Seven Oaks School

Seven Oaks School would have been off my radar had it not been recommended by a leading Christchurch Business Woman, whose son had attended. I am so grateful she did.It is probably best to sum up in the words of my son:I really like Seven Oaks School because at my last school I could not learn much in a big class because there were so many distractions. Mostly everyone was mean to me including some teachers. Seven Oaks makes me feel safe and accepted

We chose Seven Oaks because of its holistic, child-centred approach to education. In today’s environment of large class sizes, Seven Oaks provides a great alternative where the needs of the individuals can be catered for and supported by appropriately paced learning. Children at the school have the opportunity to build quality relationships with educators who care deeply for their well being. Both our children have thrived in the Seven Oaks environment.

Great school so far! We are happy we made the choice to send our 5-year-old son (now 6.5) to Seven Oaks. He has been allowed to develop at his own pace and is now showing a huge interest in learning. Before school, it used to take him longer to learn things than his peers, and he was quick to put himself down. He now feels very confident and has a positive disposition towards learning. The small class size has meant that he hasn’t slipped through the cracks and has been able to get the positive attention he needs. Can’t wait to send our youngest boy to join him next year!

Amazing school. My daughter was not coping well with the modern learning environment at her previous primary school. She was falling behind and had very low self esteem. Moving her to Seven Oaks was the best decision we have ever made. The nurturing environment with small class sizes, and caring educators that know your child's individual learning style, have transformed my daughter into a happy, confident girl who looks forward to going to school everyday. Highly recommended!!

We are delighted with our experience at Seven Oaks School. All of the educators, as well as the Head of school, are highly skilled and educated, thoughtful people, who live the life they teach. While they attend to the individual needs and interests of each child they are nicely protective of the group. Their calm is palpable which they offer to each person with whom they come in contact. The children get to spend time playing outdoors, which grounds them. Our boys are really enjoying the mountain biking and the scootering. The release from exercise and the joy that buoys them, allows for focus on their academics. Our boys look forward to going to school and they are engaged in their work. We have really enjoyed getting to know the other families and their children too. We really hope the school offers a year 9 and 10 in the future.

Absolutely love Seven Oaks.My 3 year old looks forward to school every day.The teachers are amazing.

Seven Oaks has been a fantastic fit for our family.In particular, the play based learning philosophy for the new entrants was a key reason we chose the school, as our son thrives when he can learn in a hands on environment. This, together with the small class sizes means our son is not only flourishing at Seven Oaks but also loves going to school.Our son has made strong friendships, and we know that he is heard and valued within the school community, as this is important to us.We would highly recommended Seven Oaks to any parent making decisions regarding their new entrant son or daughter, or alternatively for an older child who isn't flourishing at their current school.

Changing schools is never an easy decision, especially once your child has made friendships and settled into a routine. But as parents we felt compelled to make a change to a school that viewed our child as a whole, not somewhere that was just focused on completing the yearly curriculum, and so we found Seven Oaks.Seven Oaks is a school where our daughters wellbeing and individuality is nurtured, along with being part of a community. This is made possible by having small classes and Educators who have the time to really get to know the children in their care.As parents we have noticed that our daughter is happy and thriving in this learning environment. She is keen to go to school every day and says that one day she wants to send her own children to this school.I wish that every school had the same education philosophy as Seven Oaks and encourage every parent to come and take a look.

Our experience is that the Founder means well and the school sounds lovely on the website, however the reality is that the school’s philosophy is not working in the classroom. The Principal has stated that he just wants the children to have fun, which is nice, however children keen to learn are not catered for. Our child reported that when the work was complete they were given “colouring in” while waiting for others to finish, this happened too often.There are some troubled children at Seven Oaks and no teacher aides to support and help them. This lack of support caused disruptions in the classroom that was stressful for the other children and for the teacher.After 2 years at Seven Oaks our child is now thriving at the local public school and having tutoring as they are behind academically due to the inadequate programmes at Seven Oaks. My experience as a secondary educator means that I have a good understanding of what students need, to be prepared for year 9, and I am not confident that my child would have been ready had they stayed at Seven Oaks.Due to our child's experience we definitely could not recommend Seven Oaks to anyone.

Seven Oaks School offers the individual approach we were looking for our children & we would highly recommend it. We love the wide curriculum that covers everything from emotional intelligence to eco-literacy and weaves it with the academic skills in a play-based way, even right up to year 8. The small class sizes, approachable & kind staff, focus on the arts & music, friendly community & modern view of education are many more of the reasons we as family enjoy Seven Oaks.