[3littlepikes]

Hi can anyone tell me how much notice to take of these ?

I have 3 kids to consider when we make our move and some areas seem to have lower decile levels than others - middle of the road 5 - is this ok or should I consider higher .

Some schools have websites whilst others do not ?

Is IT A case of see when you get there ?

[gil]

Well, it's only an indicator of the "socio-econmic" designation of the zone/area, so tells you nothing about the school and it's teaching/learning standard. Use it to guide you on how much parental "voluntary" contribution you want to make (higher decile rating, higher contribution) but otherwise, go and see....

Gil

PS I assume you're getting the websites from here: http://www.tki.org.nz/e/schools/index.php rather than googling individual school names?

[IanW99]

Well, it's only an indicator of the "socio-econmic" designation of the zone/area, so tells you nothing about the school and it's teaching/learning standard. Use it to guide you on how much parental "voluntary" contribution you want to make (higher decile rating, higher contribution) but otherwise, go and see....

Gil

PS I assume you're getting the websites from here: http://www.tki.org.nz/e/schools/index.php rather than googling individual school names?

I agree with Gil, you can also check out Education Review Office (http://www.ero.govt.nz/ero/publishing.nsf/Content/Home+Page) website (similar to ofsted) for school reports.

Ian

[Tia Maria]

Well, it's only an indicator of the "socio-econmic" designation of the zone/area, so tells you nothing about the school and it's teaching/learning standard. Use it to guide you on how much parental "voluntary" contribution you want to make (higher decile rating, higher contribution) but otherwise, go and see....

Gil

PS I assume you're getting the websites from here: http://www.tki.org.nz/e/schools/index.php rather than googling individual school names?

I agree that the decile rating is based on the area and not the level of education, however, most parents see a correlation between the two. As a result the schools parents consider better usually have a decile rating of 7 and above in the Auckland area. (I'm not sure if the link is as obvious in more rural areas or smaller towns).

The area I live in has many decile 10 schools but their style of teaching can vary greatly. This is why going to view the schools is essential and shows why the decile rating is only a very small part of the picture. One of the decile 10 schools just wouldn't have suited my son at all, while the other was perfect.

When you arrive, phone the schools and ask to look around. In our case we were shown around by the head which gave us great insight into what the school would be like. Its often the little things like the head teacher knowing the names of all the children, or, liking the children's art on the wall, that can make all the difference to how you feel about a school.

Most schools also have individual website, so once you've decided on an area you can have a look at those.

Cheers

Tia

[3littlepikes]

thanks for info - oh was right - sarah