Mahurangi 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 

Mahurangi College, located in Warkworth north of Auckland, provides education for students from Years 7 to 13. The school's pride values include: Whāia te iti Kahurangi (the pursuit of excellence), Manaakitanga (respecting self & others), Ako (being innovative & curious) Manawaroa (being determined & resilient) and Atawhai (being empathetic & kind).

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 report in December 2022, ERO and the school have been working together to evaluate the extent to which literacy initiatives in the delivery of the local curriculum contribute to positive outcomes in student achievement. The school is aware that significant emphasis needs to be given to literacy development and progression to ensure equitable and excellent outcomes for all learners.

Expected Improvements and Findings 

The school expected to see:

• Planned changes in its approaches to literacy, curriculum planning and pedagogy resulting in equitable and excellent outcomes for all learners, including Māori, students with special educational needs, and learners who were at risk of underachievement.
• Significant progress has been made in designing and implementing evidence informed structural teaching approaches.
• Junior student achievement in literacy and numeracy has been prioritised; most learners achieve above their curriculum level and many learners make accelerated progress.
• Teachers’ professional learning has resulted in a more consistent and collaborative schoolwide approach to teaching literacy across the curriculum.

Other Findings 

During the course of the evaluation the Mahurangi College Principles of Instruction were developed to guide teacher practice and inform curriculum design. Most Year 11 students achieved the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) literacy and numeracy requirements; a small target group of Year 7 and 8 students who required additional support made accelerated progress in literacy. University Entrance achievement has increased with a large majority of students achieving this qualification. Consistent, agreed teaching methods are now common practice across the school from Years 7 to 13

The greatest shift that occurred in response to the school’s action:

• an increased strategic commitment to using evidence-informed agreed teaching practices across the school, leading to accelerated progress for most students
• a strengthened, coherent, well-sequenced knowledge-rich curriculum, which also ensures students see their cultures reflected in lessons
• teachers increasingly plan collaboratively to address literacy needs more effectively across the school.

Part B: Current State

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

Learner Success and Wellbeing 

• Most students in Years 7 to 10 achieve at or above the expected curriculum levels in reading, writing and mathematics.
• The school has identified disparity of achievement for Year 7 to 10 Pacific students; the school has plans to address this disparity.
• Most students achieve NCEA at Levels 1, 2 and 3; close monitoring assists students to achieve intended outcomes.
• Less than half of students attend school regularly and the school is not yet meeting the Ministry of Education’s target for regular attendance; thorough school processes for monitoring and following up unexplained absences are evident, and initiatives are in place to improve this area.

Conditions to support learner success

• Leaders ensure effective planning, coordination and evaluation of the school’s curriculum and teaching; expectations for high-quality, consistent structured teaching and learning have been implemented across the school and systematically monitored. 
• Collaborative leadership across the school brings about a shared understanding of the school’s direction; this supports a cohesive approach to delivering structured teaching and learning approaches school wide.
• Leaders have high expectations for teaching and learning; individual skills and expertise of staff are used appropriately to further strengthen consistency of practice school wide.

• Clear, evidence based structured teaching and learning is delivered school wide, guiding lesson development and teaching practice, improving student outcomes. 
• A consistent and embedded model of teaching supports all students, including those with high needs, to learn and achieve successful outcomes.
• Teaching practice is responsive to students’ learning needs, interests and cultural identities.

• All staff take shared responsibility for improving student outcomes and conditions for learning, embedding consistent teaching practices to support increased achievement. 
• Leaders and teachers appropriately identify learners with additional and complex learning needs and work in collaboration with parents and whānau to support progress and achievement.
• Focused schoolwide professional learning, aligned with robust coaching and mentoring practices, effectively builds teacher practice that improves student outcomes.
• Leaders provide comprehensive information to the board that ensures resourcing decisions are aligned with identified priorities for learner success. 

Part C: Where to next? 

The agreed next steps for the school are to: 

• respond to analysed patterns in attendance and introduce stepped responses to increase the rates of regular attendance for all learners 
• support Pacific students to achieve personal success that keeps pathways in and beyond school open to them by building the cultural capability of teachers 
• increase the percentage of learners gaining NCEA Level 2 and 3 overall endorsements by continuing to strengthen teaching practices grounded in the science of learning 
• increase the number of learners meeting or exceeding curriculum expectations in numeracy and literacy in the Years 7 to 11 targeted group by implementing interventions for those learners tracking below expectation.

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

Within six months:

• continue to support and refine the literacy and numeracy programmes for target learners in year 7 to 10 and those who need to make accelerated progress 
• continue to implement strategies to improve regular attendance

Every six months:

• observe best practice in structured teaching and evaluate this against current teaching and learning at Mahurangi College
• increase strategic resourcing and continue to communicate more effectively with parents and whānau about the need to be in school
• continue to grow language and literacy capacity across the school
• continue to work with families and stakeholders to further build connections and deepen the feeling of belonging for Pacific students

Annually:

• review course selection processes to ensure students are selecting pathways that enable them to achieve their potential
• continue to promote an academic culture within Mahurangi College that fosters high expectations for all students 
• continue to analyse progress and implement further interventions if required for any students at risk of underachievement
• evaluate impact of strategies to improve regular attendance to inform planning.

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

• increased rates of attendance for all groups of learners 
• equitable achievement for Pacific students and keeping all pathway open to them within school and beyond
• systems and interventions fully embedded to support all students to achieve their potential even those who are at risk of underachieving.

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

4 December 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