St Anne's Catholic School (Manurewa)

Education institution number:
1486
School type:
Full Primary
School gender:
N/A - No Boarders
Definition:
Not Applicable
Total roll:
476
Telephone:
Address:

124 Russell Road, Manurewa, Auckland

View on map

St Anne's Catholic School (Manurewa) - 11/07/2019

School Context

St Anne’s Catholic School (Manurewa) is a multi-ethnic, state integrated Catholic school. It provides special character education for girls in Years 1 to 8 and boys in Years 1 to 6. There are currently 550 students enrolled, 11 percent of whom are Māori and 62 percent have Pacific heritage. The roll also includes 10 percent Middle Eastern children, and smaller groups from other diverse ethnicities.

The school’s vision is “learn to love, love to learn”. The vision supports the school values of integrity, respect, love, compassion, forgiveness and justice. The school gathers its inspiration from the Sisters of Mercy charism, which underpins all school systems and operations.

The board’s strategic goals focus on:

  • strengthening the Catholic and Mercy character in the school community

  • raising the engagement and achievement of all students

  • further development of a responsive, localised and strengths-based curriculum.

Since the 2015 ERO review, the school has undergone significant change. There has been a new senior leader appointed and new innovative learning spaces developed. Most staff now teach in collaborative environments.

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

  • achievement in reading, writing and mathematics for all year levels
  • progress and achievement for children with diverse needs
  • student engagement with special character
  • progress in relation to the strategic goals
  • wellbeing for success.

The school is part of the South Auckland Catholic Community of Learning | Kāhui Ako (CoL). It is committed to working with the CoL to lift student and staff capability, wellbeing and engagement across the South Auckland Catholic community.

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 learners.

Schoolwide achievement data show that most children achieve at or above the expectedNew Zealand Curriculum(NZC) levels in reading, writing and mathematics. This achievement has been trending upwards over the past three years. Longitudinal tracking shows the school is accelerating student achievement and increasing equitable outcomes for most students over their time at school.

The school has high expectations for the success of Māori and Pacific students. Most Māori and Pacific students achieve at or above expected NZC levels in reading, writing and mathematics. The strong focus on lifting writing achievement is increasing parity for Pacific students in writing.

School values are specifically taught as an integral part of the school’s curriculum. Students are confident in their language, culture and identity. They enjoy a sense of belonging and connection to their school, friends, faith and community. Students are strong in their servant leadership within the community.

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

Leaders and teachers are very effective in responding to students whose learning and achievement need acceleration. There is clear evidence that the schoolwide focus on reading, writing and mathematics has contributed to positive gains in achievement for all students.

Māori student achievement has been consistently high in reading, writing and mathematics over the past three years. Leaders attribute this to a strong focus on relational and culturally responsive pedagogy.

Teachers and leaders have very good systems to track the progress and achievement of individual students who need support. The school has taken positive steps to implement strategies designed to accelerate learning. Inclusive in-class support promotes students’ wellbeing, confidence and engagement in learning. Leaders and teachers place emphasis on, and share, teaching approaches that help students engage with and take ownership of their own 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 board of trustees and leaders have a focus on, and commitment to, equitable outcomes for all learners, student and staff wellbeing, and ongoing community engagement.

The school has a well-established, faith focused, and highly inclusive school culture. Students and staff experience a welcoming and respectful environment that values them and their hauora. This culture forms a solid foundation that motivates learners to participate, contribute and progress. The spirit of leadership is fostered in students. A variety of student led initiatives enables students to develop a strong sense of self and ownership in the school and reflects the school’s special character.

School leaders foster relational trust and collaboration at every level of the school community. They develop and pursue the school’s vision, goals and targets to accelerate students’ progress and promote their wellbeing.

Leaders have a strategic and coherent approach to building professional capability and collective capacity. Teachers and leaders are supported by professional learning that develops their ability to adapt and respond to learners’ needs. They have a shared set of high expectations for student achievement and wellbeing. Leaders and teachers access relevant expertise to help build capability in ongoing reflection, improvement and innovation. This encourages a challenging and supportive professional environment that is focused on lifting student achievement.

Internal evaluation is embedded in everyday practice across all levels in the school. Leaders and trustees evaluate the school’s progress towards realising the vision, goals and targets. Student and community contributions help inform the future direction of the school. Students regularly reflect on their learning and self-management. Highly effective communication across the school supports the sharing and dissemination of new knowledge for improvement and innovation.

Students participate and learn in caring, collaborative, inclusive learning communities. Responsive and localised learning programmes and assessment opportunities respond well to students’ individual interests, strengths and needs. Culturally responsive and relational teaching practices are increasingly evident across the school. Schoolwide shared values and a focus on community service are helping to build students’ sense of identity and confidence as learners.

Learning centred relationships successfully engage and involve the school community. Effective reciprocal communication supports and strengthens these relationships. Parents and whānau have good opportunities to contribute to the curriculum and school direction through a learning partnership with the school. Learner engagement is increased through these partnerships.

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

Leaders, teachers and trustees recognise that the inclusion of te reo and tikanga Māori has a positive impact on Māori student success. They are committed to continuing to weave experiences that affirm te ao Māori throughout the curriculum and school environment.

Leaders and teachers have identified that greater inclusion and evaluation of problem solving and creative thinking approaches in science and digital technologies could further strengthen the school’s responsive curriculum.

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 Children’s Act 2014.

4 ERO’s Overall Judgement

On the basis of the findings of this review, ERO’s overall evaluation judgement of St Anne’s Catholic School’s performance in achieving valued outcomes for its students is: Strong.

ERO’s Framework: Overall School Performance is available on ERO’s website.

5 Going forward

Key strengths of the school

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

  • effective leadership with an unrelenting focus on equitable outcomes for all students
  • a culture of high expectations, positive relationships and shared values
  • the strategic approach to building professional capability and collective capacity
  • the flexible and responsive curriculum that is increasingly individualised
  • teaching practices that are culturally responsive and promote improvement
  • educationally powerful connections with parents and whānau that increase student engagement in learning.

Next steps

For sustained improvement and future learner success, priorities for further development are to:

  • increase student engagement by providing further opportunities for students to develop knowledge and understanding of the bicultural heritage of Aotearoa New Zealand
  • continue to develop a responsive curriculum to support student-led learning and problem solving.

Steve Tanner

Director Review and Improvement Services Northern

Northern Region

11 July 2019

About the school

Location

Manurewa, Auckland

Ministry of Education profile number

1486

School type

Integrated

School roll

550

Gender composition

57% Girls 43% Boys

Ethnic composition

Māori 11%

NZ European/Pākehā 4%

Samoan 31%

Tongan 12%

Middle Eastern 10%

other Pacific 27%

other ethnic groups 5%

Students with Ongoing Resourcing Funding (ORS)

Yes

Provision of Māori medium education

No

Review team on site

May 2019

Date of this report

11 July 2019

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review November 2015
Education Review September 2012
Education Review February 2009

St Anne's Catholic School (Manurewa) - 19/11/2015

Findings

Students at St Anne’s Catholic School (Manurewa) achieve well and benefit from the school’s concern for their wellbeing. New school leaders are building on school strengths as they implement the board’s vision of equipping students for life-long learning. A new building block is providing added impetus for enriched learning opportunities for students.

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 Anne’s Catholic School (Manurewa), has a positive ERO reporting history. The school is sited next to its namesake church and features intergenerational connections with its parish community. The state integrated primary school provides education for boys in Years 1 to 6, and for girls up to Year 8.

The school’s roll comprises 53 percent Pacific students, many of whom are Samoan and Tongan. The school also has large groups of Filipino and Middle Eastern students in its diverse multi-cultural roll. Many students are bilingual and 25 percent are new learners of English.

Well-embedded positive values underpin school operations. Affirming relationships and a welcoming and inclusive school culture help students engage in learning. Students benefit from the care and concern staff show for their wellbeing. They are confident, respectful and feel valued.

The school’s long-serving principal retired at the end of 2014. The board of trustees used the appointment of a new principal, together with the building of a new block of modern learning environments, to examine the focus and direction of the school.

The new principal and senior leadership team are successfully sustaining the strengths of the school while promoting important curriculum developments.

2 Learning

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

Students continue to achieve well. Many make accelerated progress as they move through the school. School achievement information in reading, writing and mathematics to the end of 2014 indicates that most students are achieving at expected standards. Māori students are gaining notably high levels of achievement. School leaders are intent on raising achievement levels, including the numbers of students who achieve above the standard.

The school is making very good progress in its use of achievement information to promote student learning. Analysis and reporting processes are:

  • giving clear direction for future programme decisions
  • informing the allocation of resources
  • supporting teachers to inquire into the effectiveness of their practice
  • providing teachers with more information about student strengths and next learning steps
  • enabling teachers to share more information about student learning with students and their parents.

Improvements have also been made to the goal-setting and review of progress for children with additional learning needs.

School leaders agreed that next steps in the effective use of achievement information include:

  • extending the moderation of assessments and overall teacher judgements in relation to the National Standards
  • using student’s identified English language assessment levels more directly when planning class programmes.

3 Curriculum

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

This school’s curriculum actively promotes and supports the learning of all students. It prioritises reading, writing and mathematics, with integrated inquiry-learning topics. The curriculum places high priority on the school’s Mercy values, and includes daily religious education. The school’s inclusive curriculum enables students to have regular opportunities to use their home languages in important school protocols.

Student learning is promoted by the school’s positive tone. Students work and play cooperatively, supporting each other to succeed. Students are proud of their school and willingly share their opinions about its strengths and learning opportunities. They are keen to do well, and show good levels of interest and motivation in their lessons. Close relationships with parents, the parish community, and a wide range of pastoral care provisions, further support students’ learning.

Teachers help children understand their learning. They use student-friendly terms to describe learning processes and encourage students to discuss their learning. They have established attractive, learning-centred classrooms. Teachers are receiving good support for delivering the curriculum in new and different ways. These developments are keeping teachers up to date with current understanding about effective teaching practice.

The principal and senior management team are preparing teachers to maximise the advantages presented by the school’s nearly completed modern learning block. The school has some high quality models of future-focussed teaching and learning.

ERO endorses the management team’s plans to build an increasingly creative and innovative curriculum. Extending the choice, relevance and responsiveness of learning programmes could include:

  • placing a stronger school-wide focus on student self-management skills, student ownership of learning and opportunities for student problem solving
  • planning that is more responsive to student interests and the cultural understandings students bring with them to school
  • extending the use of digital teaching and learning approaches
  • providing greater learning challenges for the many gifted and talented students in the school
  • ensuring consistency of best practice in teaching teams throughout the school.

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

The school is increasing steps to promote educational success for Māori, as Māori. Progress made features effective discussion and consultation with whānau and includes stronger recognition of Māori leadership within the staff and community.

The school’s bicultural commitment is effectively modelled by the principal and other school leaders, giving it mana and significance. Māori students have increased opportunities to see and hear their culture, language and identity expressed within the school setting.

4 Sustainable Performance

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

The school is very well placed to sustain and improve its performance.

Insightful and planned approaches guide school direction setting. Self-review processes are robust, increasingly seeking student, teacher and parent feedback and making good use of best practice indicators. Effective self review has resulted in improvement focused strategic goals.

The principal is managing school change in considered ways, effectively introducing new ideas that build on the school’s professional culture. His collaborative and inclusive approach is ensuring that the vision for the school is being shared, and is promoting new learning and leadership possibilities for teachers and students.

The school receives good support from its board of trustees. Trustees undertake their roles and responsibilities with care. Good leadership, shared strengths and community knowledge promote the work of the board.

The board is well placed to review the effectiveness of its own operations against best practice indicators. The board could also formalise trustee induction and plan ongoing training as part of the its strategic and annual planning processes.

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

Students at St Anne’s Catholic School (Manurewa) achieve well and benefit from the school’s concern for their wellbeing. New school leaders are building on school strengths as they implement the board’s vision of equipping students for life-long learning. A new building block is providing added impetus for enriched learning opportunities for students.

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

Graham Randell
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern

19 November 2015

School Statistics 

Location

Manurewa, Auckland

Ministry of Education profile number

1486

School type

Full Primary (Years 1 to 8)

School roll

525

Gender composition

Girls       57%
Boys      43%

Ethnic composition

Māori
Pākehā
Samoan
Middle Eastern
Filipino
Tongan
Cook Island Māori
Fijian
Vietnamese
others

  5%
  7%
39%
15%
10%
  9%
  5%
  2%
  2%
  6%

Special Features

Social Worker in Schools

Review team on site

September 2015

Date of this report

19 November 2015

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review
Education Review
Education Review

September 2012
February 2009
December 2005