Te Aute 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

Te Aute College (Te Kura o Te Aute) is a long-established Māori boarding school for Year 9 to 13 students located in the Hawkes Bay. The special character of Te Aute is built around the Anglican Church and a Māori worldview.

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 students achieve National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) Levels 1 and 2, and over half achieve NCEA Level 3 and University Entrance; the percentage of students gaining endorsements markedly improved from 2022 to 2023.
• Data for Years 9 and 10 indicates that some students progress in reading, writing and mathematics; improvement in the quality and dependability of assessment information for these year levels is needed.
• The school is well below the Ministry of Education target for regular attendance; this is a priority going forward.

Conditions to support learner success

• Leadership, with the board, provides clear direction for teaching and learning through considered strategic improvement priorities and targets focused on improved student outcomes.
• Kaupapa Māori and tikanga Māori continue to be highly valued by leaders, staff, students and whānau and significant in the everyday life of the school.
• Leaders have created a positive school culture based on high expectations for learning and respectful relationships between students and with staff.

• Learners have sufficient opportunities to learn across the breadth and depth of The New Zealand Curriculum; community-based programmes are actively explored and participated in to extend learning.
• Teachers are resourceful and adaptive in designing programmes of learning and assessment practices to meet the learning needs and aspirations of the students; learning is purposeful and students are engaged.
• Te Tiriti o Waitangi, mātauranga Māori, and local curriculum are increasingly and more deliberately woven into programmes of learning.

• Leaders and teachers are beginning to use data to track student progress and achievement in Year 9 and 10; gauging overall patterns of progress and achievement is an area that requires further development.
• Vocational Pathway programmes, such as Trades Academy and relationships with local mana whenua have a positive impact on student learning by promoting high levels of engagement and success at senior levels.
• The board and leaders are building strong relationships with whānau, families and the community to communicate about learning, school activities and to provide opportunities for learning outside the classroom.
• The newly elected board is working well with school leadership to re-establish their governance role within the school.

Part B: Where to next?

The agreed next steps for the school are to:

• make better use and understanding of Years 9 and 10 assessment data to monitor student achievement and better inform teaching, learning and school decision making
• develop better systems to monitor and record attendance, and further strategies to engage with parents and whānau to raise student attendance
• develop a structured, coherent professional learning plan aligned with the school strategic priorities; this needs to include identified teacher development needs in curriculum, assessment and data use.

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

Within six months:

• put in place a schoolwide system for collecting and analysing dependable student progress and achievement information, particularly for Years 9 and 10; ensure staff are knowledgeable about using the data to plan and meet the needs of the students
• review current systems and practices to record and monitor student attendance and make necessary changes to ensure data is accurate and used to improve attendance and engagement
• use relevant attendance data to work in partnership with parents and whānau to encourage, monitor and raise student attendance and engagement
• develop a structured and targeted professional learning plan that meets the needs of staff and is aligned to the school's improvement priorities

Every six months:

• use analysed Years 9 and 10 achievement data with mid-year testing, to report to the board and identify next steps for staff
• review and report the ongoing effectiveness of systems and processes to record and monitor student attendance, what the data is showing and respond accordingly
• evaluate and report on the outcomes of professional learning in raising staff capabilities and the impact on classroom practice and learners’ progress and achievement

Annually:

• present understandable achievement data to the board that shows junior student progress in curriculum levels for reading, writing and mathematics; this information is used to prioritise staff development and board decision making
• report well-analysed attendance data to the board (based on Ministry of Education targets and reported termly in Everyday Matters data); scrutinise to identify trends and patterns and further actions needed
• report on the impact of the professional learning on staff knowledge and understanding and the difference this has made to teaching and learning outcomes.

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

• improved progress and achievement in Years 9 and 10; staff have a clear understanding of the use of data to inform their practice
• students attending regularly; whānau work in partnership with the school, and systems and processes are in place to accurately monitor attendance
• professional learning having an impact on improved delivery of the curriculum and student outcomes.

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

21 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