Findings
Whangaparaoa College promotes high quality learning outcomes. Students benefit from a broad curriculum that supports their holistic development and wellbeing. The school is well placed to sustain its performance. High levels of collaboration between students, teachers, leaders and trustees, and a positive school culture are key factors in the school’s continued success.
ERO is likely to carry out the next review in four-to-five years.
1 Context
What are the important features of this school that have an impact on student learning?
Whangaparaoa College is a co-educational, Year 7-13 secondary school that is systematically strengthening partnerships and engagement with its local community. The college was established in 2005 and students are predominantly New Zealand European/Pākehā. Ten percent identify as Māori with smaller numbers identifying as Pacific, Asian and European. The school is proactively building partnerships with the local Māori community and marae.
Previous ERO reports have commended the school’s growing school-wide culture of self review. A strong focus on positive relationships and evidence-based approaches to learning contributed to the schools’ inclusive and learner-centred culture. Highly engaged learners, high quality teaching, and the principal’s capable leadership were noted. These positive features remain evident and have been further strengthened.
Students identify strongly with the school’s culture of respect and positive relationships, and they play a proactive role in leadership in co-curricular aspects of the school. Ninety four international students are currently enrolled at the college, twice that of previous years.
The board of trustees and school leaders are committed to the school’s vision, mission and values of learning, personal excellence and respect. They are focused on promoting equity and excellence, providing a broad and well-rounded education for all learners, and ongoing improvement. Professional learning and development contributes to the effectiveness of teaching and is sustaining the school’s strongly positive culture and sense of being a learning community.
2 Learning
How well does this school use achievement information to make positive changes to learners’ engagement, progress and achievement?
The school uses achievement information well to make positive changes to learners’ engagement, progress and achievement.
Students are highly engaged in learning and school life. The continued focus on positive relationships and a caring culture as a foundation for teaching and learning is a notable feature. Students enjoy collaborative, interactive teaching approaches where they can share ideas and experiences.
Classrooms are settled and well managed environments that support purposeful learning. Teachers make good use of digital technologies to engage learners. Systems for sharing achievement information with students, in ways that support their learning progress, have improved. A continued focus on teachers using evidence to inquire into the effectiveness of their practice will further enhance outcomes for learners.
Evidence-based practices have been strengthened in each subject area, and through academic counsellors. These practices include using evidence and data to evaluate the effectiveness of teaching strategies. Academic counselling has been embedded across the school to promote success for all learners. Each student is matched with a trusted mentor who supports them to monitor their own progress and helps them work towards their learning goals and pathways.
The board uses achievement information well to set strategic and annual goals. The school supports improved outcomes for all students. There is a strategic focus on promoting positive outcomes for students who are at risk of not achieving to their potential. Academic counsellors, in their mentoring role, use data to monitor the engagement, progress and achievement of individual learners in all areas of school life.
Achievement information for students in Years 7 to 10 indicate that students generally make very good progress during their time at school. Data show that the majority of students continue to achieve at or above the National Standard in reading, writing and mathematics. The majority of Māori students are achieving at or above the national standard in reading, writing and mathematics, however, they are not yet achieving at similar levels to other students in the school. Mathematics is an area for improvement, particularly for Māori students and girls.
Achievement information in Years 9 and 10 shows that the majority of learners achieve at or above national averages in reading, writing and mathematics. Of particular note is that Year 9 and 10 boys are achieving better than girls in mathematics. In reading, 71% of Year 9 learners are achieving above national averages. In Year 10, 70% of learners are achieving at or above national averages. Although the majority of Māori and Pasifika learners achieve at or above national averages, they are achieving below other learners in the school.
School leaders monitor student achievement in the National Certificates of Education Achievement (NCEA) closely. In most aspects student achievement in NCEA compares very favourably with that of similar schools. Since 2009, pass rates in NCEA Level 1 and Level 2 have increased by 13% and 7% respectively. Level 1 literacy and NCEA endorsements at Levels 1 and 2 have also increased significantly since 2009, and the high pass rate in Level 1 numeracy has been further extended.
Over the last three years, National Certificates of Educational Achievement (NCEA) results at all levels continue to show improvement. In 2015, 84% of students achieved NCEA Level 1, 92% achieved Level 2 and 87% achieved the NCEA Level 3 qualification. The school is exceeding the 2017 national target of having 85% of students achieving NCEA Level 2.
School leaders and teachers are exploring ways to increase:
- the number of students who attain the University Entrance qualification
- NCEA Level 3 results so that they are comparable with similar schools
- the percentages of students achieving excellence endorsements in all NCEA qualifications.
3 Curriculum
How effectively does this school’s curriculum promote and support student learning?
The school is continuing to strengthen the effectiveness of the curriculum in promoting and supporting student learning. The school’s vision, mission and values together with the significant focus on promoting respectful relationships and student wellbeing are at the heart of the curriculum. The school has a teaching and learning leadership group to help teachers share best practice and their expertise. This will assist in developing and enhancing consistency, coherence and connectedness of teaching and learning within, and across, all levels of the school.
Teachers have further strengthened their learner-centred teaching approaches. They consistently use learning contexts that are relevant and meaningful, and that build on learners’ prior knowledge and experiences. Through learner-led conferences students are supported to lead discussions about their own progress, achievement and learning goals. The Teaching and Learning Leadership (TALL) group provides a platform for teachers and learners to share their perspectives about effective teaching and learning in the school. The school’s timetable structure has also been reviewed to include teaching time for academic counselling.
Achievement information is used well to inform curriculum design, planning and implementation. Curriculum leaders and teachers use their expertise to critically reflect on how to make learning programmes more responsive. They differentiate learning pathways and assessment in response to students’ strengths, interests and learning needs. High quality provision for international students and well managed programmes for students with special learning needs are other important features that positively impact on student learning.
A flexible approach to curriculum design allows students to build their course of study around their interests. Through diversifying and broadening the curriculum students interested in vocational learning are being well catering for. Course differentiation in curriculum areas such as the Arts, English, mathematics, physical education and health, and social sciences is enabling students, including those who have additional education needs, to have a greater range of options and to transition to tertiary programmes.
The learning environment throughout the school is focused and purposeful. Digital technologies support and enhance student learning. This is currently a key element in teachers’ professional development. The board and school leaders plan initiatives and opportunities for effective and differentiated teacher professional learning. Teacher expertise within the school is used to promote culturally responsive approaches and strategies.
The college offers an enriching range of co-curricular activities. There are many opportunities for students to experience success and build leadership capability and social competencies. A variety of cultural, academic and sporting events celebrate student achievement.
ERO affirms the school’s current focus on developing a coherent, future-focused, Year 7 to 10 curriculum and assessment framework based on identified learner skills and competencies.
How effectively does the school promote educational success for Māori, as Māori?
The school is developing its capacity to promote educational success for Māori students, as Māori.
Significant and key developments since the 2013 ERO review include:
- the appointment of a te reo Māori teacher who also provides internal professional development for teachers about te reo and tikanga Māori, local Māori history and culturally responsive pedagogy
- te reo Māori offered for students from Years 7 to 11, with plans to grow the subject through to Level 3 NCEA
- the two carved Pou (posts) at the front of Te Maramara a Tane, the college marae that depict stories about local iwi and local Māori history
- stronger links with local Māori and the marae
- establishing a Māori and Pasifika learner group to provide more formal opportunities for feedback, leadership and increased participation, engagement and success in all aspects of school life
- the co-opting of a trustee of Māori descent to the board of trustees with te reo and tikanga Māori, and links through to the Māori community.
Māori students speak very positively about the school culture and learning. They value the opportunities they have to engage in the wider life of the college. They also appreciate teachers’ efforts to be culturally responsive and to affirm their language and cultural identity. Māori students demonstrate a strong sense of belonging and pride in the school.
4 Sustainable Performance
How well placed is the school to sustain and improve its performance?
The school is well placed to sustain and continue improving its performance. Trustees and school managers have reviewed the school’s mission, vision and values in recent years. They are also continuing to rationalise and clarify the school’s current policy framework.
The principal and board of trustees work collaboratively and strategically to guide school improvements. The well informed and capable trustees set meaningful long term goals that provide a purposeful framework for annual planning and self-review. Trustees appropriately seek external expertise to support school governance and management. The board of trustees has recently co-opted a trustee of Māori ethnicity with strong links to the local marae and others in the community. She is able to give valuable advice regarding taha Māori.
Trustees receive reliable and analysed data about learner engagement and achievement. The wellbeing and progress of learners is central to all board considerations and decisions. Learner support, guidance and pastoral care are well resourced components of the curriculum. The strategic and deliberate emphasis on bi-culturalism over the last three years has significantly improved the engagement of Māori learners and whānau.
Board surveys indicate a high level of parent and whānau satisfaction with school performance. Parents are increasingly involved in supporting cultural and sporting programmes. A very high percentage attend student-led, teacher meetings. Parents can access information about student learning and achievement through the school’s web site and parent portal.
Teachers are encouraged to build their professional capability. The professional learning programme, aligned to the school strategic goals, enables teacher to share their expertise and develop cross curricular practices to support outcomes for learners. Teachers would benefit from more closely aligning their professional inquiry to the requirements of the new Education Council. In particular the requirements related to Tātaiako: culturally responsive teacher practices.
The principal is an effective school leader, respected for his integrity and open communication with staff and students. He is developing a new model for broadening school-wide responsibilities. Lifting the role of school managers to higher levels of professional reflection, inquiry and leadership is the critical factor. New leadership opportunities arising from this restructuring have the potential to increase shared understandings of research-based best practice in teaching and curriculum.
Strategic and comprehensive approaches have underpinned the school’s long term commitment to strengthening digital learning, academic counselling and positive relationships for learning. As new trustees are being inducted, the board is beginning a process of consultation to inform their next strategic plan.
ERO encourages trustees and school managers to further evaluate the aspirations and destinations of school leavers. This should help them to ensure that learning opportunities are sufficiently broad and provide appropriate pathways for students seeking employment, further study and tertiary qualifications.
Provision for international students
The Education (Pastoral Care of International Students) Code of Practice 2016 (the Code) was introduced on July 1st 2016. The school is aware of the need to update its policies and procedures to meet the new code requirements by December 1st 2016.
At the time of the review there were 94 international students attending the school.
The school is making good progress in aligning its policies and procedures to meet requirements for the 2016 Code.
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.
Conclusion
Whangaparaoa College promotes high quality learning outcomes. Students benefit from a broad curriculum that supports their holistic development and wellbeing. The school is well placed to sustain its performance. High levels of collaboration between students, teachers, leaders and trustees, and a positive school culture are key factors in the school’s continued success.
ERO is likely to carry out the next review in four-to-five years.
Graham Randell
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern
2 November 2016
About the School
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Location
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Stanmore Bay, Auckland
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Ministry of Education profile number
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6763
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School type
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Secondary (Years 9 to 15)
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School roll
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1285
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Number of international students
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94
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Gender composition
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Boys 48%, Girls 52%
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Ethnic composition
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NZ European/Pākehā
Māori
Asian
Pacific
other
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78%
10%
4%
2%
6%
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Review team on site
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August 2016
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Date of this report
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2 November 2016
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Most recent ERO report(s)
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Education Review
Education Review
Education Review
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August 2013
September 2010
July 2007
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