St Joseph's Catholic School (Morrinsville)

School Context

St Joseph’s Catholic School (Morrinsville) caters for student from Years 1 to 8. The school was founded under the charism of the Sister of St Joseph’s and the school’s mission statement is ‘Always faithful to the teachings of Jesus Christ’. The schools current roll of 214 students includes 32 who identify as Māori.

Since the 2015 ERO review a new principal and deputy principal have been appointed, there have been significant staff and trustee changes and a new chairperson elected. A modern learning environment, known as a ‘hub’ has been established. The school is well supported by the local parish and wider Catholic community.

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

• reading, writing and mathematics.

St Joseph’s Catholic School is part of the Morrinsville and Catholic Schools Communities of Learning|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?

The school is achieving equitable and excellent outcomes for most students. The school’s data from 2018 indicates that most students are achieving within or above expected curriculum levels in reading and mathematics and a majority in writing. School achievement data shows that girls are achieving better than boys in reading, writing and mathematics. Māori students are achieving as well as other students in mathematics and below other students in reading and writing. Student achievement information from 2015 to 2018 shows increases for all groups of learners in reading, writing and mathematics.

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

The school responds effectively to Māori and other students whose learning and achievement need acceleration. Classroom teachers have recently developed useful processes to track and monitor the progress of at-risk students. Collated and analysed student achievement information shows acceleration in reading, writing and mathematics for targeted students. Information about outcomes for students with additional learning needs shows these students make good progress.

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?

Trustees bring a range of expertise to their roles. They make appropriate resourcing decisions using student achievement information and feedback from parents and whānau. There is a collaborative approach to strategic planning. Trustees are highly committed to promoting the special Catholic character of the school which is evident at all levels of school operations.

The senior leadership team provides clear school direction for teaching and learning. They ensure regular opportunity for relevant professional development to build teacher capability. Leaders have prioritised student learning and achievement with a focus on the acceleration of priority students. Senior leaders are re-establishing a cohesive teaching team.

Teachers promote respectful interactions and encourage student engagement. Raising student achievement in literacy and mathematics is a high priority. Teachers use a range of appropriate assessment tools to gather information to monitor student progress and achievement. Curriculum areas are well resourced to promote and support students in their learning. Students are confident to share and discuss their progress and are taking increasing responsibility for their learning.

Leaders, teachers and support staff create a welcoming and positive learning environment. A wide range of academic, leadership, sporting and cultural opportunities are available for students. Parents are actively involved in the life of the school. They are well informed about their children’s progress and achievement. There is ongoing support provided by the school for the wellbeing and care of students who need this. The school actively engages with whānau, specialist support agencies and external experts to provide pastoral and learning support for those students with additional needs.

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

ERO and leadership agree that there is a need to:

• consolidate teachers’ understanding of the effective use of the learning progressions to enable students to be self-managing learners
• enhance the authentic integration of te reo and tikanga Māori throughout classroom programmes
• continue to build a collaborative team approach to:
  • develop and implement school-wide expectations of high-quality teaching practice
  • effectively communicate and consistently apply the schools agreed behaviour management processes to support positive behaviour and wellbeing for teaching and learning.

3 Other Matters

Provision for international students

The school is a signatory to theEducation (Pastoral Care of International Students) Code of Practice 2016established under section 238F of the Education Act 1989. The school has attested that it complies with all aspects of the Code.

No international students were enrolled at the time of the ERO review.

4 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.

5 ERO’s Overall Judgement

On the basis of the findings of this review, ERO’s overall evaluation judgement of St Joseph’s Catholic Sch (Morrinsville)’s performance in achieving valued outcomes for its students is: Well placed.

ERO’s Framework: Overall School Performance is available on ERO’s website.

6 Going forward

Key strengths of the school

For sustained improvement and future learner success, the school can draw on existing strengths in:

• trustees and leaders focused on promoting its Christian values that makes a positive difference to student learning
• respectful interactions between teachers and students that encourages student engagement
• a welcoming and supportive learning environment that enhances students sense of wellbeing.

Next steps

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

• effective use of learning progressions to promote students as self-managing learners
• strengthening the use of te reo and tikanga to enhance the authentic integration of te ao Māori
• building a collaborative teaching team to develop and implement school-wide expectations.

Areas for improved compliance practice

To improve current practice, the board of trustees should:

• ensure that appraisal processes include regular and focused classroom observations.

Phil Cowie

Director Review and Improvement Services

Central Region

24 May 2019

About the school