Bream Bay 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

Bream Bay College is a co-educational school in Ruakākā, Northland and provides education for students in Years 7 to 13. The board appointed a principal in Term 3, 2023. The school’s vision is to foster a culture centred on the MANA values of Manaakitanga | Hosting, Awhi | Supporting each other, Ngakaunui | Being curious, and Aroha | Working with positivity.

The school has a bilingual unit, Te Rerenga Kōtuku, for students in Years 7 to 10.

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 in October 2022, ERO and the school worked together to evaluate the impact of a structured literacy approach on raising achievement and engagement for equitable outcomes for all learners.

Expected Improvements and Findings

The school expected to see:

An improvement in students’ progress and achievement in literacy and across all curriculum areas.

• Achievement information shows an increase in spelling skills for Year 7 and 8 students; school leadership continue to work towards improving schoolwide analysis of progress and achievement information to inform ongoing planning.
• Professional development for Year 7 and 8 teachers in structured literacy has improved collaboration and a more consistent schoolwide approach to teaching literacy.

Teachers developing their knowledge and capability in effective literacy approaches to support students through national qualifications and onto meaningful pathways.

• Year 9 and 10 students show an increased understanding of the literacy requirements for national qualifications.
• Students have an improved awareness of their literacy capability and a shared understanding of the language of literacy.
• Teachers continue to develop their knowledge and capability in effective literacy approaches.

Other Findings

During the course of the evaluation, it was found that with targeted professional learning teachers continued to improve their use of explicit teaching approaches in literacy.

Part B: Current State

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

Learner Success and Wellbeing

Some students are engaged, making progress and achieving at expected levels.

• The majority of students achieve the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) at Levels 1, 2 and 3; however, less than half achieve University Entrance.
• A small majority of students in Years 7 to 10 achieve at or above the expected curriculum levels in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Achievement information shows that the school has yet to address the disparity evident for Māori learners, particularly in mathematics.
• A small majority of students attend school regularly; the school is yet to meet the Government’s target for regular attendance.

Conditions to support learner success

Leaders are establishing strategic initiatives and expectations for high quality teaching practices.

• Leaders set strategic priorities with goals and initiatives for future changes that appropriately focus on the school values, curriculum and assessments.
• Leaders are taking steps to foster a culture committed to quality teaching and improving equitable outcomes for groups of learners.
• Leadership is focused on strengthening teaching and learning in Years 7 to 10 to raise achievement for all students.

The school is working towards strengthening a responsive curriculum and developing robust assessment practices.

• Teachers and leaders are beginning to establish effective systems for tracking and monitoring student achievement that enable progress and success.
• Staff are developing a shared understanding of consistent curriculum delivery and the effective use of assessment practices and information to improve strategies that meet the needs of each learner.
• Staff are improving their use of responsive teaching practices that support increased learner engagement, progress and cultural connectedness.

School conditions are being strengthened to support schoolwide improvement.

• Relationships between staff and learners are increasingly founded on mutual trust and respect that allows learners to seek help when required.
• Leaders and teachers recognise and value learners’ interests to create a stronger sense of student belonging.
• Leaders and teachers are taking steps to reduce barriers to education, supporting access to learning for those students in need of improved outcomes.

Rumaki/Bilingual Outcomes and Condition to Support Learner Success

Learner success and wellbeing

• Ākonga are beginning to engage and challenge themselves more in learning te reo Māori within Te Rerenga Kōtuku.
• A small majority of ākonga in Te Rerenga Kōtuku meet or exceed the expected curriculum level for numeracy, while less than half do so for literacy.
• The majority of Te Rerenga Kōtuku ākonga attend school regularly, promoting learner engagement.

Conditions to support learner success

• Kaiako increasingly use valid and reliable assessment information to plan, teach and report on the progress and achievement of ākonga.
• Leadership distributes targeted resources effectively to Te Rerenga Kōtuku, that has an enrolment provision for ākonga who hold a genuine desire to learn te reo Māori and tikanga.
• Leaders and kaiako are working with other contributing schools to develop te reo pathway aspirations that better support ākonga transitions into and beyond Te Rerenga Kōtuku.

Part C: Where to next?

The agreed next steps for the school are to:

• monitor and review strategies and initiatives to increase students’ regular attendance
• strengthen the Years 7 to 10 curriculum and assessment framework so that teaching programmes support improved student outcomes, particularly for Māori learners
• develop teaching and learning practice across the school to continue to develop consistency
• strengthen the implementation of the school’s MANA values to continue to create a schoolwide environment of high expectations
• build te reo Māori capability within Te Rerenga Kōtuku to accelerate progression for ākonga.

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

Within six months:

• develop and implement a work plan to review the effectiveness of the current Years 7 to 10 curriculum and assessment framework
• use staff and student voice to enhance the use of the school’s MANA values, improving student engagement and achievement
• implement a formalised a professional learning development plan to grow kaiako te reo Māori capability within Te Rerenga Kōtuku.

Every six months:

• review attendance strategies and initiatives to inform next steps
• review teaching and assessment practices across the school to inform ongoing staff professional learning
• monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the school’s MANA values on student engagement and achievement.

Annually:

• report to the board on student attendance, progress and achievement information to inform ongoing strategic planning and decision making
• evaluate the extent to which the Years 7 to 10 curriculum and assessment framework is consistently used, identifying further actions
• evaluate teaching and assessment practices and the impact on student outcomes
• review the implementation plan and identify next steps to continue to develop Te Rerenga Kōtuku reo capability.

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

• students attending school regularly
• improved achievement outcomes, particularly for Māori learners
• a well-structured Years 7 to 10 curriculum and assessment framework; student progress is tracked and targeted interventions guided
• consistent teaching and learning approaches across the school
• a learning environment of high expectations based on the school’s MANA values
• strengthened te reo Māori capability within Te Rerenga Kōtuku and improved ākonga progress and achievement.

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

2 April 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