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Contributing · State

Darfield School

16 Ross Street, Darfield · Canterbury

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Total roll 301
EQI 430
Founded 1883
55

Composite score

Developing

C+

Below median

Rank #1,809 of scored NZ schools

In summary

Darfield School's Board of Trustees attested to meeting all regulatory and legislative requirements as of July 2024, with Board Administration and Curriculum requirements confirmed. The school has no active Ministry of Education intervention. A composite score is not available for this school.

Best suited for

Students in Darfield looking for a state-funded setting.

Is Darfield School a good school?

Darfield School scores 55/100 on the SchoolsNearMe composite — a weighted average of 5 axes (academic, outcomes, retention, wellbeing, trajectory). Below median nationally. The full breakdown is below; every input links to its source.

Strengths from the latest ERO report

  • Strong sense of belonging and wellbeing among learners
  • Equitable and consistent achievement outcomes in reading, writing and mathematics
  • Leaders ensure initiatives are well informed by data and evaluated effectively

Summary derived from ERO reports + audited financials + MoE records. Every claim links to its source — see data transparency at the bottom of this page.

Score breakdown

6 axes, each scored 0–100 on a national absolute scale. As at 2025.

How this is computed
Wellbeing
35%
standdowns 37.0/1k · suspensions 17.3/1k · exclusions 16.9/1k · bottom 10% of band (n=518) · why?
Composite of stand-downs, suspensions, and exclusions per 1,000 students (lower is better). Formula: standdowns/1k + 2× suspensions/1k + 5× exclusions/1k. Small primary schools with no rows score top of band ("no incidents reported"). Source: Education Counts student engagement. Year: 2024. Peer comparison: bottom 10% of band (n=518).
0
Trajectory
25%
+34.3% roll over 5yr (2020→2025) · top 10% of band (n=515) · why?
5-year change in total roll. −20% → 0 score, 0% → 50, +20% → 100. Source: Education Counts roll history. Year: 2025. Peer comparison: top 10% of band (n=515).
93
ERO review
40%
80/100 from ERO review 2024-09 · near band median (n=520) · why?
Composite score from the most recent Education Review Office report (Haiku-extracted 0–100 from the published review text). For primary schools this is the heaviest axis (40%) because NCEA-style outcomes data isn't applicable. Source: ERO via Wayback archive. Year: 2024. Peer comparison: near band median (n=520).
80

⚠ Insufficient EQI-band peers (n<10) to compute per-axis percentile context. The score above is absolute; treat it as a single-school read rather than a peer comparison.

Real ERO composite (from the latest review): 80/100.

Latest ERO review

2024-09-27 · Shelley Booysen, ERO

ERO report
  • Learners demonstrate a strong sense of belonging and wellbeing; most achieve at or above expected curriculum levels
  • Outcomes for learners are equitable, with consistent achievement sustained over time in reading, writing and mathematics
  • Strategic leadership ensures a coherent, supportive learning environment for learners
  • A large majority of learners are attending regularly, meeting the Ministry of Education's regular attendance target
  • Developing leadership capacity across the school has been prioritised, building staff capability to provide learners with additional learning opportunities
"Learners demonstrate a strong sense of belonging and wellbeing; most achieve at or above expected curriculum levels."
— ERO, 2024-09-27 (wellbeing)

Composite score across reviews

3 ERO reviews on file, 2015–2024. Click a point to read that review.

latest 80
0 25 50 75 100 201520192024 2015-06-24 · 77/100 2019-04-11 · 85/100 2024-09-27 · 80/100

Audited financials

Year ended 2020 · Audit opinion: unmodified

Annual report

Total revenue

$1.94M

Surplus / (deficit)

+$22k

Net assets / equity

$0.63M

Discipline (age-standardised, per 1,000 students)

Stand-down = sent home temporarily. Suspension = formal investigation. Exclusion = removed from school. National averages shown for comparison.

Education Counts

Stand-downs · 2024

37.0

4 this year · NZ avg ~37

Suspensions · 2024

17.3

1 this year · NZ avg ~5

Exclusions · 2024

16.9

1 this year · NZ avg ~1.5

Government funding

Crown funding only (school operations + teacher salaries + property). Excludes locally-raised funds, international fees and trading income — those are in the audited financial report above.

Education Counts

Total Crown funding · 2022

$1.96M

Per-student funding · 2022

$6,509

2018

$1.4M

2019

$1.7M

2020

$1.6M

2021

$1.9M

2022

$2.0M

Roll by year level

July 2025 roll return.

Education Counts
  • Year 01
    45
  • Year 02
    39
  • Year 03
    49
  • Year 04
    43
  • Year 05
    48
  • Year 06
    51
  • Year 07
    11

Roll by ethnicity

Share of total roll. Students who identify with multiple ethnicities are counted once.

Education Counts
  • European/Pākehā
    82.4%
  • Māori
    16.6%
  • Asian
    5.0%
  • Pacific
    3.3%
  • Other / MELAA
    1.3%

Location

16 Ross Street, Darfield. Nearby schools marked in grey.

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Frequently asked

Is Darfield School a good school?

Darfield School scores 55/100 on the SchoolsNearMe composite — a weighted average of 5 axes (academic, outcomes, retention, wellbeing, trajectory). Below median nationally. The full breakdown is below; every input links to its source.

What does the latest ERO review say?

ERO's 2024-09 review identified 5 key findings. Learners demonstrate a strong sense of belonging and wellbeing; most achieve at or above expected curriculum levels

How do I enrol my child at Darfield School?

Contact the school directly on 03-3188473, email office@darfieldprimary.school.nz, or visit www.darfieldprimary.school.nz. For state schools, check your home address against the school's enrolment zone — some schools are in-zone-only.

What are the fees?

Darfield School is a state school. There is no tuition fee for domestic students; voluntary donations may be requested.

What is the roll size?

Darfield School has 301 students, with an EQI of 430 (mid-range socio-economic context).

When was the school last reviewed by ERO?

The Education Review Office last reviewed Darfield School in 2024-09, signed by Shelley Booysen. 4 ERO reports are on file in our archive.

Data transparency

Every fact on this page links to its source. We never publish a claim without provenance — read our methodology for the full rules.

Last updated

27 Sept 2024

Source documents

4 cited

Spot an error?

Report a correction

Sourced from

  • ero.govt.nz
  • web.archive.org
  • schoolsdata.co.nz
  • crimestats.co.nz