New Brighton Catholic School (Chch)

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report 

Background

This Profile Report was written within 9 months of the Education Review Office and New Brighton Catholic School 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 

New Brighton Catholic School (Chch) is a state-integrated Year 0 to 8 Catholic primary school located in Christchurch. The school maintains its history, heritage, and links to Mary Immaculate through their virtues of walking in the footsteps of Jesus by being kind, showing respect, having gratitude, and seeking excellence.

New Brighton Catholic School (Chch)’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are: 

• connecting and growing the Faith Community
• inspiring a positive learning culture where hauora (wellbeing) and identity is prioritised and nurtured
• strengthening and empowering teaching and learning for all (teachers, students, whānau).

You can find a copy of the school’s strategic and annual plan on New Brighton Catholic School (Chch)’s website. 

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate how effectively their literacy programmes and practices enable excellent and equitable outcomes for students.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is that the school has identified it needs:  

• a consistent, structured approach to teaching literacy school wide
• to upskill the teaching and support staff with the current literacy teaching practices, encompassing brain development and learning
• to know the impact of literacy teaching practices on strengthening learner engagement and achievement.

The school expects to see:

• teacher capability and knowledge strengthened for effective consistent practice in teaching literacy
• students able to identify their next learning steps in literacy to support their progress and achievement
• whānau and school partnerships which further support literacy learning success for all
• improved progress and achievement in literacy.

Strengths 

The school can draw from the following strengths to support it to evaluate its goal how effectively their literacy programmes and practices enable excellent and equitable outcomes for students:

• The experienced and reflective leadership team, and supportive board, are focused on continuous improvement. 
• A positive, committed teaching staff who engage in professional learning to develop their capacity.
• The school is part of a network of schools where digital technology is embedded into teaching practice to enhance and support the learning experiences of the students.  

Where to next? 

Moving forward, the school will prioritise: 

• ensuring consistency in literacy teaching practices across the school 
• implementing and embedding the literacy approach in both reading and writing
• strengthening the school’s assessment and monitoring systems to know the impact of the literacy programme on student engagement and achievement.

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

19 March 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