87A Penzance Road , Mairangi Bay, Auckland
View on mapSt John's School (Mairangi Bay)
St John's School (Mairangi Bay)
School Evaluation Report
Tēnā koutou e mau manawa rahi ki te kaupapa e aro ake nei, ko te tamaiti te pūtake o te kaupapa. Mā wai rā e kawe, mā tātau katoa.
We acknowledge the collective effort, responsibility and commitment by all to ensure that the child remains at the heart of the matter.
Context
St John’s School (Mairangi Bay) is on the North Shore of Auckland. It provides education for learners in Years 1 to 6. A new senior leadership team was established in 2023. The school’s values of Pono/Faith, Manawanui/Resilience, Whanaungatanga/Community and relationships, and Manaakitanga/Respect underpin its vision of preparing learners to take their places as responsible, well-rounded members of society.
There are three parts to this report.
Part A: A summary of the findings from the most recent Education Review Office (ERO) report and/or subsequent evaluation.
Part B: An evaluative summary of learner success and school conditions to inform the school board’s future strategic direction, including any education in Rumaki/bilingual settings.
Part C: The improvement actions prioritised for the school’s next evaluation cycle.
Part A: Previous Improvement Goals
Expected Improvements and Findings
Since the previous ERO report in December 2022, ERO and the school have worked together to evaluate how effectively the implementation of the school’s learning progression framework and a structured literacy approach has impacted outcomes for all learners in writing.
The school expected to see:
Accelerated progress and continuous improvement in outcomes for all learners.
- An increased number of learners are achieving at or above the expected curriculum level in writing.
- Learners demonstrate a greater understanding of the writing process.
Teachers consistently using effective teaching strategies and practices in adaptive ways to promote equitable and excellent outcomes for all students.
- The school has refined its learning progression framework with a common language for school wide consistency supporting learning.
- A structured literacy approach has been embedded and extended throughout the school to benefit learners.
Reciprocal and collaborative learning centred partnerships with families/whānau.
- Information about the learning progression framework has been created and shared with families and whānau to strengthened learning centred partnerships.
- Regular learning conversations with families provide useful information about each child’s learning progress and next steps.
Other Findings
During the course of the evaluation, it was found that the achievement of learners accelerated due to structured literacy teaching approaches. Teachers have increased their understanding of the writing process and identifying how student build and demonstrate their skills in writing.
The greatest shift that occurred in response to the school’s action of implementing a structured approach to literacy is the increase in student engagement in writing.
Part B: Current State
The following findings are to inform the school’s future priorities for improvement.
Learner Success and Wellbeing
Learners make sustained progress and achievement throughout their schooling. |
- Almost all learners achieve at or above the appropriate curriculum level for reading, writing and mathematics.
- Learners needing additional support benefit from systems that ensure their learning needs are identified and addressed, contributing to improved engagement and learning outcomes.
- Learners report a strong sense of belonging and wellbeing; they have opportunities to confidently participate and contribute across a range of contexts.
- Regular attendance is lower than the Ministry of Education 2024 target; the school is working with parents and whānau to support the regular attendance of all learners.
Conditions to support learner success
Strategic and effective leadership sets positive conditions to improve learner outcomes. |
- Leaders build and sustain high levels of relational trust, collaboration and communication to create a positive environment that is inclusive, values diversity and promotes student wellbeing for learning.
- Leaders use a suitable range of quality evidence about learners’ progress and achievement to evaluate the implementation of strategic targets and inform future priorities.
- Leadership facilitates meaningful professional development opportunities to ensure effective implementation of quality teaching.
A rich curriculum and well-considered teaching strategies provide engaging opportunities for student learning. |
- Learners benefit from a well-considered curriculum reflecting the school’s special character and local context that promotes engagement in learning.
- Teachers use a range of appropriate strategies that support and reinforce knowledge and skill-building and respond to learner strengths and needs.
- Learners experience well-established daily routines and positive and respectful relationships in settled and inclusive classrooms.
Well-developed school conditions promote learners’ wellbeing and engagement in learning. |
- The board collaborates strategically with school leadership to support and implement the school’s vision and values and achieve agreed goals and targets; it appropriately aligns resourcing to support learner-focused improvement strategies.
- Systematic approaches to wellbeing create an inclusive environment that is physically, emotionally and culturally sustaining for learners.
- Parents and whānau work in partnership with the school to support their children’s success; achievement information in shared, and they have regular opportunities to discuss goals and next steps.
Part C: Where to next?
The agreed next steps for the school are to:
- consolidate cohesive and consistent structured approaches to literacy and mathematics teaching that sustain high levels of learner progress and achievement
- further refine assessment tools, strategies and processes to monitor and report the progress and achievement of learners, including those identified with additional needs
- continue to focus on raising regular attendance rates for all students to meet Ministry of Education targets.
The agreed actions for the next improvement cycle and timeframes are as follows.
Within six months:
- evaluate current literacy and mathematics teaching approaches to inform next steps
- review assessment tools, strategies and processes to ensure clarity and cohesion for teachers and learners
- develop an implementation plan to guide teacher professional learning focused on building consistent and cohesive approaches to literacy and mathematics teaching, data literacy and assessment practices.
Every six months:
- continue to analyse and monitor learner progress, achievement and attendance information to inform next steps in teaching and learning.
Annually:
- use learner progress and achievement data and evidence from a range of sources to evaluate the effectiveness of strategies to improve learning, attendance and engagement, and report the outcomes to the board to inform strategic decision making
- review and evaluate the impact of professional development on consistency of teacher practice and learner outcomes.
Actions taken against these next steps are expected to result in:
- consistent literacy and numeracy teaching and learning practices across all year levels
- effective use of data that informs responsive teaching and learning
- sustained excellent progress and achievement outcomes for all learners
- improved levels of regular attendance.
ERO’s role will be to support the school in its evaluation for improvement cycle to improve outcomes for all learners. The next public report on ERO’s website will be a School Evaluation Report and is due within three years.
Me mahi tahi tonu tātau, kia whai oranga a tātau tamariki
Let’s continue to work together for the greater good of all children
Shelley Booysen
Director of Schools
6 December 2024
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 John's School (Mairangi Bay)
Board Assurance with Regulatory and Legislative Requirements Report 2024 to 2027
As of September 2024, the St John’s School (Mairangi Bay) 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 the St John’s School (Mairangi Bay) 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
6 December 2024
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 John's School (Mairangi Bay)
Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report
Background
This Profile Report was written within six months of the Education Review Office and St John’s School (Mairangi Bay) 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 John’s School (Mairangi Bay) is in Auckland and provides education for students in Years 0 to 6. The school’s mission is to ‘provide a faith-enriched Catholic education that inspires learning, excellence, and aroha for all students’. A new Principal will start in Term 1 2023.
St John’s School (Mairangi Bay)’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are:
-
Whakapono/Faith: to nurture and celebrate our Catholic Character and faith
-
Ako/Learning: to provide a child centred education that maximises each child’s learning potential
-
Hauora/Wellbeing: to develop in our children the skills, attitudes, and values to live as contributing members of an inclusive community
-
Taiao/Environment: to provide a well-resourced, future focused learning environment.
You can find a copy of the school’s strategic and annual plan on St John’s School (Mairangi Bay)’s website.
ERO and the school are working together to evaluate how effectively the implementation of the school’s learning progression framework and a structured literacy approach has impacted outcomes for all students in writing.
The rationale for selecting this evaluation is to:
-
accelerate progress and achievement to maximise each student’s learning potential
-
continue to build a high level of effective, innovative and creative teaching practice.
The school expects to see:
-
accelerated progress and continuous improvement in outcomes for all learners
-
teachers consistently using effective teaching strategies and practices in adaptive ways to promote equitable and excellent outcomes for all students
-
reciprocal and collaborative learning centred partnerships with families/whānau.
Strengths
The school can draw from the following strengths to support its goal to evaluate how effectively the implementation of the Learning Progression Framework and a structured literacy approach has impacted outcomes for all students in writing:
-
leadership collaboratively enacts the school vision and values
-
students demonstrate agency in their learning to improve their achievement outcomes
-
the school and families/whānau are engaged in educationally powerful partnerships.
Where to next?
Moving forward, the school will prioritise:
-
supporting effective teaching through targeted professional development
-
continuing to analyse writing data to identify and monitor learners’ progress over time
-
evaluating the effectiveness of writing programmes.
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.
Filivaifale Jason Swann
Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)
Northern Region | Te Tai Raki
13 December 2022
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 John's School (Mairangi Bay)
Board Assurance with Regulatory and Legislative Requirements Report 2022 to 2025
As of June 2022, the St. John’s School (Mairangi Bay)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. John’s School (Mairangi Bay) 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.
Filivaifale Jason Swann
Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)
Northern Region | Te Tai Raki
13 December 2022
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 John's School (Mairangi Bay) - 05/12/2017
School Context
St John’s School (Mairangi Bay) is an integrated Catholic school, on Auckland’s North Shore. It caters for students from Years 1 to 6. The roll of approximately 330 students includes 5 percent Māori, 10 percent Middle Eastern and a variety of other ethnicities.
The school community embraces its special character with the charism of the Sisters of St Joseph. The school’s mission is to provide a faith-enriched Catholic education that promotes and celebrates excellence and lifelong learning. The mission is underpinned by the school values of respect, excellence, community and faith. These values reflect four special characteristics of St Mary of the Cross Mackillop who founded the Sisters of St Joseph, and the school vision of “together we excel, we celebrate, we live our faith in Christ”.
The board has experienced and new trustees, and includes a new chair person. Following the retirement of the previous, long-standing principal, a new principal was appointed in 2016.
Leaders and teachers regularly report to the board, schoolwide information about outcomes for students in the following areas:
-
achievement in reading, writing and mathematics
-
progress and achievement in relation to the school targets
-
progress, trends and patterns over time for priority students
-
learning progress for children with additional learning needs
-
accelerated learning for children at risk of not achieving
-
engagement, attendance and wellbeing.
St John’s School is a member of the North Shore Catholic Schools Kāhui Ako|Community of Learning(CoL).
Evaluation Findings
1 Equity and excellence – valued outcomes for students
1.1 How well is the school achieving equitable and excellent outcomes for all its students?
St John’s School is achieving equitable and excellent outcomes for all its children.
School information shows very high levels of student achievement. Almost all children, including Māori and Pacific children, achieve well in reading, writing and mathematics. There is parity between male and female students. This achievement pattern has been consistent over the past four years.
Children with additional needs are very well supported in their learning. Parents/whānau of children with additional needs value their partnerships with the school, which focus on improved learning and wellbeing outcomes for their children.
All children have opportunities to learn and apply literacy and mathematical skills and understandings in different learning areas, within the school’s broad curriculum.
Students achieve very well in relation to other school valued outcomes that include:
-
confidence in their identity, language and culture in the school
-
a strong sense of belonging and connection to the school and the community
-
being inclusive and accepting of others, and promoting fairness and social justice
-
confidence in themselves as learners.
1.2 How effectively does this school respond to those Māori and other students whose learning and achievement need acceleration?
St John’s School is highly effective in responding to those Māori and other children whose learning needs acceleration.
Children at risk of not achieving are closely monitored by senior teachers and leaders. Teachers plan and implement relevant strategies to accelerate their progress. Leaders and teachers work collaboratively with parents, teacher aides and external agencies, to cater very effectively for children’s learning needs.
School leaders have promoted culturally responsive school practices that have had a positive impact on Māori and Pacific children. Teachers’ knowledge of learners and their whānau is having a positive impact on all children including those at risk of not achieving. Children from diverse ethnic backgrounds, and children with additional learning needs, benefit from the inclusive and responsive approaches that support them to succeed.
Well-considered programmes and appropriate interventions support those Māori and other children whose learning needs acceleration. Staff schedule focused and ongoing evaluation of programmes, practices and processes so they can be adapted to suit individual learners.
2 School conditions for equity and excellence
2.1 What school processes and practices are effective in enabling achievement of equity and excellence?
An effective board succession process has ensured continuity of good stewardship. School leaders and board members have a shared vision for the school’s renewed direction. They model openness and collaborative practice with a strong focus on what is best for children.
Partnerships with whānau are strongly promoted. These connections among families, school and the parish, have a positive influence on children’s learning and wellbeing. Catholic and school values are an integral part of children’s lives and their learning.
Warm relationships provide children and adults with a sense of being valued, and their contributions are well received. Classroom tone and environments promote and support learning. Children are confident, and proud of their learning and achievements.
The school curriculum is clearly focused on effective teaching. Children engage in a wide range of learning experiences within and beyond school. School leaders and staff provide increasing opportunities for children to resource and take ownership of their learning.
The school's internal moderation processes are effective. Teaching staff work collaboratively to ensure their overall judgements about achievement are reliable. Their evaluation of key learning areas has had a positive impact on school practices that are enabling children’s equity and excellence. The perspectives of students, families and teachers have contributed to these evaluations, and are building a sense of shared ownership and understanding about school practices.
Since the 2014 ERO report, positive practices have been sustained and further developed. Recent initiatives that are contributing to greater equity and excellence for children include:
-
high expectations for teaching and learning to support children to achieve success
-
further promoting learning-focused partnerships between the school, parents/whānau, the parish and wider community
-
providing a collaborative, responsive culture for all that includes strengthening te reo and tikanga Māori in the school
-
re-energising the integrated school curriculum.
2.2 What further developments are needed in school processes and practices for achievement of equity and excellence?
School processes and practices for achievement of equity and excellence are effective.
School leaders agree that deepening internal evaluation to guide the school’s strategic direction, would enhance current practices. This would support the development of the school’s responsive curriculum to enhance student agency in learning.
Involvement in the CoL and wider networks will contribute to building evaluation capability across all levels of the school.
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 Vulnerable Children Act 2014.
4 Going forward
Key strengths of the school
For sustained improvement and future learner success, the school can draw on existing strengths in:
-
a school culture of parent and school partnerships with a shared vision of positive outcomes for children
-
leaders fostering an environment that embraces change to promote equity and excellence for all children
-
the shared commitment of all staff to support each child’s learning and wellbeing.
Next steps
For sustained improvement and future learner success, development priorities are to continue to:
-
build collective evaluation capability
-
enhance schoolwide practices that support students to co-construct their own learning goals and experiences through the new curriculum.
ERO’s next external evaluation process and timing
ERO is likely to carry out the next external evaluation in three years.
Graham Randell
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern
Te Tai Raki - Northern Region
5 December 2017
About the school
Location |
Mairangi Bay, Auckland |
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
1492 |
|
School type |
Contributing (Years 1 to 6) |
|
School roll |
330 |
|
Gender composition |
Boys 51% Girls 49% |
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā Middle Eastern British/Irish African Southeast Asian Chinese Korean Australian Dutch Filipino Indian Latin American other European other |
5% 37% 10% 8% 5% 5% 4% 4% 3% 3% 3% 2% 2% 4% 5% |
Provision of Māori medium education |
No |
|
Review team on site |
October 2017 |
|
Date of this report |
5 December 2017 |
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review |
August 2014 |