Holy Cross Catholic School (Henderson)

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 

Holy Cross Catholic School (Henderson) is a state integrated school in West Auckland. The school provides education for boys in Years 1 to 6 and girls in Years 1 to 8. It values its special character and the diverse cultural background of the students and wider community. The school roll is growing, with a major building project due to commence at the beginning of 2025.

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

Since the previous ERO report of October 2022, ERO and the school have been working together to evaluate how well the school’s partnership with Māori whānau, families, the wider community and local iwi increases student engagement and learning.

Expected Improvements and Findings

The school expected to see:

A strong partnership with whānau Māori, families, the wider community and local iwi.

• More whānau come into school and are involved in sharing their knowledge of tikanga Māori and te ao Māori.
• Teachers have strengthened their confidence and knowledge of tikanga Māori through the Mana Kura programme with Te Kawerau ā Maki.

Learners experiencing a responsive and rich localised curriculum.

• Teachers’ knowledge and history of the local area and connections to traditional stories increased through the Mana Kura programme.
• Teachers use this knowledge to provide meaningful learning opportunities that connect students to the local area and the stories of mana whenua; strengthening understanding and a sense of belonging for all.

Appropriate school tikanga and kawa are used and understood by the school community during formal and cultural events.

• Mana whenua have supported the school to develop a school pepeha; students and staff have opportunities to share their own pepeha.
• Staff and students confidently lead kawa and participate in formal and cultural events.

The school community know the cultural narratives, stories and histories of the whenua and are kaitiaki to the whenua. 

• Most students have shared their learning of pūrākau, traditional stories, from the iwi at the school Kōrero and Kai evening.
• All students celebrated their Matariki learning with whānau at an open evening.

Other Findings

During the course of the evaluation, it was found that there has been a notable increase in parents wanting to share their cultural expertise and knowledge with students and teachers.

The greatest shift that occurred in response to the school’s action was the principal initiating a partnership with Te Kawerau ā Maki to develop and deliver the Mana Kura programme. This partnership strengthened the local curriculum.

Part B: Current State

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

Learner Success and Wellbeing 

• Almost all learners achieve at and above the expected curriculum levels in reading, and most are at the expected levels in writing and mathematics.
• Māori and Pacific students achieve as well as all other learners in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Learners express positive feelings about caring staff, friendships and the supportive learning environment and demonstrate a sense of wellbeing.
• The majority of students attend school regularly, rates are yet to meet the Ministry of Education’s target.

Conditions to support learner success

• Leaders work closely together to create a positive environment that is inclusive, values diversity and promotes student wellbeing for learning.
• Leaders focus on strengthening the leadership capabilities of team leaders to ensure teaching and learning programmes are effective.
• Leaders identify priority learners and use evidence to set targets and monitor their progress and achievement.

• Learners see themselves through a school curriculum that reflects local contexts and supports their sense of belonging.
• Teachers strengthened use of high-quality teaching practice increasingly improves outcomes for all students.
• Learners who need additional support are identified promptly; teachers use specific teaching strategies that accelerate progress and meet the individual strengths and needs of all students.

• The school’s partnership with the parish community promotes a spiritual, physical and emotionally secure environment for students and staff.
• The board effectively manages and strategically plans for school resourcing that supports effective teaching and learning.
• Leaders give effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi through engaging in positive and active partnerships with Māori and mana whenua, providing learners with opportunities to participate in te ao Māori.
• Staff interactions with external agencies and professional networks, including the Kāhui Ako, improve student attendance, behaviour, engagement, learning and well-being outcomes.

Part C: Where to next?

The agreed next steps for the school are to: 

• communicate and engage with school families so that they know and understand the importance of their children attending school regularly
• support teachers to adapt their practice and to support learners in readiness for teaching and learning in collaborative spaces
• strengthen leaders and teachers’ knowledge and use of evaluation to understand and know how their practice leads to improved outcomes for all students 
• senior leaders mentor team leaders to build leadership capabilities that provide a responsive curriculum and consistently high-quality teaching practice. 

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

Within three months:

• review and share school attendance data with the community
• review and plan teacher and student placements for 2025 in readiness for moving into collaborative learning spaces.

Every six months:

• principal reports to the board and school community on student progress and achievement in reading, writing and mathematics and regular attendance rates
• the Special Education Needs Co-ordinator and Learning Support Co-ordinator share with the board how well programmes and interventions support identified student learning and behaviour needs 
• students share their learning with the school community and celebrate their successes.

Annually:

• leaders and teachers review the planned curriculum and the quality of teaching practice; are they effective, consistent and responsive to the needs of, and improve outcomes, for all learners
• gather and analyse information from students on their wellbeing and respond to the findings
• seek feedback from the community and work with the board to develop the strategic plan.

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

• more students regularly attend school
• effective teaching and learning in collaborative spaces
• leaders and teachers effectively use achievement data to adapt practice and improve learning outcomes for all learners. 

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

22 October 2024

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