Rangiora High School

Rangiora High School

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within 11 months of the Education Review Office and Rangiora High School working in Te Ara Huarau, an improvement evaluation approach used in most English Medium State and State Integrated Schools. For more information about Te Ara Huarau see ERO’s website. www.ero.govt.nz

Context

Rangiora High School is a large, co-educational, secondary school located in North Canterbury which provides education for students in years 9 to 13. The school’s work is guided and informed by its values of aspire | wawatahia, respect | whakautea, and contribute | tohaina. There have been several changes to the leadership team recently and a new, experienced, principal began in the school in Term 2 of 2022.

Rangiora High School’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are:

  • a guiding focus for teaching and learning that embraces scaffolding to start and feedback and feed forward to improve.

  • a curriculum that engages ākonga and provides opportunities for all to succeed.

  • enhancing the house system to support pastoral care to grow resilience and wellbeing.

  • growing a culture that embraces the values of aspire, respect, contribute.

You can find a copy of the school’s strategic and annual plan on Rangiora High School’s website.

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate the impact on year 9 to 11 student achievement and engagement outcomes by its responsive curriculum implementation.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is that the school has identified:

  • disparity in achievement for identified groups of priority learners.

  • that mātauranga Māori needs embedding across the curriculum.

  • student, whānau, and kaiako voice informed the curriculum review and the school is evaluating the ongoing impact as it is being implemented.

The school expects to see:

  • ākonga deeply engaged in the process of learning, experiencing success through learning focused relationships and culturally responsive teaching practices.

  • a dynamic curriculum delivered through relevant and responsive learning programmes that are inclusive and equitable with clear pathways to future learning, training, and employment.

Strengths

The school can draw from the following strengths to support its goal to evaluate the impact on year 9 to 11 student achievement and engagement outcomes by its responsive curriculum implementation:

  • the school’s mantra “know me, guide me” underpins and provides focus for tracking, mentoring, guiding, and informing ākonga, whānau, and kaiako across the curriculum and in pastoral areas.

  • a systematic process of gathering qualitative and quantitative data is gathered from a wide range of stakeholders to inform curriculum review and implementation.

  • teams of staff, formed from across learning areas, are supporting the upskilling and empowerment of kaiako in literacy, numeracy, culturally responsive pedagogy, and restorative practice.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise:

  • implementing a responsive curriculum to support and provide opportunities for all learners to succeed and evaluating the impact on student achievement and engagement outcomes.

  • targeted professional learning in the use of feedback, feed forward, and scaffolding to guide individual learners.

  • strategically gathering and scrutinising data to improve the tracking of individual students and identify and respond to those needing additional support.

ERO’s role will be to support the school in its evaluation for improvement cycle to improve outcomes for all learners. ERO will support the school in reporting their progress to the community. The next public report on ERO’s website will be a Te Ara Huarau | School Evaluation Report and is due within three years.

Shelley Booysen
Director of Schools

13 November 2023

About the School

The Education Counts website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement.  educationcounts.govt.nz/home

Rangiora High School

Board Assurance with Regulatory and Legislative Requirements Report 2023 to 2026

As of April 2023, the Rangiora High School Board has attested to the following regulatory and legislative requirements:

Board Administration

Yes

Curriculum

Yes

Management of Health, Safety and Welfare

Yes

Personnel Management

Yes

Finance

Yes

Assets

Yes

Further Information

For further information please contact Rangiora High School, School Board.

The next School Board assurance that it is meeting regulatory and legislative requirements will be reported, along with the Te Ara Huarau | School Evaluation Report, within three years.

Information on ERO’s role and process in this review can be found on the Education Review Office website.

Shelley Booysen
Director of Schools

13 November 2023

About the School

The Education Counts website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement. educationcounts.govt.nz/home

Rangiora High School

Provision for International Students Report

Background

The Education Review Office reviews schools that are signatories to the Education (Pastoral Care of Tertiary and International Learners) Code of Practice 2021 established under section 534 of the Education and Training Act 2020.

Findings

The school is a signatory to the Education (Pastoral Care of Tertiary and International Learners) Code of Practice 2021 established under section 534 of the Education and Training Act 2020. The school has attested that it complies with all aspects of the Code and has completed an annual self-review of its implementation of the Code.

At the time of this report there were 29 international students attending the school, and no exchange students.

The school is rebuilding its international student programme in 2023, supported by Board strategy. A new international department team began at the school at the start of the year. They have identified actions needed to sustain positive outcomes for students. Students are carefully mentored to make the appropriate choices for their pathways and supported to succeed academically. The experienced International Director reports directly to the Board. As a result, school governance and leadership has informed oversight of student wellbeing, learning, and engagement.

Thoughtful processes and practices support students to settle into the school, develop a sense of belonging, and be active participants in school life. The eight international students interviewed at the time of the review described feeling welcome at the school and developing positive relationships with the staff and other students. They expressed appreciation for the opportunities available to them and for the support they had received.

The school has committed to better formalising its self-review processes and strategic planning for international students.

Shelley Booysen
Director of Schools

13 November 2023

About the School

The Education Counts website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement. educationcounts.govt.nz/home

Rangiora High School - 31/01/2019

Findings

Trustees and school leaders have a strong focus on improving the achievement, retention, transition and engagement for groups of students of concern. Leaders and teachers are adapting the curriculum to better meet the needs, interests and abilities of all students. The school is improving systems for gathering and managing data. The principal and trustees are taking a well-considered approach to driving the strategic direction of the school. Leaders and teachers need to continue to build culturally responsive practices, and implement a rigorous process of internal evaluation.

ERO is likely to carry out the next review as part of the regular three year cycle.

1 Background and Context

What is the background and context for this school’s review?

Rangiora High School was reviewed by ERO in 2016. At that time, the Ministry of Education had dissolved the board and appointed a commissioner to fulfil the governance role. An acting principal had recently been appointed. An external consultant was providing the school with extra support during a time of major change. ERO could not be confident that the school was able to sustain or improve its performance, hence the decision for a review over one to two years.

A new principal was appointed in Term 2 of 2017. A new board was elected in April 2018. The external consultant, who developed the current charter and strategic plan in consultation with the school community, is continuing in his supporting role of the school. A major building programme has been completed and now provides teachers and students with a space that can be used in flexible ways.

2 Review and Development

How effectively is the school addressing its priorities for review and development?

Priorities identified for review and development

The 2016 ERO review identified the following key areas for review and development:

  • student learning and achievement
  • curriculum and contexts for learning
  • sustainable performance.
Progress

Student learning, achievement and the curriculum

Trustees and school leaders have a strong focus on improving the achievement, retention, transition and engagement for groups of students at risk of not achieving well. They have introduced multiple strategies to enhance Māori student achievement and reduce academic disparity. These include participation in a national programme to support Māori students to pursue their potential, and building closer relationships between the school and the local rūnanga. Leaders continue to support courses such as boys-only classes that are designed to meet their interests. Teachers are using an inquiry process to reflect on the progress for priority groups.

Leaders and teachers are adapting the curriculum to better meet the needs, interests and abilities of all students. They are moving students’ focus from the quantity of NCEA credits to achieving high quality credits. Teachers are increasingly working together to make connections between learning areas. A greater range of courses is now available, including more that will lead to vocational qualifications.

The school is improving systems for gathering and managing data. There are now agreed assessment points for students in Years 9 and 10. School leaders are improving the way they report to parents and include students in the process. They are monitoring the wellbeing and achievement of students who need extra support. Student views on curriculum delivery and wellbeing are regularly sought and used. There is improving communication and reporting in the Mainstream Support Unit.

Key next steps

Leaders and teachers need to:

  • continue to build culturally responsive practices so that Māori students’ culture, language and identity are well represented and valued
  • strengthen the analysis of learner information to get a school-wide picture for groups of students
  • use this information to improve outcomes for these students, particularly at Years 9 and 10.

3 Sustainable performance and self review

How well placed is the school to sustain and continue to improve and review its performance?

Progress

The new trustees are putting in place systems and processes to effectively fulfil their stewardship responsibilities. They share their knowledge, expertise and experience to support improvements for students. Triennial policy and curriculum review programmes are now in place. They have made effective use of external support for advice and guidance.

The principal and trustees are taking a well-considered approach to driving the strategic direction of the school. The charter was developed in consultation with the community. It sets a clear direction for the future of the school. The senior leadership team is being restructured to ensure the school is well placed to meet its strategic goals. Trustees have a strong focus on improving outcomes for students. They regularly seek feedback from students, staff and parents about learning and wellbeing.

Leaders and teachers are beginning to build capability through identifying and giving priority to what will be most effective in improving outcomes for students. A strengthened appraisal process is helping teachers to think more deeply about their practice.

Key next steps

Internal evaluation is not yet effectively contributing to shared understandings of what works most effectively and what needs further development. Leaders now need to develop and implement a rigorous process of internal evaluation to determine the effectiveness of recent initiatives. The professional learning and development programmes need to focus on developing shared understandings across the staff to lead to greater collaboration and consistency of practice.

Board assurance on legal requirements

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:

  • board administration
  • curriculum
  • management of health, safety and welfare
  • personnel management
  • financial management
  • asset management.

During the review, ERO checked the following items because they have a potentially high impact on student achievement:

  • emotional safety of students (including prevention of bullying and sexual harassment)
  • physical safety of students
  • teacher registration
  • processes for appointing staff
  • stand-downs, suspensions, expulsions and exclusions
  • attendance.

4 Recommendations

Recommendations, including any to other agencies for ongoing or additional support.

ERO recommends that the current arrangements between an external consultant and the school, and the SAF facilitator provided by the Ministry of Education continue.

Conclusion

Trustees and school leaders have a strong focus on improving the achievement, retention, transition and engagement for groups of students of concern. Leaders and teachers are adapting the curriculum to better meet the needs, interests and abilities of all students. The school is improving systems for gathering and managing data. The principal and trustees are taking a well-considered approach to driving the strategic direction of the school. Leaders and teachers need to continue to build culturally responsive practices, and implement a rigorous process of internal evaluation.

ERO is likely to carry out the next review as part of the regular three year cycle.

Alan Wynyard

Director Review & Improvement Services

Te Waipounamu - Southern Region

31 January 2019

About the School

Location

Rangiora, Canterbury

Ministry of Education profile number

312

School type

State Secondary School (Years 7 to 13)

School roll

1627

Number of international students

49

Gender composition

Boys 48% ; Girls 52%

Ethnic composition

Pākehā
Māori
Pacific
Other ethnicities

77%
12%
2%
9%

Review team on site

October 2018

Date of this report

31 January 2019

Most recent ERO reports

Education Review
Education Review
Education Review

July 2016
May 2012
June 2009