Rutherford College

School Evaluation 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.

Context 

Rutherford College is a co-educational secondary school that provides education for students in Years 9 to 13 and is located on Te Atatū Peninsula, west Auckland. The school vision is ‘Tohea’ (To strive for personal excellence), and its values are Whakaaute (Respect), Manaakitanga (Responsibility), Pono (Integrity) and Kairangi (Excellence).  

Since the last ERO review there have been changes to the senior leadership team. 

There are two parts to this report.

Part A: An evaluative summary of learner success and school conditions to inform the school board’s future strategic direction, including any education in Rumaki/bilingual settings. 

Part B: The improvement actions prioritised for the school’s next evaluation cycle. 

Part A: Current State 

The following findings are to inform the school’s future priorities for improvement.

Learner Success and Wellbeing 

The school is working towards equitable and excellent outcomes. 

• A small majority of students are achieving at curriculum expectations in Years 9 and 10.
• The majority of students achieve National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) Levels 1, 2 and 3 and less than half achieve University Entrance (UE); there is significant disparity for Māori and Pacific students at Levels 1, 2, 3 and UE. 
• Learners with additional needs are provided targeted support and a large majority achieve NCEA in Years 11 to 13. 
• A small majority of students attend school regularly; the school is not yet meeting the Ministry of Education target for regular attendance.

Conditions to support learner success

Leadership is establishing effective processes within the school to support student success.

• School leaders are beginning to set and pursue improvement-focused goals to raise overall student achievement and improve equity. 
• Leaders and teachers are taking steps to improve the quality and consistency of teaching to support better student progress and achievement. 
• Leaders are beginning to align professional learning needs and processes with strategic goals to ensure improvement in learner outcomes. 

The school is taking steps to provide students with consistent quality teaching and a meaningful and relevant curriculum.

• Teachers are beginning to implement effective teaching practices more consistently to better engage students in learning. 
• Some learning areas are creating a positive, mutually respectful environment where learning is maximised; the school is considering ways to promote this schoolwide. 
• The curriculum is beginning to reflect local contexts and build on learners’ experiences, knowledge and understanding. 

The school is establishing the conditions required to meet key strategic priorities.

• Teachers are participating in professional learning in the teaching of reading and writing and te ao Māori to improve strategies for student success. 
• Teachers are beginning to strengthen inclusive practices to support students’ sense of belonging and improve attendance.
• The board is taking steps to represent, serve and work with the school community to develop the school’s vision, values and strategic direction.  
• Leaders of te ao Māori within the school increasingly enact their role in giving effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi to ensure Māori students’ success as Māori. 

Part B: Where to next? 

The agreed next steps for the school are to: 

• monitor and support students’ academic success through tracking and purposeful interventions 
• embed teachers’ active participation in professional learning in teaching reading and writing for Years 9 to 10
• embed the consistent use of effective teaching strategies to engage students in successful learning, raise overall achievement and reduce disparity for groups of students 
• continue to develop a meaningful and responsive curriculum including mātauranga Māori that engages and challenges students to succeed in their learning
• improve rates of regular attendance to meet Ministry of Education targets. 

The agreed actions for the next improvement cycle and timeframes are as follows.

Within three months:

• collect and analyse baseline data to improve the monitoring of students’ academic success, engagement, attendance and retention 
• continue teachers’ active participation in professional learning in reading and writing in Years 9 to 10 
• complete the design of effective classroom practice guidelines to promote teachers’ consistent use of effective teaching strategies.

Within six months: 

• continue to develop a meaningful and responsive curriculum that engages and challenges students to succeed in their learning
• implement professional learning in teaching of reading and writing for Years 9 to 10 to support improved progress and achievement for students
• implement effective classroom practice guidelines to promote teachers’ consistent use of effective teaching strategies.

Every six months:

• review and respond to students’ academic achievement, engagement, attendance and retention data to help the school know what is working and for who 
• review the development a meaningful and responsive curriculum including mātauranga Māori that engages and challenges students to succeed in their learning 
• review the quality and implementation of classroom practice guidelines to promote teachers’ consistent use of effective teaching strategies.

Annually:

• evaluate teachers’ implementation of professional learning in reading and writing in Years 9 to 10 to ensure ongoing progress and improvement in achievement outcomes 
• evaluate the quality of the school curriculum to engage and challenge students to succeed in their learning to track and monitor improvement in achievement, attendance and engagement and inform improvement priorities 
• evaluate the effectiveness of classroom practice guidelines, its impact on students’ retention and success to help the school know what is working and for who; use this information to make further improvements to programmes and practices.

Actions taken against these next steps are expected to result in:

• improved levels of attendance, engagement, retention and achievement for all groups of students including increased parity for Māori and Pacific learners
• increased consistency of teachers’ use of effective teaching practice schoolwide 
• comprehensive reporting and better use of achievement data at all year levels to better inform effective teaching and a responsive curriculum.

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

Shelley Booysen
Director of Schools

11 December 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