St Patrick's School (Napier)

St Patrick's School (Napier) - 20/08/2019

School Context

St Patrick's School, is a Catholic primary school in Napier, for students in Years 1 to 8. Of the 358 students, 22% identify as Māori and 6% of Pacific heritage.

The vision of the school is for all children is to achieve, Hauora through learning, love and laughter. The school mission emphasises, In a Catholic Way we learn today for tomorrow.

Trustees’ and leaders’ achievement targets in 2019 are to: accelerate Pacific students’ progress in mathematics and boys in writing; and to further develop opportunities where the school’s cultural diversity is acknowledged and celebrated.

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

  • progress and achievement in reading, writing and mathematics
  • student wellbeing.

The school undertakes leadership roles as part of their involvement in the Mataruahou Napier City Kāhui Ako.

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?

Trends indicate that outcomes for students are moving noticeably over time towards being equitable. Achievement in 2017, 2018 and so far in 2019, reflect this trend.

Māori students achieve very well. The achievement of a small number of Pacific learners is slightly lower when compared to other groups. Girls achieve higher than boys in reading, writing and mathematics. Analysed 2019 midyear data, shows some Pacific students targeted in mathematics and boys in writing are accelerating their achievement and nearly all others are making expected progress. Most students achieve expected curriculum levels by the end of Year 8.

The school’s wellbeing information shows students feel cared for, safe and included at school.

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

The school responds well to those Māori and other students who require their learning and achievement to be accelerated. Most students targeted in 2018 showed progress, with some accelerating their achievement in mathematics and writing.

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?

Board of trustees’ resourcing is focused on gaining equity for identified groups and excellence for all students. The school has systems and processes that purposefully support students with identified additional and complex learning needs. Regular tracking, monitoring and collaborative review of students’ progress by teachers and leaders enables a timely response to those learners requiring accelerated progress. Literacy programmes, including provision for English language learners, supports the specific needs of students.

Inclusive school and classroom environments support positive student engagement. Shared values reflect the school’s special Catholic character. Living the St Pat’s Way identifies the values, attitudes and competencies desired for learners. Relationships between students and with staff promote a positive climate and tone. The languages, cultures and identities of Māori and Pacific students are valued through delivery of relevant and authentic learning contexts and experiences. Useful strategies to communicate with parents and whānau, encourage partnerships to support student learning. Transitions in, through and out of school are responsive. Students identify a strong sense of belonging. Gathered student wellbeing information is suitably used to guide future developments.

Curriculum development and delivery are well aligned to the school’s achievement priorities. Teachers use a range of well-considered teaching and learning strategies to support students’ active engagement in discussing and participating in their learning. Classroom conditions are conducive to promoting purposeful student engagement, learning and achievement. Students demonstrate high levels of self-management. Collaborative teacher inquiry has been introduced to support evaluation into the impact of changes to curriculum practice.

Professional practice of leaders, teachers and trustees demonstrates a cohesive response in addressing achievement priorities in writing and mathematics. Teachers are highly collaborative, fostering the collective development of practice. Professional learning and development (PLD) is well aligned to the school priorities. Leaders’ decision making and capable guidance, progresses the achievement of the school’s vision, valued outcomes and priorities. They contribute meaningfully with other education providers in sharing practice and leading collaborative development. The board’s strategic and annual goals guide school direction.

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

School leaders have identified that further curriculum development is needed, including embedding current learning from the mathematics PLD and introducing further strategies to promote boys’ writing. ERO’s external evaluation affirms these next steps. Aligned teacher inquiry and school evaluation should assist the staff and trustees to determine how well these changes impact on accelerating the progress of targeted students and contribute to achievement overall.

Leaders and teachers are aligning their connected-curriculum model with assessments to determine student progress overtime. Further development should extend the scope of assessment across the curriculum and complement the current use of literacy and mathematical progressions.

Senior leaders recognise revising current achievement targets to focus on those learners whose progress requires acceleration, would align team and classroom targets. Improved targets should assist in strengthening analysis and support improved evaluation of strategies and practices that are implemented to accelerate student achievement.

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 Patrick’s School (Napier)’s performance in achieving valued outcomes for its students is: Well placed.

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:

  • systems and processes that support students with identified additional and complex learning needs
  • teaching and learning strategies that actively engage students in learning
  • classroom conditions that foster an inclusive environment and encourage purposeful student engagement, learning and achievement
  • a cohesive school response that focuses on achieving equitable and excellent outcomes for students.

Next steps

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

  • embedding professional learning from the mathematics and writing initiatives, to further strengthen the school’s response in achieving equity and excellence for targeted learners
  • continuing to build assessment practice, to identify and develop the capabilities and competencies of students across the curriculum
  • revising school achievement targets to strengthen evaluation of actions undertaken in promoting equity for identified groups.

Phillip Cowie

Director Review and Improvement Services

Central Region

20 August 2019

About the school

Location

Napier

Ministry of Education profile number

2745

School type

Full Primary (Years 1 to 8)

School roll

358

Gender composition

Female 57%, Male 43%

Ethnic composition

Māori 22%
NZ European/Pākehā 61%
Pacific 6%
Indian 4%
Other ethnic groups 7%

Students with Ongoing Resourcing Funding (ORS)

No

Provision of Māori medium education

No

Review team on site

July 2019

Date of this report

20 August 2019

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review August 2016
Education Review July 2013
Education Review May 2011

St Patrick's School (Napier) - 10/08/2016

1 Context

St Patrick's School is a Catholic primary school in Napier that caters for students in Years 1 to 8. Of the 323 students attending the school, 21% identify as Māori and 7 % as Samoan. Since the July 2013 ERO report a deputy principal and a significant number of new staff have been appointed.

The school is currently involved in the Napier City Community of Learning initiative.

2 Equity and excellence

The vision and valued outcomes defined by the school for all children are to enable students to become life-long learners through high quality education in a rich Catholic environment. Community consultation identified priorities: promoting respect and knowledge of Māori culture, language and identity; positive relationships with home, school, parishes and wider community; and meeting individual needs of all students. The values are promoted through the board's stewardship, community involvement in the school, how students learn and teachers teach.

The school’s achievement information for 2015, shows that overall most students achieved at and above in relation to the National Standards in reading, writing and mathematics. However, the school has yet to raise the achievement of Māori and Pacific students to that of their Pākehā peers. In the past two years, Māori and Pacific students achievement has remained static. The school's 2015 achievement targets to improve the achievement of Māori and Pacific students who needed support, were not met. These students continue to be targeted in 2016. Boys achieve significantly below girls in reading and writing.

Teachers' assessment of judgements in writing occurs within the school and across other schools. Leaders and teachers have identified that improving moderation in mathematics is a next step.

Since the previous ERO evaluation the school has focused on addressing the areas identified for development and review. These include:

  • an increased emphasis on meeting the needs of Māori and Pacific students and specific strategies most likely to improve outcomes
  • using data to inform planning and teaching
  • strengthening engagement with whānau and families
  • increasing students' voice in learning
  • self-directed learning and play-based programmes in the junior school
  • review of teacher appraisal. 

3 Accelerating achievement

How effectively does this school respond to Māori children whose learning and achievement need acceleration?

Disparity of achievement is evident. Leaders and teachers recognise that a school priority in 2016 is to raise the achievement of Māori students through more targeted actions. Underachieving Māori students continue to be identified for acceleration.  

Teachers use a suitable range of assessments to identify and respond to students' learning needs. Improving engagement with whānau hasbeen a specific focus that is likely to support improved outcomes for Māori students. Leaders recognise the importance of continuing to improve the school's response to Māori students' culture, language and identity.

How effectively does this school respond to other children whose learning and achievement need acceleration?

Since the previous ERO report the school has increased its focus on supporting students at risk of not achieving in relation to the National Standards in reading, writing and mathematics. In 2016, Pacific students whose progress and achievement needs acceleration have been identified. Improved engagement with Pacific parents has increased their involvement with the school.

Students whose progress needs acceleration are well monitored by teachers. Learners with diverse needs are identified in class. Interventions using teacher aides are informed by achievement information and personalised to students' individual needs. Collaboration with outside agencies and families support students' engagement and participation in learning.

4 School conditions 

How effectively do the school’s curriculum and other organisational processes and practices develop and enact the school’s vision, values, goals and targets for equity and excellence?

Trustees, leaders and teachers are working to improve outcomes for students through the implementation of a range of initiatives. These include:

  • strategies to strengthen student engagement and ownership of their learning through a stronger emphasis in the middle and senior syndicates on student self-directed, personalised learning
  • curriculum and professional learning leadership opportunities for teachers
  • valuing students' voice in decision-making
  • increased collaboration and professional trust amongst teachers to use new teaching approaches and inquiry into practices
  • the introduction of play-based learning in Years 1 to 2.

Teachers in the junior classes agree they need to develop suitable assessment processes to support planning for learning through the play-based approach.

The curriculum reflects the school's special character and is a useful guide for teaching and learning. It is currently under review to incorporate recent changes in approaches and to ensure it effectively meets the needs of all students. Good use is made of digital technologies to support learning in class programmes. Positive relationships, student goal setting and knowledge of the purpose of their learning are evident in classrooms.

Transitions into school are well supported through ongoing relationships with local early childhood services. Students transitioning to high school receive considered, well planned and specific support.

Parents receive useful reports about their children's progress and achievement in relation to the National Standards in reading, writing and mathematics.

The board receives regular reports about student achievement. Trustees question this data to support them to make resourcing decisions. The development of a planning and reporting framework document has the potential to support the board's strategic focus.

The appraisal process has been reviewed and further developed to better support teacher development and meet legislative requirements for the Practising Teacher Criteria. A next step is to ensure staff collect evidence of their teaching that shows how they are meeting the criteria each year. Focusing class observations on teachers' goals should enable feedback to be more specific.

To support sustainability and ongoing improvement trustees and leaders should further develop school wide understanding of internal evaluation. This includes identifying expected and measureable outcomes for goals, targets and initiatives that will help determine their effectiveness and quality through evaluation. This should assist to promote equity and excellence for all students.

5 Going forward

How well placed is the school to achieve and sustain equitable and excellent outcomes for all children?

Leaders and teachers:   

  • know the children whose learning and achievement need to be accelerated
  • need approaches that effectively meet the needs of each child
  • need to ensure the school is well placed to accelerate the achievement of all children who need it.

The school has a range of initiatives in place to raise achievement.  Some of these are in the early stages of implementation, and the school does not have specific evidence of their impact. Further work is required to align monitoring and reporting systems to determine the impact of teaching strategies and initiatives on outcomes for students. Senior leaders recognise that developing internal evaluation is an essential part of the improvement.  

Action: The board, principal and teachers should participate in an internal evaluation workshop. They should use this workshop, ERO exemplars of good practice and the School Evaluation Indicators to address the findings of this evaluation and develop a Raising Achievement Plan that includes continuing focus on building teacher capability to accelerate learning and achievement.

As part of this review ERO will continue to monitor the school’s Raising Achievement plan and the progress the school makes. ERO is likely to carry out the next full review in three years. 

6 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 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.

In order to improve practice trustees and leaders should:

  • review the personnel appointments policy to ensure it includes procedures for background checks on applicants for roles in the school.

7 Recommendation

ERO recommends that St Patrick's School (Napier) continue to develop and implement systems and practices to raise achievement.  This should include developing capability in internal evaluation to ensure the school knows what is working well and what needs to change to improve outcomes for Māori and Pacific students.   

Joyce Gebbie
Deputy Chief Review Officer Central

10 August 2016

About the school 

Location

Napier

Ministry of Education profile number

2745

School type

Full Primary (Years 1 to 8)

School roll

323

Gender composition

Female 55%, Male 45%

Ethnic composition

Māori
Pākehā
Samoan

21%
72%
  7%

Review team on site

June 2016

Date of this report

10 August 2016

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review
Education Review
Education Review

July 2013
May 2011
June 2008