Sacred Heart Girls’ College (N Plymouth)

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 

Sacred Heart Girls’ College (N Plymouth) is a state-integrated Catholic school providing education for students in Years 7 to 13. The school offers day and boarding options. Students are encouraged to do everything to the best of their ability; striving for personal excellence with their academic, physical and spiritual hauora.

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 July 2022 the school has been evaluating how effectively the pastoral needs of the students are met. 

Expected Improvements and Findings 

The school expected to see:

The refinement of pastoral care systems and processes to meet student needs more effectively.

• Leaders have carried out an extensive review of pastoral care systems and processes over the past three years that has informed the preferred structure and programmes going forward.
• Well-defined roles and responsibilities for Manaaki teachers and deans have been established through meaningful consultation with stakeholders. 
• The role of deans has been aligned with the House structure, and an increase in number, has been implemented for the start of 2025 to provide greater accessibility and cohesion of pastoral care provision.
• The school’s goal setting and mentoring programme (GEMS) has been reviewed; new programmes, attending to student Hauora/wellbeing, positive relationships and self-efficacy, have been developed and are delivered by staff with specialty in these areas.

A shared understanding of pastoral needs in the school community.

• Leaders, staff and students increasingly understand the range of pastoral needs within the school community; leaders and ERO agree that there is yet to be consistently applied pastoral practice at all levels of the school.
• Students know who is available to speak to about their pastoral needs and how to access their assistance; most students access a member of the pastoral team if necessary.

A way to measure the effectiveness of pastoral care and improved wellbeing outcomes for all students, particularly those who are at risk.

• The school is yet to put in place an evaluation process to regularly gather evidence and monitor whether the new pastoral system and programmes are having the desired outcomes, and who for.

Part B: Current State 

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

Learner Success and Wellbeing 

• Almost all students gain National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) Level 1 and most students gain Level 2 and 3, and University Entrance; the majority of students gain the certificate endorsed with either Merit or Excellence.
• The school has yet to address small disparity in achievement for Māori learners in NCEA Level 2.
• A large majority of Year 7 to 10 students achieve at curriculum level expectation in reading, mathematics, and science and make expected progress over time; a few students make accelerated progress.
• Regular student attendance is below the 2024 Ministry of Education targets; regular attendance has improved over time and continues to be a focus for the school.

Conditions to support learner success

• Leaders pursue key improvement goals and are beginning to use evidence to plan and monitor aspects of the strategic improvement cycle; a next step for the school is to systematically gather evidence, feedback and ideas to measure the impact of initiatives on student outcomes and who for.
• Leaders are strengthening collaboration at every level of the school to effect strategic vision and improvement goals.
• Whānau and students are increasingly involved in decision making in the school and they are beginning to see their aspirations reflected in the school’s decision making. 

• Teachers create orderly learning environments and are developing collaborative planning that respond to individual learning needs and to strengthen student engagement.
• Teachers have clear achievement outcomes for students from Year 7 to 13, guiding and setting expectations for high-quality teaching practice and coordinated curriculum progressions. 
• Te reo Māori, tikanga Māori, mātauranga Māori and te aō Māori are increasingly woven through all aspects of the school curriculum and day-to-day life of the school.

• Leaders and teachers recognise, affirm, and appreciate the diversity of students and are taking steps towards fully understanding students’ cultural identity and values.
• Professional learning opportunities are increasingly aligned with the school’s strategic direction. 
• Leaders and teachers are building a shared understanding of the role of evaluation for improvement; the school is growing its data analysis capability.
• The board is strengthening the regular review of student data to identify strategic improvement priorities, plan and make appropriate resourcing decisions. 

Part C: Where to next? 

The agreed next steps for the school are to:

• develop and implement an evaluation process, with regular milestones, to gather evidence and measure the impact of the new pastoral structure and programmes on improved outcomes, including attendance, for students and inform next steps 
• continue professional learning for leaders and teachers to access, interpret and use attendance, wellbeing and achievement data to build a more responsive and consistent approach to student learning and pastoral care
• consolidate a consistent understanding of high-quality teaching and learning to respond to a wide range of student learning and pastoral needs, including Māori learners in NCEA Level 2.

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

Within six months:

• create an evaluation timeline outlining actions to regularly gather stakeholder feedback and ideas and voice about the restructured pastoral structure and programmes 
• review and refine targeted professional learning to strengthen the data literacy of staff and ensure the restructured pastoral system and wellbeing programmes are understood by all.

Every six months:

• use whānau, student and staff feedback and ideas to determine the impact the new pastoral structure and programmes is having on improved student engagement 
• continue to collect and analyse attendance, achievement and wellbeing data, to ensure that the initiatives are having the desired outcomes; use this information to refine and make improvements to the pastoral structure and learning programme.

Annually:

• analyse and report attendance, achievement and wellbeing outcomes to the board and community; in partnership with whānau, students and staff; use this information to inform the next strategic steps.
• review the impact of professional learning for leaders and teachers to access, interpret and use attendance, wellbeing and achievement data; use this information to plan the next steps in professional learning. 

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

• Improved student outcomes; leaders and teachers use attendance, wellbeing and achievement data and evidence to be responsive and consistent when attending to student progress and pastoral care
• staff, students and whānau feedback and ideas are actively sought, considered and used in decision making by the school
• an embedded and sustained understanding of the role of evaluation for improvement.

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

5 February 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