Sacred Heart College (Lower Hutt)

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.

Every New Zealand state and state integrated school has an ERO review at least once every four years to evaluate what is working well for learners and what needs to be improved.

About the school

Sacred Heart College (Lower Hutt) is a state integrated special character Catholic school for girls in Year 9 to Year 13. The school roll of 827 includes 63% of students who identify as New Zealand European/Pākehā, 31% who identify as Pacific, 24% who identify as Māori and 19% who identify as Asian. The special character of the College is reflected in their approach to the care and growth of each student.

The school’s vision is Sacred Heart students who are compassionate, confident and resilient young people, who live gospel values, challenge themselves, have a thirst for knowledge and are ready to serve others.

Education Counts provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement, school enrolments and school zones. educationcounts.govt.nz/home

An explanation of the terms and judgements used in this report can be found here: Reporting | Education Review Office

Improvement and progress

This section is about the progress the school has made since the June 2022 ERO report. It includes an explanation of the expected improvements and findings.

Expected improvements

The school expected to see an increase in the sense of belonging and inclusion for all students.

Findings

The school has made good progress. Wellbeing is a key school focus with the values of respect, inclusion and care reinforced daily. Wellbeing data is collected, analysed and appropriately acted on resulting in students’ strong sense of belonging and sisterhood.  

Leaders established whānau groups for Māori and Pacific parents to feed into strategic goals and curriculum review. Ongoing engagement with Rongohia te Hau and a close working relationship with Kahui Waiako has increased teachers understanding of students leading to improved practice and high achievement levels. 

Teachers and leaders from across the school observe each other, share their reflections and regularly collect student feedback. Wellbeing is a key school focus with the values of respect, inclusion and care reinforced daily. Wellbeing data is collected, analysed and appropriately acted on. 

What we know about learner success 

This section provides a summary of learner success, wellbeing and foundation school conditions, including any education in Rumaki/Reo Rua settings. The judgments are based on the ERO School Improvement Framework and evidence provided to ERO during the evaluation.

Learner success and wellbeing

This section provides a summary of learner success and wellbeing.

• A large majority of students achieve National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) Level 1. Most students achieve NCEA Levels 2 and 3 with a small majority achieving University Entrance (UE). Achievement outcomes are equitable for Māori and Pacific learners.
• A large majority of learners achieve the writing component of Literacy at Year 10 and most learners achieve reading. A large majority achieve Numeracy. 
• Students express a strong sense of inclusion and belonging to the school and the special character values; they believe their cultural identity is acknowledged, valued and celebrated.
• A large majority of students attend school regularly. Regular attendance is improving and chronic absence is reducing. Improving attendance is a priority for school leaders.

Conditions to support learner success

This section provides a summary of leadership, teaching, curriculum and foundation school conditions for improvement.

• Leaders share a clear vision and commitment to continuous improvement, grounded in strong, relational trust which fosters effective collaboration across all levels of the school.
• Leaders actively promote a professional learning culture that prioritises high-quality teaching and learning and improved outcomes for learners.
• Senior leadership attracts, retains and grows effective middle leaders and teaching teams in a school culture of support and collaboration.
• Leaders effectively consider multiple sources of evidence to coherently plan, implement and review strategic and annual plans to sustain improvement.

• Effective, responsive pastoral care processes and academic tracking support high levels of student engagement and success for learners. Learners requiring additional support are identified and provided with relevant and effective support to learn and progress. Learner aspirations and pathways are well known and supported.
• A rich curriculum integrates local contexts to reflect the interests, aspirations and cultural identities of learners, preparing them for future success.
• Teachers set clear expectations and create respectful learning environments to effectively engage and support students to build skills and confidence in their learning.
• Te reo Māori, te ao Māori, tikanga and mātauranga Māori are embedded throughout the school; strengthened culturally responsive practices support engagement. 

• The school establish purposeful partnerships with stakeholders and the wider community, including the Mission Sisters, Māori and Pacific whānau, alumni, marae and iwi.
• The Sacred Heart College Board actively represents and serves the school community in its stewardship role with learner and staff wellbeing and learner progress and achievement being key priorities.
• Teachers benefit from well considered and targeted professional learning to continually build their knowledge and skills and their collective understanding of what works best for learners.
• Systematic, collaborative inquiry combined with effective evaluation practices is used to inform priorities and refine strategies to improve learner outcomes. 

Next steps for improvement

This section provides more detail for the school to include in its strategic and annual planning for ongoing improvement across the school. It identifies key priorities and actions for improvement.

Key priorities

• Establish consistent assessment and reporting systems in Years 9 and 10 to provide insights into student progress and achievement over time, particularly in literacy and numeracy.
• Strengthen curriculum design, assessment practices and extension pathways to ensure students are consistently challenged and supported to attain excellence across NCEA Levels 1 to 3.
• Develop and implement effective strategies to increase students’ regular attendance.

Actions to bring about improvement 

Within six months:

• leaders review current data collection practices, identify gaps in progress and achievement data for Years 9 and 10 and develop consistent practices for junior literacy and numeracy tracking.
• evaluate the effectiveness of enrichment programmes, subject acceleration options and extension pathways to ensure they challenge learners.

Every six months:

• leaders collect, analyse and report to the board overall achievement, progress, behaviour, wellbeing and attendance information to let them know what is working to sustain higher learner outcomes
• the Board and leaders review and adjust the attendance management plan in response to analysed attendance data.

Annually:

• the school Board reports overall achievement, progress, behaviour, wellbeing and attendance information to the community through its annual reporting mechanism including ongoing improvement goals
• school leaders monitor and evaluate the impact of attendance initiatives, report annual attendance trends to the board and identify next steps for improvement.

Expected outcomes

• Excellent and equitable achievement outcomes for all students. 
• Consistent and accurate collection of achievement and progress data for Years 9 and 10 informs teaching and learning and implement targeted interventions that improve outcomes for all students.
• Improved and sustained regular attendance.

The next public report on ERO’s website will be a School Report and is due within four 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
Director of Schools

28 April 2026