Rosmini College

School Context

Rosmini College is a Catholic boys’ school that provides a special character education for students from Years 7 to 13. There are approximately 1000 students enrolled at the school. Ten percent are Māori and six percent are of Pacific heritage.

The school’s mission statement aims to support and develop well-rounded young men while keeping true to the maxims of Antonio Rosmini. This mission is underpinned by the vision to educate young men who strive for personal excellence in all aspects of their life and embrace the motto ‘Legis Charitas Plenitudo’ (Charity Fulfills the Law). Rosmini College promotes a holistic education that develops students’ spiritual, academic, cultural and sporting dimensions.

Since ERO’s 2014 evaluation there has been a change of leadership. The appointment of a new principal in 2015 was an internal appointment of an experienced senior leader. The senior leadership team was restructured in 2017 and expanded to distribute leadership and develop capacity. High expectations for student achievement, engagement and valued outcomes, noted in previous ERO reports, continue to be evident.

The school’s values of dignity, integrity, fairness and charity are highly evident in classrooms and the wider school environment.

The recently restructured Te Rōpū Rangatira, a group of community members, trustees, whānau, and staff, are developing new strategies for a Māori education plan.

The school is a member of the North Shore Catholic Schools Kāhui Ako|Community of Learning (COL).

Leaders and teachers regularly report to the board, schoolwide information about outcomes for students in the following areas:

• achievement within the New Zealand Qualifications framework

• achievement data for Years 7 to 10

• progress and achievement in relation to school targets

• pastoral care and wellbeing

• sporting, arts and cultural participation, and success in extra-curricular and co-curricular activities

• achievement, wellbeing and engagement of Māori and Pacific students

• ex-student destinations and successes

• the special character of the school.

Evaluation Findings

1 Equity and excellence – achievement of valued outcomes for students

1.1 How well is the school achieving equitable and excellent outcomes for all its students?

The school is highly effective in achieving equitable and excellent outcomes for its students.

Achievement information from 2014 to 2017 shows consistently high levels of achievement across all levels of National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA). The number of students achieving NCEA Levels 1, 2 and 3 with merit or excellence endorsement, has improved for all groups of students.

The school is working towards achieving greater parity for Maori and Pacific students in University Entrance (UE). Māori and Pacific student achievement is similar to that of other students in the school. 

Students regularly achieve well above national and ‘similar type’ school averages. They also achieve success in scholarship examinations across a variety of learning areas.

Year 7 to 10 data show that these students make good progress with the majority achieving at or above expected curriculum levels in literacy and numeracy. High levels of achievement for junior students is evident in other curriculum areas, including science.

Students achieve very well in relation to other valued outcomes. Most students:

• are engaged and active participants in learning

• have respectful and positive relationships with staff and each other

• are proud of themselves, their peers, their school and their community

• engage in the wider educational, cultural and sporting opportunities

• display and demonstrate the special character and values of the school

• value the contribution they can make to the school and local community.

1.2 How well is the school accelerating learning for those Māori and other students who need this?

The school is highly effective in responding to those Māori, Pacific and other students whose learning needs acceleration.

The school has high expectations for student success. Positive and respectful relationships support student wellbeing, build connections to the school and promote positive outcomes for students.

Good systems and processes are followed to identify students whose learning needs acceleration. These students are well supported in teaching and learning programmes and initiatives to build their confidence and capability to make progress.

Mentoring, peer-tutoring and tuakana/teina relationships help Māori and Pacific students, who require additional support to make accelerated progress. The Māori cohort often achieve at or above national levels in NCEA.

Strategic resourcing and the school’s commitment to Māori success has seen the growth of te reo Māori within the school. As a result Māori students are succeeding as Māori across the school.

Students with additional learning needs make good progress. They are well catered for and experience a responsive and individualised approach to their learning needs. Multiple levels of monitoring and tracking ensure teachers identify students who would benefit from effective interventions to support their learning.

2 School conditions for equity and excellence – processes and practices

2.1 What school processes and practices are effective in enabling achievement of equity and excellence, and acceleration of learning?

The school’s increasingly broad curriculum and adaptable learning approaches respond well to students’ individual interests, strengths and learning needs. Integration between learning areas allow students to access the breadth and depth of the New Zealand Curriculum in multiple contexts. Students participate in a range of cultural, leadership, co-curricular, sporting and outdoor educational learning opportunities to cater for their diverse interests and capabilities. 

Leadership is highly effective and promotes a learning culture based on collaboration and respect. Leaders build and maintain relational trust at every level of the school community. They actively promote practices that focus on students’ wellbeing, confidence in their identity, language and culture, and engagement in their learning. Recently implemented systems and processes support effective teaching practices and help build teachers’ capability.

Students experience a positive and inclusive school culture that strongly reflects the values and special character of the school. Respectful and affirming relationships between teachers and students are highly evident. Leaders, teachers and students respect school traditions while embracing future-focused teaching and learning approaches.

There is a collective responsibility for supporting students across the school. High quality pastoral care systems support students’ wellbeing and engagement in learning. This promotes an environment in which both adults and students have a strong sense of place and belonging.

Positive relationships and engagement with parents and whānau underpin student success. Parents feel welcomed and valued as partners in their children’s learning. They engage in an extensive range of school activities. Parents who spoke with ERO appreciated the school’s inclusive, holistic and caring approach while maintaining high expectations for academic achievement.

The school has committed trustees who serve the school community well. The board actively seeks ways to build relational trust with the community and to maintain reciprocal communication. Trustees are well informed and have a good understanding of student achievement information.

2.2 What further developments are needed in school processes and practices for achievement of equity and excellence, and acceleration of learning?

Since the 2014 ERO review and the appointment of the current senior leadership team, the school has experienced positive change and improvement. This has been the result of strategic approaches and deliberate programmes of action that are strongly improvement and future focused. The school has a strong commitment to ongoing improvement.

To sustain and further develop equity and excellence, and support the school’s improvement and innovation, senior leaders plan to:

• continue developing culturally responsive teaching and learning approaches

• consider ways to incorporate appropriate challenge, higher order thinking, problem solving and creativity into the school’s curriculum

• further embed evaluation, inquiry and knowledge building capability.

3 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

• finance

• 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

• school policies in relation to meeting the requirements of the Vulnerable Children Act 2014.

Provision for international students

The school is a signatory to the Education (Pastoral Care of International Students) Code of Practice 2016 (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 confirms that the school’s internal evaluation process for international students is thorough. The school has effective systems and practices to ensure the quality of education and pastoral care of international students. Their progress and achievement is well monitored and their course selections are personalised. Students integrate very well into the school’s education community and co-curricular opportunities offered by the school.

4 Going forward

Key strengths of the school

For sustained improvement and future learner success, the school can draw on existing strengths in:

• a positive and respectful school culture that promotes student wellbeing and engagement in learning

• consistently achieving outcomes for students that are equitable for all groups and show good levels of achievement

• a culture of collaboration among leaders, teachers, parents and whānau that maintains high expectations for teaching and learning throughout the school

• pastoral care that systematically responds to, and promotes student wellbeing and learning success.

Next steps

For sustained improvement and future learner success, the school’s priorities for further development are to continue:

• developing a responsive school’s curriculum to ensure it is authentic, relevant and challenging

• adapting and refining internal evaluation to support decision making

• strengthening culturally responsive practices to further support positive outcomes for all groups of students.

ERO’s next external evaluation process and timing

ERO is likely to carry out the next external evaluation in four-to-five years.

Violet Tu’uga Stevenson

Director Review and Improvement Services

Te Tai Raki - Northern Region

11 December 2018

About the school