Guilford Terrace , Thorndon, Wellington
View on mapTēnā 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.
Sacred Heart Cathedral School is an inner city multicultural school that provides education for students in Years 1 to 8. The school’s mission is ‘To educate our children within a Catholic environment to achieve their full spiritual, academic and personal potential’ which is well aligned to their values of ‘Whanaungatanga, Atawhai, Kaitiakitanga and Ako’.
| How well are learners succeeding? | Learners experience high levels of success and make excellent progress; outcomes are similarly high for all groups. |
| What is the quality of teaching and learning? | Learners benefit from excellent quality teaching practice that improves progress and achievement in reading, writing and mathematics. |
| How well does the school curriculum respond to all learners needs? | Learners have rich opportunities to learn across the breadth and depth of the curriculum. There is a consistent focus on supporting learners to gain skills in literacy and mathematics. Learners with complex needs are well supported to achieve their education goals. |
| How well does school planning and conditions support ongoing improvement? | School planning and conditions to support ongoing improvement to the quality of education for learners are well established. |
| How well does the school include all learners and promote their engagement and wellbeing? | The school successfully promotes learners’ engagement, wellbeing and inclusion. |
| How well does the school partner with parents, whānau and its community for the benefit of learners? | The school reports usefully and accurately to parents / whānau about their child’s learning, achievement and progress. The school responds well to a wide range of information gathered through community consultation, to inform strategic planning and curriculum decisions. |
| Student Health and Safety | The school board is taking reasonable steps to ensure student health and safety. |
This table outlines how well students across the school meet or exceed the expected curriculum level.
Foundation Skills | |
| Reading | Most learners meet or exceed the expected curriculum level. Results are equitable for all groups of learners. |
| Writing | A large majority of learners meet or exceed the expected curriculum level. Results are equitable for all groups of learners. |
| Mathematics | Most learners meet or exceed the expected curriculum level. Results are equitable for all groups of learners. |
The school is behind the target of 80% regular attendance.
The school has a suitable plan in place to improve attendance.
Regular attendance is not yet improving towards or beyond the target.
The school uses an appropriate approach and reliable practices to find out about achievement against the curriculum.
Assessment information is used well to adjust teaching practices to ensure ongoing improvement in teaching and student progress.
The school has good quality planning to increase the rate of progress for all groups of students.
The school has significantly improved achievement and progress for those learners most at risk of not achieving since the previous review.
The school has significantly extended achievement and progress for learners working at or above curriculum levels since the previous review.
The school is meeting the Government reading, writing and mathematics targets set for 2030.
This section of the report provides more detail for the school to include in strategic and annual planning for ongoing improvement across the school.
The agreed next steps for the school are to:
The agreed actions for the next improvement cycle and timeframes are as follows.
Within six months:
Every six months:
Annually:
Actions taken against these next steps are expected to result in:
All schools are required to promote student health and safety and to regularly review their compliance with legal requirements.
During this review the Board has attested to some regulatory and legislative requirements in the following areas:
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
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
Sharon Kelly
Director of Schools (Acting)
15 May 2025
This website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement. educationcounts.govt.nz/home
Sacred Heart Cathedral School is situated in Thorndon, Wellington for students in Years 1 to 8. Ten percent of students are Māori, thirteen percent are Samoan and twenty four percent are Filipino. Six percent of students are learning English as second language learners.
A new principal was appointed in May 2016.
The school’s mission is ‘To educate our children within a Catholic environment to achieve their full spiritual, academic and personal potential’. The school’s values are: ‘excellence, innovation, inquiry, curiosity, diversity, equity, community and participation, ecological sustainability, integrity and respect’.
Leaders and teachers regularly report to the board, schoolwide information about outcomes for students in the following areas:
In 2017 and 2018, professional learning and development of staff has been focused on literacy, digital technology, mathematics and culturally responsive practice. External expertise has supported these initiatives.
The school is a member of the Wellington Catholic Kāhui Ako. The principal co-shares the lead role of this community.
Achievement data from 2016 to 2018 shows that most students at Sacred Heart Cathedral School are achieving at and above The New Zealand Curriculum expectations in reading, writing and mathematics. This data shows disparity for boys in writing over this time.
The percentage of Pacific students achieving at and above expectations has increased since 2017 in reading, writing and mathematics. The percentages are lower than for Pākehā students in mathematics.
Māori student achievement at the end of 2018 is similar to Pākehā students in reading and writing.
There is evidence of target students making accelerated progress during 2018 in reading and mathematics. In reading, many students achieving below expectations at the start of the year made accelerated progress. In mathematics, approximately half of target students made accelerated progress during the year.
Students have many meaningful opportunities to lead, participate and celebrate success across the curriculum. This includes sporting, cultural, artistic, leadership and service activities. There is a schoolwide focus on students knowing the purpose of their learning. High levels of student engagement are evident. Students speak confidently, are proud of their school and demonstrate a strong sense of belonging. Relationships are respectful and interactions are inclusive and positive.
The curriculum framework is clearly underpinned by the Catholic charism and is closely aligned to The New Zealand Curriculum. The curriculum principles have been unpacked to promote a shared understanding of what is important for children and teachers, along with the school values. The local environment is well used for authentic, place-based learning experiences.
Leaders and teachers know the children well. Student achievement is tracked and the board of trustees receives predictive and summative reports. Teachers make good use of nationally-normed assessment tools to identify students’ next learning steps. Clearly documented assessment guidelines promote consistent practice and high expectations for the learning and success of all students. Leaders have identified that while they moderate assessment judgements informally, making this process more formal in the future is a next step.
Teachers inquire into the effectiveness of their teaching and use deliberate teaching strategies to accelerate student progress. The revised appraisal process, introduced in 2017, is comprehensive and focused on continuing to improve teaching and learning. It is clearly linked to the Standards for the Teaching Profession.
Clear plans have been developed to promote Māori success as Māori. Teachers are reflecting on their skills and working to increase their cultural capability.
The bicultural curriculum is promoted in a range of ways, including kapa haka and school visits to the local marae. Tuakana teina relationships between students are well established.
A well-considered Pasifika Plan documents a strong focus on Pacific students’ presence, engagement and achievement. Establishing and maintaining respectful relationships that enhance the learning and wellbeing of Pacific learners is a clear expectation.
Students with complex needs are supported through individual education programmes, appropriately developed with families and external agencies. There is a specific programme which effectively supports students who are English language learners.
Leaders promote an orderly and supportive environment that is conducive to student learning and wellbeing. Organisational structures, processes and practices encourage and support collaborative activity with an ongoing focus on teaching and learning. The principal, other leaders and trustees build strong educationally-focused relationships with other educational and community institutions and organisations to increase opportunities for student learning and success.
Trustees and leaders drive the clear vision for school direction and continual improvement. Strategic and annual planning, professional learning and development, appraisal and resourcing are well aligned to promote improved outcomes for students. Trustees bring a wide range of skills and knowledge to their stewardship role.
Leaders have identified, and ERO’s evaluation supports, that teachers should continue to:
Internal evaluation requires further development. Patterns of achievement and outcomes for groups and cohorts of students are recognised and appropriately shared. It is important to use a collaborative sense-making approach to more effectively evaluate this data. This should assist in identifying if a pattern exists, what has worked and where to next. Clearly identifying indicators of expected outcomes at the planning stage should assist with the regular evaluation and reporting of progress and the effectiveness of initiatives.
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:
During the review, ERO checked the following items because they have a potentially high impact on student safety and wellbeing:
For sustained improvement and future learner success, the school can draw on existing strengths in:
For sustained improvement and future learner success, priorities for further development are in:
ERO will provide an internal evaluation workshop for trustees and senior leaders.
ERO is likely to carry out the next external evaluation in three years.
Alan Wynyard
Director Review and Improvement Services
Southern Region
30 January 2019
| Location | Wellington |
| Ministry of Education profile number | 2985 |
| School type | Full Primary (Years 1 to 8) |
| School roll | 238 |
| Gender composition | Girls 51%, Boys 49% |
| Ethnic composition | Māori 10% Pākehā 30% Filipino 24% Samoan 13% Other Asian 11% Other Pacific 6% Other ethnic groups 6% |
| Students with Ongoing Resourcing Funding (ORS) | Yes |
| Provision of Māori medium education | No |
| Review team on site | November 2018 |
| Date of this report | 30 January 2019 |
| Most recent ERO report(s) | Education Review February 2016 Education Review October 2012 Education Review August 2009 |