Our Lady Sacred Heart School (Epsom)

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

Our Lady Sacred Heart School (Epsom) is a Mercy School located in central Auckland and provides education for students in Years 1 to 6. The board appointed a new principal in Term 3 2024. The school’s vision of together, ignite a passion for limitless learning navigated by Catholic values, is underpinned by the three core values of Pono|Truth, Tika|Justice and Aroha|Compassion.

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 September 2022, ERO and the school have worked together to evaluate how well the school conditions have built effective teaching of writing strategies. The evaluation included how well teachers catered for those students who require additional support in writing to make accelerated progress.

Expected Improvements and Findings

The school expected to see:

Teachers using relevant and reliable assessment information to inform students’ learning and progress in writing.

• Teachers are well supported to use a range of relevant assessment information that informs students’ current learning and next steps for writing.
• Most students confidently talk about what they are learning and why; they increasingly use teacher feedback to identify their next learning steps.

Schoolwide use of the Learning Progressions Framework and Progress and Consistency Tool (PaCT) to track, measure and monitor student progress and achievement.

• Leaders and teachers regularly use schoolwide assessment tools and information to track and monitor student progress and achievement.

Teachers effectively planning for and evaluating the teaching of writing.

• Teachers plan and evaluate learning experiences in writing so that they respond effectively to students’ diverse needs.

Students engaging in authentic learning experiences in a variety of ways and using assessment information to inform their next steps.

• Students are highly engaged in meaningful writing experiences and are beginning to talk more confidently about their next learning steps.

Students who are confident and capable learners and experience success in writing.

• The large majority of students achieve at the expected curriculum level in writing.
• Students confidently share their writing in a range of learning contexts; their writing is regularly published in the school’s newsletter.

Other Findings

The greatest shift that occurred in response to the school’s action, has been the increased consistency and intentional use of assessment tools and information to adapt teaching and learning to the needs of all students.

Part B: Current State

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

Learner Success and Wellbeing

Most learners are engaged and achieve very well. 

• Most learners achieve at or above expected curriculum levels in reading, and the large majority in writing and mathematics.
• Highly engaged learners experience a positive, caring and supportive learning environment that enhances their wellbeing and sense of belonging.
• Most learners attend school regularly; the school exceeds the 2024 Ministry of Education target for regular school attendance.

Conditions to support learner success

Strategic leadership is strengthening high-trust, collaborative relationships across the school community to enhance learner progress and achievement. 

• Leadership consistently provides clear communication among staff, ensuring a shared understanding and increased focus of the school’s strategic priorities to support positive learner outcomes.
• Senior and middle leaders build and sustain high levels of relational trust and effective collaboration across the school; staff work well together to inquire into their practice and improve teaching and learning.
• Leadership regularly consults with the community to inform the strategic direction of the school and seeks deliberate feedback on curriculum developments and initiatives.

Learners experience high-quality teaching and learning.

• Leaders and teachers design and implement a cohesive local curriculum that engages and responds to learners’ needs, interests and cultures.
• Teachers use assessment information well, to plan, monitor and effect the progress of learners; learners speak confidently about what they are learning and how they know if they are successful.
• Learners actively engage in creative learning experiences that grow their understanding of the Catholic faith.

The school continues to strengthen conditions that underpin ongoing improvement. 

• Parents and whānau, as valued partners in their child’s learning, actively participate in the life of the school.
• Staff professional learning and development aligns well with the school’s strategic priorities and enhances learner progress and achievement.
• Leaders gather a range of achievement and wellbeing information; they are strengthening their analysis of this to ensure that resourcing and strategic priorities effectively address teaching and learner needs.

Part C: Where to next?

The agreed next steps for the school are to:

• ensure that the new curriculum requirements are integrated within the school’s local curriculum
• strengthen schoolwide analysis and use of achievement and wellbeing information to effectively respond to learner needs
• continue to monitor attendance to sustain high levels
• continue to build learners’ knowledge and confidence with identifying their next learning steps, raising their progress and achievement.

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

Within six months:

• review the content of The Religious Education Curriculum for Catholic Schools in Aotearoa New Zealand and the revised literacy and mathematics learning areas of The New Zealand Curriculum to develop an implementation plan
• investigate high-quality examples of schoolwide data analysis and design a framework for reporting that shows learner progress, achievement and wellbeing over time
• continue to provide professional learning opportunities that strengthen teachers’ understanding and use of highly effective teaching, learning and assessment practices

Every six months: 

• collect and analyse student voice to evaluate how well learners talk about what they are learning, why and their next learning steps

Annually:

• report to the board on the implementation and impact of the new curriculum requirements to inform future planning
• review and report to the board on student attendance, wellbeing, progress and achievement information to support ongoing strategic decision making
• evaluate the impact of teaching, learning and assessment practices and use this to inform next steps.

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

• a responsive local curriculum that continues to engage all students and provides a rich context for learning
• effective use of schoolwide student wellbeing and learning information to sustain student attendance, progress and achievement
• confident learners that actively participate in the learning process and can explain what they are learning, why and their next learning steps.

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

11 November 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