St John's School (Ranfurly)

What ERO wrote in its latest report

This is ERO’s report of 30 March 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

St John’s School (Ranfurly) is a state-integrated Catholic school providing education for learners in Years 1 to 8. The school has a roll of 59 learners, 68% who are New Zealand European/ Pākehā , 20% who are Asian and 9 % who are Māori .

The school vision is creating confident, compassionate and resilient learners who reflect the school’s mercy charism and the teachings of Jesus supported by the values of Catholic faith, respect and honesty. The school has recently appointed a new principal.

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 August 2022 ERO report. It includes an explanation of the expected improvements and findings.

Expected improvements

The school aimed to strengthen evaluation practice across the school and enhance learning partnerships with parents to support improved student achievement in writing. It expected to see a consistent approach to evaluation, improved writing achievement and parents well engaged and able to support their child’s learning.

Findings

The school has made clear progress in developing a consistent, schoolwide approach to evaluation. Leaders use established processes to analyse student achievement data and report curriculum outcomes to the school board.

Parent partnership is strengthened. Annual parent information evenings are well attended, indicating strong engagement and growing parent capability to support learning at home.

Further improvement in writing remains a priority. Structured literacy practices are now implemented in all classrooms, supported by targeted professional development.

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? 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 sufficient opportunities to learn across the breadth and depth of the curriculum. There is an increasingly 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 ongoing improvement to the quality of education for learners are well established.

How well does the school include all learners and promote their engagement and wellbeing? The school reasonably 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 is improving its reporting to parents / whānau about their child’s learning, achievement and progress. The school is improving its collection and use of information gathered through community consultation to inform strategic planning and curriculum decisions.

Student Health and Safety The school board needs to ensure a physically and emotionally safe learning environment.

Achievement in 1 to 8

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 Most 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 becoming more 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 learners 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 is improving its approach and the reliability of its practices to accurately 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, writing and mathematics targets and/or pānui, tuhituhi and pāngarau 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

Learners demonstrate a strong sense of belonging and high levels of engagement in their learning. Positive and respectful relationships are evident among learners, between learners and staff, and across the wider school community.

Learners sustain high levels of achievement over time in reading, writing, and mathematics. Notably, Filipino learners have made significant improvement across all three of these curriculum areas over the past three years.

Leaders and teachers have established a cohesive, learning-focused culture characterised by high expectations and well-established routines across the school’s multi-level classes.

Teachers and staff know their learners well and respond effectively to their individual learning needs. Learners requiring additional support are accurately identified and benefit from coordinated, effective support involving teachers, specialist staff, and external agencies.

Structured approaches to the teaching of literacy and mathematics are in place. Learners have access to a wide range of learning opportunities and experiences that support their engagement and progress.

Key priorities

Improve boys’ progress and achievement in writing.

Review assessment and reporting guidelines to ensure they are clear, consistent, and aligned with recent professional learning and requirements.

Strengthen the alignment between strategic plans, annual plans, and reporting documents.

Increase and sustain high levels of regular attendance so the school meets national targets.

Actions to bring about improvement

Within six months:

the school board and principal explore planning and reporting formats that align strategic goals with annual targets, actions, and measures, ensuring a clear line of sight and informing the next strategic planning cycle

leaders complete a schoolwide review of assessment and reporting systems to ensure clarity, consistency, and alignment with Ministry requirements

Every six months:

teachers and leaders review target learners’ progress and achievement data and plan focussed actions to accelerate progress for boys in writing

leaders and teachers participate in professional learning to support the implementation and use of assessment tools

leaders report progress against the school’s annual targets to the board

leaders monitor attendance, implement strategies to increase regular attendance and evaluate their effectiveness

Annually:

teachers and leaders analyse school wide student progress and achievement to evaluate the impact of improvement actions and report outcomes to the board and community

the board and leaders embed a cycle of annual review showing progress against strategic priorities, report this to the community, and use this to inform annual planning

leaders review assessment processes and practices to know how effectively they inform teaching, learning and reporting, making changes where needed

leaders review attendance data to evaluate impact, refine actions, and report to the board and community.

Expected outcomes

High achievement for all learners in reading, writing and mathematics.

Reduced disparity in writing achievement for boys.

Assessment and reporting practices are aligned with requirements and effectively inform teaching, planning, and reporting.

Strong alignment between strategic planning, annual planning, and reporting.

Sustained high levels of regular attendance that meet national targets.

Regulatory and legislative requirements

This section of the report is about how the school meets regulatory and legislative requirements.

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

Actions for compliance

ERO has identified the following areas of non-compliance during the board assurance process:

the school must undertake trial evacuation at intervals of not more than six months [Regulation 29 Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Fire Safety, Evacuation Procedures, and Evacuation Schemes) Regulations 2018]

all aspects of workforce safety checking, including police vetting, must be completed prior to commencing employment [Section 25 Children’s Act 2014].

The St John’s School (Ranfurly) has taken steps to address the areas of non-compliance identified.

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

30 March 2026

Read this report on ero.govt.nz →