Wesley College

Wesley College 

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 

Wesley College is a state-integrated school established in 1844. The school is located on the outskirts of Pukekohe and provides education for approximately 360 students in Years 9 to 13. The roll is made up of 25% female and 75% male students, with the majority coming from areas of South Auckland. The school offers both boarding and day provisions.

Wesley College has a special character and Christian ethos, based on a relationship with the Methodist Church of New Zealand – Te Hāhi Weteriana o Aotearoa. 

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 

The school’s previous improvement goals are drawn from ERO’s evaluation work with the school in 2023 and 2024 and the progress and impact of actions taken to improve outcomes for learners.  

Expected Improvements and Findings 

The prioritising of the emotional and physical safety of students at school. 

  • School leaders continue to make good progress on prioritising and providing for the emotional and physical safety of students.
  • Changes in leadership responsibilities and roles across the school and hostel are providing better oversight of student wellbeing across the school.
  • A safeguarding officer has been employed fulltime to support the school to implement systems and processes that ensure the emotional and physical safety of students.
  • Students report that the school environment is increasingly settled, and they experience a more inclusive and positive school culture.

School leaders regularly reporting the ongoing progress of the improvement priorities to the school board and community. 

  • School leaders regularly report progress against improvement priorities to the school board. 

Regular monitoring and tracking of progress made towards the recommendations identified in previous ERO reporting. 

  • School leaders continue to work positively on progressing the recommendations identified in previous ERO reporting.
  • Progress reporting to the school board has improved; the board receives detailed reporting of progress against the school’s implementation and annual plan. 

Part B: Current State 

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

Learner Success and Wellbeing 

Most students make good progress and achieve well. 
  • The large majority of students achieve National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) at Levels 1, 2 and 3; fewer than half of students achieve University Entrance (UE).
  • Overall achievement in NCEA for Māori and Pacific students is consistently higher than national averages and at similar levels for UE; most students leave school with at least NCEA Level 2.
  • Achievement information for Year 9 and 10 students shows that most students make sufficient progress to successfully transition to the next step in their educational journey.
  • Student attendance and chronic absence continues to improve. Less than half of students attend regularly and meeting the government’s attendance target remains a priority.

Conditions to support learner success

Leaders continue to strengthen systems and processes to improve outcomes for students.
  • Schoolwide professional learning and development opportunities support teachers to build their capacity and capability and embed improvements in teaching practice.
  • Leadership has made considered changes to roles and responsibilities for leaders and staff to increase shared professional accountability for students' academic and wellbeing outcomes.
  • Leaders and staff are beginning to collectively reinforce school systems for positive behaviour and raise expectations for students’ achievement, engagement and wellbeing.
The school is taking steps to improve the quality and consistency of teaching and learning. 
  • Students benefit from orderly and settled classroom environments underpinned by mutually respectful and positive relationships with teachers that support their learning.
  • Leaders and teachers are building a shared understanding of quality teaching and learning; they are beginning to take planned and deliberate actions to bring about continuous improvement in student engagement and success.
  • The school curriculum provides a good range of opportunities for students to broaden their knowledge and experiences; established partnerships with the local community and career-based experiences promote engagement.
The school is taking positive steps to develop and implement systems and structures to improve conditions for students’ learning and wellbeing.  
  • School leaders proactively access external expertise to support the implementation of health and safety and wellbeing initiatives.
  • Staff continue to strengthen communication, connection and alignment between the school and the hostel to respond to any safety and wellbeing concern in timely and appropriate ways.
  • School leaders and teachers are beginning to establish ways to review and evaluate the impact of initiatives and programmes on improving school conditions, student success and wellbeing.
  • School leaders gather and analyse achievement information; regular reporting to the board provides a comprehensive overview of the progress of cohorts and groups of students towards national qualifications. 

Part C: Where to next? 

The agreed next steps for the school are to: 

  • enact and continue to embed the child safety improvement plan and evaluate the impact on student wellbeing and emotional and physical safety
  • review all leadership roles and structures across the school and hostel to ensure consistent practices; plan integrated, effective and well-paced improvements
  • develop a planned approach to review how well initiatives and programmes are working and for whom
  • continue to develop ways of reflecting and celebrating students’ language, culture and identity across the school and hostel to promote engagement
  • monitor and improve daily and regular student attendance by strengthening communication, monitoring and reporting of student attendance across all aspects of the school. 

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

Within three months: 

  • continue to implement initiatives and programmes to improve school attendance and promote student emotional and physical safety
  • develop an evaluation plan to implement across the school to support ongoing improvement and know what is working and for who
  • strengthen the ongoing tracking, monitoring and reporting of daily attendance between the school and hostel to improve regular attendance.

Within six months:

  • establish a plan to evaluate the impact of the child safety improvement work on student wellbeing and include ongoing student feedback to inform next steps
  • establish a plan to review and evaluate leadership roles and structures across the school and hostel
  • review current student feedback processes to ensure the school has reliable and ongoing ways to include student feedback in relation to their attendance, wellbeing and learning.

Every six months:

  • review student wellbeing outcomes and address any identified areas of concern
  • review initiatives designed to promote positive student behaviour and build a positive school culture that reflects students’ language, culture and identity.

Annually:

  • monitor and report on student attendance, engagement, wellbeing, progress and achievement data to know what is working and for whom and to identify next steps
  • continue to evaluate and report on the impact of the implementation and ongoing progress of improvement priorities to the school board and community. 

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

  • well established and embedded systems and processes for student attendance, wellbeing, learning outcomes and safety that are regularly evaluated to measure impact
  • unified and effective leadership structure and practices that support effective, well-paced and sustained improvement in student wellbeing and achievement outcomes
  • regular schoolwide planned review, evaluation and reporting on initiatives to know what is working and inform next steps
  • improved rates of regular attendance and engagement within a school environment that reflects and celebrate students’ language, culture and identity across the school and hostel. 

ERO recommends that the Ministry of Education continue to provide support to the school to sustain progress and embed systems and processes focused on ongoing improving student safety and wellbeing. 

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)

27 March 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

Wesley College

Board Assurance with Regulatory and Legislative Requirements Report 2024 to 2027

As of October 2024, the Wesley College 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

Further Information

For further information please contact Wesley College, 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 
Director of Schools (Acting)

27 March 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

Wesley College

Provision for International Students Report 

Background 

The Education Review Office reviews schools that are signatories to the Education (Pastoral Care of Tertiary and International Learners) Code of Practice 2021 established under section 534 of the Education and Training Act 2020. 

Findings 

The school is a signatory to the Education (Pastoral Care of International Students) Code of Practice 2016 established under section 534 of the Education and Training Act 2020. The school has attested that it complies with all aspects of the Code and has completed an annual self-review of its implementation of the Code. 

At the time of this review there were seven international students attending the school, and no exchange students. 

Students spoken with were positive about their schooling experience at the college, they report that their pastoral care needs are being met. They receive appropriate support from staff. There are some useful systems to communicate between groups about the needs and support for international students.  

The school has suitable programmes in place that enable students to make progress in their learning and achievement in national qualifications. Students can access any help they require and participate in a range of appropriate subjects and options. Students are encouraged to participate in and are often involved in school activities, particularly sports. Some take part in activities in the local community and area.  

The school’s annual process for the review of provision for international students against the Code needs development. Staff have correctly identified that they have practices in place to support the requirements of the Code. However; there is insufficient documentation and evidence to support how they demonstrate ongoing improvements in the provisions for international students.  

Sharon Kelly  
Director of Schools (Acting)  

​​27 March 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 

Wesley College

Hostel Report

Background

The Chief Review Officer has the authority to carry out reviews (which may be general or in relation to particular matters) of the provision of a safe physical and emotional environment that supports learning for boarders accommodated in hostels under section 470 of the Education and Training Act 2020. This function is delegated to review officers who have the powers to enter and carry out review of hostels under section 472 of the Act.

Findings

The hostel manager and the hostel owner have attested in the Hostel Assurance Statement that they meet the requirements of the Hostel Regulations 2005.

Wesley College is a state-integrated school on the outskirts of Pukekohe. The school caters for boys and girls in Years 9 to 13. It offers both boarding and day school provision. There are six hostel buildings on the grounds of Wesley College, five for boys and one for girls. Boarders currently reside across the five operational hostel buildings, owned by the Wesley College Trust Board. Te Whare Te Paea is used to accommodate female boarders, while Te Whare Maia, Te Whare Taina, Te Whare Pakeke, and Te Whare Denton accommodate male boarders. 

The hostel is licenced for 305 boarders, and at the time of the review, accommodated around 160 boarders which is over half of the school roll.

The Wesley College Trust Board (proprietor/owner) is responsible for ensuring the safety of boarders who reside in the hostels, all of whom attend Wesley College. The Ministry of Education re-licensed the hostel in March 2023 and five hostel buildings meet minimum standards and are operational. 

ERO’s special review report in June 2023 recommended that improvements were required in hostel governance and leadership, health and safety, complaints processes and the quality of care for boarders. Over the past 18 months, school leaders and hostel staff have made progress in addressing the recommendations. A new Head of Boarding was appointed in 2023.

School leaders continue to improve hostel culture, systems and processes and suitable staffing. These changes are beginning to positively impact the quality of boarding provision that boarders experience and their sense of physical and emotional safety, learning and wellbeing.

Boarders who spoke to ERO reported positive changes in the hostel climate and culture that include higher expectations and clear consequences for behaviour. Boarders are provided with support for their learning through prep time and extra tutorials. They value positive relationships with staff, particularly dorm staff and efforts made by hostel staff to respond to student feedback. 

More formal and ongoing opportunities for boarders to contribute feedback are needed. Information gained should continue to support the development of a culture where boarders feel confident about sharing their views and concerns. Establishing better systems and processes for hostel staff professional learning and development (PLD) has been addressed. This includes training in health and safety, strategies to reduce bullying and child protection processes.

School leaders and hostel staff continue to work towards more seamless and timely communication to support boarders. School leaders continue to work with hostel staff to ensure that systems between the five hostel buildings and the school are cohesive, consistently understood and followed.

The current physical structure of the hostel means that boarders reside over five separate hostel buildings. This provides a challenge for maintaining suitable overnight supervision, that has not been adequately addressed until very recently. ERO raised concerns in the June 2023 special review report and raised concerns again in a progress letter in June 2024. Concerns for student welfare prompted ERO to undertake another full review process including of the hostel in November 2024. In this review ERO finds suitable overnight supervision systems have been developed. These now include the appointment of regular overnight supervising staff; active supervision throughout the night, including in person checks of dorm rooms, external doors alarmed from 10.30 pm and CCTV camera operation throughout the hostel and school campus.

Continuing to implement and sustain improvements made in overnight supervision remains a clear priority. This includes the prevention and monitoring of the movement of boarders between hostel buildings and the surrounding areas at night.

The Head of Boarding provides regular and comprehensive reporting to the Wesley College Trust Board. This reporting includes the ongoing monitoring of the implementation of policies, procedures, tracking of progress, and areas for ongoing action and improvement. More thorough policy review processes, particularly in relation to health and safety, are developing. 

The management and resolution of complaints in the hostel has improved, including recordkeeping and processes in line with Hostel Regulations. However, complaints policy statements must be displayed consistently across the five boarding houses. Systems need to be consistently implemented across the hostel buildings to ensure that up to date policies and procedures are readily available to the school hostel community. 

Hostel management, staff and school leaders are sufficiently addressing the range of areas for improvement identified. However, the Wesley College Trust Board is yet to provide sufficient governance support or a well-developed strategic plan to drive and support improvements to operations, the quality of physical environments, boarding provision and to guide the hostel’s future direction. 

The Wesley College Trust Board should continue to seek external expertise to ensure that they take sufficient action that supports school leaders to continue to implement necessary improvements. Consulting and communicating with parents and boarders are key components of this process. 

Recommendations

ERO recommends the Wesley College Trust Board provides robust governance oversight, alongside school leaders to: 

  • strengthen hostel systems and processes that promote a positive, inclusive and physically and emotionally safe climate and environment for all boarders
  • prioritise the provision of professional learning and development for all hostel staff to build capability to promote safe physical and emotional environment for all boarders
  • improve the hostel buildings physical environment to positively impact the quality of boarding provision for boarders and sustain adequate supervision
  • strengthen record keeping and communication of day leave, student absence and attendance to ensure there is consistency between hostel and school and that all records are kept up to date.

Actions for Compliance 

ERO identified non-compliance in relation to: 

  • a notice which explains a procedure for handling complaints made by boarders or boarders’ parents or a Board, about non-compliance with the regulations or conditions of the licence, and in relation to or involving the hostel is displayed consistently across all the boarding houses 
    Regulation 25 (3)(a) Education (Hostels) Regulations 2005
  • all written policies and operating procedures to manage the hostel to support a positive learning environment for boarders are up-to-date.
    Regulation 57 and 54 Education (Hostels) Regulations 2005

In order to address this, the Wesley College Trust Board must:

  • ensure that a notice is displayed next to the licence across all boarding houses that explains the procedures for handling complaints made by a boarder, boarder’s parents about non-compliance with the regulations or conditions of the licence and in relation to or involving the hostel.
  • that that the hostel is managed in accordance with written polices and operating procedures to help ensure that the boarders are supported in a positive learning environment; feel secure and valued; have ready access to people they can trust and confide in (among other things) as set out in 
    regulation 54.
  • review the policies and procedures required under regulation 54 at least once every 3 years. As part of the review the Trust Board must take all reasonably practical steps to consult the boarders and their parents.

The hostel owner has taken steps to address the areas of non-compliance identified. 

Sharon Kelly 
Director of Schools (Acting)

27 March 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

Wesley College

Special Review Report 

Background

The Chief Review Officer of the Education Review Office, using their function under section 463 the Education and Training Act 2020, initiated a special review of Wesley College (104) in relation to particular matters as set out in the Terms of Reference below.

  • How well the school provides for the emotional and physical safety of its students.

  • How well the systems and practices for behaviour management are implemented.

  • The process, systems, and management of complaints.

  • Any other matters that the team see relevant to the review.

The Education and Training Act, 2020, s127, requires that boards in governing schools provide a physically and emotionally safe place for all its students and takes all reasonable steps to eliminate racism, stigma, bullying and any other forms of discrimination within the school. 

The Code of Professional Responsibility and Standards for the Teaching Profession (Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand) requires all teachers have a commitment to learners that includes promoting the wellbeing of learners and protecting them from harm and promoting inclusive practices.

It is the Education Review Office’s (ERO) expectation, as for all schools, that Wesley College has robust policies, guidelines and systems that support leaders and teachers to provide a safe and inclusive living and learning environment.

Context

Wesley College is an historic state-integrated school established in 1844. The school is located on the outskirts of Pukekohe and caters for around 360 students in Years 9 to 13. The roll is made up of 25% female and 75% male and the majority of students are drawn from areas of South Auckland. The school offers both boarding and day provision.

Wesley College has a special character and Christian ethos, based on a relationship with the Methodist Church of New Zealand – Te Hāhi Weteriana o Aotearoa. It has a traditional commitment to providing for students of Māori and Pacific descent, as reflected in the roll of 22% Māori and 75% Pacific students. Ko te Tamaiti te Pūtake o te Kaupapa The Child – the Heart of the Matter

The Wesley College School Board is responsible for the governance and management of the school and for providing a safe environment for students during school opening hours.

The Wesley College Trust Board (Proprietor/owner) is responsible for ensuring the safety of students who reside in the hostels. There are six hostel buildings on the school grounds, five for boys and one for girls. The hostels are licenced for 305 students, and they currently accommodate around 240 students (approximately two thirds of the school roll). 

Following a range of concerns raised by ERO and the Ministry of Education (the Ministry) about the provision for the safety for all students in Wesley College and its hostel, ERO initiated a special review. This report aligns to the Wesley College Hostel Special Review Report published at the same time.

The school board reports that it has prioritised the resettlement of learners following the significant impact of Covid-19  restrictions. 

The Wesley College School Board should take note of the findings and recommendations of the Wesley College Hostel special review report.

Findings

ERO has a range of concerns about the provision for health and safety of all students at the college. Although on the decline, there is evidence that entrenched practices and harmful traditions continue to persist that place students at risk of violence, bullying and discrimination. 

The presiding member of the school board and school leaders, express a strong commitment to addressing the college’s historical challenges; they are working towards improving learning and providing a safe environment for all students. 

Changes to school conditions have occurred in recent years, resulting in some improvements. Steps have been taken to re-establish connections to the school’s traditional principles, mission, and values from the Methodist tradition, in order to uphold its Wesleyan special character. Frameworks based on the Ministry’s Positive Behaviour for Learning (PB4L) model support the implementation of the reviewed and refreshed Kairangi (school) values. These are visibly promoted across the learning and living environments. An increased awareness of the need to promote student wellbeing is evident amongst the school staff, many of whom are new to the school. 

However, the school is yet to develop effective and cohesive systems and processes to ensure students are entirely safe. The management of risks to student safety is not thoroughly documented or regularly reviewed for the purpose of eliminating, or at the very least, reducing harm.

Recently introduced initiatives and practices to increase students access to pastoral care and support, aimed at promoting improvements in health, safety, and wellbeing, have the potential to promote improvements. As these are in the initial stages, it is too soon for ERO or the school to know if they are having the desired impact. 

Students spoken to by ERO shared that they identify strongly with the Methodist faith and some of the school traditions. They reported that at the beginning of 2023 they felt more positive about the school, its culture, and their safety. 

Some staff who met with ERO were less positive about culture and safety at the school and raised several concerns relating to harassment and discrimination of students. ERO was made aware of a “code of silence” that is prevalent amongst students who are reluctant to disclose information to adults. 

The majority of stand downs, suspensions, and expulsions recorded by the school board in 2022 were related to serious instances of bullying and violence between students. This indicates that the behaviours the school leaders are seeking to eliminate, continue to require action. 

The school’s strategic and annual planning requires strengthening. It does not sufficiently prioritise student safety and wellbeing. Although aspects focus on building a positive school culture, plans need to be more specific about the actions required to address the negative behaviours that the board and leadership acknowledge they need to eliminate. 

The school leadership commissioned two external independent reviews in recent years. These focused on areas of provision for students that leaders identified need significant improvement. These were the Students Wellbeing Review (2020) and the Review of Senior Leadership Team structures (2021). Both reports include valuable findings and suitable recommendations that could inform strategic decision making for change. Leadership has yet to fully respond to all the recommendations and take sufficient action to result in the necessary improvements.

ERO is not satisfied the school is maintaining full and proper records for the investigation and reporting of complaints and potentially, abuse. Policies are in place, but ERO was not able to verify that complaints over recent years have been responded to, managed, and resolved appropriately in line with the school’s own procedures. The recently introduced process for registering complaints needs strengthening to ensure it tracks complaints through to resolution.  

Overall learning outcomes for all students have declined overtime. National Certificate of Education Achievement (NCEA) results in 2022 show that school pass rates are generally lower when compared to 2018, particularly at Level 3 and University Entrance qualification. 

A recently introduced process that supports coaching for teachers has the potential to promote improved practice. Strengthening this process to have a clearer focus on promoting rich, innovative, and culturally responsive teaching, should help increase the levels of achievement across the school. Making learning relevant, responsive, challenging, and meaningful, in addition to a focus on ensuring student health and safety, is a priority.

Internal review is not sufficiently evident, and staff are yet to develop a shared understanding of evaluation for improvement. The new initiatives and programmes to improve outcomes and safety for students need stronger support to effectively implement and embed across the school. Leaders and the school board need to closely monitor and review the impacts and effectiveness in a systematic way.

The school leadership has recognised the need to be more inclusive and respond more deliberately to the culture and identity of diverse groups. Strategies and programmes are now in place to strengthen how the school supports Māori students in their learning. These are yet to be embedded.

Extending this to other groups is an important next step. More emphasis is now needed on better reflecting and integrating the culture of Pacific students into school environments and through curriculum delivery. 

ERO found that a degree of marginalisation of girls as a minority group is having an impact on their feelings of safety, wellbeing and opportunities for equity and excellence. Knowing more about why this is occurring and planning strategies to respond and resolve these concerns is a key area of development. 

Despite being part of policy, staff at the college have not been provided with sufficient professional learning and development that emphasises health and safety. In line with stated intentions all staff should undertake professional development that includes awareness of bullying, abuse recognition and reporting.

School health and safety policies have been reviewed within the last three years, but not all have been updated to reflect current changes to legislation and educational priorities. The rigour of review needs strengthening. Currently the board does not have monitoring mechanisms in place to know whether its policies have been effective or fully implemented.

A thorough overhaul of the policy frameworks and policy and procedure detail needs to be undertaken by the school board to bring policies up to date and to ensure they are relevant in the school context. This requires particular attention to developing child protection policies that align with current legislation. 

ERO is not confident that the range of issues identified in this report are being sufficiently addressed by the leadership of the school and is concerned that the pace of change to date has been too slow.

Next steps

Following the special review of Wesley College, the following next steps have been identified.

  • Strengthen strategic and annual planning to prioritise student health, safety, and wellbeing, along with the elimination of entrenched harmful practices. Establishing success criteria will assist the school board to know how well they are progressing towards achieving their targets and goals.

  • Develop health and safety systems and processes that effectively manage and prevent harmful practices and behaviours. The systems need to be consistent and cohesive between the hostel and the school and have a focus on continuous improvement.

  • The school needs to establish foundations to support learner’s healthy sense of belonging and connection to the school, as well as confidence in their identities, languages, and cultures. 

  • The culture of Māori and Pacific students’ needs to be better reflected and integrated into school environments, curriculum, teaching, and learning.

  • Leaders need to respond fully to findings and recommendations of the two independent reports and reviews commissioned by the school. 
  • Ways to gather a range of voice to inform future decision-making need to be developed by leaders and teachers. Regular surveys of students, families, and staff in culturally appropriate ways, about bullying, violence, wellbeing and inclusion should be initiated. Information gained from these surveys needs to be analysed, communicated to the community, and responded to.
  • A deliberate programme of professional learning for school related to the areas of priority for the health safety and wellbeing of all students (including abuse awareness, behaviour management, anti-bullying, restorative practices) needs to be established and sustained. 
  • Governance practices of the school board require strengthening. The board needs stronger systems to ensure they are meeting their statutory and regulatory responsibilities in terms of providing a safe physical and emotional environment for all students at the school. The board needs to be more proactive in scrutinising its own performance to measure its effectiveness and improve decision making. 
  • The board needs to review and overhaul all policies and procedures, particularly those related to health and safety. These should be strengthened and aligned with current legislation and good practice. The policies should ensure learner safety and child protection are prioritised, fully covered and that safety systems are effectively minimising risk. 
  • Once strengthened the policies and procedures need to be well understood by all the school community and fully implemented. A mechanism to monitor closely and report that the policies, procedures, and guidance are being fully implemented and followed effectively needs to be created. 
  • Establishing a more thorough and regular policy review process that includes consultation with staff, students and the community will support the board to ensure the policies are fit for purpose and meeting the needs of all. 
  • Significantly strengthen the management and resolution of complaints process in the school to include regular oversight by the principal and presiding board member. Reports need to be developed that show the register, progress, and outcome of complaints. This information can then be used to improve the school operation and performance. How complaints are dealt with needs to be consistent and practice aligned across both entities. 
  • Leaders and teachers need to build their capacity and capability in how to use evaluation for ongoing improvement of conditions and outcomes for students. A rigorous approach should provide useful and relevant information to measure the impact, value, and effectiveness of new initiatives.
  • Closer monitoring and reporting of progress towards achieving goals and success criteria is needed. Boards and leaders can then use this information to inform decision making going forward.
  • Leaders need to plan an indepth review of strategies to address major health and safety concerns in the school.

Following the review 

Since the onsite phase of the special review ERO notes the Wesley College School Board have taken steps to strengthen governance practice through:

  • undertaking governance training 

  • increased frequency of board meetings

  • developing an understanding of their roles and responsibilities 

  • stronger processes for management reporting 

  • reviewing and making changes to policy framework, in particular the child protection policy.

School leaders have initiated:

  • a student survey that will inform a review of the provision for student wellbeing

  • plans to regularly survey teachers and staff

  • staff professional development to address areas of improvement outlined in this report. 

A Student Achievement Function (SAF) practitioner has been engaged by the MOE to assist the school to raise achievement and improve their capability.

Recommendations 

ERO recommends that the Ministry of Education continue its intervention under section 180 of the Education and Training Act.

ERO recommends that the Wesley College School Board seek external expertise and support from the New Zealand School Trustees Association to strengthen governance practices and effectiveness. 

Future Action 

ERO’s role will be to work with 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. 

Jane Lee
Deputy Chief Executive – Review and Improvement Services

9 June 2023  

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 

Wesley College

Special Review Report Hostel

Background

The Chief Review Officer has the authority to carry out reviews (which may be general or in relation to particular matters) of the provision of a safe physical and emotional environment that supports learning for students accommodated in hostels under section 470 of the Education and Training Act 2020. This function is delegated to review officers who have the powers to enter and carry out review of hostels under section 472 of the Act.

Following a range of concerns raised by the Education Review Office (ERO) and the Ministry of Education (the Ministry) about the provision for the health, safety, and wellbeing for all students in Wesley College hostels, ERO initiated a special review. This report aligns to the Wesley College Special Review Report published at the same time. 

The Wesley College Trust Board should take note of the findings and recommendations of the Wesley College special review report.

Findings 

There are six hostel buildings on the grounds of Wesley College, five for boys and one for girls. The hostels are licenced for 305 students, and at the time of the review, accommodated around 240 students (approximately two thirds of the school roll). 

The Wesley College Trust Board (proprietor/owner) is responsible for ensuring the safety of students who reside in the hostels, all of whom attend Wesley College. 

ERO found that the Wesley College Trust Board has not done enough to ensure it fulfils its duty of care for students in the hostel. Boarders are not yet provided a safe physical and emotional environment that supports their learning. While the hostel meets minimum licensing requirements, ERO found that students do not receive a provision that promotes a high-quality hostel experience.

The Ministry reassessed the hostel licence in November 2022 and found that it did not meet requirements in several areas. It identified recommendations that needed addressing, particularly in relation to student safety and supervision. As a result, the hostel licence was suspended in December 2022 and a report was provided to the Wesley College Trust Board. 

The Trust Board addressed the recommendations in the report and the Ministry agreed to re-open the hostel at the end of January 2023. A condition of the relicensing was that one of the six hostels would remain closed until refurbishments meet requirements. The school plan is for this to occur during 2023.

A Ministry team visited again in March 2023 to assess the hostel provision and found it met minimum standards, for five out of the six hostel buildings.

ERO found that boarders are not yet provided with a safe physical and emotional environment that supports their learning. There have been some recent changes to systems, personnel, and the environment to improve the boarding experience. It is too early to know if these changes are enough to sustain a quality boarding experience. 

Recent updating of facilities include painting in some dormitories and provision of new recreational equipment. The hostel kitchen ensures that all meals are enjoyed by boarders. Sporting and other commitments are supported by hostel staff and help boarders maintain interests outside of school. A medical centre is located at the school and all medical needs are well managed through this facility by trained medical staff. 

The hostel has recently implemented a night school programme at “prep” time one night per week. Embedding this programme, will help to ensure that learning is well supported. Access to study facilities within all dormitories would further benefit learning. 

Lack of night-time supervision of the hostels was identified by the Ministry as an area of concern in December 2022. Actions to improve this were initiated in early 2023 in response to the suspension of the hostel licence. However, the development of new systems and the appointment of key supervising staff had yet to be fully implemented at the time of this review.

Systems and processes around leave, complaints, behaviour management and staff development require attention. There have been some alignments of systems across the hostel and the school. Further alignment is needed to ensure that seamless communication prioritises the support of all boarders. 

ERO is not satisfied the hostel is maintaining full and proper records for the investigation and reporting of complaints and potentially, abuse. Policies are in place, but ERO was not able to verify that complaints over recent years have been responded to, managed, and resolved appropriately in line with the school’s own procedures. The recently introduced process for registering complaints needs strengthening to ensure it tracks complaints through to resolution.  

Despite being part of the Wesley College Trust Board policies, boarding staff at the hostel have not been provided with sufficient professional learning and development that emphasises health and safety. In line with stated intentions, all staff should be provided with professional development that includes awareness of bullying, abuse recognition and reporting.

Health and safety policies for the hostel have been reviewed within the last three years, but not all have been updated to reflect current changes in legislation and educational priorities. The rigour of review needs to be strengthened. Currently, the Wesley College Trust Board does not have monitoring mechanisms in place to know whether its policies have been effectively or fully implemented.  

A formal independent review of the provision for students in the hostel, Review of Wesley College Hostels, was commissioned in 2019. This focused on areas of provision for students that leadership had identified as needing significant improvement. The report included valuable findings and suitable recommendations that could inform strategic decision making for changes. Leadership has yet to fully respond to all the recommendations and take sufficient action to result in the necessary improvements.

ERO is not confident that the range of issues identified in this report are being sufficiently addressed by the leadership of the hostel and is concerned that the pace of change to date has been too slow. 

Next Steps 

  • Develop health and safety systems and processes that effectively manage and prevent harmful practices and behaviours. 
  • Ensure systems are consistent and cohesive between the hostel and the school and have a focus on continuous improvement.  
  • Implement and sustain a deliberate programme of professional learning for school and hostel staff related to the areas of priority for the health, safety and wellbeing of all students (including abuse awareness, behaviour management, anti-bullying, restorative practices).
  • Significantly strengthen the management and resolution of complaints process in the hostel.
  • Establishing a more thorough and regular policy review process, in particular Health and Safety, that includes consultation with staff, students, and the community. This should support the board to know their policies are fit for purpose and are meeting the needs of all. 
  • Develop mechanisms to monitor closely and report that the policies, procedures, and guidance are being fully implemented and followed effectively.
  • Update the hostel provision, in particular furnishings, equipment, and supervision to achieve a higher quality of hostel provision as outlined in the Review of Wesley College Hostels 2019 recommendations.  

ERO recommends that the Wesley College Trust Board seek external expertise to support them to strengthen governance practices and effectiveness.

Jane Lee
Deputy Chief Executive – Review and Improvement Services

9 June 2023

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