Carisbrook School
Full Primary · State
- Year levels
- 1–8
- Total roll
- 335
- Enrolment zone
- No
- Gender
- Co-Educational
Where is it, and how do I get in touch?
- Address
- 217 South Road, Caversham, Dunedin
- Territorial authority
- Dunedin City
- Phone
- 03-4558315
- office@carisbrook.school.nz
- Directions
- Get directions
Other schools nearby: schools in Dunedin · schools in Otago
What would the day look like?
The practical things this school states on its own website — the hours, the uniform, the term dates, and how children get there. These are the school’s own words, not the Ministry’s record and not ERO’s.
Quoted from this school’s own website, as we read it on 13 August 2026. A web page carries no date of its own, so that is the day we read it — not a statement that any of this is still the case. Each line quotes the words it came from.
- Uniform
- Required
The only part of our compulsory school uniform is our new Carisbrook Polo Top
- Required
- Where to buy the uniform
- http://carisbrook.nzuniforms.com/catalog/school-uniform-1104238.htmx
Our uniforms are available through [NZ Uniforms](http://carisbrook.nzuniforms.com/catalog/school-uniform-1104238.htmx).
- http://carisbrook.nzuniforms.com/catalog/school-uniform-1104238.htmx
What does the school say about itself?
Quoted, not summarised. Every school describes itself well, so this is here to be read as the school’s own case rather than as a finding — and a school that states nothing simply has no row.
Quoted from this school’s own website, as we read it on 13 August 2026. A web page carries no date of its own, so that is the day we read it — not a statement that any of this is still the case. Each line quotes the words it came from.
- In their words
- Carisbrook Values are 'Respectful, Responsible and Resilient.'
Who goes here?
Ethnicity breakdown of the total roll, shown as context. Not ranked, and not compared against any average.
- European
- 172
- Māori
- 84
- Pacific
- 90
- Asian
- 43
- MELAA
- 31
- Other
- 0
- International
- 0
Roll by year level and age
Shown as context, not ranked, not compared to any average. As at 30 June 2026, from the same annual return as the roll count above.
| Māori | Pacific | Asian | MELAA | Other | European/ Pākehā | International students | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year 01 | 11 | 13 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 43 |
| Year 02 | 14 | 11 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 31 | 0 | 46 |
| Year 03 | 12 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 23 | 0 | 34 |
| Year 04 | 8 | 15 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 23 | 0 | 44 |
| Year 05 | 14 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 20 | 0 | 38 |
| Year 06 | 15 | 12 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 21 | 0 | 44 |
| Year 07 | 17 | 13 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 27 | 0 | 50 |
| Year 08 | 17 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 50 |
| Total | 108 | 81 | 41 | 32 | 1 | 185 | 0 | 349 |
| Māori | Pacific | Asian | MELAA | Other | European/ Pākehā | International students | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age 05 | 11 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 37 |
| Age 06 | 12 | 12 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 30 | 0 | 48 |
| Age 07 | 14 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 25 | 0 | 38 |
| Age 08 | 8 | 14 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 43 |
| Age 09 | 13 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 21 | 0 | 38 |
| Age 10 | 15 | 12 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 21 | 0 | 44 |
| Age 11 | 8 | 13 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 38 |
| Age 12 | 22 | 4 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 25 | 0 | 52 |
| Age 13 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 11 |
| Total | 108 | 81 | 41 | 32 | 1 | 185 | 0 | 349 |
Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0
Student engagement
Age-standardised stand-down rate per 1,000 students — 2024
161%
| Carisbrook School | 161% |
|---|---|
| Otago Region | 36.8% |
| Full Primary | 35.6% |
| State | 40.2% |
| New Zealand | 37.1% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | 36.9% |
|---|---|
| Male | 277.5% |
| Māori | 250.8% |
| Pacific | 114.8% |
| Asian | 0% |
| Other | 0% |
| European/Pākehā | 151% |
| Total | 161% |
Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0 — Table 2: Comparison stand-down rates data (2024)
Age-standardised suspension rate per 1,000 students — 2024
19.6%
| Carisbrook School | 19.6% |
|---|---|
| Otago Region | 4.6% |
| Full Primary | 3.9% |
| State | 4.5% |
| New Zealand | 4.1% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | 0% |
|---|---|
| Male | 38.7% |
| Māori | 0% |
| Pacific | 27.8% |
| Asian | 0% |
| Other | 0% |
| European/Pākehā | 23% |
| Total | 19.6% |
Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0 — Table 2: Comparison suspension rates data (2024)
Age-standardised exclusion rate per 1,000 students — 2024
6.7%
| Carisbrook School | 6.7% |
|---|---|
| Otago Region | 2% |
| Full Primary | 1.7% |
| State | 1.9% |
| New Zealand | 1.8% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | 0% |
|---|---|
| Male | 13.2% |
| Māori | 0% |
| Pacific | 0% |
| Asian | 0% |
| Other | 0% |
| European/Pākehā | 11.8% |
| Total | 6.7% |
Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0 — Table 2: Comparison exclusion data (2024)
About the school
- Equity Index (EQI)
- 520
- Boarding
- No
- Language of instruction
- All students taught in English/other setting
- Urban / rural
- Major urban area
- Date opened
- 26 January 2012
The Equity Index is used by the Ministry to allocate equity funding. It describes the socio-economic barriers a school’s students face, not how good the school is. How the Equity Index works
What did ERO find?
The Education Review Office reviews every school and publishes what it finds in full. We quote ERO’s report here, section by section, in ERO’s own words and order, and link to it. We do not summarise a report, pick a line out of one, or turn one into a score. How ERO reviews schools
- Reports ERO holds
- 5
- Last reviewed
- 21 May 2024
- Latest report
- School Evaluation Report
- Report type
- Evaluation report
- Board assurance
- The board attested to all areas (21 May 2024)
A board assurance statement is the board’s own account of whether it took all reasonable steps to meet its legal obligations, on the date shown. It is not ERO’s finding. ERO reports separately, in the same report, on any non-compliance it identified during that process.
The board assurance report of 21 May 2024 carries no actions-for-compliance section — the section ERO uses when it names non-compliance it identified. That is what this report contains; it is not ERO saying it found none. Other reports ERO holds for this school may say something different.
The roll ERO recorded, and when
ERO writes a roll into each report it publishes: a count taken for that report, on the day shown, by the review team that was there. The Ministry of Education’s current roll for this school is 335 — the figure at the top of this page, and the one to use for how big the school is now. These are a different measurement by a different body, so they will rarely agree, and a difference between them is not a change in the school.
June 2017
337
Counted while ERO’s review team was at the school. Education Review Office, report of 11 September 2017
This is one count taken for one report. It says what the roll was on that day, and nothing about how the roll has moved.
What ERO wrote in its latest report
This is ERO’s report of 21 May 2024 — “School Evaluation Report” — section by section, under ERO’s own headings, in ERO’s own order. Nothing is summarised, shortened or reordered.
School Evaluation 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.
Context
Carisbrook School is a full primary school, located in Dunedin. It provides education for learners in Years 1 to 8. A new principal began in February 2023. Some changes in the senior leadership team occurred at the same time. Carisbrook School’s mission is to seek excellence together to foster confident, inquiring, active, lifelong learners. Its values are for students to be respectful, responsible and resilient.
There are three parts to this report.
Part A: A summary of the findings from the most recent Education Review Office (ERO) report and/or subsequent evaluation.
Part B: An evaluative summary of learner success and school conditions to inform the school board’s future strategic direction, including any education in Rumaki /bilingual settings.
Part C: The improvement actions prioritised for the school’s next evaluation cycle.
Part A: Previous Improvement Goals
Since 2021, ERO and the school have worked together to evaluate the effectiveness of staff professional learning and development (PLD) and its positive impact on outcomes for students.
Expected Improvements and Findings
The school expected to see:
Further development in teachers’ thinking (growth mindset), and pedagogy (teaching practice).
Teachers’ participation in ongoing professional learning and development (PLD) has strengthened teaching practice and given students greater opportunities to succeed in all areas across the curriculum.
Teachers have applied PLD learning in the teaching of mathematics so improved student achievement in mathematics is evident.
Increased staff capability in evaluating what is/is not working well and what they can do to improve.
An October 2022 survey of teacher and teacher aides showed most found PLD opportunities over the previous 18 months to be valuable in improving their teaching practice and students’ learning.
Learning information for 2022 and midyear 2023 indicates significant improvement in student achievement in mathematics overall, but little change in reading and writing compared with 2021.
Teachers reflect on the impact of their practice and programmes to improve students’ learning. This process needs to be strengthened and more evaluative.
The greatest shift that occurred in response to the school’s actions has been seen in the embedding of a new school-wide strategy for the teaching of mathematics. Students’ attitude to mathematics is particularly favourable with improved achievement levels.
Part B: Current State
The following findings are to inform the school’s future priorities for improvement.
Learner Success and Wellbeing
The school is working towards equitable and excellent outcomes for learners.
Following professional learning and development, student achievement has increased, and the majority of students are achieving at or above expected levels in mathematics.
Students’ achievement in mathematics is higher than in literacy.
Māori students are achieving at similar levels to other groups.
Students with additional needs are making very good progress in their academic learning and social development.
The significant disparity in literacy achievement for boys, particularly in writing, is a priority.
Conditions to support learner success
New school leadership is taking steps to pursue improvement goals and targets.
Leaders are establishing relationships of trust and collaboration across the school community.
School leaders scrutinise achievement data to identify the students needing to make accelerated progress and set targets.
Systems and processes for consultation are progressing to create learning partnerships with the school’s community.
The school is working towards providing consistently effective teaching and learning for all students.
Teachers are provided with useful professional learning and development that is enhancing their teaching practice.
Teachers demonstrate a culture of learning, reflection and collaborative inquiry.
Most teachers reported they valued the professional learning and development offered which has helped grow understanding and practice.
Key conditions to support student success are well established.
An inclusive learning environment has a focus on equity for all.
The close monitoring of learners with diverse and high needs informs the provision of increasingly integrated and effective supports.
Students in the mathematics intervention programme made steady progress. While still achieving below their peers, they have grown in confidence and in their attitudes towards mathematics.
Resourcing decisions by the board are increasingly aligned with addressing students’ needs.
Part C: Where to next?
The agreed next steps for the school are to:
substantially improve overall student achievement in writing, with a particular focus on boys
raise student achievement in literacy, including through strengthened learning partnerships with parents | whānau
evaluate the impact of the restructured school day on students’ engagement and achievement in literacy.
The agreed actions for the next improvement cycle and timeframes are as follows:
Within three months:
The board will be presented with a strategy to raise student achievement in literacy.
The school and parents | whānau will begin to partner to enhance students’ learning, particularly in literacy.
The board and senior leaders will consult with the school community about the structure of the learning day.
Every six months:
Teachers and senior leaders will monitor student achievement in reading and writing in an ongoing way. Once a term they will identify and respond to overall progress challenge for learners who might be falling behind and those who need extending.
The principal will report to the board on progress and achievement in literacy.
Leaders and teachers will continue to evaluate the strategies used to support improved achievement in literacy in an ongoing way.
Annually:
Senior leaders will review student progress and achievement alongside the effectiveness of the strategies used to ensure the most effective strategies are being used.
The school will gather parents | whānau voice on the success of the partnership and involvement with their children’s learning.
The board, principal and teachers will evaluate the effectiveness of the changed structure to the learning day to see if better student engagement is being achieved.
Actions taken against these next steps are expected to result in:
improved student engagement, defined by positive attitudes to their learning, and improved progress and achievement
strengthened collaboration and engagement with parents | whānau for more informed decision making about all students’ learning.
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 Evaluation 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
Shelley Booysen Director of Schools
21 May 2024
About the School
The Education Counts website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement. educationcounts.govt.nz/home
Read the full report on ero.govt.nz →
All 5 reports ERO holds for this school
ERO reviews a school every few years — around four years between reviews is the usual cycle — so an older date here reflects where a school sits in that cycle, not how it is doing.
Source: Education Review Office, CC BY 4.0.
Roll date: 30 June 2026 (2026).