[W&G]

Hi everyone! We're new to this group and we're in the process of assessing our children's prospects in terms of schooling and locations. We're really not familiar with what "DECILE" means in relation to the schooling in New Zealand. :confused: Hope anyone could shed light on this topic/term. Does that mean that a school with a higher Decile Rank provides better quality education than those with lower ratings? Or... do schools with higher decile ranks, have better facilities, resources etc? Or... are we totally lost?
Help!
Thanks in advance!!!

[StevieD]

Hi W&G, welcome to the forum!

Not got there yet, but the decile system is a 1-10 rating as far as I understand, with 1 being in the "poorer" areas and 10 being in the "richer" areas - or as it was explained to me, the higher the decile rating, the more fees you pay!

There is a lot of debate on the education issue on here, happy reading. :)

Steve

[jubjub]

http://www.enterprisens.org.nz/education/ed_system.htm

This looks quite informative....

I understand it the same as Stevie, the rating relates to the area, not necessarily the quality of education. It is guaged from the income of households in the area.

[willsken]

It's to do with the socio economic catchment area of the school. The higher the rating the wealthier the catchments area. It would be nice to say that this didn't make a difference to the school and I haven't experienced it first hand in NZ...BUT I have in the UK and it does make a difference. I have looked at a couple of Decile 4 and 5 schools in NZ and the both seemed like decent schools.

[Lupin]

Whereas the decile rating 2 schools I looked at were both under annual inspection, both with areas that needed improvement. It doesn't necessarily make the school rubbish, read the report and visit is the best way to know if its the school for your children.

Interestingly my daughter currently attends a school here in the UK in a very low socio-economic area but with incredibly commited staff under a very dynamic head and the opportunities and teaching she receives are far better than the school we pulled her out of a couple of years ago in a very high socio-economic area but with apathetic staff and a results driven head. I wont give the decile rating too high consideration.

[StevieD]

Yes lupin, I wasn't inferring that the schools of a low decile rating are bad - at leastit wasn't meant that way - it is just an indication of the area the school is in, not a "rank" of quality.

[W&G]

:nice1 Thanks for all the info.. the link helped :) I was looking at the Howick area and the schools there seem nice. As per other school websites I've visited, most we're actually in the 7-10 decile rank. Anyway, It's good to know that it really doesn't affect the quality of education. I've downloaded the prospectus from schools that have them online so I guess that would be a good start. :D http://www.enterprisens.org.nz/education/ed_system.htm

This looks quite informative....

I understand it the same as Stevie, the rating relates to the area, not necessarily the quality of education. It is guaged from the income of households in the area.

[Lupin]

Yes lupin, I wasn't inferring that the schools of a low decile rating are bad - at leastit wasn't meant that way - it is just an indication of the area the school is in, not a "rank" of quality.

Hey Stevie, crossed wires here, I didn't think you were implying that at all!