St Therese School (Three Kings)

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 

St Therese School (Three Kings) is a Catholic school in Mount Roskill, Auckland that provides special character education for students from Years 1 to 8.  Its mission is to develop passionate, faith-filled, life-long learners with the skills and knowledge to be successful community members.  

There are two parts to this report.

Part A: 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 B: The improvement actions prioritised for the school’s next evaluation cycle. 

Part A: Current State 

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

Learner Success and Wellbeing 

• Most learners achieve at or above curriculum level expectations in reading with the large majority achieving at or above curriculum levels in writing and mathematics. 
• Pacific learners are achieving at levels equal or above other groups of learners in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Regular monitoring and use of effective strategies ensures that most learners attend regularly, well above the Ministry of Education’s target. 
• Responsive approaches to wellbeing create an environment where learners confidently participate, have a strong sense of belonging and know their cultures are valued.

Conditions to support learner success

• Leaders guide teacher practice to adapt and respond to learners’ interests and needs in targeted ways. 
• Leaders implement effective systems and processes and ensure that professional development is aligned with strategic priorities and improved learner outcomes.
• Clear, cohesive strategic and annual planning and achievement targets for learners are developed and monitored to ensure learners meet goals relevant to them.  

• Effective planning builds students’ foundational skills in literacy and numeracy through structured, responsive, well-paced learning opportunities. 
• Teachers and support staff know students well, tailoring learning to meet their individual needs in an orderly and positive learning environment. 
• The curriculum is regularly reviewed to ensure it is fit for purpose and reflects local contexts in a way that builds on learner’s experiences, knowledge and understanding.

• Leaders skilfully use achievement information across year levels and learning areas to monitor student progress, identify areas for improvement and plan development strategies.  
• Established partnerships between the school, specialists and parents ensure learners with additional and complex needs receive interventions aligned to their specific educational needs.
• Learners experience an inclusive culture, enabled through caring and respectful relationships between teachers, students and whānau, with regular opportunities provided for parents to be involved in their children’s learning.
• In consultation with the community, the board of trustees sets and pursues a number of improvement goals and targets, including raising the progress and achievement of all learners. 

Part B: Where to next?

The agreed next steps for the school are to: 

• further strengthen the local curriculum to ensure it is responsive to learners, is aligned with changes to The New Zealand Curriculum and is clearly structured with sequenced steps
• improve accessibility of data for classroom teachers, to inform planning and responding to learner needs and improve outcomes for all learners
• continue to build teachers’ confidence and capability in use of te reo Māori, knowledge of tikanga Māori and explore connections with local iwi, so that all learners have a greater understanding of Aotearoa New Zealand.

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

Within three months:

• develop a plan to further strengthen the local curriculum to ensure it is responsive to learners and is clearly structured with sequenced steps
• implement methods that makes data more accessible for classroom teachers 
• decide on and implement initiatives for continuing to improve confidence and capability in use of te reo Māori and tikanga Māori.

Every six months:

• implement initiatives to progress the strengthening of the local curriculum 
• upskill and provide professional learning on use of data analysis to inform classroom teaching
• continue to embed ways of incorporating use of te reo Māori and tikanga Māori.

Annually:

• collect staff and student voice to evaluate progress on strengthening of local curriculum to ensure it is responsive to learners
• review classroom teachers’ use of data to inform planning and responding to learner needs
• monitor the progress of the integration of te reo Māori and tikanga into everyday use and of learners’ understanding of their role in giving effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi. 

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

• a strengthened local curriculum that is responsive to learners, ensures alignment with the New Zealand Curriculum and is clearly structured with sequenced steps 
• teachers comfortably accessing and using data to inform teaching, able to be more responsive to learner’s needs in targeted ways to improve outcomes for all learners
• teachers and learners demonstrate increased confidence in the use of te reo and tikanga, connection to local iwi and history and their role of giving effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

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

5 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