking to support successfully transitions into secondary school.​ 

Key priorities and actions for improvement  

The agreed next steps for the school are to: 

• further increase regular attendance and accelerate learning so that 80% of students achieve at or above national expectations in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 8.
• evaluate the impact of teacher strategies focused on accelerating students’ progress and achievement to further support equitable outcomes for Māori and Pacific learners  
• monitor and respond to the changing requirements and impacts of the new mathematics and statistics curriculum
• work with the new English curriculum for Years 7 and 8 to consider its implications for school improvement priorities for staff professional learning and development.  

Every six months: 

• implement structured reading, writing and mathematics interventions for targeted learners to further accelerate progress, including the impact on Māori and Pacific students
• teachers and leaders collaborate to share strategies to increase regular attendance and to accelerate progress to enhance learner outcomes
• leaders and teachers engage in professional development to support the implementation of the new mathematics and statistics curriculum and collect within-school data in relation to learner preparedness for secondary school mathematics programmes
• teachers and leaders collect within-school reading and writing data to gauge learner preparedness for success at secondary school programmes 

Annually: 

• collaborative teaching inquiry completed to evaluate the impact of teacher interventions on learner outcomes
• leaders and teachers evaluate the impacts of shared practices focused on increasing attendance and accelerating learner outcomes, including the impacts on Māori and Pacific students
• leaders and teachers consider any possible implications of the new mathematics and statistics curriculum for the school programme, and if necessary, make any adjustments to further support students to meet the requirements of the corequisites at secondary school.
• leaders and teachers evaluate the new English curriculum in relation teaching practice and the support needed for learners to successfully progress to secondary school reading and writing programmes  

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

• accelerated progress and higher achievement for learners in reading, writing and mathematics including the positive impacts from increased regular attendance
• accelerated practices for learners whose entry levels are low, and those practices which further support equitable outcomes for Māori and Pacific learners, will be embedded throughout the school
• leaders and teachers having implemented the requirements of the new mathematics and statistics curriculum and have a clear understanding of the requirements for the content and skills needed for success at secondary school
• leaders and teachers having a clear understanding of the new English curriculum progress outcomes for Year 7 and Year 8 to enable learners to achieve literacy corequisites earlier at secondary school.  

Part C: Regulatory and Legislative Requirements 

Provision for International Students  

Background 

The Education Review Office reviews schools that are signatories 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. 

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 ​23​ international students attending the school, and ​0​ exchange students.   

​​Somerville Intermediate School provides a high-quality education and inclusive pastoral support for its international learners.  

​Regular feedback about provisions for international learners is sought and acted on. International learners and their families consistently report their positive experiences of education at the school.​ 

Board Assurance with Regulatory and Legislative Requirements 

All schools are required to promote student health and safety and to regularly review their compliance with legal requirements. 

During this review the Board has attested to some regulatory and legislative requirements in the following areas: 

Board Administration 

​​Yes​ 

Curriculum 

​​Yes​ 

Management of Health, Safety and Welfare 

​​Yes​ 

Personnel Management 

​​Yes​  

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 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) 

​​22 May 2025​ 

Education Counts 

This website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement. educationcounts.govt.nz/home