5 Childers Terrace , Kilbirnie, Wellington
View on mapTēnā 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.
St Patricks School (Kilbirnie) is located in Wellington and provides education for learners in Years 1 to 8. At the time of the review there were 124 students on the roll. The majority of these are English Language Learners. There are 54% Asian students and 23% MELAA students. The school’s values of social justice, unity, resilience, aroha and respect reflect the faith and aspirations of the community.
| How well are learners succeeding? | The school is working towards high levels of success and progress for all learners. |
| What is the quality of teaching and learning? | Learners benefit from good 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 sufficient opportunities to learn across the breadth and depth of the curriculum. There is an increasingly 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? | The school is establishing planning and conditions that support improvements in the quality of education for learners. |
| 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 is improving its collection and use 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. |
This table outlines how well students across the school meet or exceed the expected curriculum level.
Foundation Skills | |
| Reading | A small majority of learners meet or exceed the expected curriculum level. Results are becoming more equitable for all groups of learners. |
| Writing | Less than half of learners meet or exceed the expected curriculum level. Results are becoming more equitable for all groups of learners. |
| Mathematics | A small majority of learners meet or exceed the expected curriculum level. Results are becoming more equitable for all groups of learners. |
The school is approaching the target of 80% regular attendance.
The school is developing a suitable plan to improve attendance.
Regular attendance is improving towards or beyond the target.
Chronic absence is reducing over time.
The school is improving its approach and the reliability of its practices to accurately find out about achievement against the curriculum.
Teachers are developing assessment information to adjust teaching practices to ensure ongoing improvement in teaching and student progress.
The school is developing 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.
This section of the report provides more detail for the school to include in strategic and annual planning for ongoing improvement across the school.
Students report a strong culture of inclusion and acceptance. A wide range of initiatives to accelerate students’ learning and enhance their wellbeing and sense of belonging are in place.
A rich curriculum reflects the school’s culturally diverse context, faith values and whānau aspirations. Learning programmes are engaging and extend students’ interests, strengths and knowledge.
Structured literacy and mathematics are prioritised across all classes. Learners at risk of not achieving are supported, and many have made accelerated progress.
Leaders and teachers work collaboratively to grow professional capability and a shared understanding of quality teaching practice through ongoing staff inquiry.
Targeted professional learning builds strong teacher practice for improvements in student achievement and learning outcomes.
The agreed next steps for the school are to:
The agreed actions for the next improvement cycle and timeframes are as follows.
Every six months:
Annually:
Actions taken against these next steps are expected to result in:
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.
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.
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:
Yes
Yes
Yes
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)
30 April 2025
This website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement. educationcounts.govt.nz/home
St Patrick’s School, in Kilbirnie, Wellington, is a Catholic special character school catering for children in Years 1 to 8. Many of the children on the growing roll of 120 are from backgrounds where English is a second language.
The shared vision is to “prepare children for the future by continually challenging them to achieve personal excellence guided by Catholic principles and values” and “together in faith and learning”. The curriculum has a clear focus on integrating the school values of Love - Aroha;
Respect - Te Tapu o Te Tangata; Unity - Whanaungatanga; Social Justice - Tika; and
Resilience - Manawaroa.
The school’s annual plan indicates it is seeking to raise levels achievement levels in writing for all and improve outcomes for Pacific children.
Leaders and teachers regularly report to the board, schoolwide information about outcomes for students in the following areas:
The student group reflects the cultural diversity in the community.
At the time of this ERO review an acting principal was fulfilling the role.
The school has been involved in the Ministry of Education (MoE) funded programmes, Accelerated Learning in Literacy (ALL) and Positive Behaviour for Learning (PB4L). It is part of the Wellington Catholic Kāhui Ako.
In 2017, most students achieved at and above nationally recognised benchmarks in reading and a large majority in mathematics. Achievement levels in these areas are similar to those reported in the January 2015 ERO report. In writing, a small majority of students met expectations, however levels of achievement were lower in 2017 when compared to 2016.
School reported data shows that achievement levels in reading, writing and mathematics increase as students move through the school.
Māori students achieve at levels similar to their peers within the school. Pacific students as a group achieve less well in reading, writing and mathematics when compared to other groups. Indian and Asian students, the largest group, are achieving well.
The school is effective in accelerating learning and achievement for some of those students whose progress needs it. Many of those students whose learning has been identified make good progress towards meeting expectations in literacy and mathematics.
Many students who enter the school with high second language learning needs make accelerated progress in oral language and literacy learning over their first few years of schooling.
Students with complex and additional needs are well supported and make good progress, and some experience increased rates of progress.
School leaders have successfully established positive conditions for learning and teaching. Teachers are collaborative and collegial, sharing a collective approach to improving outcomes for students.
The school has given priority to, and successfully developed, positive relationships with parents and whānau. Well considered and respectful partnerships that benefit children’s learning are encouraged and fostered. Māori whānau and Pacific parents have opportunities to meet as groups and provide input into curriculum developments.
The school provides a caring and inclusive community of learning for children. Diversity is valued and celebrated. Positive, respectful and productive relationships are fostered throughout the school. Learning spaces are calm, purposeful and student centred. A sense of belonging is promoted and strong connections with the school are evident. Teachers include students in decisions about their learning. Older children are supported to lead and mentor their younger peers.
The school’s curriculum is responsive to students’ culture and identity. It provides a good foundation for them to learn and achieve within the breadth and depth of The New Zealand Curriculum. Te reo me ngā tikanga Māori are part of classroom programmes and linked to authentic contexts for learning. Well-considered and suitable assessment tools are used to identify those at risk of not achieving and to measure students’ level of achievement and progress in literacy and mathematics. Review of curriculum provision for older students has led to a stronger focus on inquiry learning and children taking more ownership of their learning.
The school is strongly focused on developing oral language in the early school years, in response to the diverse language needs of many students. Trustees regularly receive good information about children’s achievement and progress. Well considered interventions and appropriate use of external agencies, if required, support children’s learning and wellbeing. During the period of involvement in externally funded and facilitated professional development programmes, school data shows levels of achievement improved for many students involved.
Annual goals clearly identify groups of students whose learning require improvement. To improve practice, target setting needs to focus more closely on accelerating the progress for all identified students towards specific expectations. This should further assist the school in evaluating its success and progress towards achieving it priorities.
A play-based approach to learning for younger children is being considered as a way to further promote oral language development. Leaders recognise the need to strengthen the assessment of oral language learning in order to measure the impact and value of this new initiative on improving outcomes for second language learners.
Leaders should further strengthen and fully implement the recently introduced appraisal framework to support all teachers to build their practice. Aligning the process to whole school priorities and ensuring next steps for development are established, should assist teachers to continue to improve.
Teachers are encouraged to reflect on their effectiveness. Sharpening the inquiry focus should assist teachers to determine decisions about next steps for their development. Leaders recognise some areas of achievement have not been sustained and integrating new learning into teaching practices for all children requires improvement.
Internal evaluation requires strengthening to better determine the effectiveness of learning practices and school operation on improving outcomes. This should better inform teachers’ and leaders’ knowledge of what has the biggest impact on raising achievement and support next steps for continued development.
Changes in personnel on the board have occurred and succession planning is in place. Trustees should continue to develop their capacity and effectiveness.
Before the review, the board and principal of the school completed the ERO board assurance statement and self-audit checklists. In these documents they attested that they had taken all reasonable steps to meet their legislative obligations related to the following:
During the review, ERO checked the following items because they have a potentially high impact on student safety and wellbeing:
The school is a signatory to the Code of Practice for the Pastoral Care of International Students (the Code) established under section 238F of the Education Act 1989. The school has attested that it complies with and meets all aspects of the Code. At the time of this review there was one international student.
ERO’s evaluation confirmed that the school’s self-review process for international students is thorough.
The school has effective systems in place for providing pastoral care, promoting achievement and supporting involvement in the life of the school and the wider community.
For sustained improvement and future learner success, the school can draw on existing strengths in:
For sustained improvement and future learner success, priorities for further development are in:
[ERO will provide an internal evaluation workshop for trustees and senior leaders.]
ERO is likely to carry out the next external evaluation in three years.
Alan Wynyard
Deputy Chief Review Officer Central (Acting)
Te Tai Pokapū - Central Region
16 April 2018
| Location | Kilbirnie, Wellington. |
| Ministry of Education profile number | 3019 |
| School type | Full Primary (Years 1 - 8) |
| School roll | 120 |
| Gender composition | Male 55%, Female 45% |
| Ethnic composition | Māori 8% Pacific 17% Indian 26% South East Asian 15% MELA 17% African 10% Pākehā 7% |
| Provision of Māori medium education | No |
| Review team on site | February 2018 |
| Date of this report | 16 April 2018 |
| Most recent ERO report(s) | Education Review January 2015 Education Review November 2011 Education Review September 2009 |