152 Aubrey Road, Wanaka
View on mapHoly Family School in Wanaka provides education for students in Years 1 to 8. The roll has continued to grow over recent years to 205 students.
The school’s vision is for all students to live their Catholic values, and to develop a sense of belonging, personal identity and meaningful relationships with others. In addition, desired outcomes for school leavers are that they will have confidence, resilience and a love of learning. The values of honesty, excellence, respect and care are promoted.
To achieve these outcomes, the board of trustees has identified strategic goals that focus on promotion of the school’s special character, collaboration and partnership with parents, increasing personalisation of a student-centred curriculum, and professional learning for teachers. Achievement targets focus on accelerating students’ learning in spelling and aspects of mathematics.
To know about the success of these goals, leaders and teachers regularly report to the board schoolwide information about outcomes for students in the following areas:
Since the school’s 2016 ERO review leaders and teachers have participated in whole-school professional learning about the teaching of literacy and competency-based curriculum design and delivery.
The school is highly effective in achieving equitable and excellent outcomes for most students. School information for the last three years shows that almost all students achieve at or above curriculum expectations in reading and mathematics and most achieve well in writing.
Most students in Years 7 and 8 achieve above expectations in reading. A lower proportion of boys achieve well in writing compared with girls. There has been a slight reduction in this disparity over time and it continues to be a priority for improvement.
Most students make appropriate progress across the key competencies of managing self, relating to others, thinking, participating and contributing and using language, symbols and text.
The school effectively accelerates the learning of students who need this.
Interim reporting and evaluation of the school’s recent spelling intervention indicate that this is resulting in accelerated progress and increased confidence for most targeted students. Similarly, school monitoring shows most Māori students needing to accelerate their learning did so in 2019.
Reporting against school achievement targets shows a moderate proportion of students accelerating to expected curriculum levels, but a higher proportion making accelerated progress in important aspects of their learning. The school continues to refine how it defines and measures rates of progress.
The cohesive, student-centred curriculum effectively enacts the school’s vision for learners and its special character. Students’ interests, strengths and passions are the basis for their learning. Strong use is made of authentic local contexts for learning to enhance engagement. Students are clear about the purpose and relevance of their learning. Partnerships with parents and the community are highly valued and extend learning opportunities for students.
Curriculum design prioritises the development of learning-to-learn competencies and reflects a combination of teacher and student-led learning. The curriculum makes meaningful connections to local Māori history and taha Māori (Māori perspectives). Te reo and tikanga Māori are woven through daily programmes and practices.
Students contribute to and experience a strong sense of community and belonging. Senior students value the roles they play in supporting the learning and wellbeing of juniors. All students have many opportunities to learn collaboratively and to lead and contribute to activities within and beyond the school. The school values are well known and evident in students’ relationships with each other and their teachers. Students become increasingly skilled at reflecting on and leading their own learning over time. Teachers promote a growth mindset towards learning and this is effectively fostering students’ confidence and resilience.
The school has comprehensive, effective systems and processes to identify and respond to the learning and wellbeing needs of all children. Leaders and teachers have strengthened assessment practices for identifying individual needs and use these well to plan, prioritise and evaluate learning support. Diverse learners are well catered for through a combination of tailored programmes and an inclusive, responsive curriculum.
Leaders and teachers are strongly focused on effective, evidence-based teaching practice that promotes deep student learning. They engage in intensive and relevant professional learning aligned to the school’s strategic goals and vision for learning. Shared understandings of effective practice are well documented to support implementation and sustainability. Teachers collaborate closely in the planning, delivery and evaluation of teaching programmes and approaches.
School leaders build relational trust and collaboration at all levels of the school. They collaboratively develop and pursue the school’s vision for learners by:
Trustees actively represent and serve the school community. They have worked collaboratively with the community to develop a shared vision for learners and strategic priorities to guide the direction of the school. Trustees use reported learning information well to make resourcing decisions that support excellent and equitable outcomes for students.
School leaders have identified, and ERO agrees, that the school’s next step is to extend the analysis and evaluation of learning outcome information, in order to:
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:
During the review, ERO checked the following items because they have a potentially high impact on student safety and wellbeing:
On the basis of the findings of this review, ERO’s overall evaluation judgement of Holy Family School (Wanaka)’s performance in achieving valued outcomes for its students is: Strong.
ERO’s Framework: Overall Findings and Judgement Tool derived from School Evaluation Indicators: Effective Practice for Improvement and Learner Success is available on ERO’s website.
For sustained improvement and future learner success, the school can draw on existing strengths in:
For sustained improvement and future learner success, a priority for further development is in:
Dr Lesley Patterson
Director Review and Improvement Services Te Tai Tini
Southern Region – Te Tai Tini
6 March 2020
|
Location |
Wanaka |
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
557 |
|
School type |
Full Primary |
|
School roll |
205 |
|
Gender composition |
Female 51%, Male 49% |
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori 5% |
|
Students with Ongoing Resourcing Funding (ORS) |
No |
|
Provision of Māori medium education |
No |
|
Review team on site |
November 2019 |
|
Date of this report |
6 March 2020 |
|
Most recent ERO reports |
Education Review October 2016 |
Ten years after the opening of Holy Family School (Wanaka), the roll continues to grow. This has meant ongoing management of building projects and future planning. There is an increasing cultural diversity of students with some having English as a second language. The board, principal and teachers are responsive to the school community's desire to maintain the small, family-like, caring culture in spite of the growing roll. The board is funding an extra teacher to keep class sizes smaller.
Since the 2013 ERO review, the school has appointed a new principal and deputy principal. A senior leadership team has been established and new trustees have recently been elected. The special Catholic character of the school is clearly evident in the positive relationships and the respectful way children and adults treat each other.
The vision defined by the school is for ‘Faith, Family and Future’ to be underpinned by the values of ‘respect, care, honesty and excellence’. The driving motivation is for children to become the best they can be and that they will grow in their knowledge and love of God through Jesus Christ.
The school’s achievement information overall shows most children are achieving very well against the National Standards (NS). Over the last four years:
The school's moderation process provides well-informed, consistent judgements to support this achievement information.
Since the 2013 ERO review, the school has addressed ERO’s recommendations. This includes:
This school responds effectively to the learning needs of all its children. It effectively accelerates the progress of those children who need extra support to succeed.
The progress and achievement of children whose learning is at risk is identified by teachers. These children become part of targeted learning groups and receive specific support with their learning. Their progress is closely monitored by teachers and school leaders. Teachers critically reflect and evaluate the impact of their teaching on these learners.
Teachers can clearly show which children have made accelerated progress and the evidence that supports this. The next step for leaders is to collate, analyse and report to the board the progress of these children. This will inform the board about the overall impact of programmes and contribute to future decisions about resourcing.
This school's curriculum is highly effective and responsive to children's needs and choices. Teachers make purposeful use of the local environment and expertise of people in the community. Years 7 and 8 children enjoy the leadership challenges they are all provided with. Children enjoy the opportunities to learn te reo and tikanga Māori and see that Māori perspectives are valued in the school.
Teachers use innovative strategies to engage children and extend their learning. Children's understanding of their own learning and next learning steps is embedded throughout the school. Senior students have been taught to meaningfully interpret their personal assessment information. This is helping to build and support their independence as learners.
The principal provides effective leadership for a coherent, strategic approach to school improvement. She actively promotes and engages in professional learning, working alongside teachers and using relevant educational research.
School leaders work together to promote the school's vision, goals and targets. Effective systems and structures have been created to ensure consistency as the roll grows. These include comprehensive guidelines to ensure consistency in teaching practices.
School leaders and trustees are improvement focused. Leaders have created conditions, including frameworks and professional learning that support inquiry and evaluation. Evaluation occurs at all levels of the school. The board is well informed about the outcomes of these evaluations.
The board, school community groups and parish are very supportive of the school, staff and children. The board is aware of and responsive to the wishes of the parent and parish community. Purposeful home-school links have been further strengthened. Effective communication to support children's learning and wellbeing is a current focus of the board and principal. Trustees facilitate parent forums to gather information to inform school developments and direction.
A governance manual has been collated for trustees to guide them in their stewardship role. This is providing helpful information to new trustees about their roles and responsibilities.
Leaders and teachers:
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 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
processes for appointing staff
stand down, suspensions, expulsions and exclusions
attendance
compliance with the provisions of the Vulnerable Children Act 2014.
The senior leaders should refine reporting to the board to better show rates of progress for individuals and groups of children.
Lesley Patterson
Deputy Chief Review Officer Southern
13 October 2016
|
Location |
Wanaka |
|
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
557 |
|
|
School type |
Full Primary (Years 1 to 8) |
|
|
School roll |
159 |
|
|
Gender composition |
Girls: 56% Boys: 44% |
|
|
Ethnic composition |
Pākehā Māori Other |
77% 8% 15% |
|
Review team on site |
July 2016 |
|
|
Date of this report |
13 October 2016 |
|
|
Most recent ERO reports |
Education Review Education Review Education Review |
September 2013 June 2010 May 2007 |