St Joseph's School (Ashburton)

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 Joseph's School (Ashburton) is an integrated full primary school in Ashburton offering education with a special character to children from Year 0 to 8. The school is part of the Parish of Ashburton, St Augustine of Canterbury. The school motto: To learn, to grow, and to be the hands and voice of Jesus, underpins all they say and do.

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 

Expected Improvements and Findings

Since the previous report in May 2023, the school and ERO have worked together to evaluate how effectively the school’s student management systems and processes impacted on whānau and student engagement.

The school expected to see:

Further strengthening of equitable and excellent outcomes for all students.

• Outcomes for groups of students have shown some significant improvement particularly for Māori students who now achieve as well as with other students.
• High achievement levels in mathematics have been sustained while outcomes in reading and writing have shown a small drop; improving outcomes for all students remains a priority.

Student achievement data gathered through the student management system, monitored, analysed and used to inform teaching and learning programmes to cater to individual needs.

• Leaders and teachers have undertaken focused professional development to strengthen assessment processes; they have rigorous systems in place to ensure learning programmes are targeted to the needs of the students.

The development of a real time reporting system which allows for whānau and students to access learning goals and progress against these goals.

• Leaders and teachers evaluated their reporting systems and as a result introduced a new student management system to allow real time reporting to parents and whānau. 
• Students increasingly discuss their learning and next steps; continuing to strengthen engagement with parents and whānau is a priority for the school.

Other Findings

The greatest shift that occurred in response to the school’s action is that students know and understand their goals very clearly and are able to discuss what they are learning, the purpose of learning and identify where to next.

Part B: Current State

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

Learner Success and Wellbeing 

• Most students achieve at or above curriculum expectations in reading and mathematics, and the large majority in writing. 
• Māori students achieve as well as their school peers in reading writing and mathematics. 
• Increasing parity for Pacific students in reading, writing and mathematics is evident; this remains a priority for the school. 
• The large majority of students attend school regularly, and the school is achieving the 2024 Ministry of Education attendance targets.

Conditions to support learner success

• Leaders and teachers effectively use and analyse a wide range of achievement information to inform responsive changes to teaching and learning. 
• Leaders set meaningful targets and use evidence-based interventions to facilitate ongoing innovation, improvement and development of teacher capabilities for improved outcomes for learners. 
• Teachers and leaders use well embedded systems to guide evaluation of initiatives and programmes; this informs the development of strategic priorities for improvement.

• Teachers identify the learning needs of students and increasingly plan and use responsive teaching strategies; students with additional learning needs are well supported to experience success.
• Teachers critically reflect on their practice, undertake targeted professional learning opportunities and monitor ongoing changes to ensure they improve outcomes for students. 
• Students experience classroom environments that are calm, friendly and well managed; this enhances students’ sense of belonging and wellbeing. 

• Staff implement robust systems and processes that foster a safer and more inclusive school environment; teachers and leaders regularly gather, analyse and act on learners’ wellbeing data to identify next improvement steps. 
• Teachers and leaders have strong relationships within the local community, and they use these to proactively identify and draw on resources to enhance student learning opportunities, engagement and wellbeing.   
• Board members scrutinise student achievement information to effectively manage and inform resourcing decisions.

Part C: Where to next?

The agreed next steps for the school are to: 

• continue to strengthen teaching practice for equitable outcomes in writing, particularly for boys
• exploring further strategies for ongoing improvement in students regular attendance.

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

Every six months:

• engage in focused professional development in writing to strengthen teacher capability and improve equity between groups of learners 
• collate and analyse schoolwide student progress and achievement data to inform teaching and learning 
• evaluate the impact of professional development on improving teacher practice and raising student outcomes to inform planning for ongoing improvement 

Annually:

• continue to use and report on student progress and achievement data to inform responsive decision making, and prioritise effective strategies for improving teaching and learning 
• evaluate the effectiveness of teaching and learning initiatives and the impact they are having on improving achievement for learners, particularly for boys in literacy.

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

• sustained and improved outcomes, particularly for boys in writing
• more students attending regularly.

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

28 January 2025 

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 August 2024, the St Joseph’s School (Ashburton) 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

Actions for Compliance

ERO and the board have identified the following areas of non-compliance during the board assurance process:

• The school board must ensure that all non-teaching staff have a police vet completed every 3 years.
  [section 104 of the Children's Act 2014]

The board has since addressed the areas of non-compliance identified.

Further Information

For further information please contact St Joseph’s School (Ashburton), 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

28 January 2025 

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