Sacred Heart College (Auckland)

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

Sacred Heart College is in Glendowie, Auckland and provides special character education for boys in Years 7 to 13. The school’s mission is to develop outstanding mature young men by providing an education which balances spiritual education with academic, social and physical achievement. A new principal was appointed in 2022, joining an established 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

• Almost all senior students achieve the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA); Māori and Pacific students achieve as well as others at NCEA Levels 1 and 2, and most achieve Level 3.
• Scholarship achievement rates are very good, and the number of scholarships awarded shows an increase over time.
• Students have a strong sense of belonging and are confident in their identity, language and culture.
• School attendance rates reflect the Ministry of Education’s target; most students attend regularly and engage in meaningful learning.

Conditions to support learner success

• Leaders use appropriate evidence to plan and monitor the school’s strategic improvement cycle and systematically evaluate the effectiveness of strategies to improve learner success and wellbeing.
• Professional learning and mentoring develop leadership capability and collective capacity throughout the school, for ongoing improvement in teaching and learning.
• Leaders regularly communicate high expectations that underpin effective teaching and learning, with students, teachers, whānau and the community.

• Students experience well-structured learning in an orderly and well-resourced environment.
• Students needing additional support are identified and are provided with relevant, individualised support to learn and progress at an appropriate pace.
• Professional learning supports teachers to increasingly integrate te reo Māori, tikanga Māori and mātauranga Māori throughout the curriculum.

• Leaders ensure that policies, programmes and practices align with and promote students’ wellbeing.
• The board regularly scrutinises student engagement, wellbeing, progress and achievement data to identify strategic improvement priorities.
• Professional learning for teachers is strategically aligned with the school’s improvement goals and learner needs.

Part B: Where to next?

The agreed next steps for the school are to: 

• continue to support all students to make the expected progress in literacy and numeracy in Years 7 to 10
• successfully implement the newly designed Year 11 programme that prepares students for NCEA Level 2 over two years 
• further develop culturally responsive practices throughout the school to ensure equitable and excellent outcomes for all students, including Māori and Pacific learners.

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

Every six months:

• teachers and leaders will analyse attendance and academic data tracking for all year levels to ensure timely interventions support students to make progress and meet their individual, relevant goals 
• leaders will monitor and evaluate each of the above priorities for improvement and refine the annual implementation plan accordingly
• the board will receive regular reporting in relation to each priority, with a focus on student outcomes.

Annually:

• leaders will collect and use appropriate information to evaluate the school’s strategic improvement cycle and the effectiveness of strategies to improve learning and wellbeing 
• teachers and leaders will engage in targeted professional growth and development to ensure they have high-quality expertise to effectively support the learning and wellbeing of all students 
• teachers and leaders will foster deeper learning partnerships with parents and whānau to create shared understandings of students’ strengths and needs, the curriculum and the teaching and learning process.

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

• sustained equitable and excellent academic outcomes for all students, including Māori and Pacific students 
• an increased number of students achieving the literacy and numeracy co-requisites by the end of Year 10, including Māori and Pacific students 
• Year 11 students being well prepared to undertake NCEA Level 2 in Year 12.

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

5 July 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