- ERO evaluates and reports on the education and care of children and young people in early childhood services and schools.
Bay of Islands College has sound governance and very effective leadership that is strongly focused on promoting student learning. The curriculum is increasingly responsive to student strengths and interests. Strategic planning, and partnerships with whānau and the community are supporting increasing success for students’ learning and academic achievement.
ERO is likely to carry out the next review in three years.
Bay of Islands College caters for students from Year 9 to 13. The majority of students are Māori who have whakapapa ties to the local hapu, iwi and marae of Ngāpuhi. The school’s Te Reo Rua bilingual unit offers education in a Māori medium setting.
There has been a significant commitment and effort made by school leaders to build relationships with parents, whānau, contributing primary schools and the local community. This has led to a continuing increase in community confidence in the leadership and strategic direction of the school. The school and community have developed a school vision, ‘Kōkiri Ngātahi - Moving forward together to achieve successful educational aspirations’. The vision appropriately challenges students to be responsible, respectful and to achieve their potential.
ERO’s 2014 report noted that the new principal was successfully restoring a settled and inclusive school culture. A community forum, Te Roopu Whakakotahi, was helping to reunify the school and community. Increased opportunities for parents, whānau and the community to be involved in developing the school’s charter, vision and values had created a sense of shared ownership in the school. Staff morale had significantly improved. These positive features have been maintained and strengthened. The board of trustees and senior leaders have addressed the recommendations in the ERO report.
The college is part of the Peowhairangi Community of Learning|Kāhui Ako (CoL), comprising seven schools and three early childhood services in the Bay of Islands. The overall goal of the CoL is to improve the quality of teaching and learning, and to strengthen learning-focused partnerships and personalised pathways to support and accelerate student progress.
The school is using achievement information increasingly well to make positive changes to learners’ engagement, progress and achievement.
Senior leaders and teachers collect a wide range of achievement information that is shared with trustees, staff, students and whānau. This information is used to set school priorities and achievement targets, and to design curriculum programmes. It is also used for the early identification of students at risk of not achieving, and as a basis for planning additional learning support.
Over the past three years at the college, student achievement in the National Certificates of Educational Achievement (NCEA) at Level 1 has averaged 57 percent, and 75 percent in Level 2, and 50 percent in Level 3. Raising achievement in NCEA Levels 3 and University Entrance continues to be a challenge. The school’s strategic plan prioritises these areas. A continuing focus for the school is to increase the number of endorsements.
Leaders acknowledge that achievement targets could be more specific for particular groups of students whose progress needs to be accelerated. The school is currently embedding strategies to improve literacy and numeracy achievement in Years 9 and 10. Leaders anticipate that this would form a good foundation for considerable improvement in NCEA achievement in the future.
Changes have been made to school systems and structures to support closer monitoring of student data by academic counsellors, deans and classroom teachers. There is now greater staff responsibility to improve student achievement and to provide a stronger support network for students. Achievement data are used to track student progress towards school-wide and faculty targets. Data are also used to modify learning programmes in response to students’ strengths, interests, needs and aspirations.
School information shows that higher numbers of students are gaining success through career training and meaningful employment. The school is working on different approaches to improve attendance rates across all year levels, in order to lift student achievement.
The Bay of Islands College curriculum strongly reflects the intentions and key competencies of The New Zealand curriculum (NZC). The school manages the constraints of its small size well to provide a broad curriculum for its students. Vocational Pathways, the use of digital technologies, and distance learning help the school to provide a broad programme. A range of Education outside the Classroom (EOTC), sports and cultural activities enrich the curriculum offered.
Biculturalism is embedded in the curriculum and reflected in school life. Te Reo Rua provides high quality learning for students with a strong focus on culturally responsive teaching and learning practices. Learning experiences that reflect the bicultural heritage of Aotearoa New Zealand are valued and increasingly visible in the curriculum for all students.
Positive and affirming relationships underpin learning interactions between students and teachers. Faculty heads and teachers explore ways to make their curriculum and students’ learning meaningful and relevant. Good progress has been made in differentiating learning programmes and personalising learning.
School leaders and teachers are committed to ongoing improvement. Professional learning and development is strategically aligned to school priorities. Teachers’ sustained involvement in Kia Eke Panuku has strengthened culturally responsive teaching practices.
ERO recommends that school leaders build teachers’ digital capability to enhance learning opportunities for students, and together with teachers continue their focus on strengthening literacy across the curriculum.
The school is highly effective in valuing and affirming Māori students’ identity, language and culture. Bicultural practices are an integrated part of the curriculum across the school.
Te Reo Rua was established in 2012 and currently has over 100 students enrolled in Years 9 to 13. Effective leadership, very good teaching practices and teacher commitment are resulting in high levels of academic achievement, student engagement and leadership in the unit.
The school continues to consider ways, to spread this success across the school for all students through its strategic focus on Kia Eke Panuku.
The school is well placed to sustain and improve its performance.
The board of trustees provides sound governance for the school. The board has a new chairperson and several new members since the 2014 ERO review. Trustees work well with the principal and school leaders. Strategic and annual planning are informed by purposeful internal evaluation that includes student, whānau and community perspectives.
Highly effective school leadership has driven positive changes in community and school relationships, and in the quality of teaching practices and student engagement in learning. A coherent set of strategies and strong school systems drive school-wide consistency and improvement. These include effective communication, curriculum planning and evaluation, as well as initiatives such as Kia Eke Panuku, restorative justice and improvement-focused teacher appraisal.
Leaders and teachers are highly committed to working with parents, whānau and the community in the best interests of students. Parent and whānau voice is actively sought and used to inform curriculum design and other school decision-making. Connections with iwi agencies, external providers and other expert specialists support students, enrich opportunities and build the collective capacity of school leaders and staff.
Good systems help assure trustees that the school meets its obligations and legal requirements. Senior leaders and trustees agree that a continuing focus on increasing student attendance is a key priority to lift achievement.
Before the review, the board of trustees and principal of the school completed the ERO Board Assurance Statement and Self-Audit Checklists. In these documents they attested that they had taken all reasonable steps to meet their legislative obligations related to:
During the review, ERO checked the following items because they have a potentially high impact on student achievement:
Bay of Islands College has sound governance and very effective leadership that is strongly focused on promoting student learning. The curriculum is increasingly responsive to student strengths and interests. Strategic planning, and partnerships with whānau and the community are supporting increasing success for students’ learning and academic achievement.
ERO is likely to carry out the next review in three years.
Violet Tu'uga Stevenson
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern (Acting)
30 June 2017
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Location |
Kawakawa, Bay of Islands |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
8 |
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School type |
Secondary (Years 9 to 15) |
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School roll |
348 |
|
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Gender composition |
Boys 51% Girls 49% |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori |
90% |
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Special Features |
Te Reo Rua Bilingual Unit |
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Review team on site |
May 2017 |
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Date of this report |
30 June 2017 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
March 2014 |
