Nelson Christian Academy
Full Primary · State : Integrated
- Year levels
- 1–8
- Total roll
- 315
- Enrolment zone
- No
- Gender
- Co-Educational
Where is it, and how do I get in touch?
- Address
- 100 Marsden Valley Road, Stoke, Nelson
- Territorial authority
- Nelson City
- Phone
- 03-5477082
- office@nca.school.nz
- Website
- http://www.nca.school.nz
- Directions
- Get directions
Other schools nearby: schools in Nelson
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
Girls have a choice between plain black skirts, shorts or long pants. - Boys have a choice between plain black shorts or long pants.
- Required
Who goes here?
Ethnicity breakdown of the total roll, shown as context. Not ranked, and not compared against any average.
- European
- 190
- Māori
- 21
- Pacific
- 18
- Asian
- 105
- MELAA
- 8
- 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 | 3 | 4 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 26 | 0 | 38 |
| Year 02 | 4 | 5 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 44 |
| Year 03 | 3 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 0 | 48 |
| Year 04 | 2 | 3 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 21 | 0 | 35 |
| Year 05 | 3 | 2 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 33 |
| Year 06 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 32 |
| Year 07 | 5 | 1 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 0 | 41 |
| Year 08 | 4 | 4 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 31 |
| Total | 28 | 23 | 101 | 7 | 0 | 173 | 0 | 302 |
| Māori | Pacific | Asian | MELAA | Other | European/ Pākehā | International students | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age 05 | 2 | 4 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 21 | 0 | 33 |
| Age 06 | 3 | 4 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 41 |
| Age 07 | 4 | 1 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 0 | 46 |
| Age 08 | 2 | 3 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 23 | 0 | 41 |
| Age 09 | 4 | 1 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 32 |
| Age 10 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 32 |
| Age 11 | 4 | 1 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 35 |
| Age 12 | 4 | 3 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 34 |
| Age 13 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 8 |
| Total | 28 | 23 | 101 | 7 | 0 | 173 | 0 | 302 |
Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0
Student engagement
Age-standardised stand-down rate per 1,000 students — 2024
55.2%
| Nelson Christian Academy | 55.2% |
|---|---|
| Nelson Region | 49.5% |
| Full Primary | 35.6% |
| State : Integrated | 16.2% |
| New Zealand | 37.1% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | 19.2% |
|---|---|
| Male | 88.2% |
| Māori | 302% |
| Pacific | 0% |
| Asian | 15.1% |
| Other | 511.5% |
| European/Pākehā | 53.2% |
| Total | 55.2% |
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
6.3%
| Nelson Christian Academy | 6.3% |
|---|---|
| Nelson Region | 4.9% |
| Full Primary | 3.9% |
| State : Integrated | 1.6% |
| New Zealand | 4.1% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | 0% |
|---|---|
| Male | 11.8% |
| Māori | 88.7% |
| Pacific | 0% |
| Asian | 0% |
| Other | 0% |
| European/Pākehā | 0% |
| Total | 6.3% |
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
0%
| Nelson Christian Academy | 0% |
|---|---|
| Nelson Region | 2.4% |
| Full Primary | 1.7% |
| State : Integrated | 0.5% |
| New Zealand | 1.8% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | 0% |
|---|---|
| Male | 0% |
| Māori | 0% |
| Pacific | 0% |
| Asian | 0% |
| Other | 0% |
| European/Pākehā | 0% |
| Total | 0% |
Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0 — Table 2: Comparison exclusion data (2024)
About the school
- Equity Index (EQI)
- 449
- Boarding
- No
- Language of instruction
- All students taught in English/other setting
- Urban / rural
- Large urban area
- Date opened
- 1 February 1977
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
- 3
- Last reviewed
- 7 August 2023
- Latest report
- Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report
- Report type
- Profile report
- Board assurance
- The board attested to all areas (7 August 2023)
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 7 August 2023 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 315 — 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.
March 2019
205
Counted while ERO’s review team was at the school. Education Review Office, report of 12 June 2019
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 7 August 2023 — “Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report” — section by section, under ERO’s own headings, in ERO’s own order. Nothing is summarised, shortened or reordered.
Background
This Profile Report was written within 14 months of the Education Review Office and Nelson Christian Academy 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
Context
Nelson Christian Academy is a special character school whose mission is to provide a biblically based, Christ-centred education equipping students in Years 1 to 8 for effective service and leadership. The school is located in the Marsden Valley, near Nelson, and is a member of Stoke Tāhunanui Kāhui Ako .
Nelson Christian Academy’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are:
raising student achievement through targeted and deliberate teaching practice
celebrating and nurturing cultures, languages, identities and wellbeing
developing a responsive curriculum that will connect to students’ lives, community and environment.
You can find a copy of the school’s strategic and annual plan on Nelson Christian Academy’s website.
ERO and the school are working together to evaluate growth of professional capability and collective capacity that fosters the framework for a Christian-character and localised curriculum, with culturally responsive teaching and learning.
The rationale for selecting this evaluation is:
achievement data shows scope to accelerate progress for more students in the core learning areas, and to ensure that by Year 8, the majority are secure in their knowledge
the school is growing shared planning, teaching and assessment practices and guidelines to support staff capability and consistency, guided by a School Achievement Function Practitioner (SAF) for mathematics
leaders are keen to collaborate with staff to create a graduate profile document with clarity about the learning pathway across the school at each stage from Years 1 to 8, guiding teaching and learning
strategic planning prioritises equity and excellence for Māori students, and staff are involved in professional development to grow culturally responsive pedagogy to enhance teaching approaches.
The school expects to see engaged and motivated learners, who feel listened to and valued. Improved learner progress and achievement will be evident. A professional growth cycle will be embedded, fostering reflective and collaborative teaching practice. Feedforward and feedback will be evident across curriculum, teaching and learning. A co-constructed localised curriculum will promote common understandings of quality practices, and power-sharing. Effective communication with the school’s diverse communities will promote engagement and a strong sense of belonging and connection.
Strengths
The school can draw from the following strengths to support the school in its goal to grow professional capability and collective capacity that fosters the framework for a Christian-character and localised curriculum, with culturally responsive teaching and learning:
a community that builds a strong sense of belonging, united in faith, core beliefs and values that align Nelson Christian Academy’s Christ-centred character
an embedded inquiry approach that will support teachers to become reflective, evidence-based practitioners
senior leaders have worked with the SAF to create a comprehensive plan to enact its strategic goals.
Where to next?
Moving forward, the school will prioritise:
embedding and developing staff’s implementation of culturally responsive practices
reviewing and developing assessment practices to inform differentiated planning and practice
building staff expertise to remove barriers to learning and support English Language Learners to access the curriculum successfully.
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.
Shelley Booysen Director of Schools
7 August 2023
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 3 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).