Marian Catholic School (Hamilton)

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

Marian Catholic School is a state integrated primary school located in Hamilton and provides education for students in Years 1 to 8. A satellite class of Patricia Avenue School provides education for students with additional needs. The school has strong links to the Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish. The school’s core purpose is to bring Christ into the world by being the hands, face and voice of Jesus.

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 August 2022, ERO and the school have worked together to evaluate how well school conditions contribute to improving equitable outcomes for all learners, grow and embed culturally responsive practices and strengthen positive partnerships for learning.

Expected Improvements and Findings

The school expected to see deliberate actions implemented to improve the quality and effectiveness of culturally inclusive teaching and learning across the school, and to support continuous improvement in outcomes for identified learners.

• The school wide approach to relationship-based learning promotes the caring and nurturing of students and their languages and cultures.
• Consistency of teaching practices and high expectations for learning and behaviour support improved progress and outcomes for students.
• Increased opportunities for families and whānau to share their views and aspirations contribute to positive partnerships and higher levels of community engagement in the school.

Other Findings

The greatest shift that occurred in response to the school’s action has been strengthened data analysis to identify and monitor rates of student progress.

Part B: Current State

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

Learner Success and Wellbeing

• Most students are achieving at or above expected levels in reading and mathematics and the large majority in writing; students with additional needs and English language learners make progress in relation to their individual goals and learning progressions.
• Data over time shows a significant increase in the number of students accelerating in their learning in reading, writing and mathematics and positive improvement for Pacific students, especially in reading and mathematics; significant disparity in achievement remains for boys in writing, girls in mathematics and Māori and Pacific students in literacy and mathematics compared with their Pākehā peers.
• Wellbeing data shows almost all students surveyed in Years 4 to 8 report feeling safe at school and experience caring and culturally inclusive relationships with teachers and peers.
• The school has slightly lower rates of regular attendance and is not yet meeting the Ministry of Education’s target; the majority of student absences is justified and there are no truancy issues.

Conditions to support learner success

• Provision of professional learning, coaching and collaboration strengthens the quality of teaching to respond to the ongoing needs of students.
• Clear guidelines and expectations for assessment, planning and teaching enable consistency of practice across the school and an increased focus on improving equitable outcomes for learners.
• High levels of relational trust between leaders, teachers and the board enhance shared decision making for continuous school improvement.

• The school’s special Catholic character and strengthened inclusion of te reo Māori, tikanga Māori and local Māori history enables students to have a strong sense of belonging and wellbeing.
• A deliberate focus on all students gaining foundation skills in oral language, literacy and mathematics strengthens their learning across the curriculum.
• Culturally inclusive and respectful relationships between teachers and students promote high levels of engagement and well managed environments for learning.

• Regular review of a variety of data supports leaders to consider the effectiveness of actions and initiatives for school improvement.
• Special education programmes, English language learning provision and strong pastoral care for students and their families enable equitable opportunities to learn.
• Active involvement in professional networks and the Waikato Catholic Kāhui Ako supports leaders and teachers to strengthen school capability and improvement.

Part C: Where to next?

The agreed next steps for the school are to:

• continue to increase rates of accelerated progress and improve equitable outcomes for identified learners, especially boys in writing, Māori and Pacific students in writing and mathematics
• continue to implement and strengthen effective teaching strategies to raise overall levels of achievement in writing
• extend the analysis of school progress data to enhance internal evaluation and better inform targeted action for continuous improvement.

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

Every six months:

• monitor and report on the rates of progress and targeted action for groups of students at risk of not achieving.

Annually:

• formally evaluate and report on the quality and effectiveness of school actions and teaching practices to improve outcomes for target learners and inform further planning for improvement.

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

• increased rates of accelerated learning progress
• higher levels of writing achievement and improved equitable outcomes for Māori and Pacific students and boys
• high-quality internal evaluation for continuous improvement.

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

10 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

Board Assurance with Regulatory and Legislative Requirements Report 2024 to 2027

As of September 2024, the Marian Catholic 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 Marian Catholic School (Hamilton), 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.

Shelley Booysen
Director of Schools

10 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

Provision for International Students Report

Background

The Education Review Office reviews schools that are signatories to the Education (Pastoral Care of Tertiary and International Learners) Code of Practice 2021 established under section 534 of the Education and Training Act 2020.

Findings

The school is a signatory to the Education (Pastoral Care of Tertiary and International Learners) Code of Practice 2021 established under section 534 of the Education and Training Act 2020. The school has attested that it complies with all aspects of the Code and has completed an annual self-review of its implementation of the Code.

At the time of this review there were 2 international students attending the school.

The school’s annual process for self-review effectively supports the international students’ coordinator, principal and board to meet the requirements of the Code, strengthen aspects of the programme and sustain positive practice over time. The school monitors its provision and outcomes for learners in a responsive way. Information gathered from students, parents and teachers supports the school to meet the ongoing needs of students.

The school has effective systems and processes in place to support the pastoral care of international learners. A strong commitment to maintaining regular and personalised communication with students and their families contributes to a sense of belonging and positive inclusion in the school.

Students are well integrated into their classrooms and the school community. Short stay students benefit from many rich cultural learning experiences. Long stay students are well supported to make progress and achieve in their learning. They have many opportunities to develop positive relationships and participate and learn in meaningful contexts and a caring environment.

Shelley Booysen
Director of Schools

10 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