State or state-integrated schools/kura that are new, merged, newly state-integrated or changing their status have a New School Assurance Review after they have completed their Readiness Review.
We do the review within the first year of the school’s operation.
The purpose of the New School Assurance Review is to provide assurance:
- that the school is operating in accordance with the vision articulated by the board of trustees
- to the elected board and community that the school is well placed to provide for students.
The review allows us to confirm the judgements made during the Readiness Review
It allows us to see the school/kura in action and to confirm the judgements made during the Readiness Review.
We are interested in particular areas of the school’s performance. There will be specific terms of reference decided to say what these areas will be for the school.
We help the school to consider how well they are doing
We use the Readiness Review report and existing ERO tools, in particular the School Evaluation Indicators, to help the school/kura consider how well they are doing.
We consider the context of the new school, and evaluate:
- the quality of systems established to monitor and report on how well students are learning
- how effective the school’s curriculum is likely to be in promoting and supporting student learning
- how well the school is likely to meet the needs of learners who are at high risk of poor outcomes
- how well placed the school is to sustain and improve its performance.
We will ask the school to check their compliance with legal requirements
To do this, the board of trustees and principal/tumuaki will need to complete the School Self Audit and Assurance Statement.
Read the School Self Audit and Assurance Statement.
We will then discuss the school's compliance with them.
If the checking process indicates any significant problem, we may decide to investigate further.
We will check in depth the provision of a safe physical and emotional environment for students and staff.
We publish the New School Assurance report
The New School Assurance Report is public. It reflects the early stage of school development and our judgement of factors likely to influence the school’s future performance.
The school will usually begin its first full ERO evaluation about 18 months to two years after opening.