This learning community cluster includes two state primary schools, two state integrated schools, one teen parent unit and six early childhood providers.

As part of renewal planning, the Minister of Education has announced a final decision for Phillipstown School (currently in the Central City Learning Community Cluster) to merge with Woolston School (on the Woolston School site).

The Ministry will work closely with the schools to provide extensive support throughout the implementation of this proposal.

If your school has a final decision to close or merge you can visit nzschools.tki.org.nz for more information on your local schooling options.

Supporting information for final decision

• Woolston School education report [PDF; 26.6mb]
• Woolston School Submission [PDF; 606mb]

Documents are available in PDF format only. Accessible versions can be supplied on request from info@minedu.govt.nz

View supporting information for interim decisions for all schools in this learning community cluster on the interim decisions page.

The map below shows the current makeup of the learning community cluster.

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Schooling

1. Bamford School
2. Woolston School
3. Kimihia Parents’ College
4. St Anne’s School
5. Tamariki School

Early childhood education (ECE)

There are 266 licensed spaces across the early childhood education (ECE) providers in this cluster, including 99 spaces for children under two years of age. At July 2011 243 children were enrolled at early childhood services in this cluster, 44 were under two. 49 of the 51 new entrant students who enrolled at a school in the Woolston Cluster in the year to March 2012 had attended an ECE service. All 12 Māori new entrant students and eight Pasifika new entrants had attended an ECE service.

Services

1. Woolston Playcentre
2. Abacus Montessori Preschool
3. Kimihia Early Learning Centre
4. Kindercare Learning Centre (209)
5. Mapusaga Aoga Amata
6. Woolston Preschool Inc.

ECE services are independently owned and managed.

School governance

There are three types of schools: state, private (or registered or independent) and state integrated schools. State integrated schools are former private schools which, while now “integrated” into the state system, also provide programmes around their particular religious or learning philosophy.

State and state integrated schools, while government funded, are managed by boards of trustees. Private schools receive only partial funding from the Government. Day to day management of all schools is the responsibility of the principal.

The Crown is responsible for property provision for state schools to ensure students have access to their closest school. The proprietors of state integrated and private schools are responsible for their own buildings. The Woolston cluster includes two state integrated schools. The Teen Parent Unit attached to Linwood College is located in this cluster.

School boards are required to develop individual charters and annual plans and report their performance against these.You will be able to access the school charter from your school or at Find a school.

Education Review Office (ERO) reports on school and early childhood performance are publicly available.

Woolston cluster ERO review cycle

Bamford School	3 years
Woolston School	Under Review
Kimihia Parents’ College	1-2 years
St Anne’s School (Woolston)	3 years
Tamariki School	3 years

School roll changes

In March 2010, prior to the earthquakes, the primary schools in this cluster provided teaching and learning to 473 students. While individual rolls have fluctuated, the combined primary roll in this cluster has declined by 16 to 457 at March 2012.

Individual school March rolls, 2008, 2010, and 2012:

Note: only roll data for primary schools in this cluster is displayed.

 

The following chart shows the ethnic composition of the combined cluster school rolls by percentage of total combined roll

 

Education achievement

National Standards aim to lift achievement in literacy and numeracy (reading, writing, and mathematics) by being clear about what students should achieve and by when. Boards are required to report on learners’ achievement for 2011 in their 2012 Annual Report.

You will be able to access National Standards data for your school from the Find a school section of the Education Counts website as soon as this information is available.

Special Education

Special Education delivers specialist services and support to learners with special education needs across this cluster. This includes support to early childhood education, schools, teachers, parents, families and whānau.

Māori and Pasifika provision

Māori-medium education programmes involve students being taught either all or some curriculum subjects in the Māori language, either in immersion (Māori language only) or bilingual (Māori and English) programmes. Māori immersion and bilingual provision in this cluster is delivered at Woolston School. There is no Pasifika language provision in this cluster. 

English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) provision

ESOL provision for refugee and new migrant learners from non-English speaking backgrounds is provided to 44 learners within the three primary schools in this cluster. 

Technology

There is no specific technology provision located in this cluster. Schools are likely to be accessing it in neighbouring clusters.

Land – State schools only

School sites sit outside the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA) land classification process and will not be given any Technical Category foundation rankings, though the land in the surrounding residential area of this cluster has been classified TC2 and TC3. Geotechnical assessments on the state school sites in this cluster indicate land issues will not compromise continued education provision. Further Ministry commissioned assessments may be required at a later date, should any of these sites be further developed.

Buildings – State schools only

There are 16 teaching spaces included in the 2,256 square metres (of useable space) of teaching and learning and administration space across this cluster of state schooling provision. The teaching, learning and administrative space is incorporated into 26 actual buildings. All of these buildings suffered damage during the earthquakes.  Repairs have yet to be made to the building stock. Condition assessments confirm earthquake strengthening will be required, over time, across six of these buildings within the cluster. There are weather tightness issues in a further two buildings.

Building condition information – State schools only

	Number of buildings	Number of buildings with EQ damage	Number of buildings with strengthening required	Number of buildings with weather tightness repairs required	Number of buildings with both strengthening and weather tightness repairs
Bamford School	9	9	2	2	1
Woolston School	17	17	4	0	0
Cluster	26	26	6	2	1

Based on March 2012 rolls, a minimum of 13 teaching spaces will be required for ongoing teaching and learning in this cluster, as below.

School rolls and classroom numbers – State schools only

	March 2010 Roll	Classroom (no.) current (July 2012)	March 2012 roll	Estimated classrooms required at March 2012
Bamford School	108	7	79	4
Woolston School	190	9	220	9
Cluster	298	16	299	13

The way forward

Extensive condition assessments and engineering investigations have confirmed all buildings in this cluster remain fit to occupy – unless already isolated. A number of the buildings across this cluster will, however, require remediation and strengthening over the longer-term.  Two are not considered cost effective to repair, this includes two teaching spaces.

Future planning

The earthquakes provide an opportunity, as outlined in the Education Renewal Recovery Programme [PDF; 881kb], to consider options for revitalising the greater Christchurch education network that go beyond simply replacing what was there.

Discussions with schools, communities and providers within this cluster will be key to informing decisions around the future shape of education for the Woolston education community. Ways to enhance infrastructure and address existing property issues, improve education outcomes, and consider future governance will form part of these discussions.

Community engagement

The Ministry of Education will formally consult with this cluster and its community on the possible shape of future education provision. This will include providing detailed information on the issues and options affecting the cluster for community consideration. In line with the support signalled in the Education Renewal Recovery Programme [PDF; 881kb] for improved collaboration, this will provide an opportunity to gain further suggestions around shared provision across schools and services within specific areas of interest and the wider community, as appropriate. Boards will formally consult with their communities where closures or mergers are indicated.

Check out the engagement schedule for further details.

Secondary schools

Secondary, state integrated and independent schools located within these clusters will be involved in discussions around the future shape of provision within their education communities.

The Ministry has worked collaboratively with secondary schools on ideas for future secondary school education provision in greater Christchurch.  In October 2013, the Minister of Education announced decisions for the secondary school network.