Our research

The Prime Minister’s Youth Mental Health Project aims to improve the mental health of young people aged 12 to 19 years. One initiative of this project is a national evaluation of the current provision of guidance and counselling in schools.

The Education Review Office (ERO) evaluated how well 44 schools and five wharekura provided guidance and counselling for students.

In this evaluation Partnership with Whānau Māori in Early Childhood Education, ERO focused on the extent to which:

• services understood and valued the identity, language and culture of Māori children and their whānau, particularly when the child and whānau enter the service
• managers and educators built positive relationships with the whānau of Māori children; and
• each service worked in partnership with the whānau of Māori children. 

This is the latest report in the series of ERO's national evaluation reports about the implementation of the National Standards in English-medium schools with students in Years 1 to 8.The evaluation involved 237 schools reviewed by ERO in Terms 3 and 4, 2010. The report indicates that schools are still at varying stages of working with the National Standards.

The evaluation looked at four aspects of international education (schools' self review, pastoral care, quality of education and social integration) and concluded that most schools were highly effective or generally effective in all four aspects.

ERO evaluated preparedness to work with the National Standards within The New Zealand Curriculum in 228 schools during Terms 1 and 2, 2010. ERO found that most schools were well prepared or had preparation under way, and in many cases the preparations focused on aligning existing benchmarks and expectations with the standards.

The Education Review Office (ERO) undertook a national evaluation of the implementation of self review in 397 services in Terms 1, 2 and 3, 2008. The evaluation focused on how well self review was understood, supported and implemented in each service and the extent to which it led to improved management and educator practice.