Key facts
- School number525
- School typeSpecialist School
- AuthorityState
- GenderGirls School
- BoardingYes
- Language of instructionEnglish medium / other settings
- Established11 May 1925
About Salisbury School (Nelson)
Salisbury School is a state residential special school located in Richmond, in the Nelson Tasman region. It describes itself as New Zealand's only school offering single-sex specialist residential learning for girls aged 8 to 15, drawing enrolments from across the country.
The school operates on a single-campus model combining schooling with residential living. Programmes cover learning, living, and life skills, with each student receiving an individually tailored plan oriented toward transition beyond the school. Guiding principles across school life include Māori perspectives, sustainability, empowering students, and respecting diversity.
Enrolment is structured as a short-term educational intervention. Entry requires both a Residential Special School (RSS) enrolment and a Specialist Education Agreement (SEA), and the application process involves the student's family, educators, and learning support providers from their home region.
The school's 2026–2028 Strategic Plan states its mission as building inclusive capacity through partnerships with learners, families, and schools, and delivering short-term educational programmes tailored to individual needs.
School donations
The Ministry of Education profile states that: "Donations should not be requested, unless for a school camp".
With an Equity Index of 517, Salisbury School (Nelson) is in the range eligible to opt into the Ministry's donations scheme — receiving additional government funding per student in exchange for not seeking donations (except for overnight camps).
Check directly with the school for current charges, contributions or other costs. Learn more on the donations scheme or fees and charges at school, both on education.govt.nz.
Equity Index
The Ministry publishes this figure as a bare number — KuraData shows it against the directory-wide average, so you can see where Salisbury School (Nelson) actually sits, not just the number on its own.
The Equity Index estimates the socio-economic barriers students face, on average, and is used to inform government funding and support. It is not a measure of school quality or academic performance.
Higher values indicate a higher level of estimated socio-economic barriers; lower values indicate fewer. Learn how the Equity Index is calculated →
Student ethnicity
The Ministry publishes this as a raw table — here it's visualised directly against Salisbury School (Nelson)'s own roll, so the shape of it is clear at a glance.
- European — 10 students (100%)
- Māori — 1 students (10%)
- Other — 1 students (10%)
Percentages may sum to more than 100% because students can identify with more than one ethnic group.
Location
- Street address67 Salisbury Road
- CityRichmond
- Local authorityTasman District
Official contact details
- ContactEllie Salcin-Watts
- Phone03-5448119
- Emailprincipal@salisbury.school.nz
- Websitewww.salisbury.school.nz
Nearby schools
Schools physically closest to Salisbury School (Nelson), regardless of year level.
-
Appleby School Full Primary · Years 1–8 · 7.2 km
-
Thorndon School Full Primary · Years 1–8 · 132.5 km
-
Tawhai School Contributing · Years 1–6 · 151 km
-
Amuri Area School Composite · Years 1–15 · 162 km
-
Tokomaru School Full Primary · Years 1–8 · 216.9 km
Explore schools in Richmond
Browse Richmond schools by type, including primary, intermediate, secondary, composite and other schools.
Enrolment
Salisbury School is a national Residential Specialist School (RSS) for girls with educational needs relating to vision, hearing, socialisation, behaviour, and learning. Enrolment is open to students from across New Zealand; there is no local zone.
Applications are submitted through the RSS-only pathway. Acceptance is not guaranteed — an Enrolment Panel assesses each application against the school's enrolment criteria and considers the suitability of the placement for the individual student. A successful application then requires a Specialist Education Agreement (SEA), which sets out the enrolment timeframe.
The RSS enrolment group meets on a set schedule each term. During Terms 1, 2, and 3, applications are considered twice per term; during Term 4, applications are considered once. In each round, applications must be submitted by 5pm on the Friday of Week 2 (all terms) or Week 6 (Terms 1–3 only), with the enrolment group meeting in Week 4 and Week 8 respectively.
Enquiries can be directed to the Principal at (03) 544 8119 or enquiries@salisbury.school.nz.
Curriculum
Salisbury School uses a whole-of-campus curriculum framework built around several stated priority areas: learning to learn, learning to regulate and relate, developing learner identity, developing independence, and strengthening functional literacy and numeracy skills. The learning areas of the New Zealand Curriculum (2007) provide the medium through which this priority learning takes place.
The school uses a bespoke Learner Capability Scale to support coherent learning pathways, and individual goals are documented through Personalised Individual Plans (IPs) that incorporate student and whānau voice. No specific year levels, NCEA levels, or named subject areas are specified in the curriculum framework.
Enrichment programmes extend the core curriculum across a range of health and wellbeing areas. Named Health Curriculum enrichment programmes include:
- Keeping Ourselves Safe (NZ Police)
- Pause, Breathe, Smile (Positive Mind Health)
- Positive Behaviour for Learning (PB4L) and Restorative Practice (RP)
- Special Olympics
- Swim Magic — swimming instruction
- The Interoception Curriculum — Mindful Self-Regulation
- Sexuality education
- Food and nutrition education: residential cooking programme, lunch box programme, plant to plate programme
- Food technology
- St John in Schools programme: Responding to an emergency
- Empowerment Trust: Positive Assertiveness and online safety
- Digital Citizenship and Online Safety programme
- Social skills programmes: Friendship Formula, Socially Speaking
- Enviro education: healthy communities and environments units (weekly)
- Sun, water, and road safety programme
- Cycling safety programme (community constable)
- Firewise (NZ Fire Department) and the Great Shake Out (earthquake)
- Wellbeing support from a music therapist, creative arts therapist, and counsellor
Frequently asked
These aren't generic answers — each one is built directly from Salisbury School (Nelson)'s own official Ministry of Education data already shown on this page, so what you read here always matches the figures above.
Sources & methodology
Every fact on this page traces back to one of the rows below — official Ministry of Education data, or Salisbury School (Nelson)'s own published information, reviewed before publication. Nothing here is inferred or estimated beyond what its source actually states.
| Data | Source | Data period | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| School characteristics | Ministry of Education | — | 7 September 2026 |
| Student roll | Ministry of Education / Education Counts | August 2026 | 7 September 2026 |
| Equity Index | Education Counts | — | 7 September 2026 |
| Address & coordinates | Ministry of Education | — | 7 September 2026 |
| Contact details | NZ Schools Directory | Current | 7 September 2026 |
| School information (AI-curated, human-reviewed) | Salisbury School (Nelson)'s official website | Current | 16 September 2026 |