Policy Documents

Access to all school policies is now through SchoolDocs:

1. Visit the website https://karamu.schooldocs.co.nz
2. Enter the username (karamu) and password (knowledge).

Annual Accounts

Annual Accounts ended 2023

Annual Accounts ended 2022

Annual Accounts ended 2021

Annual Accounts ended 2020

Annual Accounts ended 2019

Annual Accounts ended 2018

School Planning and Reporting

Mahere Rautaki O Te Kura Tuarua O Karamū - Strategic Plan For Karamū High School

Mahere ā Tau O Te Kura Tuarua O Karamū  - Annual Implementation Plan 2025

Education Review Office (ERO) Report (2022)

Te Ara Huarau is the new evaluation approach that the Education Review Office (ERO) is using in our school. This is a developmental approach to evaluation where ERO and our school work together over time rather than one off reviews that happened previously. ERO maintains a regular review programme to evaluate and report on the education and care of young people in schools. Our school worked alongside ERO to write our Profile Report. This type of report will only happen once as part of our initial engagement with Te Ara Huarau. The profile report reflects our strategic goals and a shared evaluation focus on one or more areas that are important to us as we work together to improve outcomes for all our learners. ERO, like us, have a strong focus on equity and excellence. Future reporting will show our progress and achievement towards meeting the goals we have set. You can view our Profile Report, a Board Assurance Report and the Provision for International Students on ERO’s website.

ERO External Evaluation (2019)

Karamū High School, Hastings

The purpose of ERO’s external evaluations is to give parents, whānau and the wider school community assurance about the quality of education children and young people receive. ERO reports on the equity and excellence of learning outcomes for all students and for specific groups including Māori students, Pacific students and students with additional learning needs. This includes a focus on accelerating learning for students. ERO also reports on the quality and effectiveness of the school’s processes and practices for continuing and sustaining improvement. The report gives evaluation findings that answer four key questions about the school’s performance.

School Context

Karamū High School is located in Hastings and serves a wide geographical area. The school has experienced considerable roll growth. The current roll is 915 students including 36% Māori and a small group of Pacific.

The school’s mission is to provide coeducational learning opportunities that inspire students to achieve a wide range of success and self-esteem, and develop high standards that enable them to become successful members of society. The vision is to support students to be proudly Karamū, proudly Hastings and proudly learning. This is based on the values of whanaungatanga, excellence, leadership, creativity, overcoming adversity, manaakitanga and embracing diversity.

The school targets focus on improvement in achievement, wellbeing and sustaining a great learning environment.

Leaders and teachers regularly report to the board, schoolwide information about outcomes for students in the following areas:

• achievement targets, attendance and wellbeing
• attainment of National Certificates of Educational Achievement (NCEAs).

The school‘s professional development and practice focus includes cultural inclusiveness and digital technology.

The school is a member of the Whirinaki Kāhui Ako where staff are actively involved.

Evaluation Findings

1 Equity and excellence – achievement of valued outcomes for students

1.1 How well is the school achieving equitable and excellent outcomes for all its students?

The school continues to work towards achieving equitable and excellent outcomes for all students.

Almost all students, including those with Māori and Pacific heritage, achieve the NCEA literacy and numeracy requirements. Most achieve NCEA Levels 1 and 2. Over time, equitable outcomes for boys and Māori have improved at NCEA Level 2.

Endorsements with merit at all NCEA Levels continue to increase. Almost all students achieve NCEA Level 2 before leaving school. The majority achieve a Level 3 qualification and almost half of students achieve University Entrance (UE). Boys and Māori and a small group of students with Pacific heritage achieve less well in UE and Level 3 qualifications.

Vocational pathways show nearly all students gaining qualifications for these courses. Employment, further education or return to school are outcomes for these students.

In Year 9, most students, including Māori achieve at expected curriculum levels. A large majority of students reach school expectations in writing by Year 10. Some disparity exists for boys in writing.

Students with additional needs are valued, included and well supported to prepare for their future. External and internal support is well considered and accessed as required.

1.2 How well is the school accelerating learning for those Māori and other students who need this?

The school has effective processes to identify and respond to those students whose learning and wellbeing requires support or acceleration. There are examples of students who have had their progress accelerated in reading and mathematics in Years 9 and 10.

The school acknowledges that there is a need for further refinement in analysis of achievement data to make clear the picture of acceleration for groups at risk of not achieving curriculum expectations.

2 School conditions for equity and excellence – processes and practices

2.1 What school processes and practices are effective in enabling achievement of equity and excellence, and acceleration of learning?

Trustees work collaboratively with the principal to progress agreed goals and targets. An experienced board sets the strategic direction. Trustees are well informed about school operations and systems. The leadership team is improvement focused and works collaboratively to promote consistency to progress school targets. Leaders work cohesively to strengthen systems and processes for effective functioning of the school.

Leaders support the school’s direction and demonstrate an unrelenting focus on improving student wellbeing and promoting positive relationships as a basis for student success. Leaders and staff provide holistic support to students that is deliberate, intentional and contributes to engagement and successful outcomes. A reflective and responsive culture ensures student voice is valued and impacts on decision making.

There is an appropriate focus on building teachers’ practice to improve outcomes for students. Leaders have a strategic and coherent approach to providing professional learning opportunities. Teachers are highly collaborative and open to new learning. They regularly engage in professional dialogue and learning opportunities to develop their practice.

Trustees, leaders and teachers are committed to a culturally responsive curriculum. This is broad and includes localised learning opportunities that respond to individual student interests and needs. A range of opportunities are provided for all students to demonstrate leadership in authentic and meaningful contexts. These include sport, cultural activities and programmes that support wellbeing.

Leaders and teachers have well considered strategies to support students to engage and experience success. Purposeful planning, informed by monitoring and tracking of priority learners, supports a range of meaningful learning experiences. Shared school values are highly evident in calm and respectful learning environments.

Strong, responsive relationships exist within the school and wider community. Parents and whānau views are valued and increasingly considered in strategic and curriculum decisions that contribute to their child’s learning and progress. They are well informed about the different pathways and programmes available and contribute to decision making with their children at critical transition points.

2.2 What further developments are needed in school processes and practices for achievement of equity and excellence, and acceleration of learning?

There is an appropriate appraisal framework and system in place. This has the potential to support teachers and leaders to inquire into their practice. Further development in implementation that includes clear feedback should deepen understanding and improve the consistency of teacher inquiry practice.

Deeper analysis of achievement data should give leaders a clearer picture of the progress and achievement of individual groups of students. This would enable the identification of more specific targets and a clearer focus on accelerating the progress of those students identified at risk of not achieving.

Leaders and teachers are reflective and improvement focused. Strengthening their understanding and application of internal evaluation is required to better understand, and make clear, the impact of actions and initiatives on student achievement and other valued outcomes.

3 Other Matters

Provision for international students

The school is a signatory to the Education (Pastoral Care of International Students) Code of Practice 2016 established under section 238F of the Education Act 1989. The school has attested that it complies with all aspects of the Code.

No international students were enrolled at the time of the ERO review.

4 Board Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the board and principal of the school completed the ERO board assurance statement and self-audit checklists. In these documents they attested that they had taken all reasonable steps to meet their legislative obligations related to the following:

• board administration
• curriculum
• management of health, safety and welfare
• personnel management
• finance
• asset management.

During the review, ERO checked the following items because they have a potentially high impact on student safety and wellbeing:

• emotional safety of students (including prevention of bullying and sexual harassment)
• physical safety of students
• teacher registration and certification
• processes for appointing staff
• stand down, suspension, expulsion and exclusion of students
• attendance
• school policies in relation to meeting the requirements of the Vulnerable Children Act 2014.

5 ERO’s Overall Judgement

On the basis of the findings of this review, ERO’s overall evaluation judgement of Karamū High School’sperformance in achieving valued outcomes for its students is:

Well placed

ERO’s Framework: Overall School Performance is available on ERO’s website.

6 Going forward

Key strengths of the school

For sustained improvement and future learner success, the school can draw on existing strengths in:

• a school culture and a strong sense of belonging that promotes students’ social and emotional wellbeing
• school leadership that encourages respectful relationships and collaboration between staff, students, trustees and the wider school community
• clear direction setting by the board of trustees, that provides a purposeful strategic direction focused on improving student outcomes
• extensive curriculum opportunities that encourage student engagement, learning and achievement
• growing staff professional capability through a strategic and coherent approach that is focused on improving outcomes for students.

Next steps

For sustained improvement and future learner success, priorities for further development are in strengthening:

• knowledge and effectiveness of teacher appraisal and inquiry processes to better support teachers’ professional growth and development
• the use of achievement data to promote acceleration and address disparity
• knowledge, application and a shared understanding of internal evaluation to better understand the impact of initiatives on student achievement and wellbeing.
   

Phillip Cowie
Director Review and Improvement Services Central
Central Region
10 June 2019

About the school