St Francis Xavier School (Mornington)

School 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

St Francis Xavier School (Mornington) is a special character Catholic state integrated school providing education for students from Years 1 to 6. 

The school was founded by the Mercy Sisters. The school’s core values are kindness/manaakitanga, respect/whakaute, honesty/pono, responsibility/kawenga. The school has a roll of 93 students, comprising 50% Pākehā/New Zealand European, 38% Asian, 7% Māori, 6% Middle Eastern, Latin American or African and 4% other European. 

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 August 2022 ERO report. It includes an explanation of the expected improvements and findings.

Expected improvements

The school’s intentions were to establish a consistent approach to evaluation across the school and to evaluate the impact of the Structured Literacy approach on students’ writing.

Findings 

The school made a significant change in the teaching of spelling and reading following the approach of Structured Literacy to prioritise changes to the curriculum in literacy. Teachers and leaders have undertaken appropriate professional development and structured literacy programmes have been fully implemented throughout the school. The school deliberately used this approach to benefit all groups of learners. The school has strengthened evaluation capability across the school by modifying their assessment tools, using the approach of Assessment for Learning. Staff, the board and whānau are now better informed. The Board has continued to support strategic change when required.

What we know about learner success

This section provides a summary of learner success and wellbeing. The judgments are based on the ERO School Improvement Framework and the evidence provided to ERO during the evaluation.

Achievement in 1 to 6 

This section is about learner achievement. It outlines how well learners across the school meet or exceed the expected curriculum level of The New Zealand Curriculum in foundational skills.

Attendance

This section is about school attendance and the progress the school is making towards meeting the Government target of 80% regular attendance.

• The large majority of learners attend school regularly.
• The school is approaching the target of 80% regular attendance.
• The school has a suitable plan in place to improve attendance.
• Regular attendance is improving towards or beyond the target.
• Chronic absence is not yet reducing over time. 

Assessment 

This section is about how the school assesses learner progress and achievement.

• The school uses an appropriate approach and reliable practices to find out about achievement against the curriculum.
• Assessment information is used well to adjust teaching practices to ensure ongoing improvement in teaching and student progress.

Progress

This section is about how well the school supports all learners to make sufficient progress.

• The school has good quality planning to increase the rate of progress for all groups of students.
• The school has significantly improved achievement and progress for those learners most at risk of not achieving since the previous review.
• The school has to some extent extended achievement and progress for learners working at or above curriculum levels since the previous review.
• The school is meeting Government reading, writing and mathematics targets and/or pānui, tuhituhi and pāngarau targets set for 2030.

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 outlines what the school is doing well and identifies actions for improvement.

Areas of strength

• Leaders drive continuous improvement, set high expectations for teaching, learning, and student success and foster a supportive and collaborative staff environment. 
• Learners experience a strong sense of belonging and connection to the school and benefit from the support of staff and leaders who build a culture of care.
• Staff demonstrate extensive knowledge of the learners and their whānau, providing equitable opportunities that ensure inclusion, learning, and success.
• The school’s values are used to promote positive behaviour, wellbeing and engagement in learning.
• Teachers embed structured literacy across the school and implemented a structured mathematics programme, enhanced by targeted professional learning.
• Meaningful community partnerships support the school to identify and achieve strategic goals for learning and achievement.

Key priorities

• Align New Zealand Curriculum changes in assessment with current schoolwide processes and assessment practices.
• Further create learning conditions where students develop agency by taking initiative, making choices, and engaging in their learning.
• Engage with the school community to develop strategies to increase rates of student attendance.

Actions to bring about improvement 

Every six months:

• leaders and teachers analyse student attendance, progress and achievement to inform planning, then review and adjust as needed
• leaders and teachers refine and monitor schoolwide teaching and learning in structured literacy and mathematics to promote ongoing student engagement and achievement

Annually:

• leaders evaluate schoolwide assessment processes to inform and further strengthen teaching and learning, and alignment to the New Zealand Curriculum changes
• leaders and the board work together to evaluate the effectiveness of the attendance plan and develop strategies for the following year to support ongoing improvement
• leaders evaluate the impact of professional learning on teaching practice and learners’ progress, achievement and outcomes.

Expected outcomes

• Strengthened school-wide assessment practices that align with curriculum changes and effectively inform next steps in learning with improved outcomes for all learners.
• Improved regular attendance.
• Sustained and improved excellent and equitable outcomes for all learners.

Regulatory and legislative requirements

This section of the report is about how the school meets regulatory and legislative requirements. 

Board assurance with regulatory and legislative requirements

This section of the report reviews the school's policies, procedures, documentation, and checks that it meets all regulations, maintains a safe environment, and supports students' wellbeing.

During this review the Board has attested to meeting regulatory and legislative requirements in the following areas:

Board administration

Yes

Curriculum

Yes

Management of health, safety and welfare

Yes

Personnel management

Yes

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

1 April 2026