Sacred Heart School (Christchurch)

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within fourteen months of the Education Review Office and Sacred Heart School (Christchurch) 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 

Sacred Heart School is a special character Catholic primary school, located in the Christchurch suburb of Addington. The school has been gifted the name, Sacred Heart School|Te Kura o Te Ngākau Tapu.

Sacred Heart School (Christchurch)’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners promote:

• ngākau aroha / a loving heart

• ngākau whakapuke / an enthusiastic heart

• ngākau whakaute / a respectful heart

• ngākau tapatahi / an inclusive heart

• ngākau pono / a faithful heart.

You can request a copy of the school’s strategic and annual plan from the office at Sacred Heart School (Christchurch).

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate the implementation of New Pedagogies for Deep Learning (NPDL), to further enhance curriculum design, and teaching and learning.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is that:

• the school embarked on a journey of reviewing and enhancing its localised curriculum to establish a NPDL approach

• leaders are keen to weave consistent and high-quality teaching and learning practices across all learning areas

• it is timely to initiate face-to-face learning partnerships between the school and its communities, re-establishing connections and creating new opportunities to grow the curriculum collaboratively.

The school expects to see:

• engaged, confident, connected children who exemplify the school’s ‘Six Cs’ (character, citizenship, collaboration, communication, creativity, and critical thinking), showing agency in activating their learning

• a localised curriculum that defines and guides practice expectations, and guides teachers to support enhanced achievement, progress, wellbeing and engagement for all learners

• whānau and families actively contributing to learning, in partnership with the school.

Strengths

The school can draw from the following strengths to support the school in its goal to evaluate the effectiveness of NPDL:

• children are at the forefront of decision making and faith is the cornerstone of the ‘Sacred Heart Way’, encompassed by the school’s strongly embedded values

• the expertise of the leadership team, committed to growing the NPDL philosophy and approach across the breadth and depth of the localised curriculum

• active involvement in the Kahukura Community of Practice, underpinned by a strong research base.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise:

• investigating current curriculum, teaching and learning practices from Years 1-8 to inform the refreshed localized curriculum, and associated strategic planning

• considering ways to further enhance student, whānau, families and community engagement in the localised curriculum developments

• updating guidance and information documents to be in line with current direction, and then effectively communicated.

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

7 August 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