St Paul's School (Massey)

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 Paul’s School (Massey) is a state integrated Catholic school in West Auckland and provides education for learners in Years 1 to 6.  The school’s vision of Love|Aroha, Learn|Ako, Serve|Mahi and the Gospel Values of Respect, Trust in God and Servant Leadership, underpin its special character.

The school is a member of Te Kāhui Ako o Waitakere. 

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 

Since the previous ERO report of December 2022, the school has been working with ERO to evaluate the effectiveness of initiatives, that are designed to respond to diversity, on outcomes for all learners.   

Expected Improvements and Findings

The school expected to see:

A responsive curriculum that meets the learning needs of the diverse community of learners at the school. 

• Learners gain strong foundational skills in reading, writing and mathematics through programmes that reflect their identities and learning needs.
• Teachers and leaders have adapted teaching and learning programmes to incorporate professional learning in relational and co-operative learning approaches.  

Teachers empowering learners to be engaged, confident, enjoy learning and be successful.

• The deliberate teaching of co-operative learning strategies has empowered learners to learn from and with one another. 
• Learners are supported in their social skills development and in their learning by working in deliberate ways with their peers.
• Learners have developed confidence and leadership skills by helping one another to be successful. 

Faith filled respectful learners who love, trust in God and are servant leaders.

• Learners value the school’s values and use these to guide them.
• Student leadership is highly valued by teachers and learners. 

Learners supported to become compassionate, critical thinkers who can solve issues that impact them and their world.

• Learners have opportunities to apply their learning to social justice initiatives and individual projects.

Other Findings

During the course of the evaluation, it was evident that learners feel valued and comfortable in expressing their faith, cultures, languages and identities.

The greatest shift that occurred in response to the school’s action was improved confidence and growth in oral language as a result of learners working collaboratively.

Part B: Current State 

The following findings are to inform the school’s future priorities for improvement.

Learner Success and Wellbeing 

• Almost all learners achieve at or above expected curriculum levels in reading and mathematics with most learners at or above expectation in writing. 
• Most Māori and Pacific learners achieve at or above curriculum levels in reading, writing and mathematics. 
• Learners have a strong sense of belonging and association with the school’s special character and are confident in their identity, language and culture.
• The majority of learners attend school regularly; the school is working towards meeting the Ministry of Education target for regular attendance. 

Conditions to support learner success

• Leaders support high quality teaching and learning programmes that are clearly focused on improvement and responding to the cultures and identities of the school community. 
• Senior leaders work collaboratively with a high level of relational trust; a next step is to build capacity at the middle leadership level.
• Leaders build community and professional relationships to enhance the school’s special character and teaching and learning programmes.

• Cooperative learning practices increasingly improve oral language, confidence and engagement.
• Teachers use effective assessment to measure and respond to learner progress and achievement.
• Learners have rich opportunities to learn in ways that reflect their interests, needs and identities.

• Leaders use data from a range of sources provides a strong evidence base for strategic decision making.
• Leaders and teachers recognise and value the individual identities and abilities of learners and use a range of effective strategies and initiatives that support success for all. 
• The school is giving effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi through its partnership with Māori and mana whenua and beginning to extend its programme for the use of te reo Māori. 

Part C: Where to next? 

The agreed next steps for the school are to: 

• continue to embed strategies that promote responsive and cooperative learning and increase learner engagement
• extend the use of te reo Māori throughout the school
• continue to develop middle leadership capacity
• work with community agencies and whānau to improve the consistency of student attendance.

The agreed actions for the next improvement cycle and timeframes are as follows. 

Within six months:

• review how well relational and cooperative strategies support learning over time to inform shared understanding of what engagement in learning looks like  
• continue to work alongside Te Kawerau a Maki, Māori whānau and the specialist teacher of te reo Māori to develop a plan for the classroom teaching of te reo Māori
• co-construct a plan to build professional capability of middle leaders  
• develop a plan to maintain high levels of attendance.

Every six months:

• teachers develop their professional inquiry through planned observations to further inquire into effective practices 
• senior and middle leaders monitor use of te reo Māori by teachers and learners and provide feedback to teachers on their progress
• collect teacher voice on the impact of strengthened middle leader support 
• review and adapt initiatives that improve the consistency of attendance.

Annually:

• analyse achievement data and learner voice to indicate the success of effective practices that promote relational, cooperative learning and strong foundational practices in literacy and mathematics 
• evaluate the effectiveness of the te reo Māori programme to measure its impact on both learners and teachers and use findings to inform strategic plan
• evaluate middle leadership initiatives and roles to support future planning 
• evaluate and adapt to strengthen initiatives that improve attendance.

Actions taken against these next steps are expected to result in:

• almost all learners achieving at and above curriculum expectation in writing to match the achievement in reading and mathematics 
• strengthened middle leadership to support teachers and learning programmes 
• increased use of te reo Māori throughout the school by teachers and learners 
• improved attendance to consistently meet Ministry of Education targets.

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

30 October 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

Board Assurance with Regulatory and Legislative Requirements Report 2024 to 2027

As of September 2024, the St Paul’s School (Massey) 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 Paul’s School (Massey) 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

30 October 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