St Anne's Catholic School (Manurewa)

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