32 Victoria Street , Hāwera
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.
St Joseph’s School (Hāwera) provides education for learners from years 1 to 8. The school is part of the South Taranaki Kāhui Ako.
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.
Since the previous ERO report of March 2023, ERO and the school have been working together to evaluate how effectively the school’s mathematics programme supports all learners to make improvement in this learning area.
The school expected to see:
All learners showing improved progress and achievement in mathematics, with accelerated progress being made for those who have been identified as needing this.
A coherent and consistently understood mathematics programme implemented across the school.
Improved teacher capacity to use assessment to inform teaching and learning decisions.
During the course of the evaluation, it was found that building teachers’ common knowledge through consistency of approaches has helped to build a culture of high trust and confidence; children are well supported to learn and progress in mathematics.
The greatest shift that occurred in response to the school’s action has been the positive impact of a schoolwide approach to teaching mathematics; this has set a clear direction, purpose and high expectations for teaching and learning across the school.
The following findings are to inform the school’s future priorities for improvement.
| Learners are engaged and make good progress in their learning. |
| Confident leadership builds a collaborative team culture that promotes high expectations and a collective responsibility for learning. |
| The needs of learners are well responded to through strengthened teaching and learning programmes in literacy and mathematics. |
| Well embedded school systems and practices drive continuous improvement for learners. |
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:
Annually:
Actions taken against these next steps are expected to result in:
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
Acting Director of Schools
20 March 2025
The Education Counts website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement. educationcounts.govt.nz/home
As of February 2025, the St Joseph's School (Hawera) Board has attested to the following regulatory and legislative requirements:
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
For further information please contact St Joseph's School (Hawera) 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.
Sharon Kelly
Acting Director of Schools
20 March 2025
The Education Counts website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement. educationcounts.govt.nz/home
This Profile Report was written within 6 months of the Education Review Office and St Joseph’s School (Hawera) working in Te Ara Huarau, an improvement evaluation approach used in most English Medium State and State Integrated Schools. For more information about Te Ara Huarau see ERO’s website. www.ero.govt.nz
St Joseph’s School (Hawera) is a coeducational, state integrated special character school that caters for learners from years 1 to 8. It is located adjacent to the Catholic Church in Hāwera, South Taranaki. The school is part of the South Taranaki Kāhui Ako. A permanent principal was appointed in 2021.
St Joseph’s School (Hawera)’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are:
learners with their whānau are at the centre of education
great educational opportunities and outcomes are within reach for every learner
quality teaching and leadership make the difference for learners and their whānau.
A copy of the school’s strategic and annual plan is available on request from the school.
ERO and the school are working together to evaluate how effectively the school’s mathematics programme supports all learners to make improvement in mathematics.
The rationale for selecting this evaluation is:
the school knows that it is timely to concentrate on the key curriculum area of mathematics to further raise achievement for all learners and to accelerate progress for those who need it
building a shared and consistently understood mathematics programme across the school will benefit all learners as they progress through the school.
The school expects to see:
all learners showing improved progress and achievement in mathematics with accelerated progress being made for those who have been identified as needing it
a coherent and consistently understood mathematics programme implemented across the school
improved teacher capacity to use assessment to inform teaching and learning decisions.
The school can draw from the following strengths to support its goal to evaluate how effectively the school’s mathematics programme supports all learners to make improvement in mathematics:
existing systems and supports ensure there is time and focus for continued teacher capacity building
useful and ongoing external support to help position mathematics as part of the wider curriculum of the school
internal expertise that can help build a collective responsibility for the teaching and learning of mathematics across the school.
Moving forward, the school will prioritise:
ensuring that new and existing school organisational processes are aligned to support this work
supporting key personnel to explore and develop an effective schoolwide approach to the teaching of mathematics
continuing to build teacher capacity to use assessment to inform teaching and learning decisions
using impact coaching to support capability building and leadership.
ERO’s role will be to support the school in its evaluation for improvement cycle to improve outcomes for all learners. ERO will support the school in reporting their progress to the community. The next public report on ERO’s website will be a Te Ara Huarau | School Evaluation Report and is due within three years.
Phil Cowie
Director Review and Improvement Services (Central)
Central Region | Te Tai Pūtahi Nui
7 March 2023
The Education Counts website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement. educationcounts.govt.nz/home
The school has made sufficient progress in relation to priorities identified in this report and will transition into the School’s Evaluation for Improvement process.
St Joseph’s School, located in Hāwera Taranaki, provides education for students in Years 1 to 8. It is an integrated Catholic school adjacent to the Hāwera Catholic parish church. The school’s roll of 251 children includes 29 Māori. A new principal started at the school in Term 1 2021.
The school has been involved in a longitudinal evaluation with ERO since the end of 2019 to support school progress and development.
ERO’s evaluations of progress have involved meetings with the principal and deputy principal, the board of trustees, parents, teachers, and the Limited Statutory Manager (LSM).
The priorities for improvement identified in the 2019 ERO report were to:
Additionally, several compliance issues were identified.
School leaders and trustees are implementing processes that contribute to positive change and improvement in the school. A strong platform is now in place. This platform provides the school with a solid foundation to support planned development.
Relational trust within and amongst the school community is much improved. This is helping the school maintain its focus on teaching and learning.
The board of trustees has consulted with its community to develop a new school charter. The charter clearly identifies achievement targets and achievement information is now shared with the board.
Assessment systems have been substantially strengthened. Assessment information is now used to promote a more deliberate and responsive approach to achieving equity and excellence. Systems support teachers with a consistent approach which is steadily building assessment capability.
More reliable assessment information is used to identify children with learning needs. Target students are identified, their progress is regularly reviewed and, where needed, children are supported with appropriate additional resource. Reporting of achievement information for all students can now be reliably shared with the community. Over time, this information can be used to track the progress of each learner helping the school to better target resources for learning.
Classroom observations show deliberate acts of teaching are contributing to purposeful learning. Children are able to articulate what they are learning and why. They can talk about their learning goals and progress. Learning environments support a diverse range of learner needs and teachers use a range of relational teaching approaches. A positive tone is evident across the school.
Trustees bring a range of expertise and knowledge to their positions and seek opportunities to further develop their governance capabilities. They understand their roles, obligations and responsibilities. Trustees remain committed to governing the school in the best interests of children. Previous compliance issues have been resolved.
A board workplan has been established that will continue to support the organised and systematic review and evaluation of a range of school systems and processes. The board maintains a clear focus on current charter priorities.
A culture of evaluation is developing within the teaching team. More robust assessment evidence is influencing teaching decisions. Embedding the teacher growth cycle should help to develop this disposition further.
The school has the ability to sustain and improve its performance. Useful systems and processes have strengthened responses to the individual needs of learners.
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:
During the review, ERO checked the following items because they have a potentially high impact on student achievement:
The school has made sufficient progress in relation to priorities identified in this report and will transition into the School’s Evaluation for Improvement process.
Shelley Booysen
Acting Director Review and Improvement Services (Central)
Central Region - Te Tai Pūtahi Nui
6 December 2021