Rolleston 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 

Rolleston College Horoeka Haemata opened in 2017 as a year 9 to 13 secondary school. It is located in the growing town of Rolleston, within the Selwyn District, near Christchurch.  A second campus and kura will open in 2026 with students split across both campuses. The school hosts a satellite of Waitaha Special School and is currently the fund holder for Selwyn Alternative Education Provision (Tumanako Rolleston).

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

• experience an inclusive learning environment where every learner is given the opportunity to flourish as they develop ‘self’
• see Rolleston College as a place of belonging within their community
• ‘grow with purpose’ and to be a lifelong learner. 

There are three parts to this report.

Part A: A summary of the findings from the most recent Education Review Office (ERO) report and/or subsequent evaluation. 

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

Part A: Previous Improvement Goals 

In the past three years ERO and the school have been evaluating communication for learning to understand and address disparity for ākonga.

Expected Improvements and Findings

The school expected to see:

Effective tracking and monitoring of all students to inform internal evaluation 

• Comprehensive school wide tracking and monitoring documents have been created and used to monitor and respond to engagement, achievement and wellbeing information for all students. This information is timely, responsive, targeted and future-focused.
• Ako teachers (ako learning coaches) use the above learning information to understand and respond to students needs, challenges and opportunities going forward. Students are using this information to increase their active self-management.
• Students’ conversations with their ako teachers reflect the information used to monitor learner success and students report greater understanding of the ways in which they learn.

Identification of more equitable ways to involve and engage students and their whānau

• The school has deliberately extended and enriched the ways in which it engages with whānau. 
•  Whānau hui are more purposeful, more frequent and attended by greater proportions of whānau.
• Students are showing more ownership and belonging in their engagement with whānau hui. They are participating and show pride in the authentic opportunities they have as part of whānau hui.
• More strategic communication, events and celebrations are strengthening the learning partnerships between students, whānau and the school.

A curriculum that best meets student needs and matches parents’ aspirations, particularly those who identify as Māori or Pacific

• Significantly increased numbers of senior students are learning te reo Māori at the school.
• A specific, Ako Haemata, class has been created and extended to nurture and grow students’ identity, leadership and understanding of te ao Māori.
• The school’s evaluation of the impact and success of the Ako Haemata programme is being extended so Pacific learners learn more about their language, culture and identity.  

The greatest shift that occurred can be seen in the increased proportions of Māori and Pacific learners actively engaging in learning more about their language and culture. This is creating a strong sense of pride and mana in their culture and the ways in which cultures are valued by the school. 

Part B: Current State

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

Learner Success and Wellbeing

Outcomes for learners are increasingly equitable and excellent within a caring, inclusive learning community.

• Most students achieve NCEA Levels 1, 2 and 3 at their respective year levels. A small majority of Year 13 students gain University Entrance. There is some disparity for Māori learners in achievement at all levels of NCEA, however 2023 student achievement information indicates Years 12 and 13 Māori learners achieved NCEA Levels 2 and 3 as well as, or at better levels than, their non-Māori peers. The majority of Pacific learners achieve NCEA.
• Most students gain their Specific Preparation for Employment and Citizenship (SPEC) Award at their relevant curriculum levels.
• The greater majority of Year 9 students and the majority of Year 10 students in 2023 achieved at or above appropriate curriculum levels in reading and mathematics.
• Increasing proportions of students across all year levels are attending school more regularly.

Conditions to support learner success

Strategic and increasingly effective leadership drives improvement to systems, processes and teaching and learning. 

• Leadership sets and pursues a small number of improvement goals including specific monitoring and support for identified groups.
• Leaders are deliberately building the capacity and capability of other leaders through specific professional development and learning to support improved outcomes for students. 
• Leaders ensures planning, coordination, and review of department goals are systematically monitored and aligned with the school’s improvement priorities. 
• Leaders are consistently prioritising whanaungatanga and increasingly involving whānau, building learner-centred partnerships. 

Students are increasingly benefitting from a curriculum that is personalised and being taught in a culturally responsive way.

• Local contexts are reflected through the curriculum. There is particular emphasis on integrating 
  te ao Māori, enabling learners to see their identity and culture reflected in all aspects their learning. 
• Evidence-based interventions increasingly target additional support to those learners who require it.
• Teachers create an orderly learning environment where learning time is maximised, and learners are supported to meaningfully engage in and extend their learning.

Coherent organisational conditions, including leadership, policies, systems, processes and collaborative practices, drive and inform strategic improvement and direction at all levels of the school.

• Leaders and teachers value the cultural backgrounds of their learners and demonstrate this throughout the school’s programmes, initiatives and practices.
• Leaders and teachers use a range of effective strategies to reduce barriers to education and support access to learning for all, including Māori and Pacific learners, disabled learners, and those with learning support needs.
• Strong, educationally focused partnerships with other education providers, professional networks, employers, industry and community groups support learner transitions and future pathways. The board effectively collaborates and communicates with key groups (e g middle leaders, the school community) to inform strategic planning and reporting.
• Teachers and leadership meaningfully and intentionally integrate quality te reo Māori and mātauranga Māori learning opportunities throughout implementation of the curriculum.

Part C: Where to next?

The agreed next steps for the school are to:

• extend the school’s strategic priority, “for students to experience an inclusive learning environment where every learner is given the opportunity to flourish as they develop ‘self’”, to ensure student achievement and progress can be effectively evaluated to determine the impact of the school’s curriculum for its learners
• continue to strengthen reciprocal partnerships with mana whenua and Pacific whānau
• further evaluate the effectiveness of the school’s communication with whānau in relation to their child’s learning and progress
• plan and implement a progressive te reo Māori teaching and learning programme using Poutama Reo.

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

Every six months:

• collect, collate, analyse and respond to student achievement and progress information
• continue to foster authentic opportunities to engage in meaningful dialogue about aspirations for tamariki within the local takiwā|district, with mana whenua
• regularly and systematically collect parent feedback in relation to communication with the school
• Use Poutama Reo and The Hikairo Schema together to plan, implement and monitor progress in culturally responsive teaching and learning.

Annually:

• evaluate and report the sufficiency of students’ progress within identified learning programmes
• ask mana whenua how well informed they feel about success for Māori at Rolleston College
• share findings from consultation with parents, mana whenua and Pacific whānau, after information is sought
• evaluating the progress of students, leaders, teachers in the school’s te reo Māori journey and reporting this to whānau, hapu and iwi .

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

• a clear and comprehensive record of achievement and progress for all learners across the school, with a continued focus on equity for all learners
• authentically and actively giving effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi through building trusting and sustained partnerships with Māori and mana whenua
• parents and whānau as valued and active partners in their child’s learning 
• a well-established and progressive te reo Māori programme for learners, staff, and leaders.

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

29 April 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