Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report
Background
This Profile Report was written within eleven months of the Education Review Office and Sacred Heart Girls’ College (N Plymouth) 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
Sacred Heart Girls’ College (N Plymouth) is an integrated Catholic school providing education for students from Years 7 to 13. The school is located in New Plymouth and offers day and boarding facilities. An acting principal was appointed to lead the school in Term 1 2022. The leadership team is a mix of established and new leaders.
Sacred Heart Girls’ College (N Plymouth) strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are:
- to provide a culturally sustainable learning environment, rich in tikanga Māori and Catholicism
- to empower ākonga as life-long learners, enabling and supporting authentic transitions through and beyond school
- to provide student-centred, innovative learning experiences that embrace local curriculum and encourage critical thinking
- prioritise hauora and manaakitanga, with a wellbeing first approach
- to continue developing partnerships focused on learning with the community, including whānau, iwi and the parish.
You can find a copy of the school’s strategic and annual plan on Sacred Heart Girls’ College (N Plymouth) website.
ERO and the school are working together to evaluate how effectively Sacred Heart Girls’ College is meeting the pastoral needs of students.
The rationale for selecting this evaluation is:
- student wellbeing impacts progress in achieving positive outcomes
- it is necessary to review the pastoral care systems and processes in the school regularly.
The school expects to see:
- a shared understanding of pastoral needs in the school community
- a way to measure the effectiveness of pastoral care
- the refinement of pastoral care systems and processes to meet student needs more effectively
- improved wellbeing outcomes for all students, particularly those who are at risk.
Strengths
The school can draw from the following strengths in its goal to determine how effectively the pastoral care is meeting the needs of students:
- the strong Catholic special character foundation
- collaborative and distributive leadership focused on continuous improvement
- a whole staff commitment to improving student welfare.
Where to next?
Moving forward, the school will prioritise:
- growing a shared understanding of pastoral needs and care from multiple perspectives
- the development of tools to measure the impact of pastoral care systems on student welfare and achievement
- re-examining current systems and processes for effectiveness.
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.
Phil Cowie
Director Review and Improvement Services (Central)
Central Region | Te Tai Pūtahi Nui
8 July 2022
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