St Pius X Catholic School (Glen Innes)

Summary

St Pius X Catholic School in Glen Innes, Auckland, provides state integrated Catholic education for children from Years 1 to 8. Children’s learning is influenced by the school’s Catholic character, in particular the Holy Faith charism, and The New Zealand Curriculum. Many families have strong intergenerational connections with the school. The school community has experienced ongoing change in recent years due to housing development and the relocation of families. The roll is now expected to grow significantly as a result of housing intensification.

Most children have Pacific heritage. The majority are Tongan and there is a smaller group of Samoan children. The school values and promotes the use of children’s first languages. It holds fono in languages of parents’ choice.

The senior leadership team and many staff have worked together at the school for some years. The school continues to be part of the Manaiakalani cluster and belongs to the Manaiakalani Community of Learning|Kāhui Ako(CoL). The CoL is well underway with its achievement challenges, which include supporting teachers to make better use of children’s achievement information for ongoing improvement.

The 2014 ERO report identified key areas for development that included self review and strategies for accelerating children’s learning progress. The report also noted that school leaders were planning to review the school’s curriculum. Good progress has been made in some areas.

How well is the school achieving equitable outcomes for all children?

The school is responding well to some children whose learning and achievement need acceleration.

Sound governance, effective community partnership, a respectful and inclusive culture, and collaborative leadership practices are contributing to equitable outcomes for children. To sustain and build on current good practices, further progress is required in developing internal evaluation and strengthening the consistency of good teaching practices.

The school has capacity and capability to accelerate learning for all children. However, disparity in achievement for some groups of children remains.

ERO is likely to carry out the next review in three years.

Equity and excellence

How effectively does this school respond to Māori and other children whose learning and achievement need acceleration?

The school is developing strategies to respond more effectively to Pacific and Māori children whose learning and achievement need acceleration. As there is a small number of Māori children, teachers are able to implement individualised approaches in consultation with whānau, to accelerate their learning.

Many children make accelerated progress in their first year at school, and again in the senior part of the school. Approximately two-thirds of children achieve at or above the National Standards in reading, writing and mathematics. While progress in overall achievement has been maintained over the past three years, it did not increase significantly between 2015 and 2016.

Teachers know how individual children are achieving and track their progress. School leaders should more closely monitor children’s overall progress over time while maintaining an ongoing emphasis on high expectations for all children.

School leaders are working with other CoL schools to improve outcomes for children who are at risk of not achieving. As a result, teachers are beginning to use achievement information to examine the impact that their teaching practices have on outcomes for children. They are working more collaboratively, discussing achievement data and sharing teaching strategies and practices. This more sustainable approach is encouraging shared responsibility for the progress and achievement of all learners, especially those whose achievement needs acceleration.

Teachers moderate their overall teacher judgements with their in-school colleagues. They also moderate children’s writing with other CoL schools. It is important for the school to expand the information that teachers use to make their judgements and strengthen its moderation systems, in order to improve the reliability of school-wide achievement information.

It is also important that school leaders refine their strategic achievement targets so that they focus more specifically on different groups of children. This more focused approach would help leaders to: 

• track and monitor the progress of specific groups during the year
• identify and address in-school disparities
• report outcomes for all groups of children. 

School conditions supporting equity and excellence

What school processes are effective in enabling achievement of equity and excellence?

The board and senior leaders are strategic in engaging parents, whanāu and aiga in the life of the school and in promoting partnerships that focus on children’s learning. Successful parent-led initiatives to support Tongan and Samoan families with their children’s learning are contributing to these school-wide goals. Staff who are fluent in Pacific languages ensure that parents receive key school documents, including the school’s strategic plan, in their first language. These useful approaches promote positive parent engagement and ensure that parents’ views are heard.

Leaders and teachers work alongside children and their parents to enhance children’s wellbeing and pastoral care needs and prepare them for learning. They have a strategic and individualised approach to meeting children’s needs. They value difference and diversity, promote children’s language, culture and sense of identity and plan well for children’s strengths.Staff ensure that children have equitable access to resources, including digital devices, to enhance their learning.

Teachers promote respectful learning relationships. Staff throughout the school promote a welcoming and inclusive environment for children and their families.Children engage well in their learning. They demonstrate a strong sense of belonging and appreciate the many leadership opportunities available to them.

Staff provide increasingly effective support for children with additional needs and for those who are learning to speak English as a further language. External agencies and programmes are used extensively to support children. The board and leaders agree that evaluating the impact of these programmes on outcomes for children, is an important next step.

External support is helping teachers and leaders to review and improve the school’s curriculum. Learning programmes are becoming increasingly integrated so that reading, writing and mathematics are taught in meaningful and relevant ways. Ongoing improvements should reflect children’s ideas and include innovative teaching practices throughoutthe curriculum. Further work is needed to develop the sexuality education strand of the health and physical education curriculum to better reflect TheNew Zealand Curriculum.

Senior leaders model good teaching practice for their teams. They use a school-wide approach to support more consistent use of student-led, personalised learning approaches. Teachers help children to understand their own achievement and next steps for learning.

Senior leaders work collaboratively and engage in professional learning to enhance their leadership skills. They have a shared vision for equitable outcomes for children and they promote this vision with the school’s community. There are good opportunities for teachers to develop their leadership.

The board of trustees provides sound governance. School leaders share achievement information with the board. Trustees actively represent and serve their school and parent communities. They are beginning an extensive building project to provide up-to-date facilities, to cater for projected roll growth and to support more collaborative teaching and learning practices.

Sustainable development for equity and excellence

What further developments are needed in school processes to achieve equity and excellence?

Senior leaders and the board agree that they need to develop internal evaluation processes in all areas and levels of school operations. This would help senior leaders to measure the effectiveness of programmes and initiatives and report evaluation findings to the board. Good use of evaluation should enable the board, leaders and teachers to be more responsive to the patterns and trends in student achievement information and other data. It would help school leaders to implement and embed initiatives to address priorities for improvement.

Key next steps for the school include accessing external professional development to:

• support senior leaders and teachers to analyse achievement information more deeply and to evaluate the impact of programmes and initiatives

• promote consistency in the quality of teachers’ practices, including moderation, throughout the school

• support the principal to implement meaningful senior teacher appraisals

• continue to strengthen teachers’ reflective practice.

Board assurance on legal requirements

Before the review, the board 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 the following:

• board administration

• curriculum

• management of health, safety and welfare

• personnel management

• asset management.

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

• emotional safety of students (including prevention of bullying and sexual harassment)

• physical safety of students

• teacher registration and certification

• processes for appointing staff

• stand down, suspension, expulsion and exclusion of students

• attendance.

Going forward

How well placed is the school to accelerate the achievement of all children who need it?

The school has capacity and capability to accelerate learning for all children. However, disparity in achievement for Māori and/or other children remains.

Leaders and teachers:

• know the children whose learning and achievement need to be accelerated
• need to develop and implement approaches that effectively meet the needs of each child
• need to improve the school conditions that support the acceleration of children’s learning and achievement.
• need to build teacher capability to accelerate children’s learning and achievement.

The school agrees to:

• develop more targeted planning to accelerate learning for children
• monitor targeted planning, improved teaching, and children’s progress
• discuss the school’s progress with ERO.

ERO will provide an internal evaluation workshop to support the school to develop effective planning and monitoring processes to support equity and excellence for all children. 

ERO is likely to carry out the next review in three years. 

Violet Tu’uga Stevenson

Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern (Acting)

18 August 2017

About the school 

Findings

The school has mostly Pacific students. It values and is concerned for all students and their families. E-learning is a feature of student learning, with all senior students working on their own netbooks. School leaders now need to ensure that all students benefit from effective teaching.

ERO is likely to carry out the next review in three years.

1 Context

What are the important features of this school that have an impact on student learning?

St Pius X Catholic School is a state-integrated Catholic school in Glen Innes, Auckland. It provides education for students from Years 1 to 8. Nearly all of students are Pacific with Tongan and Samoan students making up the largest groups. The school culture values and includes all students and their families. In many cases, generations of family members have attended this school.

Most students are multi-lingual. Students’ first languages are valued and encouraged by teachers. Many students are supported to learn English. Many parents are able to participate fully in community meetings and in discussions about their child’s learning because translators offer the opportunity to discuss matters fully in their first languages.

In recent years significant redevelopment of housing in the Tamaki area has impacted on the local community. Many families have been relocated while the housing project is underway. This has resulted in a falling school roll.

The school has been involved in the Manaiakalani Cluster for several years. This project focuses on building the capacity of schools and their students to use information and communication technologies (ICT) to access learning. Principals, e-learning leaders and teachers participate in professional learning and development to build their knowledge and use of 21st century learning strategies and practices.

The school and parish work together to provide pastoral care for the school community. The multi-lingual pastoral care worker and Social Worker in Schools (SWiS) offer wide-ranging support to families. The St Pius X parish operates a play group from a room in the parish hall. This play group meets daily during term time, providing the opportunity for children to participate in early childhood education.

Many school staff are long-serving. Recently a re-organisation of leadership roles and syndicate structures has been implemented. In 2011 ERO identified the need to improve student self management, leadership, assessment practices and school self review. While some progress has been made, there is still work to be done in these areas.

2 Learning

How well does this school use achievement information to make positive changes to learners’ engagement, progress and achievement?

The school is developing frameworks and strategies for using achievement information to better promote learners’ engagement, progress and achievement.

Teachers use appropriate assessment tools to gather information about students’ achievements. These data are collated and analysed, initially by the senior teacher with responsibility for achievement. The senior leadership team discusses and analyses the data before it is presented to the teachers. As a result, teachers are aware of the learning needs of the students in their classes.

Senior leaders use student achievement information to develop targets for groups of students who could improve their achievement in relation to the National Standards. Teachers identify individual students in their classes who need to make better progress. They discuss the progress of targeted students and share ideas about how they can improve their teaching.

Student achievement in relation to the National Standards is lower than national levels identified in public achievement information. Senior leaders report that students make very good progress in their first three years at school. Achievement data for students in years 4 to 8 shows that this good progress is not sustained.

Senior leaders are aware of the need to accelerate the progress of many students in reading, writing and mathematics. The students who need to improve their English work with a teacher aide to develop their confidence. This can be helpful in supporting students to participate more fully in classroom programmes. Teacher aides work in classrooms and help teachers to meet the learning needs of individual students and groups.

In order to build the school’s capacity to promote learners’ engagement, progress and achievement, senior leaders agree that they should review:

• assessment practices to ensure achievement in relation to the National Standards continues to be reported accurately
• the effectiveness of programmes to support student learning, such as the use of teacher aides and English language support
• what constitutes effective teaching in this school, using current research and best practice as a guide
• the implementation of teaching strategies for accelerating student progress.

3 Curriculum

How effectively does this school’s curriculum promote and support student learning?

The school is developing its capacity to promote and support student learning through the curriculum.

The school has developed a comprehensive school curriculum document in response to The New Zealand Curriculum. Bicultural practice is inherent in the school’s religious education programme. Teachers emphasise reading, writing and mathematics appropriately. Students have opportunities to learn across all learning areas through an integrated approach to science, social studies and technology. They use an inquiry model to investigate specific topics.

Students benefit from good access to digital technologies. Senior students have access to their own netbook, which they use to research, record and present their learning. Teachers use the pathway of ’learn, create and share‘ to guide students’ learning processes.

A specialist music teacher provides a programme that is highly valued by students. Groups of students extend their skills by performing in competitions and in the wider community. Liturgy provides authentic opportunities for students to lead music in the school.

Year 7 and 8 students access technology from specialist teachers at a local college. They learn about future career opportunities in the course of their integrated studies. Teachers invite former student role models and other experts to address and inspire students.

Senior students act as playground mediators called ‘peace officers’. They provide leadership and positive role models for other students. Students who have been identified as potential leaders work with a teacher and volunteer each week to develop their skills and decision making abilities.

School leaders plan to review the school’s curriculum in the near future. They could maximise the impact of this review by:

• using information from consultation undertaken with the community about the school's charter to also inform curriculum developments
• finding ways to fully implement the intent of the Ministry of Education’s Pacific Education Plan
• including the principles of the Ministry Education Strategy: Ka Hikitia, Accelerating Success 2013-2017
• developing a shared understanding of effective pedagogy and related practices
• further promoting high expectations for curriculum implementation.

How effectively does the school promote educational success for Māori, as Māori?

Although very small numbers of Māori students attend the school, the inclusive nature of the school culture offers Māori families a sense of belonging.

Some informal consultation with individual families has been undertaken. The school has plans to formalise this consultation to provide information that school leaders and the board can use to support planning.

Teachers use te reo Māori throughout the religious education programme. At other times students learn kupu Māori incidentally in class programmes. Students practise tikanga Māori during liturgy and in the process of welcoming visitors to the school. Year 7 and 8 students learn te reo and tikanga Māori as the learning languages component of the curriculum.

The school could continue to strengthen its strategies for promoting success for Māori students, as Māori, by:

• formalising consultation with Māori whānau to ascertain and respond to their aspirations for their children
• ensuring a progressive programme for teaching te reo Māori is implemented across the school.

4 Sustainable Performance

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

Systems and practices for supporting school sustainability and improvement have been established and now need to be more rigorously implemented. ERO is confident the board has the capacity to take the necessary steps to bring about improvements.

The board consists of both experienced and new trustees. They reflect the ethnic composition of the school community and bring a variety of skills to the board. Some trustees have undertaken training to increase their understanding of governance and their particular roles on the board.

Trustees prioritise strategies for increasing parent engagement in the school to further develop home and school partnerships that support better outcomes for students. Parents contribute their ideas to the development of the school charter. Parent education evenings familiarise parents with programmes that their children are involved in and provide them with ways to support their children’s learning.

Senior leaders bring complementary knowledge and skills to the leadership team. They work well together through defined roles and responsibilities. They are closely involved with students and their families.

In order for the school to sustain and improve its performance, it is timely for the board and school leaders to:

• further develop critical self review of the effectiveness of programmes and decisions made
• review policies and procedures to ensure they match legal requirements and guide current school practice
• clarify and lead the school’s direction through a strong vision
• promote and demonstrate consistent school practices and expectations of teachers and students
• strengthen communication across the school.

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.

In order to meet legal obligations, the board must:

• adopt a statement on the delivery of the health curriculum, at least once in every two years, after consultation with the school community
  [Section 60B Education Act 1989].

Conclusion

The school has mostly Pacific students. It values and is concerned for all students and their families. E-learning is a feature of student learning, with all senior students working on their own netbooks. School leaders now need to ensure that all students benefit from effective teaching.

ERO is likely to carry out the next review in three years.

Dale Bailey

National Manager Review Services Northern Region

27 June 2014

About the School