Bay of Islands 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  

​​Bay of Islands College​ (Kareti o Pewhairangi) is a coeducational Years 9 to 13 secondary school in Kawakawa, Te Tai Tokerau. The principal and another deputy principal have been appointed since the previous ERO review. 

The school’s vision is Aroha ki te tangata, titiro ki te taumata o te moana, we strive to foster a caring community where every individual achieves and surpasses their educational goals, seeing success as a journey beyond academic horizons. The school values are uara, manakitanga, caring for yourself, achievement, responsibilities, the environment and for others. 

The school has a Māori Bilingual Unit, Reorua, and a Building Academy on site. 

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

Students make good progress to achieve successful learning outcomes over time. 

• A majority of students enter school below expectations but progress well to achieve at expected curriculum levels in reading and mathematics in Years 9 and 10; the majority of students make significant progress in their learning and achieve the National Certificate of Education Achievement (NCEA) Level 1.  
• Most students, including Māori and Pacific students, consistently achieve NCEA Level 2 and 3.  
• Learners with additional needs are monitored and supported with the majority of students making progress in their learning. 
• Less than half the students are attending school regularly; increasing attendance is a strategic priority to meet the Ministry of Education targets. 

Conditions to support learner success

Strategic leadership drives improvement to teaching and learning that supports successful outcomes for students. 

• Leaders increasingly promote a positive and inclusive culture through enacting school values that support students’ wellbeing, sense of belonging and success. 
• Leadership fosters a culturally responsive foundation that underpins the quality of teaching and learning to promote equitable and excellent learner outcomes. 
• School leaders ensure planning, coordination and evaluation of the school’s curriculum is monitored and adapted to promote success for all learners.

Teachers are strengthening their practice to provide a responsive curriculum and effective teaching that enables students to succeed. 

• Teachers create increasingly collaborative learning environments where te Ao Māori is valued and learning time is better used.   
• Teachers effectively scaffold students’ learning and use knowledge of learners’ strengths, needs and interests to promote their engagement.  
• Students have rich opportunities to learn in an evolving curriculum that responds to their learning needs; students are supported to experiment and apply new learning. 

School conditions continue to strengthen to support learner success. 

• Whānau are increasingly provided with opportunities to be involved and work in partnership with teachers to support their children’s success. 
• Teachers engage in and apply professional learning to actively focus on improving students’ learning outcomes. 
• Leaders and teachers demonstrate a commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi through embedding te reo me ona tikanga Māori within the school’s culture.  
• Board members are strengthening their active support to progress and attain the school’s strategic goals.  

Part B: Where to next?  

The agreed next steps for the school are to:  

• continue to improve the quality of achievement with NCEA endorsements and University Entrance in the senior school, and reading and writing in the junior school to promote students’ success 
• strengthen and embed effective teaching practices consistently schoolwide to further promote students’ active engagement in learning; this includes the effective tracking and reporting on all groups of students 
• continue to develop the curriculum to meet the diverse learning needs of students in responsive ways 
• plan and implement initiatives to improve students’ regular attendance rates to meet the 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 and vocational success, engagement and attendance outcomes  
• continue teachers’ active participation in professional learning, including reading and writing teaching strategies for Years 9 to 10 to improve learning outcomes  
• ensure classroom practice expectations are developed, shared and understood to promote teachers’ consistent use of effective teaching strategies. 

Every six months: 

• review the impact of initiatives to improve attendance and plan for ongoing sustained improvement 
• monitor student progress in reading and writing for Years 9 to 10 to support improved progress and achievement schoolwide 
• implement teachers’ consistent use of effective teaching strategies. 

Annually:  

• evaluate and report shifts in students’ regular attendance rates to the Board 
• evaluate the quality of the school’s responsive curriculum to engage and challenge students to succeed in their learning and inform improvement priorities for future success  
• review the implementation of teachers’ consistent use of effective teaching strategies and its impact on students’ achievement.  

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

• sustained and improved attendance, engagement and achievement outcomes at all year levels 
• improved consistency in teachers use of effective teaching and learning strategies 
• a responsive curriculum that engages students to succeed in their learning 
• comprehensive reporting on schoolwide achievement for all groups of students and subsequent setting of relevant improvement priorities.  

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 

​​12 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