St Joseph's School (Ashburton)

St Joseph's School (Ashburton)

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within 19 months of the Education Review Office and St Joseph’s School (Ashburton) 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 

St Joseph's School, Ashburton, is a Catholic School for students in years 1 to 8, situated in Mid-Canterbury. They are committed to providing a holistic education which meets the spiritual, academic, physical, social and cultural needs of all their students.

St Joseph’s School (Ashburton) strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are:

  • passionate future-focused teaching and learning within a Catholic context

  • a connected and actively engaged faith community

  • celebrating diversity in a warm, stimulating Catholic environment.

You can find a copy of the school’s strategic and annual plan on St Joseph’s School (Ashburton)’s website.

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate how effectively the school’s student management systems and processes impact on whānau and student engagement.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is to:

  • impact positively on student achievement through stronger engagement with whānau and by sharing real time reporting

  • have clarity for whānau in their child’s progress and achievement

  • strengthen 3-way partnerships between whānau, teachers and students to support learning

  • build collective capacity in the school for gathering, analysing and using student achievement data to make a positive impact on whānau and student agency.

The school expects to see:

  • the development of a real time reporting system which allows for whānau and students to access learning goals and progress against these goals

  • student achievement data gathered through the student management system, monitored, analysed and used to inform teaching and learning programmes in order to cater to individual needs

  • further strengthening of equity and excellence outcomes for all students.

Strengths

The school can draw from the following strengths to support the school in its goal to evaluate how effectively the school’s student management systems and processes impact on whānau and student engagement:

  • well established relationships with whānau and community through regular hui and consultation which inform strategic priorities

  • established learning goals in reading, writing and mathematics which are shared with whānau on the student management system to ensure whānau are kept informed in a timely manner

  • a commitment to furthering the understanding and implementation of culturally responsive practices in order to build stronger relationships with whānau.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise:

  • enhancing student agency so that students are able to monitor and provide evidence of their progress towards achieving their goals

  • engaging whānau with the student management system to build stronger learning partnerships

  • using progress and achievement information to analyse data in order to inform teaching and learning and further strengthen equity and excellence outcomes for all students.

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.

Shelley Booysen
Director of Schools

3 May 2023

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

St Joseph's School (Ashburton)

Board Assurance with Regulatory and Legislative Requirements Report 2022 to 2025

As of December 2022, the St Joseph’s School (Ashburton), School Board has attested to the following regulatory and legislative requirements:

Board Administration

Yes

Curriculum

Yes

Management of Health, Safety and Welfare

Yes

Personnel Management

Yes

Finance

Yes

Assets

Yes

Further Information

For further information please contact St Joseph’s School (Ashburton), School Board.

The next School Board assurance that it is meeting regulatory and legislative requirements will be reported, along with the Te Ara Huarau | School Evaluation Report, within three years.

Information on ERO’s role and process in this review can be found on the Education Review Office website.

Shelley Booysen
Director of Schools

3 May 2023

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

St Joseph's School (Ashburton) - 27/06/2017

Summary

The roll of St Joseph’s School (Ashburton) is 224 which includes 49 Filipino children.

Over the last three years staffing and board membership have been stable. A new principal was appointed in 2016.

Since the March 2013 ERO report the school’s achievement levels in reading and written language have steadily improved and been sustained. Achievement in mathematics has declined and is the focus of a school-wide improvement programme in 2017.

The school has some very successful examples of students making accelerated progress.

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

The school responds well to Māori and other children whose learning and achievement need acceleration.

Leaders and teachers use a variety of processes that are becoming increasingly effective in promoting equity and excellence. These include equitable leadership practices, provisions for building professional capacity, and strong learning partnerships with families and whānau.

The board and school leaders give a high priority to raising student achievement and addressing disparity by building on the best of current practices.

To further improve equity and excellence the school needs to develop aspects of target setting, improve the analysis and reporting of student achievement, develop robust internal evaluation practices and continue to give priority to supporting the capacity of teachers to raise student achievement.

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 responds well to Māori and other children whose learning and progress need acceleration.

At the time of this evaluation most students were achieving at or above the National Standards. Student achievement is highest in reading. Achievement patterns in literacy have remained similar over the last three years. Achievement in mathematics has declined. Lifting student achievement in this area is a school-wide focus in 2017.

Māori students are achieving at similar levels to their peers in reading, writing and mathematics.

Disparity in achievement exists for some groups of students. Differences in achievement are greatest for children who are English language learners. Targeted programmes and an internal evaluation process are in place to lift the achievement of these children. The overall progress of most English language learners shows a positive achievement trend over their time at the school.

The school has very good examples of groups of students making accelerated progress. These include most students who were achieving well below the National Standards at the start of 2016, and most targeted students in mathematics last year.

Teachers use a range of class assessments to make effective judgements of children’s progress and achievement. Leaders and teachers are involved in a cluster of local schools that are working together in 2017 to moderate National Standards judgements.

School conditions supporting equity and excellence

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

The school has a range of effective processes and practices that are effective in enabling equity and excellence.

The board and school leaders work well together to promote positive outcomes for children. School processes, resourcing and reports to the board are focused on raising achievement, improving wellbeing and addressing disparity.

Leadership ensures alignment between the school’s values and virtues to create an inclusive environment where staff collaborate and reflect on their teaching practices. Children are well supported in their learning by teachers and their peers. Children’s cultural identities are affirmed and their successes celebrated in ways that motivate them to improve.

Leaders actively promote ongoing school-wide improvement through establishing clear priorities, providing well-targeted and focused professional development and undertaking regular internal evaluations that are used to inform school and class planning. Classroom programmes and school activities provide children with many opportunities to achieve success across the curriculum, including religious education.

Teachers actively support students to assess their own progress and set personal learning goals. They regularly share achievement information with children and parents, as well as with colleagues.

Learning interventions are in place for students whose progress needs accelerating. These interventions are clearly targeted, inclusive and well-resourced. The impact of these interventions on students’ progress is closely monitored so that programmes can be adapted quickly when necessary, or additional expertise sought.

Leaders and teachers are taking significant steps to promote learning-focused partnerships with parents, particularly of those children whose achievement needs to be lifted.

Sustainable development for equity and excellence

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

The school has processes in place for promoting equity and excellence for children. However school leaders need to:

  • refine the analysis and reporting of student achievement to the board

  • improve elements of internal evaluation

  • give priority to supporting and building the capacity of staff to raise student achievement.

Leaders and teachers should:

  • use clear indicators when evaluating learning support

  • ensure improvements generated by professional development are sustained

  • implement initiatives around collaborative teaching and use of digital technologies to support English language learning.

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

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

Going forward

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

Children are achieving well. The school demonstrates strong progress toward achieving equity in educational outcomes, supported by effective, sustainable processes and practices.

Agreed next steps are to:

  • further improve aspects of target setting and analysis and reporting of student achievement

  • continue to develop robust internal evaluation practices

  • continue to give priority to supporting and building the capacity of staff to raise student achievement.

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

Dr Lesley Patterson

Deputy Chief Review Officer Southern/Te Waipounamu

27 June 2017

About the school 

Location

Ashburton

Ministry of Education profile number

3527

School type

Integrated Full Primary Years 1-8

School roll

224

Gender composition

Girls 47%; Boys 53%

Ethnic composition

Pākehā 66%

Māori 3%

Samoan 4%

Tongan 2%

Filipino 22%

Other ethnicities 3%

Review team on site

February 2017

Date of this report

27 June 2017

Most recent ERO reports

Education Review July 2013

Education Review January 2010

Education Review December 2006

 

St Joseph's School (Ashburton) - 02/07/2013

1 Context

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

St Joseph’s School (Ashburton) is an integrated Catholic school for students in Years 1 to 8. The special character of the school is most strongly seen in the respectful relationships and values that are also shared by the school community. Students benefit from a wide range of sporting and recreational activities at and beyond the school that support their learning.

After a time of some change, a new principal was appointed in 2012. During that year, a new position was also established for the coordination of learning support programmes. Since the 2009 ERO review, the school has been involved in a three-year Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) contract.

As a result of local industry and housing developments, the roll is continuing to grow and shows increasing cultural diversity. The school is currently planning for more classroom space.

The school receives strong support from the parish and parent community and has made significant progress in addressing the recommendations from the previous report. The board and staff told ERO that they are positive about recent changes and the future direction of the school.

2 Learning

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

The school has made good progress in the way achievement information is gathered and used to make positive changes to students’ learning. The principal and senior leaders have identified that they need to continue to develop effective ways of describing the progress of individuals and groups of students.

The school reports that, in relation to the National Standards, achievement is good to very good. Senior leaders also told ERO that there are pockets of underachievement that have been identified and are being supported in a planned and targeted way.

Teachers know students very well. They collect, analyse and use an extensive range of information to identify students with learning needs and monitor their progress. The board now receives very good information about their achievement and progress. This contributes to decisions about additional programmes and professional development to support students with the greatest learning needs.

During this review, ERO observed a number of effective teaching practices that were leading to positive changes to students’ engagement, progress and achievement. These included:

  • the use of class descriptions, developed early in the year, to provide learning priorities and directions for individuals and groups of students
  • collaborative teamwork, especially at syndicate levels, to meet students’ ongoing learning needs
  • the use of professional learning journals to link school goals and targets with classroom practice and teachers’ professional goals.

Learning support programmes for students with identified needs include a growing number of English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) students. Teachers use a wide range of approaches to monitor the individual needs and progress of these students. Skilled teacher aides provide valuable support for the children in these programmes.

Areas for development and review

School leaders have identified, and ERO agrees, that their next steps are to:

  • continue to strengthen school-wide analysis of data and the monitoring of progress towards the annual achievement targets
  • extend effective teacher practice in the use of learning goals and learning journals
  • provide students with formal opportunities to give feedback about what is having the greatest impact on their learning
  • ensure that the board receives learning support information that reports on actual progress and achievement.

3 Curriculum

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

The school’s curriculum effectively promotes and supports student learning, especially in reading and mathematics. School leaders have identified concerns about the progress in written language of some groups of students and have targeted this for improvement in 2013. They have decided that it is now timely to review curriculum areas other than English and mathematics to determine their effectiveness in promoting and supporting student learning.

The school’s curriculum effectively integrates special character values with New Zealand Curriculum values and key competencies. Teachers’ planning has a strong focus on literacy and numeracy and ways that individual student needs can be met. ERO observed good practices in the way teachers help students to understand the purpose of their learning.

Since the 2009 ERO review, the school has reviewed a number of curriculum areas and has made significant improvements to literacy programmes. Teachers make very good use of a wide range of opportunities within and beyond the school to extend learning opportunities for children. Students spoken with by ERO said that this was having a positive impact on their participation and enjoyment of school programmes.

During the current review, ERO observed that the school’s vision and values were well reflected in classroom programmes and relationships. Teachers have a strong focus on ensuring that the curriculum is responsive to students’ interests. They use a range of classroom approaches to support students in their development of independent learning skills.

Area for development and review

The principal and senior leaders have identified that their next step is to extend the review of the curriculum to ensure it reflects current good practice and community aspirations across all learning areas so that all students benefit.

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

The school has made useful progress in addressing the areas identified for improvement in the previous ERO report. Students now have opportunities to learn te reo and tikanga Māori.

The achievement and progress of Māori students is individually tracked and reported to the board.

The board and senior leaders have had some consultation with the Māori community. The school is continuing to develop ways of strengthening relationships with the local and wider Māori community. Students have opportunities to visit the local marae. Teachers’ planning includes a good focus on coverage of aspects of te ao Māori (the Māori world).

Since the 2009 ERO review, senior leaders have appointed a teacher of te reo Māori. Teachers have also had continuing professional development regarding their awareness and understanding of te reo and tikanga Māori. The school’s charter identifies clear goals and an action plan for ongoing improvements in the way it is promoting success for Māori, as Māori.

The next step for the school is to continue its progress in supporting and promoting success for Māori, as Māori.

4 Sustainable Performance

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

After a number of leadership changes, the school has made good progress and is well placed to sustain and improve its performance. Ongoing board monitoring of systems to support school leadership and management are likely to contribute to increasingly higher levels of sustainability.

The board has remained stable for some time and board members bring very good levels of expertise to their roles. Among the areas identified by them as their own good practice was the robust process they followed last year to appoint the new principal. Trustees told ERO that the use of external expertise further strengthened their own understanding and practices regarding appointments.

The board, principal and senior leaders have improved communication within the school and with parents and the community. Staff told ERO that they were positive about school leadership and that the improved school culture is promoting a shared sense that the school is making good progress.

The board, principal and senior leaders ensure that there is a clearly identified and effective programme of self review for all areas of the school’s operations. The board reported to ERO that it receives a wide range of good quality information about student learning, achievement and progress. The school’s appraisal processes are thorough and are reported to the board in a timely manner.

In order to further build capacity and effectiveness in the way the board governs the school, ERO recommends that the board:

  • participates in whole-board training in line with its identified priorities
  • reviews its own effectiveness in relation to board practices and the school’s goals
  • as a good employer, ensures there are formal processes that provide assurance that the school is a safe environment for all staff and students.

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.

When is ERO likely to review the school again?

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

Graham Randell

National Manager Review Services Southern Region

2 July 2013

About the School

Location

Ashburton

Ministry of Education profile number

3527

School type

Full Primary (Years 1 to 8)

School roll

218

Gender composition

Boys 46%; Girls 54%

Ethnic composition

New Zealand European/Pākehā

Māori

Samoan

Asian

Other Ethnicities

76%

4%

2%

12%

6%

Review team on site

May 2013

Date of this report

2 July 2013

Most recent ERO reports

Education Review

Supplementary Review

Education Review

December 2006

June 2004

September 2003