Stratford Primary School
20 Aug 2025
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:
Stratford Primary School has 455 students in Years 1 to 8 of whom 29% are Māori, 62% New Pākehā | New Zealand European, with small numbers from other ethnicities.
The school’s vision for learners is to AIM HIGH, to be the best I can be. The mission of AIM High is for all learners to demonstrate Manaakitanga through their shared values of respect for self, respect for others and respect for the environment.
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:
ERO and the school worked together to evaluate how well teaching and learning of literacy increases student engagement and leads to equity and excellence for learners. The school expected to see learners’ engagement and progress in writing improve and teachers engaging in inquiry to enhance their professional practice and develop effective strategies aimed improving outcomes for learners.
Findings:
Participation in professional learning and development (PLD) for teachers strengthened their understanding of effective writing strategies. Leaders provided opportunities teachers to learn from external specialists and share effective writing strategies. Writing strategies are reviewed and used to inform development of a framework to guide agreed practice.z
Most priority learners achieve at the expected level or have accelerated their progress in writing. Nearly half of these learners achieved curriculum expectations at the end of 2024. Inequities for Māori learners have been reduced. Leaders are continuing to provide individual PLD for teachers in 2025 to enable acceleration of progress of boys in writing and achieve equitable outcomes.
What we know about learner success:
This section provides a summary of student success and wellbeing. The judgments are based on the ERO School Improvement Framework and the evidence provided to ERO during the evaluation.
A large majority of learners enter Stratford Primary School significantly behind the expected curriculum level. The school’s efforts are focused on accelerated progress.
| How well are learners succeeding? | Success and progress for all learners is increasing. |
| What is the quality of teaching and learning? | Learners benefit from good 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 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 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 65% | 65 to 79% | 80 to 90% | Over 90% |
| Reading | A large majority of learners meet or exceed the expected curriculum level. Results are becoming more equitable for all groups of learners. |
| Writing | A large majority of learners meet or exceed the expected curriculum level. Results are becoming more equitable for all groups of learners. |
| Mathematics | A small majority of 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 is developing a suitable plan to improve attendance.
- Regular attendance is improving towards 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.
- Teachers are developing 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 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 making progress towards meeting Government reading, writing and mathematics targets and is likely to meet them by 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:
- Leaders and teachers have comprehensive processes in place to identify, monitor and tailor support for learners with additional and complex needs. Additional staffing, programmes and interventions benefit outcomes for learners.
- Learners demonstrate well-embedded school values and positive wellbeing in an inclusive environment.
- Leadership is inclusive of the community. Parent and whānau aspirations are reflected in strategic plans to achieve their vision for learner success.
- Teachers are supported by leaders through the provision of PLD and coaching to strengthen consistency of practice and to meet the diverse learning needs of students.
- The school’s curriculum prioritises the acquisition of the foundation skills of reading, writing and mathematics.
- Partnerships with local educational providers and networks support learners at key transition points in their schooling.
- Parents and whānau are welcomed in an inclusive environment and have opportunity to give and receive information in order to support positive learner outcomes.
- Board trustees undertake their roles effectively and reported information is used to ensure resourcing meets the needs of learners and staff.
Key priorities:
- Develop and implement a plan to enable monitoring and evaluation of progress towards meeting the Government target of 80% attendance.
- Raise achievement in mathematics, including accelerating the progress of boys and groups of learners at risk of not meeting expectation.
- Build the consistency of teacher practice in writing and structured literacy to improve outcomes for learners.
- Review assessment practices and provide professional learning to help teachers effectively deliver the updated mathematics curriculum and improve learner outcomes.
Actions to brings about improvement:
Within six months:
- leaders engage teachers in the review of mathematics assessments and provide PLD to strengthen their understanding and delivery of the refreshed mathematics curriculum
Every six months:
- leaders and teachers analyse attendance information to provide insights into the impact of actions the school has undertaken to achieve the Government target of 80%
- leaders provide ongoing coaching for teachers to promote consistency in delivery of the writing framework and to embed structured literacy
- teachers monitor progress against achievement targets in writing and mathematics to enable evaluation of strategies to achieve positive outcomes for learners
Annually:
- teachers share analysis of the impact of their practice on acceleration of the progress of identified learners toward curriculum expectations in writing and mathematics to guide future planning
- the School Board and leaders review statements of variance and evaluations of the impact on outcomes for learners of improvement plans for writing, mathematics and attendance for future planning.
Expected outcomes:
- Regular attendance meets the Government attendance target of 80%.
- Quality of teaching in mathematics and literacy lifts achievement toward Government targets and equity of outcomes for priority learners.
- The school curriculum guidelines reflect a shared understanding for the delivery of literacy and mathematics to support teacher practice and provide consistency for learners.
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
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 (Acting)
20 August 2025
Source: https://www.ero.govt.nz/institution/2244/stratford-primary-school