Aikmans Road , Merivale, Christchurch
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.
Elmwood Normal School provides education for learners in Years 1 to 6. The school’s roll is 510, with a range of ethnicities including 7% of learners of Māori descent and 33% who identify as Asian. The school vision ‘Inspiring Today’s Learners to Be Successful in Tomorrow’s World – Kia whakahihiko ngā akonga ki te whi angitu mō te ao ei to heke mai’ is underpinned by the values: Hiranga - Excellence, Motuhake - Independence, Mahi tahi - Collaboration, Auahatanga - Creativity, Aroha – Respect.
ERO and the school were working together to evaluate how effectively all learners accessed a responsive curriculum.
The school expected all learners to have equitable access to a culturally responsive curriculum that responded to their identified strengths, needs and prior learning. Teachers and leaders aimed to effectively communicate with and support the positive engagement of all learners and whānau. A wide range of strategies are supporting increased engagement and attendance. The leaders have identified that this remains a priority.
Leaders and teachers have undertaken a wide range of professional learning development (PLD) to build a shared understanding and consistent approach to the implementation of new curriculum initiatives. There has been wide consultation with learners and whānau to support the development of curriculum programmes.
| How well are learners succeeding? | Success and progress for all learners is increasing. |
| What is the quality of teaching and learning? | Learners benefit from high 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. |
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 | Most learners meet or exceed the expected curriculum level. Results are equitable for all groups of learners. |
| Mathematics | Most learners meet or exceed the expected curriculum level. Results are not yet equitable for all groups of learners. |
The school is approaching the target of 80% regular attendance.
The school has a suitable plan in place to improve attendance.
Regular attendance is not yet improving towards or beyond the target.
Chronic absence is reducing over time.
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.
The school has a high number of priority learners whose achievement and progress are reflected in the overall school achievement information.
The school has 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 meeting Government reading, writing and mathematics targets set for 2030.
This section of the report provides more detail for the school to include in strategic and annual planning for ongoing improvement across the school.
The agreed next steps for the school are to:
The agreed actions for the next improvement cycle and timeframes are as follows.
Within six months
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 and has completed an annual self review of its implementation of the Code.
At the time of this review there were five international students attending the school.
International students experience high quality education with the opportunity to participate in a wide range of curricular and co-curricular activities. They have full access to the individualised pastoral care and wellbeing systems that operate across the school.
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
Acting Director of Schools
14 March 2025
This website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement. educationcounts.govt.nz/home
This Profile Report was written within twelve months of the Education Review Office and Elmwood Normal School working in Te Ara Huarau, an improvement evaluation approach used in most English Medium State and State Integrated Schools. For more information about Te Ara Huarau see ERO’s website. www.ero.govt.nz
Elmwood Normal School is located in Merivale, Christchurch and provides education for students in Years 1 to 6.
Elmwood Normal School’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are to promote:
inspirational teaching and learning with learners at the centre
an environment that supports future focused teaching and learning
an engaged community and associated partnerships.
You can find a copy of the school’s strategic and annual plan on Elmwood Normal School’s website.
ERO and the school are working together to evaluate how effectively all learners have equitable access to a culturally responsive, localised curriculum.
The rationale for selecting this evaluation is to:
continue to develop and ensure the Elmwood Normal School’s curriculum is culturally responsive and localised to meet the needs of all learners, to address in-school variance, and to affirm students’ different cultural identities
ensure effective planning, co-ordination and evaluation of the school’s curriculum and teaching
support collaboration at every level of the school community.
The school expects to see classroom and curriculum programmes and planning that respond to students’ identified strengths, needs and prior learning. Teachers and leaders will effectively communicate with and support the positive engagement of all students and whānau.
The school can draw from the following strengths to support the school in its goal to ensure all learners have equitable access to a culturally responsive, localised curriculum:
high levels of stakeholder engagement, with a commitment to individual student success
strong leadership that builds relational trust and actively promotes a culture of collaboration and commitment to ongoing improvement, and builds leaders across the school
a rich curriculum that enhances students’ learning through a broad range of targeted learning opportunities and experiences.
Moving forward, the school will prioritise:
continuing to develop students’ learning-to-learn capabilities
building teachers’ data literacy capability and evaluative thinking.
ERO’s role will be to support the school in its evaluation for improvement cycle to improve outcomes for all learners. ERO will support the school in reporting their progress to the community. The next public report on ERO’s website will be a Te Ara Huarau | School Evaluation Report and is due within three years.
Dr Lesley Patterson
Director Review and Improvement Services (Southern)
Southern Region | Te Tai Tini
18 August 2022
The Education Counts website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement. educationcounts.govt.nz/home
As of February 2022, the Elmwood Normal School Board of Trustees has attested to the following regulatory and legislative requirements:
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
For further information please contact Elmwood Normal School Board of Trustees.
The next Board of Trustees assurance that it is meeting regulatory and legislative requirements will be reported, along with the Te Ara Huarau | School Evaluation Report, within three years.
Information on ERO’s role and process in this review can be found on the Education Review Office website.
Dr Lesley Patterson
Director Review and Improvement Services (Southern)
Southern Region | Te Tai Tini
18 August 2022
The Education Counts website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement. educationcounts.govt.nz/home
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.
Elmwood Normal 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 two international students attending the school and no exchange students.
The school has detailed policies, procedures and documentation that provide very clear guidelines and practices to support international students' wellbeing and learning. Parents and caregivers are provided with comprehensive information to guide the enrolment process and what to expect regarding the provision of care and learning for their children.
There is a thorough process for reviewing the provisions for pastoral care for international students, with clear roles and responsibilities to ensuring that international students’ learning and wellbeing needs are effectively met.
International students are well integrated within the school’s learning programmes and activities. They are provided with additional in-class support as needed to ensure they can participate fully in all learning programmes.
Dr Lesley Patterson
Director Review and Improvement Services (Southern)
Southern Region | Te Tai Tini
18 August 2022
The Education Counts website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement. educationcounts.govt.nz/home