Roncalli College

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within 2 years of the Education Review Office and Roncalli 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

Roncalli College is a co-educational state-integrated Catholic school for students in Years 9 to 13. It is located in Timaru, South Canterbury.  The school’s vision for learners is that they become creative, collaborative critical thinkers and that they demonstrate the school’s values of being Christ-centred, having a positive attitude, showing respect, giving their best effort and being self-managing.

Roncalli College’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are to:

• foster an ongoing culture of lived faith that nurtures the dignity of each person

• develop and enhance a flexible and responsive student-centred learning environment that focuses on student engagement leading to success

• create and maintain a safe and healthy spiritual, physical and emotional environment.

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

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate how well the school’s culturally responsive practices and curriculum are supporting equitable engagement, wellbeing and learning outcomes for all students.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is that the school:

• has identified culturally responsive curriculum and practice as an area for whole school improvement in response to new national expectations in the education sector

• wants to improve the equity of engagement, wellbeing and learning outcomes for all groups of students particularly boys and Māori students.

The school expects to see all groups of students, particularly boys and Māori students:

• demonstrate high levels of engagement with learning that they see as important and relevant to their lives, strengths and aspirations

• experience a sense of belonging and being cared for in the school and pride in their identities

• achieve equitably at all levels of schooling

• accessing learning pathways through and beyond school that realise their potential.

Strengths

The school can draw from the following strengths to support its goal to improve engagement and equitable learning outcomes for all students:

• Flexible, responsive curriculum that reflects the interests and aspirations of students and enacts the school’s vision for learners.

• Pastoral and learning support that meets the diverse social, emotional and learning needs of students.

• Strong support for student leadership and service within and beyond the school and of their own learning.

• Productive partnerships with families, whānau and community to inform school decision-making and support positive outcomes and pathways for students.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise:

• strengthening relationships with mana whenua and whānau Māori to inform sustainable developments in culturally responsive curriculum and practice and understandings of what success as Māori looks like

• continuing to build shared understandings for staff of sustainable culturally responsive practice

• curriculum development that reflects the culture, language and identities of all students.

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

28 June 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