Mahurangi College

Findings

Mahurangi College students thrive in a student-centred learning environment. The broad, coherent curriculum supports high levels of student achievement and engagement. School goals drive improvement for learners, particularly priority students. Strong governance and leadership, effective teaching and learning, and partnerships with parents and the community enhance outcomes for students.

ERO is likely to carry out the next review in four-to-five years.

1 Context

What are the important features of this school that have an impact on student learning?

Mahurangi College in Warkworth continues to attract students in Years 7 to 15 from the wider Mahurangi area. The school now caters for 1308 domestic students and a growing number of international students. The number of Pacific students on the roll is steadily increasing as the community becomes more diverse.

The school’s vision statement is: “To create a dynamic learning environment challenging every student to strive for excellence and to positively contribute to their community”. The student learning centre that caters for students with specific learning needs occupies a central position in the school.

Commitment to bicultural practices is demonstrated through the prominence of the marae and strategic planning focused on raising the achievement of Māori students.

Students use electronic devices to enhance their learning across the curriculum. The "bring your own device" (BYOD) approach was introduced in 2014. School staff ensure that students have equity of access to digital learning.

The school has been part of the Learning Change Network (LCN) which had a particular focus on Pacific student success. Current professional development is designed to extend teachers’ capability in the use of student achievement data across the school.

Major upgrades and refurbishments to the school have provided staff and students with a high quality learning and work environment.

2 Learning

How well does this school use achievement information to make positive changes to learners’ engagement, progress and achievement?

Student achievement information is used effectively to inquire into patterns of achievement, and to identify relevant professional development for teachers in order to improve outcomes for students. Good use of data underpins teaching and learning decisions across the school. School goals provide the impetus for accelerating the progress of all students. High expectations of academic achievement are evident.

There is a settled, purposeful atmosphere throughout the school. Students are engaged in, and enjoy learning. They respond well to the school’s expectations of them as confident, self-managing learners. They adapt to new and changing contexts, and use multiple strategies for learning and problem solving.

Overall, students in Years 7 and 8 achieve at or above National Standards, particularly in reading and mathematics. The school has identified that student achievement in writing, particularly for boys, needs improvement. Appropriate targets have been set to improve outcomes for these learners. There is a school-wide goal of improving student outcomes in writing. Increasing student knowledge of what they do well and where they need improvement is supported by students using writing skills across the curriculum. Reports to parents provide them with good information about their child’s progress and achievement in National Standards in reading, writing and maths, as well as other learning areas of The New Zealand Curriculum.

National Standards data in reading, writing and mathematics for Pacific students is showing significant acceleration of their progress over time. There is good evidence of improvement for Māori students although school data show they, as a group, are achieving below school averages at this level.

The school is beginning to systematically collate achievement information about students in Years 9 and 10. Teachers are identifying valid assessment tools and becoming more familiar with curriculum levels appropriate to expectations for student achievement. Analysing student achievement information across Years 7 to 10, including ethnic and gender analysis and information about accelerated student progress in learning, would further enhance decision making and resourcing.

Mahurangi College students’ results in National Certificates of Educational Achievement (NCEA) compares very favourably with, and generally exceeds, national and similar schools’ results. Māori student achievement is similar to non-Māori. The trend of ongoing improvement is particularly evident at Level 3 and University Entrance. These improvements have been the result of careful monitoring, increased focus, and the school’s determination to provide greater equity of opportunity for students to access tertiary study. Significant improvement in NCEA course endorsements has been sustained over the years. The school has identified the next steps towards achieving the school vision of success for every student as continuing to investigate and trial strategies to improve boys’ achievement and to increase subject endorsements in NCEA.

Students experience high levels of success across areas of the arts, and academic, sporting, cultural, social and service events.

3 Curriculum

How effectively does this school’s curriculum promote and support student learning?

The responsive and inclusive curriculum adapts to, and provides for, students’ learning aspirations. It is very effective in promoting and supporting student learning. Students have effective, sufficient and equitable opportunities to learn.

The school curriculum is strongly aligned with The New Zealand Curriculum, particularly the key competencies, values and principles. These have been adapted specifically to this school’s context. There is a deliberate focus on students as members of, and contributors to a cultural, local, national and global community.

The school’s curriculum design promotes academic achievement across a breadth of subjects. Good work has been done to enable students of different abilities and interests to contribute to and engage in learning across a variety of meaningful pathways. Māori and Pacific themes are very evident in teachers’ planning across the curriculum and year levels.

Strengths of the curriculum include:

• the school’s inclusive practices that reflect their determination to improve outcomes for students with particular learning needs
• strong support for students’ wellbeing including academic and careers counselling
• the use of digital devices and resources in ways that promote learning
• numerous opportunities for student leadership, and leadership of learning
• the strong co-curricular programme that provides many opportunities for students to be active participants in a wider curriculum.

Ongoing review continues to inform the content and structure of the school curriculum. The current review of the Year 7 to 10 curriculum structure is a significant part of the ongoing improvement. Building sound foundations for continuity across the Year 7 to 15 curriculum continues to be a priority.

Teaching practices engage students in meaningful learning through:

• a shared understanding of expectations between students and teachers
• additional opportunities and mentoring beyond the school’s timetable, to support student learning.

Leaders agree that it would be useful to have a regular school-wide survey to gain further information about student wellbeing to inform programmes and initiatives.

Students benefit from mutually beneficial relationships between the school and the community. These relationships focus on the learning partnership between the school and parents. Learning-centred relationships engage and involve the school community. Community collaboration and partnerships extend and enrich opportunities for students to become "confident, connected, actively involved lifelong learners".

How effectively does the school promote educational success for Māori, as Māori?

The school has strongly improved its effectiveness over the past three years in supporting educational success for Māori as Māori. Māori and Pacific students report feeling confident about, and proud of, being Māori or Pacific in this school. They are well supported in their cultural identities.

The school has developed a Māori Achievement Plan in consultation with Māori parents defining success for Māori as Māori. A continued strategic focus on raising the achievement of Māori students includes:

• the school-wide promotion of tikanga Māori
• strong leadership in tikanga to facilitate PLD, provide learning opportunities for students, and liaise and consult with the Māori community
• expectations of student leaders to use and promote te reo me ona tikanga Māori at Mahurangi College.

ERO recommends the college continues to develop teacher and student understanding of, and responsibility for, the concepts within success for Māori as Māori.

4 Sustainable Performance

How well placed is the school to sustain and improve its performance?

The school is very well placed to sustain and improve its performance. The school vision and values underpin school direction, and are widely known and supported by students, staff, trustees and the wider community.

Factors that contribute to effective and sustainable practices to achieve the school’s vision include:

• a collective responsibility within the school community to create the conditions in which all students may experience success
• well considered and strategic decision making by senior leaders, strongly modelled by the principal
• the way leaders build relational trust at all levels of the community to support openness, collaboration and risk taking, and are receptive to change and improvement
• the performance management systems that strengthen and sustain focused professional learning and collaborative activity to improve teaching and learning.

Well considered appointments to the senior management team, aligned to the school’s strategic plan, are enabling this team to lead change in the school and support professional teaching practices. The school is currently developing a teacher profile to enhance teacher effectiveness aligned with Tātaiako: Cultural Competencies for Teachers of Māori Learners, which promotes culturally responsive pedagogies, to continue to improve outcomes for Mahurangi students

Shared respect and understanding are evident in the way the principal and board relate to each other and work cooperatively to establish a purposeful and successful learning environment for their students. Self review is used to sustain a continuous cycle of development that improves student learning.

The school is now well poised to further sustain and improve its performance. School staff and trustees could further build their capability and capacity in using evaluation, inquiry and knowledge building for improvement.

Provision for international students

The school is a signatory to the Code of Practice for the Pastoral Care of International Students (the Code) established under section 238F of the Education Act 1989. The school has attested that it complies with all aspects of the Code. At the time of this review there were 27 international students attending the school.

The education and integration of international students in the school and community are closely monitored and evaluated. High quality pastoral care, together with academic, vocational, arts and sporting programmes enable international students to be successful across a variety of learning opportunities. Staff responsible for the care of international students regularly review the quality and effectiveness of their provision for these students. The board is well informed about international student involvement, progress and achievement.

Board assurance on legal requirements

Before the review, the board of trustees 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:

• board administration
• curriculum
• management of health, safety and welfare
• personnel management
• financial management
• asset management.

During the review, ERO checked the following items because they have a potentially high impact on student achievement:

• emotional safety of students (including prevention of bullying and sexual harassment)
• physical safety of students
• teacher registration
• processes for appointing staff
• stand-downs, suspensions, expulsions and exclusions
• attendance.

Conclusion

Mahurangi College students thrive in a student-centred learning environment. The broad, coherent curriculum supports high levels of student achievement and engagement. School goals drive improvement for learners, particularly priority students. Strong governance and leadership, effective teaching and learning, and partnerships with parents and the community enhance outcomes for students.

ERO is likely to carry out the next review in four-to-five years. 

Graham Randell

Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern

1 June 2016

About the School

1 Context

What are the important features of this school that have an impact on student learning?

Mahurangi College in Warkworth is a co-educational state secondary school catering for students in Years 7 to 15. The school attracts students from a wide geographical area and its roll continues to expand. The recent successful celebration of the school’s 50th jubilee reflected the community’s ongoing support for the school.

The school tone is settled and positive. Students are proud of their school. Whānau groups promote whānaungatanga through tuakana-teina relationships and students benefit from long-term relationships with whānau teachers. Core values have been revisited and sit alongside recently developed key classroom values.

A distinguishing feature of the school is its highly visible and well used marae. The school’s bicultural commitment is explicit to the wider community and recent initiatives have provided significant support for Māori student success. Links with the three local iwi and associated marae have been strengthened.

School leaders have responded well to the current and previous ERO reviews. Professional links with local schools are developing through a common focus on raising student achievement. Joint initiatives with these schools to make it easier for students to transition to the college are worthwhile developments.

The school is also about to begin its first significant teaching and learning external professional development contract in ten years. The focus of the contract is on leadership and assessment. It aims to help teachers' better use student achievement information to evaluate the effectiveness of their teaching.

The board has successfully managed new building developments to enable the curriculum to be delivered in more flexible and innovative ways. The school’s auditorium and performing arts area are now completed and are well used by the school and wider community.

2 Learning

How well are students learning – engaging, progressing and achieving?

Students are engaged in their learning and school life. They enjoy many opportunities to participate in and experience success in academic, sport, culture, the arts and leadership activities. Students benefit from positive relationships with their teachers.

Students are taking more responsibility for success in their learning when teachers share achievement information with them. In Years 7 to 9, the recent introduction of three way conferencing to report to parents provides useful opportunities for students to take greater ownership of their learning.

The school’s good quality student achievement information shows that most students in Years 7 and 8 are making progress and are achieving at or above National Standards in reading and mathematics. School information also shows that half of these students are also achieving at or above National Standards in writing. The introduction of new writing assessment tools is providing teachers with more useful and robust information to determine student performance and set realistic targets.

The above good practice of setting progress and achievement targets for students in Years 7 and 8 could now be used for students in Years 9 and 10. Departments could then analyse and report on student achievement aligned to more specific school goals. Teachers could:

• build on and use the effective teaching and assessment approaches evident in the junior school
• provide all learners with more personalised and relevant learning opportunities
• identify priority learners, focus on accelerating their progress and evaluate the success of interventions to promote their learning.

Students in Years 11 to 13 achieve well above national levels and above levels in similar schools in the National Certificates of Educational Achievement (NCEA). Girls achieve particularly well. School leaders and teachers are working on strategies to ensure that boys achieve at the same high levels across the school. Increased numbers of scholarships across many subject areas and improved levels of NCEA merit and excellence endorsements are positive developments. School leaders are aware of the ongoing challenges to have more students gaining University Entrance.

Māori students are well supported by their teachers. As a group, they achieve well and their levels of achievement have continued to rise. Many students are above national levels for Māori students in NCEA. However, their overall achievement levels are not as high as their peers and the school has identified that closing this gap remains a key priority. The principal, key teachers, whānau and te whānau o Mahurangi, have developed a number of initiatives to support Māori students, including te Ara Poutama, an afterschool homework centre. The recent appointment of a kāiāwhina to support Māori students is significant and the school is considering how best to embed and sustain other current initiatives.

Pacific students are engaged in learning. Most Pacific students are new speakers of English and the school provides relevant and useful ESOL programmes to support their English language learning. The overall achievement of Pacific students in NCEA is well below that of their peers. The school has recently appointed a Pacific support teacher to work alongside families and students to build learning partnerships and help raise achievement levels. It would be useful for school leaders and teachers to track Pacific student achievement as they progress from Year 7 to 13, to evaluate the success of current interventions and to determine further resourcing needs for Pacific students.

3 Curriculum

How effectively does this school’s curriculum promote and support student learning?

Mahurangi College has developed a curriculum that promotes and supports student learning. Teachers and curriculum leaders have aligned teaching and learning programmes to The New Zealand Curriculum (NZC). Students’ ongoing contribution to reviewing and evaluating learning programmes is valuable source of self review.

School programmes now incorporate some bicultural and Pacific perspectives. This remains an area for ongoing growth and development as teachers and the curriculum they provide respond to the culture, identity and heritage of all learners.

Students with high learning needs have good access to the curriculum and school activities within individualised programmes. They enjoy opportunities to learn in the company of other high needs students, while also participating successfully in a range of activities including kapa haka. The central location of the learning centre that supports these students reflects the school’s commitment to inclusive practices that enable all students to participate in and contribute to curricular and co-curricular activities.

In Years 7 and 8, students benefit from very good teaching practices and a broad and integrated curriculum where they are supported to develop skills in inquiry learning. Students appreciate specialist subjects, opportunities to learn te reo Māori, and the increased access they have to te ao Māori within the curriculum.

In Years 9 to 13, students experience a variety of learning areas. The school has developed a number of relevant and useful learning pathways in the senior school to cater for the differing interests and talents of students. On-line learning environments are well used and students are encouraged to learn in independent ways, which acts as a valuable bridge to tertiary education.

The quality of teaching has continued to improve as teachers are developing a more collaborative working culture. Good quality teaching is evident, as are many high quality practices. School-wide professional learning and development time has been well used to share practice and highlight effective teaching and learning strategies.

Teachers are developing the ‘Mahu way’ and senior leaders and ERO agree it would benefit students, if teachers:

• develop a more seamless curriculum from Years 7 to 10
• consider how to make their teaching more culturally responsive, by using the Ministry of Education’s resource, Tātaiako: cultural competencies for teachers of Māori learners
• offer more opportunities for students to make decisions about what and how they learn
• extend inquiry learning approaches.

How effectively does the school promote educational success for Māori, as Māori?

Twelve percent of students at the college are Māori. The school has made significant progress in promoting educational success for and as Māori. Many new and purposeful initiatives have been put in place since 2009.

Māori students are confident in their Māoritanga and have an increased status and value in the school. They lead Ngā Tumanako, the Māori student council, and are involved in several other leadership groups. They also benefit from a homework centre, regular wananga, ongoing whānau support, kapa haka and other opportunities to meet together as a rōopu.

Whānau and teachers have promoted initiatives and encouraged students through celebrations of success. Te whānau o Mahurangi has recently completed a detailed self review to inform school improvement. The principal has worked constructively with the whānau group to implement a range of initiatives to promote success for and as Māori. Whānau want to continue to work with school leaders to continue to improve success as Māori and inform strategic planning.

The school is now well placed to consider:

• Māori working with Māori to identify the dimensions of a successful Māori learner at Mahurangi College and to develop a Māori education plan that informs board policy, targets, planning, resourcing and decision making
• using more diverse ways to consult with whānau and to sustain current initiatives
• in greater depth how well school documentation is inclusive of Māori perspectives and approaches
• reporting on Māori success: engagement, progress and achievement across Years 7 to 13
• extending opportunities for Māori students to experience high quality te reo Māori programmes across the curriculum.

4 Sustainable Performance

How well placed is the school to sustain and improve its performance?

Mahurangi College is well placed to sustain and improve its performance.

The school has a long serving, highly respected principal and a well established senior leadership team with clear roles and responsibilities. School leaders are responsive to external evaluation and promote a professional environment. They use self review effectively to improve school performance and inform decision making.

Curriculum leaders, some new to their roles, are knowledgeable and focussed on improving student achievement. Junior school leaders are responsive to change and work collaboratively with teachers to develop their capacity. School leaders could now further refine reporting to make it more evaluative and manageable.

Trustees have complementary skills and have developed a comprehensive annual plan with key targets. They have managed school growth well and have strong leadership. ERO and the board agree that to continue to improve school performance, the board should:

• develop strategic priorities and accompanying success indicators to measure school performance over time
• extend strategic plans over the next three years and incorporate the Māori education plan into these plans
• receive more evaluative reports on the implementation of board policy.

Restorative practices are part of the leadership philosophy of the school. To promote positive learning opportunities for all students and reduce interruptions to learning, ERO and school leaders agree next steps are to:

• use restorative practices more consistently in classrooms
• incorporate restorative approaches into student management documentation and practices.

Provision for international students

The school is a signatory to the Code of Practice for the Pastoral Care of International Students (the Code) established under section 238F of the Education Act 1989. At the time of this review there were 26 international students attending the school.

The school has attested that it complies with all aspects of the Code.

ERO’s investigations confirmed that the school’s self-review process for international students is thorough. International students are well provided for through appropriate programmes and school processes support them in their learning. Students are included in the life of the school and benefit from a range of valuable learning experiences.

Board assurance on legal requirements

Before the review, the board of trustees 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:

• board administration
• curriculum
• management of health, safety and welfare
• personnel management
• financial management
• asset management.

During the review, ERO checked the following items because they have a potentially high impact on student achievement:

• emotional safety of students (including prevention of bullying and sexual harassment)
• physical safety of students
• teacher registration
• stand-downs, suspensions, expulsions and exclusions
• attendance.

When is ERO likely to review the school again?

ERO is likely to carry out the next review in three years. 

Makere Smith

National Manager Review Services Northern Region (Acting)

18 September 2012

About the School