Chelsea School

What ERO wrote in its latest report

This is ERO’s report of 12 February 2026 — “School Report” — section by section, under ERO’s own headings, in ERO’s own order. Nothing is summarised, shortened or reordered.

School 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.

Every New Zealand state and state integrated school has an ERO review at least once every four years to evaluate what is working well for learners and what needs to be improved.

About the School

Chelsea School provides education for learners in Years 0 to 6. The school roll is 405 students and includes 48% New Zealand European/Pākehā, 38% Asian, 6% Māori , 6% Middle Eastern, African or Latin American and 2% from other ethnic groups. An experienced principal was appointed Term 1, 2024. Sustained roll growth is a feature of the school. The school’s vision is Growing Great Learners - Te Whakatipu Ākonga Miharo.

Education Counts provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement, school enrolments and school zones. educationcounts.govt.nz/home

An explanation of the terms and judgements used in this report can be found here: Reporting | Education Review Office

Improvement and progress

This section is about the progress the school has made since the October 2022 ERO report. It includes an explanation of the expected improvements and findings.

Expected improvements

The school focused on how well assessment for learning is being implemented across the curriculum. The priority was on establishing a common language of learning schoolwide and further strengthening assessment for learning practices to support students’ progress and learning. The school expected to see families have increasing visibility and understanding of how assessment practices support the learning journey for their child and further opportunities for students to take the lead in their learning.

Findings

Schoolwide learner achievement in reading, writing and mathematics has improved. School leaders and teachers established a common language of learning schoolwide and have further strengthened assessment for learning practices to support students’ progress and learning.

Survey information indicates families have an increased understanding how assessment practices support their child’s learning journey. The school continues to work on further opportunities for students to take the lead in their learning.

What we know about learner success

This section provides a summary of learner success and wellbeing. The judgments are based on the ERO School Improvement Framework and the evidence provided to ERO during the evaluation.

How well are learners succeeding? Learners experience high levels of success and make excellent progress; outcomes are similarly high for all groups.

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 foundational 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.

Achievement in Years 0 to 6

This section is about learner achievement. It outlines how well learners across the school meet or exceed the expected curriculum level of The New Zealand Curriculum in foundational skills.

Less than a third Less than half Small majority Large majority Most Almost all

0 to 33% 34 to 49% 50 to 64% 65 to 79% 80 to 90% Over 90%

Reading Almost all learners meet or exceed the expected curriculum level. Results are equitable for all groups of learners.

Writing A large majority of learners meet or exceed the expected curriculum level. Results are not yet equitable for all groups of learners.

Mathematics Almost all learners meet or exceed the expected curriculum level. Results are equitable for all groups of learners.

Attendance

This section is about school attendance and the progress the school is making towards meeting the Government target of 80% regular attendance.

The large majority of students attend school regularly.

The school is approaching the target of 80% regular attendance.

The school has a suitable plan in place to improve attendance.

Regular attendance is improving towards or beyond the target.

Chronic absence is reducing over time.

Assessment

This section is about how the school assesses learner progress and achievement.

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.

Progress

This section is about how well the school supports all learners to make sufficient progress.

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 and mathematics targets set for 2030; and is making progress towards meeting Government writing targets set for 2030.

Next steps for improvement

This section provides more detail for the school to include in its strategic and annual planning for ongoing improvement across the school. It outlines what the school is doing well and identifies actions for improvement.

Areas of strength

Students build warm, respectful relationships with their peers and adults, fostering a strong sense of belonging.

Students demonstrate sustained progress and success across reading, writing and mathematics teaching and learning programmes.

A collaborative leadership approach values all staff contributions across roles and responsibilities to focus on delivering the breadth and depth of the curriculum.

School leaders actively focus on the ongoing strengthening of classroom practice and staff professional development based on evidence informed strategies.

Staff demonstrate a shared responsibility for the ongoing monitoring and reviewing of the impact of changes to teaching and learning practices.

Staff proactively access programmes and external expertise for students who require support with their learning.

Staff and the Chelsea School Board foster purposeful community engagement by incorporating whānau voice and building learning partnerships to support learner outcomes.

Key priorities

Extend the use of differentiated follow-up strategies in structured teaching and learning approaches to respond to students’ readiness, interests, and pace.

Evaluate new writing approaches to identify their impact and value in lifting progress and achievement in writing.

Implement strategies to continue to improve regular attendance.

Actions to bring about improvement

Every six months:

leaders and teachers monitor the use of differentiated follow-up tasks within structured classroom approaches to respond to students’ readiness, interests, and pace of learning programmes

staff monitor the progress and achievement of student outcomes in writing and adapt approaches as required

senior leaders monitor and report to the Board attendance on the impact of initiatives for improving regular attendance and adjust strategies to support further increases

Annually:

leaders evaluate the impact of writing approaches on student progress and achievement to plan for future professional development aligned to school learning models and strategic decisions

leaders and the Board review attendance and on the impact of initiatives for improving regular attendance and plan next steps.

Expected outcomes

Students engage more deeply and progress at their own pace through differentiated follow-up and tasks tailored to their readiness and interests.

Students experience sustained high levels of progress and achievement in writing.

Consistent increased student regular attendance.

Regulatory and legislative requirements

This section of the report is about how the school meets regulatory and legislative requirements. This includes the provision of education for international students.

Board assurance with regulatory and legislative requirements

This section of the report reviews the school's policies, procedures, documentation, and checks that it meets all regulations, maintains a safe environment, and supports students' wellbeing.

During this review the Board has attested to meeting regulatory and legislative requirements in the following areas:

Board administration

Yes

Curriculum

Yes

Management of health, safety and welfare

Yes

Personnel management

Yes

Provision for international students

This section is about the quality of the provision of education for international students enrolled at the school.

Findings

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 5 international students attending the school.

The school provides high quality education, pastoral care and programmes for international students who are learning English as an additional language. Students are encouraged and well-supported to integrate into the school and local community. The school has good internal evaluation processes for annual review.

The next public report on ERO’s website will be a School Report and is due within four 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

12 February 2026

Read this report on ero.govt.nz →