Cashmere High School - 06 May 2025
School Evaluation 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.
Context
Cashmere High School is a large state co-educational secondary school in Christchurch and caters for students in Years 9 to 13. A new principal has recently been appointed. The school values are citizenship, opportunity, vibrancy, and excellence.
There are three parts to this report.
Part A: A summary of the findings from the most recent Education Review Office (ERO) report and/or subsequent evaluation.
Part B: An evaluative summary of learner success and school conditions to inform the school board’s future strategic direction, including any education in Rumaki/bilingual settings.
Part C: The improvement actions prioritised for the school’s next evaluation cycle.
Part A: Previous Improvement Goals
Since the July 2023 ERO report the school evaluated the extent to which culturally responsive teaching practice, and the monitoring and tracking of student achievement contribute to equity and excellence for all students.
Expected Improvements and Findings
The school expected to see:
Improved academic outcomes for Māori students:
- The majority of Māori students achieved National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) Level 1, almost all achieved Level 2, and a large majority achieved Level 3. Significant disparity remains for Level 1 and University Entrance.
Improved academic outcomes for students identified as priority learners:
- The progress of priority learners is tracked and monitored throughout schooling; a large majority of identified priority learners achieved NCEA.
Sustained level of excellence and merit endorsements at NCEA Level 1 to3.
- Overall endorsements at NCEA Levels 1 to 3 have been sustained.
- There has been a decrease in learners achieving excellence endorsements at Levels 1 to 3.
Part B: Current State
The following findings are to inform the school’s future priorities for improvement.
Learner Success and Wellbeing
| A large majority of students are engaged in learning, make positive progress, and achieve at the appropriate curriculum levels and NCEA. |
- Positive, upward trajectories in progress and achievement outcomes for students in Year 9 and 10 are evident; almost all students achieve the literacy and numeracy requirements for NCEA.
- Most learners leave school with at least NCEA Level 2; girls achieve NCEA at a higher rate than boys in Levels 1 to 3; a small majority of students achieve University Entrance.
- Students with additional learning needs are effectively supported by an experienced learning support team
- The majority of students attend school regularly; the school is not yet achieving the Government’s target for regular attendance; chronic absence is not yet reducing over time.
Conditions to support learner success
| School leadership collaboratively develops and pursues the school’s vision, goals and targets for high and improved student outcomes. |
- A range of evaluative evidence is used by faculties to evaluate the effectiveness of teaching practices and is linked to the identification of students’ next learning steps and teacher professional development to improve teaching and learning.
- Staff and students state a strong sense of belonging to the school community and enjoy engagement with the diverse range of curricular and cocurricular opportunities at the school.
- Effective faculty and department leaderships supports teachers to use innovative strategies which engage students well in relevant learning contexts.
| The school offers a rich and broad curriculum delivered by highly effective teaching practice. |
- The curriculum is responsive, purposeful and focused on equipping students with the knowledge, skills and dispositions to contribute positively to their community.
- An explicit, evidence-based teaching framework and programme of regular classroom observations supports effective teaching practice.
- The bicultural capability of staff and students is successfully supported by school-developed frameworks and professional learning.
| The school has well-aligned systems, practices and regular review processes to support success and improvement over time. |
- Leaders and teachers undertake meaningful community consultation, useful data analysis and gather student feedback and ideas; this informs ongoing improvements to meet the needs of learners.
- The board is strongly supportive of the principal, staff and students; strategic goals are improvement focused, and resourcing is carefully considered for resulting initiatives
- A review of counselling services has led to increased resourcing
- Internal evaluation practices support the gathering, analysis and use of evidence of student learning and outcomes to improve individual and collective teaching practices.
Part C: Where to next?
The agreed next steps for the school are to:
- improve the percentage of students who attend school regularly and reduce the percentage of chronic absences.
- increase the percentage of students who attain University Entrance and investigate transition pathways to strengthen opportunities for future study
- further strengthen equity of achievement for Māori and Pacific students in NCEA
- implement changes to guidance services to improve student access and operations.
The agreed actions for the next improvement cycle and timeframes are as follows:
Within six months:
- consult the community to develop and refine processes to support more students to attend school regularly
- strengthen academic mentoring to support students to plan and achieve University Entrance
- enhance faculty reporting on achievement to track, monitor and better support the progress of Māori and Pacific students
Annually:
- track, monitor and evaluate the effectiveness and impact of strategies to improve attendance
- evaluate and report on the impact of the refined school systems for increased student achievement
- track, monitor and evaluate the effectiveness and impact of strategies to improve Māori and Pacific student achievement
- evaluate the impact of changes to guidance services.
Actions taken against these next steps are expected to result in:
- higher attendance levels that meet government targets and a reduction in chronic absence
- an increase in the percentage of students who attain University Entrance
- equitable and excellent outcomes for all Māori and Pacific learners
- strengthened access to and operation of the school guidance services.
ERO’s role will be to support the school in its evaluation for improvement cycle to improve outcomes for all learners. The next public report on ERO’s website will be a School Evaluation Report and is due within three 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)
6 May 2025
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
Cashmere High School - 06 May 2025
Board Assurance with Regulatory and Legislative Requirements Report 2025 to 2028
As of February 2025, the Cashmere High School Board has attested to the following regulatory and legislative requirements:
Board Administration
Yes
Curriculum
Yes
Management of Health, Safety and Welfare
Yes
Personnel Management
Yes
Further Information
For further information please contact Cashmere High School Board.
The next School Board assurance that it is meeting regulatory and legislative requirements will be reported, along with the Te Ara Huarau | School Evaluation Report, within three years.
Information on ERO’s role and process in this review can be found on the Education Review Office website.
Sharon Kelly
Director of Schools (Acting)
6 May 2025
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
Cashmere High School - 06 May 2025
Provision for International Students Report
Background
The Education Review Office reviews schools that are signatories 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.
Findings
The school is a signatory to the Education (Pastoral Care of International Students) 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 108 international students attending the school.
The school has well-established processes to effectively review its provision for international students and compliance with the Code, and to update its systems and procedures for continual improvement.
School governance and leadership make good use of regular information about the quality of provision that supports student wellbeing, learning and engagement. This information is used to inform decision making, determine any actions needed and assure the board that students’ wellbeing and learning needs are being responded to appropriately.
Students state that they are well supported to settle into the school and to be actively involved in the life of the school and community. Regular communication with caregivers, families and students enables identified needs to be addressed in a timely way.
The school’s focus on providing support and direction for international students to achieve their academic goals is a priority. Academic progress is closely monitored, and any concerns are followed up to enable students to receive the individual learning assistance they need. Students planning tertiary study are well informed how to do this in New Zealand.
Sharon Kelly
Director of Schools (Acting)
6 May 2025
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