- ERO evaluates and reports on the education and care of children and young people in early childhood services and schools.
Dargaville High School has made good progress since its 2012 ERO report. The board is managing its governance role well. School leaders are targeting the needs of students who need learning assistance. Māori students are being affirmed through their language, culture and identity, with Māori community involvement in this kaupapa.
ERO is likely to carry out the next review in three years.
Dargaville High School is a co-educational, Year 9 to 13 school that provides secondary education for young people in the Kaipara district of Northland. The roll comprises 43 per cent Māori students. Students of New Zealand European/Pākehā descent make up the balance of the school roll.
The 2012 ERO report identified concerns about aspects of the school’s performance. These included strategic direction, leadership, communication, curriculum planning, the evaluation of student achievement and the extent to which Māori student success was supported and promoted.
In April 2012, Dargaville High School’s board of trustees accepted ERO’s offer of an Arotake Paetawhiti (longitudinal) review to assist school progress in the agreed areas for development.
ERO has visited the school and evaluated progress over a two-year period, meeting with school leaders, trustees, members of the community, staff and students. ERO has also visited classrooms. A concluding visit to the school was made in June 2014.
This report assures the Dargaville High School community that good progress has been made in the designated priority areas. The school now has a range of positive practices in place that have improved educational outcomes, potentially for all students.
The agreed priorities for review and development between the board of trustees and ERO were:
Dargaville High School has made good progress with each of the priorities listed above.
There is evidence of improvement in the quality of communication practices both within the school and with the local community. Communication systems are more transparent and positive. Members of the community report that they have increased confidence in the school.
The Dargaville High School curriculum is now more effectively aligned to The New Zealand Curriculum (NZC) and is more purposefully focused on student pathways. The school is establishing useful links with tertiary providers, providers of foundation and bridging courses, and local employers. This enables students to gain National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) credits and experience outside of school programmes, adding to their qualifications success. The Dargaville community has provided substantial support for these initiatives.
The NZC vision, values and key competencies are woven through the school’s learning programmes. Teachers are beginning to broadening the focus of traditional school subjects to include contexts for learning that are more authentic and relevant to students' lives.
The school’s collection of achievement information is supported by Auckland University’s Starpath initiative. An academic counselling system is implemented and students share more responsibility for tracking and monitoring their own progress towards achievement. Teachers are asked to adopt a tutoring role that sits alongside their subject teacher role, and this is expected to strengthen successful outcomes for students.
School leaders are reporting to the board more frequently on the achievement of students as a whole, and on identified groups of students. Some evaluation that leads to action plans is improving the educational provisions of particular groups of NCEA students.
School leaders and teaching staff have taken steps to raise Māori achievement. This approach includes targeted strategies to work with Māori students at Level 1 and 2 NCEA who are at risk of not achieving. Māori student achievement has improved markedly since the 2012 ERO report. The most recent NCEA results for Māori students show a 75% pass rate at Level 1, and 64% pass rate at Level 2.
The board, principal and school leaders have consulted with Māori whānau in meaningful ways. Hui have been held within the different Māori communities. Feedback from whānau continues to indicate that they would like to see ongoing development of te reo and tikanga Māori in the school. Whānau Māori also have aspirations for the school to find more opportunities for students to connect to Māori pathway initiatives in the wider Kaipara region.
Middle leaders, teachers and support staff work hard to provide and facilitate learning programmes that reflect the essence of the school curriculum and that focus on potential learning pathways relevant to individual learners. They show commitment and high levels of interest in the students whom they teach and support.
ERO considers the following developments would consolidate and sustain the improvements made by the school:
The school is well placed to improve its current performance and is likely to sustain this improvement through self review. Consultation is assisting the board of trustees to purposefully consider the school’s long-term direction and develop a more cohesive strategic plan.
ERO has confidence in the capability of the board of trustees. The board is working diligently to improve its effectiveness. Most trustees have attended training to enhance their governance skills. ERO supports the board's view that the school’s charter is a working document that is regularly revisited and reviewed for progress.
The board has made new appointments at senior leadership level and this team is working collaboratively and productively. Each senior leader brings a different skill set to strengthen and build leadership capability to the team. Priorities for targeted action to support student achievement and wellbeing are now an intrinsic part of the leadership team’s strategic thinking.
The school has a more settled culture and tone. Positive profiles of the school are publicised on the school website and in high quality newsletters, informing the school community of events, successes and celebrations.
School leaders and ERO agree that sustainability of the school’s effectiveness will be strengthened through:
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:
Dargaville High School has made good progress since its 2012 ERO report. The board is managing its governance role well. School leaders are targeting the needs of students who need learning assistance. Māori students are being affirmed through their language, culture and identity, with Māori community involvement in this kaupapa.
ERO is likely to carry out the next review in three years.
Dale Bailey
National Manager Review Services Northern Region
10 September 2014
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Location |
Dargaville, Kaipara District |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
19 |
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School type |
Secondary (Years 9 to 13) |
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School roll |
464 |
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Number of international students |
1 |
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Gender composition |
Girls 52% Boys 48% |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori NZ European/Pākehā Tongan South East Asian other European other Asian other Pacific other |
43% 47% 2% 2% 3% 1% 1% 1% |
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Review team on site |
June 2014 |
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Date of this report |
10 September 2014 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review Education Review Education Review |
May 2012 October 2008 February 2006 |
