Rongotai College

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within 12 months of the Education Review Office and Rongotai College working in Te Ara Huarau, an improvement evaluation approach used in most English Medium State and State Integrated Schools. For more information about Te Ara Huarau see ERO’s website. www.ero.govt.nz

Context 

Rongotai College is a secondary school in the eastern suburbs of Wellington that provides education for boys from Years 9 to 13. The college’s vision is to be a leading contemporary boys’ school, shaped by the past and driven by the future. There is a strong focus on achievement with the college committing itself to developing young men of excellence, underpinned by their BEST values of: being respectful, encouraging brotherhood, striving for excellence, and taking pride.

Rongotai College’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are that:

• students will experience real success in their learning, and that priority learners are targeted and supported to experience educational success

• students will be engaged learners

• teachers will continue to develop and refine effective, modern teaching

• the college will strengthen relationships with family, whānau, and the wider community and continually evolve to meet their needs and expectations.

You can find a copy of the school’s strategic and annual plan on Rongotai College’s website.

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate the impact on student engagement and achievement of effective teaching practices, including designing and delivering differentiated learning.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is:

• a strategic goal to promote excellence in teaching through further development of knowledge, skills and practices to continue to refine effective, modern teaching

• the college wishes to align its practices with contemporary education research on the grouping of students

• to design learning which accelerates progress for targeted priority learners

• to evaluate student learning and engagement, and shifts of teacher practice, after moving to mixed-ability junior classes.

The school expects to see:

• improved engagement and achievement of Years 9 and 10 students

• an increase in the application of effective, modern teaching practices and learning design across the curriculum

• an updated school-wide curriculum, informed by consultation, which is responsive to student needs and aspirations.

Strengths

The school can draw from the following strengths to support its goal to evaluate the impact on student engagement and achievement of effective teaching practices, including designing and delivering differentiated learning:

• a collaboratively developed, shared understanding of teaching excellence at Rongotai College which is informing learning design and review

• special programmes for the inclusion of diverse learners operating within the school, including for those with high and complex needs

• provision of a variety of pathways in response to students’ needs, strengths, and interests

• expectations and targets of high achievement for senior students can be leveraged for the junior school

• the school has begun to regularly gather, report and examine student engagement data.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise:

• regular, strategic analysis of engagement and achievement data to measure impact and inform decisions

• targeted professional learning for teachers around designing differentiated learning

• review across all year levels to ensure the curriculum is engaging, relevant, and aligned with the national curriculum changes.

ERO’s role will be to support the school in its evaluation for improvement cycle to improve outcomes for all learners. ERO will support the school in reporting their progress to the community. The next public report on ERO’s website will be a Te Ara Huarau | School Evaluation Report and is due within three years.

Shelley Booysen
Director of Schools

10 October 2023 

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