St Joseph's School (Timaru)

What ERO wrote in its latest report

This is ERO’s report of 24 November 2025 — “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 Joseph’s School ( Timaru ) is a state integrated Catholic School providing education for learners in Years 1 to 8. The school roll of 214 has 83% who are NZ European/ Pākehā , 12 % who identify as Māori and 12% who are Asian. The school is in the process of revising its Mercy Values of respect, hospitality, justice , service, compassion and charity.

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

Expected improvements

The school planned a review of the local curriculum to continue to promote high quality teaching and sustain equity and excellence in student achievement.

Findings

The review of the local curriculum was started but changes to the curriculum and professional learning in literacy and numeracy were prioritised. Teachers and leaders engaged in professional development and successfully implemented structured literacy and mathematics. High quality teaching is evident in classroom practice and equitable progress and achievement for learners has been sustained.

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 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? The school is establishing planning and conditions that support improvements in the quality of education for learners.

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 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 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 Most 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 equitable for all groups of learners.

Mathematics Most 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 small majority of learners attend school regularly.

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

The school is yet to have a suitable plan to improve attendance.

Regular attendance is not yet improving towards or beyond the target.

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.

Teachers are developing their use of assessment information 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 is developing 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 are well supported in a caring, learning-focused environment guided by the school’s special character and faith.

Leaders and teachers have strong partnerships with parents and the wider community that effectively support meeting learners’ needs.

Leaders and teachers set high expectations and work collaboratively to ensure continued improvement and success for all learners .

Consistent, high impact teaching across the school is strengthened through support from leaders and targeted professional learning.

Key priorities

Embed consistent teaching, learning and assessment practices aligned with the revised literacy and mathematics curriculums.

Strengthen processes for tracking and reporting student achievement targets and evaluating the effectiveness of strategies to accelerate learning.

Implement refreshed values and approaches to provide a school-wide framework for relationships and learning.

Increase regular attendance to meet Government targets.

Actions to bring about improvement

Within six months:

leaders and teachers review literacy and mathematics assessment guidelines and make changes as needed to align with curriculum

teachers and leaders gather, analyse and use learner wellbeing data to develop guidelines and for ongoing evaluation

leaders engage with the community to develop and implement the school’s attendance plan

Every six months:

leaders and teachers review the progressions and expectations developed for literacy and mathematics and consistency of implementation across the school

teachers and leaders review progress and achievement data and adjust teaching as needed to accelerate learning for target students

leaders and the school board review data and initiatives to improve students’ attendance and make changes to sustain improvement

Annually:

leaders review and evaluate the schoolwide consistency of classroom practice to identify any additional support or professional learning needed

teachers and leaders evaluate progress and achievement data and effectiveness of strategies to accelerate learning and use to make strategic decisions

teachers and leaders evaluate the implementation of refreshed school values and their impact on relationships and learning

leaders and the school Board evaluate attendance data and initiatives to improve attendance and identify next steps to sustain improvement.

Expected outcomes

Well-aligned literacy and mathematics curriculum and cohesive teaching, learning and assessment practices throughout the school.

School values strongly evident across the school.

Accelerated learning for target learners.

Improved and sustained levels of regular attendance to meet 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:

Documented evidence of Workforce Safety checking [ Section 25 (1), Children's Act 2014]

The board has since addressed 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

24 November 2025

Read this report on ero.govt.nz →