A to Z
Behaviour
We expect children to take responsibility for their own actions and to respect the rights and feelings of others. Positive encouragement and support is provided to children who display initiative and common sense.
School-wide Behaviour Management procedures are in place to allow staff and students to work in a positive, constructive and peaceful environment. The school’s health curriculum incorporates anti-bullying programmes.
If your child’s behaviour causes us concern you will be notified and asked to work with the classroom teacher to put in place an appropriate plan of action.
Any concerns you have regarding behaviour and discipline should be conveyed in the first instance to your child’s teacher.
Prompt and early intervention is the most effective way of dealing with a problem — for children and adults alike!
When someone with
more power is
deliberately and
repeatedly acting mean,
it is bullying.
Bikes and scooters
Children under the age of 9 years are not permitted to ride a bicycle to school. This follows the road safety guidelines of the New Zealand Police.
Children riding to school must wear a safety helmet and keep their bikes in the bike stands provided.
In the interests of everyone’s safety, bicycles and scooters must not be ridden in the school grounds — please dismount at the gate and wheel them to your nearest stand.
Clubs after school
There are various clubs available after school.
Art Club - Monday's from 3:15 to 4:15pm. Contact Lily on lping4700@gmail.com.
Chess Club - Thursday's from 3:00 to 4:00pm. Please visit the office for more information.
Minecraft Educational Club - Friday's from 3:00 to 4:00pm. Contact Robyn on minecraftacademynz@gmail.com.
Complaints
Sometimes, things go wrong.
Everyone who works at Ilam School is doing their best to deliver an amazing learning experience for your child. But we’re human, and mistakes can happen.
If you have a question, a concern, or some feedback on how we’re doing, the first person to talk to is your child’s classroom teacher.
If your concern remains unaddressed, the next step is to refer to our Concerns and Complaints Process — one of our school policies and procedures.
The Concerns and Complaints Process can be viewed at our SchoolDocs site. You will be asked to log in — the user name is ilam and the password is ilamschool (case sensitive). Then simply search 'complaints' and the document is likely to be the first listed PDF.
Cellphones
We recommend that cell phones are kept at home. If your child requires a cell phone for information regarding pick up/drop off then we ask that the cell phone is handed into the school office first thing in the morning. The cell phone will be kept in a secure location and it can be collected at the end of the day. If cell phones are used during the school day we will ask your child to take it to the office to be kept in a secure location. We ask that you support us with these expectations.
Should your child require a cell phone for health/learning purposes we ask that you discuss this with Kirsten Aaron our Deputy Principal.
Please note: If cell phones are bought to school, the school is not responsible for any loss or damage.
For further information please see our Cellphones and other Personal Digital Devices policy on SchoolDocs https://ilam.schooldocs.co.nz/
If you need to contact your child during school hours please contact the school office on: (03) 348 7492.
Digital Citizens
What is a "Great Digital Citizen"? At our school, we use technology to be safe, friendly, and fair.
BE SAFE: Protect your passwords, fact-check what you see, and always talk to a trusted adult if something feels wrong.
BE KIND: Help others, share devices fairly, and only post things you’d be proud to say face-to-face.
BE POSITIVE: Use your digital footprint to show your best self. Communicate with respect and lift others up.
BE RESPECTFUL: Handle devices with care, follow school rules for BYOD, and always ask for consent before taking photos or videos.
Email expectations
Email is a great way to communicate, but please remember that our teachers are focussed on their class of students during the day, often not finishing with extra-curricular activities or meetings until 5.30pm or later.
This is why our team commits to responding to emails within 24 hours, instead of immediately. We appreciate your understanding.
If you have an urgent reason to contact your child's teacher, please phone the school office on (+64 3) 348 7492.
Enrolments
Everything you need to know about enrolling your child at Ilam School can be found here.
Illness and Injuries
Keeping children home when sick
Tamariki must stay home if they are unwell. This helps your child to recover faster and prevents the spread of illness to other children and staff.
There are rules around how long children must stay home for certain illnesses. If a child has had vomiting or diarrhoea, they must stay home for 48 hours after their last episode. Health New Zealand advises that if your child has cold or flu symptoms such as a runny nose, cough, sore throat or fever, they must stay home until they are feeling well and are symptom free. A mild runny nose or slight cough is usually ok if your child is otherwise happy, eating normally and able to take part in learning.
If your child becomes unwell during the day, we will send them to our sick bay in the office and you will be phoned and asked to come and collect your child.
Itinerant Lessons
Children have the opportunity to learn how to play a musical instrument, join the Lifted Learning Science club at Ilam School. Please be aware that these lessons are taken by teachers who are not directly employed by Ilam School. All teachers are police vetted. If you would like your child to learn an instrument or join a club, please collect a form from the office.
Musical Instruments Available
Piano
Recorder
Drums
Bass
Violin
Guitar
Flute
Singing Lessons
Lifted Learning - Run by Dr Joyce
Dr Joyce runs weekly hands on science classes for year 3-6 children Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons. Children have an opportunity to perform detailed scientific experiments and investigations, build projects and participate in discussions. Children are exposed to important principles and techniques fundamental to an in-depth science education. He has been teaching this program for over 15 years, drawing on his previous career as a researcher and lecturer in science and mathematics.
Music
All Ilam School students have the opportunity to be involved in excellent choirs at their team level (Junior/Middle/Senior).
Children in the Senior Choir also have the opportunity to perform with a large number of other Christchurch school children at the North West Music Festival and the Christchurch Schools’ Music Festival.
Participation in the school orchestra is offered to children who play an instrument — all children who have a basic ability in reading music can enter into the orchestra. Their skills always improve rapidly!
We are fortunate to have skilled music tutors who offer individual tuition on a variety of musical instruments. Bookings are essential and can be made at the school office.
Find more information, arrangements and lyrics here.
One Hour a Day
The Government’s ‘one hour a day’ policy for teaching reading, writing, and maths started Term 1 2024. Even though Ilam School already does this daily and there is no real change, we will continue to spend an average of at least an hour a day reading, writing, and maths. Our students will continue to receive regular, purposeful instruction in these core areas to help them make progress with their learning. There is more information available on the Ministry's website.
Policies and procedures
A school can’t run without established policies and procedures, and Ilam School follows the Ministry of Education’s Administration Guidelines in doing so.
Our policies and procedures are tailored to our school and are created, modified or updated in response to changes in legislation, significant events, Ministry guidelines, reviews/requests, etc. This process is overseen by the School Board.
In order to streamline this process, the Board works with SchoolDocs, a company which maintains, updates and reviews our policies.
All our school policies and procedures can be viewed at our SchoolDocs site. You will be asked to log in — the user name is ilam and the password is ilamschool (case sensitive).
Please remember: except where stated, the content on the SchoolDocs site is copyright to SchoolDocs Limited. It may not be reproduced. Thank you.
Prospectus 2026
Everything you need know about Ilam School will be found in our our latest Prospectus.
Sport
Ilam School students enjoy plenty of opportunities to take part in individual and team sports, such as:
Athletics
Cricket
Cross country
Football (soccer)
Hockey
Netball
Swimming
Table tennis
Parents keen to help coach or organise teams are always welcome to volunteer.
Find photos, results and venue maps here.
Uniform
Everything you need to know about the Ilam School uniform can be found here.
Senior School Camp
This part of our outdoor education programme is keenly anticipated each year!
And shoutout to Clinton Lloyd for the fantastic photos.
