- ERO evaluates and reports on the education and care of children and young people in early childhood services and schools.
Students benefit from a broad, relevant curriculum that supports their learning and achievement and fosters their wellbeing. The school engages positively with its community to promote and celebrate student success. School leaders continue to seek new approaches and opportunities to improve outcomes for students.
ERO is likely to carry out the next review in three years.
Waiuku College, a co-educational secondary school on the southern rural fringe of Auckland, caters for students from Years 9 to 13. Since ERO’s 2011 report the school has continued to experience steady roll growth. The Māori roll has risen from 18 to 23 percent and the number of students with Pacific heritage has grown to four percent. Increasing numbers of international students are attending the school, attracted by the opportunity to live and learn in a semi-rural environment.
A positive culture, based on the college’s values of respect, pride and safety, continues to be evident across the school. Students are friendly, secure in their environment, and positive about their learning. The establishment of the school whare, Whare ma Toro, with the support of local hapū Ngāti Te Ata reflects the school’s intent to acknowledge and respect Māori culture, language and identity.
Over the past three years the inclusive, collaborative school leadership has maintained its focus on strategic development. Leaders and trustees are focused on modernising existing learning spaces to allow for 21st Century teaching and learning approaches. Since the 2011 ERO report the school has continued to develop relevant future pathways for students, including establishing a primary industries academy and an externally funded services academy.
The school makes effective use of achievement information to make positive changes for learners, particularly in Years 11 to 13. Students are actively engaged in their learning and are motivated to achieve personal success across a wide variety of school activities. They have opportunities to participate in and contribute to student leadership, kapa haka, cultural events and sports. A steady improvement in the number of students continuing to Year 13 reflects the school’s increasingly strong learning culture.
National Certificates of Educational Achievement (NCEA) results across the school at Levels 1, 2 and 3 continue to improve. The proportion of students leaving school with NCEA Level 2 or better and the numbers of merit and excellence endorsements in 2013 are increasing.
Achievement rates for Māori students also show improvement over time and raising these rates continues to be an area of focus. School leaders and teachers prioritise strategies that support Māori and Pacific learners to make accelerated progress and to be successful.
The school’s academic counselling programme provides opportunities for students to set goals and plan future pathways to achieve success. Students in Years 11 to 13 receive regular updates on their progress and achievement and are increasingly monitoring their own learning. Students in Year 10 have the opportunity to achieve a Junior Diploma based on their progress and achievement across learning areas.
Teachers are increasingly confident in monitoring student progress and achievement in literacy and mathematics at Years 9 and 10. Assessment results show that students maintain and improve their achievement in mathematics and in reading from Year 9 to Year 10. The school continues to develop their grade point average (GPA) system to assess student knowledge and skills across the curriculum in Year 10.
Achievement information is well used to identify those students who require ongoing support. Learning assistance is well coordinated. Personalised programmes assist students to make progress towards their learning goals. Regular monitoring and review provides students and their families with ongoing information about their learning. Student learning success is regularly celebrated with whānau.
School leaders continue to make positive changes to learning outcomes for students who are not achieving to expectations, especially in the senior school. Leaders agree that it is timely to adopt a more strategic emphasis on accelerating progress and achievement at Years 9 and 10, using many of the strategies that have proved effective at senior school level.
Senior leaders and teachers use student achievement information to set achievement targets and school goals and to plan and adapt teaching programmes. The significant improvement in the percentage of school leavers with NCEA Level 2 reflects teachers’ focus on teaching strategies that support students to be successful.
Trustees make good use of analysed achievement information to make strategic decisions. Charter targets are focused on raising the achievement of all students, and accelerating the progress of those students not meeting NCEA or curriculum level expectations. Senior leaders evaluate programmes designed to improve outcomes for students, and trustees make resourcing decisions based on this information.
The school’s increasingly broad curriculum is very effective in engaging students in learning. It provides a range of options for Years 9 and 10 students, and relevant academic and vocational programmes at senior level.
High expectations for learning are evident across the school. Students respect and appreciate teachers’ skills and subject knowledge. Coordinated, creative and strategic approaches to e-learning, digital competencies and modern learning environments are supporting students and preparing them for future learning. Teachers are increasingly using digital technologies as effective teaching and learning tools.
The school’s strong commitment to students’ personal learning pathways is reflected in programmes of learning across curriculum areas. These programmes enable students to plan their learning at school and prepare for their future education, training and employment.
Relationships between students and teachers are mutually respectful. Teachers are increasingly focused on individual student’s strengths and learning needs. Most teachers are highly committed to improving outcomes for students. A coordinated approach to ongoing improvement in teaching and learning is having a positive impact on classroom programmes. Sharing, exploring and promoting innovation are seen as key elements in further developing teacher potential.
School leaders identify key next steps for further improving the curriculum as:
Trustees, leaders and teachers strongly promote educational success for Māori students, as Maori.
The school’s commitment to Māori success is demonstrated through:
The Te Kotahitanga professional learning and development programme has had a significant positive impact. An improved school culture has been sustained and continues to underpin school initiatives. School leaders and trustees agree that it is now timely to ensure that the intent of Te Kotahitanga is reflected across all levels of the school.
The school is well placed to sustain its current good practices and continue to enhance its performance.
The school’s strong vision is highly visible and shared by all members of the school community.
There is strong professional leadership in the school. The capable experienced principal and cohesive senior leadership team are influential in building school-wide capacity.
Board decision making is strategic, evidence-based, and aimed at sustaining improvement and promoting innovative practices across the school.
Self review as a school-wide mechanism for ongoing improvement is well understood and used to promote and sustain development. Internal and external reviews and the perspectives of external agencies are valued.
Relationships with parents, whānau and the wider school community are constructive and positive. The school continues to strengthen these relationships, benefiting students in their learning and future pathways.
The school is a signatory to the Code of Practice for the Pastoral Care of International Students (the Code) established under section 238F of the Education Act 1989. The school has attested that it complies with all aspects of the Code. At the time of this review there were 33 international students attending the school.
ERO’s investigations confirmed that the school’s self-review process for international students is thorough and effective.
The school has well documented systems to guide its education and care of international students. The international department monitors the progress and achievement of individual students. Students are encouraged to participate fully in the wider life of the school. Staff regularly review practices and identify areas where additional support and guidance would benefit students.
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:
Students benefit from a broad, relevant curriculum that supports their learning and achievement and fosters their wellbeing. The school engages positively with its community to promote and celebrate student success. School leaders continue to seek new approaches and opportunities to improve outcomes for students.
ERO is likely to carry out the next review in three years.
Dale Bailey
National Manager Review Services Northern Region
8 October 2014
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Location |
Waiuku, Auckland |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
105 |
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School type |
Co-educational Secondary (Years 9 to 15) |
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School roll |
908 |
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Number of international students |
33 |
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Gender composition |
Girls 51% Boys 49% |
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Ethnic composition |
NZ European/Pākehā Māori Pacific British/Irish African Other |
65% 23% 4% 3% 2% 3% |
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Special Features |
HighWire Trust Services Academy |
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Review team on site |
August 2014 |
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Date of this report |
8 October 2014 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review Supplementary Review Education Review |
August 2011 May 2009 February 2008 |
