29 High Street , Otahuhu, Auckland
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 (Otahuhu) provides education for girls in Years 1 to 8 and boys in Years 1 to 6. There are approximately 300 learners with 93% being of Pacific ethnicity. High numbers of students speak another language, and many are supported to learn English.
The school motto “Learn to love - love to learn, Ako ki te aroha – aroha ki te ako”, aligns with the school’s Catholic Mercy values of respect, compassion and service.
| How well are learners succeeding? | Success and progress for all learners is increasing. |
| What is the quality of teaching and learning? | Learners benefit from high 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 is improving its reporting to parents / whānau about their child’s learning, achievement and progress. The school is improving its collection and use of information gathered through community consultation to inform strategic planning and curriculum decisions. |
| Student Health and Safety | The school needs to ensure a physically and emotionally safe learning environment. |
This table outlines how well students across the school meet or exceed the expected curriculum level.
Foundation Skills | |
| Reading | A small majority of learners meet or exceed the expected curriculum level. |
| Writing | Less than half of learners meet or exceed the expected curriculum level. |
| Mathematics | A small majority of learners meet or exceed the expected curriculum level. |
The school is behind the target of 80% regular attendance.
The school is developing a suitable plan to improve attendance.
Regular attendance is improving towards or beyond the target.
Chronic absence is reducing over time.
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.
High numbers of learners with additional learning needs are enrolled in the school. The school has good quality planning to increase the rate of progress for all groups of students.
The school has to some extent improved achievement and progress for those learners most at risk of not achieving since the previous review.
The school has to some extent extended achievement and progress for learners working at or above curriculum levels since the previous review.
The school is making some progress towards meeting Government reading, writing and mathematics and/or pānui, tuhituhi and pāngarau for 2030 and agrees this will need to be a key strategic priority.
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 three 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 has identified the following areas of non-compliance during the board assurance process:
The board has since taken steps to address the areas of non-compliance identified.
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
17 March 2025
This website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement. educationcounts.govt.nz/home
St Joseph’s School (Otahuhu) caters for girls in Years 1 to 8 and for boys in Years 1 to 6. The school has strong intergenerational connections and significant links with local parishes and the Otahuhu community. Many trustees and staff members have long associations with the school and most children complete all of their primary education at St Joseph’s. The school values its history, heritage, and reputation in the area.
The school is culturally diverse. Many children and families in the multicultural community speak more than one language.
The whakataukī, “Kotahi whānau, Kotahi Ao, One Family – One World”, and the school motto “learn to love, love to learn”, align with the school’s Catholic Mercy values of respect, compassion and service.
The school’s charter and strategic plan identifies goals to promote children’s learning and the school’s vision for learners. Detailed actions to reach achievement targets are also included.
Leaders and teachers regularly report to the board school-wide information about outcomes for students in the following areas:
Since the 2015 ERO evaluation, the school has:
St Joseph’s School (Otahuhu) is achieving equitable and excellent outcomes very effectively for children.
The school has effective strategic planning and well researched acceleration initiatives that are effectively reducing identified disparities. Leaders and teachers have successfully increased parity for boys in literacy achievement.
Children achieve very well in relation to other valued outcomes. They:
The school responds very well to all children whose learning and achievement need accelerating. Māori children are achieving very well in literacy and numeracy.
Over the past three years the school has successfully accelerated the progress of many children. Achievement information over the last four years indicates that most children achieve at expected levels in reading, writing and mathematics. School data for children who are achieving below expectation in literacy and mathematics show positive shifts in achievement for most children, and accelerated progress for many. The following key features of the school have supported this progress:
The early identification of children who are at risk of not achieving in literacy and mathematics is a key strength of the school. Leaders and teachers have detailed knowledge of children’s learning strengths and needs and place a high priority on responding to children who need to make accelerated progress.
Numerous learning initiatives within classes and additional learning support programmes are in place to accelerate the progress of children not yet at expected levels in literacy and numeracy.
Robust processes are in place to monitor learner progress. Leaders and teachers collate and analyse a range of achievement information to track and monitor children’s progress and to inform teaching programmes. Leaders maintain a rigorous ‘line of sight’ across the progress and achievement of all learners.
Leaders, teachers and teacher aides respond effectively to children with additional learning needs within an inclusive environment. Children are supported well to experience success. Inclusive classroom programmes and the provision of additional specialist teaching programmes contribute positively to children’s learning and wellbeing.
School leadership is highly effective. Leaders collaboratively promote, model and celebrate the school’s vision, values and priorities for equity and excellence.
Leaders have high expectations. They promote a caring supportive learning environment that is conducive to children’s success as learners and are focused on what is best for children. Leaders ensure there is effective planning and assessment of the curriculum and teaching. They build high levels of relational trust with staff, parents, whānau and the community.
The principal is an effective leader of teaching and learning. Professional learning and development programmes and curriculum refinements are well considered and evidence based. Recent and significant professional learning programmes in oral language and writing have impacted positively on teachers’ practice and children’s learning.
The school’s curriculum provides children with relevant and authentic learning experiences. The school values are well integrated in learning programmes. Curriculum leaders actively source positive role models to further develop children’s self-belief, confidence and wellbeing.
Children are highly engaged with their learning. They participate successfully in music and co-curricular learning activities. Children establish and maintain respectful collaborative learning relationships with teachers and their peers. Leaders are now planning to further develop learning capabilities so children can set goals, reflect on their thinking and learning processes and monitor their own progress.
The board of trustees and leaders use purposeful internal evaluation for decision making. They are committed to resourcing the school well to enhance children’s learning outcomes. Junior classes benefit from extra staffing to support reading, writing and mathematics programmes. Additional teaching hours are also supporting the implementation of acceleration strategies to help improve achievement.
Parent partnerships are actively promoted. The belief that “It takes a village to raise a child” promotes school practices that welcome and involve parents as respected and valued learning centred partners. Parents greatly value the Reading Together programme, curriculum evenings and celebrating their children’s learning success. Learning resources to enable parents to support learning at home are shared through the school’s website.
Thoughtful, caring and inclusive transition practices are a feature of St Joseph’s School. Transitions from early learning centres, through the school and on to secondary schools are based on individual need.
School leaders see value in further supporting teachers’ leadership development. They could now formalise systems that build on teachers’ professional development programmes, research and inquiry work.
The development of a graduate profile that measures and records the school’s valued outcomes is a useful next consideration. School leaders could use this profile to track and evaluate the impact of initiatives and how well the school is achieving its valued outcomes.
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 continuing to:
ERO is likely to carry out the next external evaluation in four-to-five years.
Violet Tu’uga Stevenson
Director Review and Improvement Services Te Tai Raki - Northern Region
4 October 2018
| Location | Auckland |
| Ministry of Education profile number | 1496 |
| School type | State Integrated Full Primary Years 1 - 8 |
| School roll | 294 |
| Gender composition | Girls 59% Boys 41% |
| Ethnic composition | Māori 3% Pākehā 4% Samoan 50% Tongan 32% other Pacific 4% other Ethnic Groups 7% |
| Students with Ongoing Resourcing Funding (ORS) | No |
| Provision of Māori medium education | No |
| Review team on site | August 2018 |
| Date of this report | 4 October 2018 |
| Most recent ERO report(s) | Education Review July 2015 Education Review February 2011 Education Review October 2007 |
The school culture is underpinned by Catholic values and caring relationships with families. There is a strong sense of community. An ongoing focus on learning success, especially in literacy and mathematics, results in very good levels of achievement. Students are confident, articulate advocates for the school. The school is well led and governed, and well supported by families.
ERO is likely to carry out the next review in three years.
St Joseph’s School Otahuhu provides a curriculum that is clearly underpinned by Catholic Mercy principles and a shared commitment to the school’s vision and values. The school community reflects a focus on strong relationships, and on care and support for families as essential factors in successfully promoting children's learning.
There are high levels of community trust, and a strong sense of continuity and connectedness to the school. Many families, board members and staff have long-term associations with the school.
Māori students make up four percent of the roll. The majority of families are Samoan or Tongan, with a total of 87 percent having Pacific heritage. Many children speak a language other than English at home. The school’s proximity to McAuley High School and its association with De La Salle College support a seamless transition from the school at Year 6 for boys and Year 8 for girls.
Whānau appreciate the school’s inclusive, welcoming atmosphere, its values base, and the sense of partnership they have in supporting their children’s learning. They talk about school leaders and staff ‘going the extra mile’ for their children, and about the St Joseph’s culture and legacy.
The principal works closely with two senior leaders and, since ERO’s 2010 review, has expanded the leadership team to include three senior teachers. A new building was opened this year and the school has been repainted.
ERO’s 2010 review noted high quality practices in the school. The report also identified the need to strengthen formative teaching practices and to promote student-led inquiry learning.
The school uses achievement information very effectively. Data analysis is comprehensive and well led by the principal and leadership team. This information is used to provide targeted support, interventions and resourcing where needed and to monitor students’ learning progress. The board is very well informed about student achievement and trustees make resourcing decisions based on the data. Teachers use assessment information to plan classroom programmes.
Analysis of data over several years helps to identify patterns and trends, and shows that there have been ongoing and positive shifts in achievement levels. Strategies for improving achievement in 2014, particularly in mathematics, were successful. Targets for improvement in 2015 have been carefully selected.
School data indicate that children achieve consistently well in reading, writing and mathematics in relation to the National Standards. Their achievement compares favourably with regional and national levels of achievement. Māori and Pacific students' achievement is significantly above that of Māori and Pacific students nationally.
Assessment and data analysis are collaborative processes. Teachers and school leaders know children very well and their judgements about achievement are based on valid and reliable information. Any concerns about students’ progress are identified quickly. Whānau are consulted and teachers share strategies to help support children's learning at home.
Senior leaders are considering ways to increase students’ ownership of their learning pathway. Increasing students’ familiarity with and use of assessment language would help them to identify and manage their own next steps for learning. Greater consistency in providing students with written feedback about their learning could also help.
The school has a holistic view of achievement and success for children. Students have opportunities to experience success in a variety of areas such as art, sports, music and drama. Senior students are developing skills for directing their own investigations. They are articulate, capable advocates for the school. They take leadership roles in the school and in special character activities, and they address large groups confidently.
Children are secure in their wellbeing and identity as part of the St Joseph’s Otahuhu community. Strong relationships between children, staff and families are apparent in teachers’ respectful interactions with students and in the inclusive and welcoming tone in the school. There are high levels of attendance and participation in school activities. Students are generally well engaged in learning and are well supported in their learning by their families.
The curriculum fosters student learning well and places a strong emphasis on literacy and mathematics. Curriculum implementation reflects the school’s special character, values and school-wide expectations. It is enhanced by a wide range of learning experiences and after-school clubs for science, music and sport. Students participate enthusiastically in Samoan, Tongan and Māori culture groups. The boys’ choir offers a further opportunity for performance that is valued in the school.
The school’s strategic plan emphasises the power of learning through three areas of focus. ‘Soul power’ relates to the holistic nature of the broader curriculum. The ‘word and reading power’ focuses on the need for a rich language base for inquiring learners. ‘Parent and community power’ extends partnerships with families.
The school environment and classrooms are well organized and resourced. They include students’ work and reflect the school’s focus on enriching vocabulary, reading and writing. Targeted teacher professional learning relates to the school’s strategic goals and to individual teacher strengths and interests.
Curriculum developments are carefully considered and strategically planned. The recent upgrade in internet connectivity has prompted thinking in the school about teachers’ practice in a digital learning environment. Leaders are considering the needs of the 21st century learner and teachers are being supported to improve their use of digital tools to support students’ learning and engagement.
School leaders are planning to review and update curriculum documents to reflect progress in developing a cohesive and integrated curriculum, the needs of the Year 7 and 8 students, and impending changes in the digital learning environment. An updated curriculum document should also include a statement about the delivery of the health curriculum after consultation with the community every two years.
The school’s learning focus aligns with the Ministry of Education’s Pacific Education Plan for fostering successful Pacific learners. Families from Pacific nationalities and other cultures in the school are encouraged to use and build fluency in their home languages. To further support children’s pride in their culture and identity, school leaders and teachers could also consider ways to increase the visibility of Pacific languages and cultures in the curriculum and in school protocols.
Māori students achieve very well. Whanaungatanga and wairuatanga are features of the school that support students’ and families’ sense of community and belonging. Some whānau members work in the school on the board of trustees and in teacher aide roles. This offers the school some good opportunities for informal consultation with whānau.
Students appreciate opportunities to represent the school in the Māori culture group. Whānau valued the pōwhiri for opening the school’s new classroom block. Te wiki o te reo Māori, Matariki and Te Tiriti o Waitangi are part of the school curriculum.
The bicultural nature of the religious education curriculum ensures that te reo Māori is used as part of daily classroom routines. Teachers are expected to integrate te reo Māori throughout classroom programmes and are supported to improve their confidence with te reo. The school could now consider introducing a sequential te reo Māori programme throughout the school.
Policy and curriculum documents could be better aligned with Ministry of Education resources such as Ka Hikitia and Tātaiako. These resources could be used to review school-wide practices and to help teachers build their confidence and capability in promoting success for Māori students as Māori. Consultation with whānau Māori about plans and targets for Māori students should be formalised and documented.
The school is well placed to sustain current strengths and to continue refining its practices to enrich provision for students and families.
The board, school leaders and teachers have shared values and high expectations for excellence in learning. There is strong Pacific and Māori representation on the board. Trustees have a variety of skills to support school governance. Several trustees have longstanding connections with the school and new members bring a new perspective. The board is very well informed about student achievement and strategies for raising achievement levels. The board has high levels of trust in the leadership team and teachers, and trustees hold them in high regard.
Whānau engagement and support are features in the school. Whānau appreciate the variety of opportunities that they have to be involved in school life, and teachers’ high level of commitment to children’s education.
The long serving principal is well respected and knows the school’s community very well. She leads a focus on continually raising children’s achievement and is a reflective and strategic thinker. The principal models high expectations and has a commitment to a strong culture of trust with a focus on care and support for students and their families. Staff value these features of the school and the professional teamwork led by senior leaders.
Since ERO’s 2010 review leadership roles are more widely shared. Senior leaders continue to explore ways to build leadership capacity throughout the school. They could consider giving further opportunities for students to contribute to school self review and decision making.
Self review is an established aspect of school practices and contributes to ongoing improvements. Leaders and teachers continually reflect on how to enhance their provision for students and families. A move to more structured reflection and better documented processes for evaluative self review could help to strengthen cohesion and alignment across the curriculum, self review, and strategic planning.
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:
To improve current practice the school should:
The school culture is underpinned by Catholic values and caring relationships with families. There is a strong sense of community. An ongoing focus on learning success, especially in literacy and mathematics, results in very good levels of achievement. Students are confident, articulate advocates for the school. The school is well led and governed, and well supported by families.
ERO is likely to carry out the next review in three years.
Graham Randell
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern (Acting)
31 July 2015
| Location | Otahuhu, Auckland | |
| Ministry of Education profile number | 1496 | |
| School type | Full Primary (Years 1 to 8) | |
| School roll | 284 | |
| Gender composition | Girls 61% Boys 39% | |
| Ethnic composition | Māori Pākehā Samoan Tongan Other Pacific Vietnamese other | 4% 2% 57% 27% 3% 2% 5% |
| Review team on site | April 2015 | |
| Date of this report | 31 July 2015 | |
| Most recent ERO report(s) | Education Review Education Review Education Review | February 2011 October 2007 September 2004 |