Wednesday 21 May 2025
As mentioned in my From the Desk email update on Friday, I wanted to give you some sense of the summary from the Educational Review Office (ERO) visit to the College very recently.
We had two reviewers at the College for four days, who investigated all aspects of the school, observing students, facilities, teaching practices and speaking to a range of people and staff members from Monday through till Thursday. On Thursday afternoon, these reviewers offered some thoughts about their views of the College - I include notes below based on this verbal feedback that the Board of Governors and the Educational Leadership Team were given.
The review falls under eight sections and I offer a summary of the main points under each section below:
Suitable Premise
The College has wonderful facilities with excellent resources. The swimming pool is compliant and warrants of fitness for all buildings and certificates for public use are all in place. The ERO Team appreciated the Master Property Plan and Hazard identification processes. Students appreciate the quality of the College facilities.
Suitable Staffing
All expectations of staffing and teaching standards are met. Appointment processes are thorough: teacher registrations, Limited Authority to Teach (LATs) and Police checks are all complete and in place.
All child restraint training is complete. The professional development and progressional growth expectations are clear and evident. This includes leadership development being made available for all. There are many opportunities for reflective practice.
Equipment
There is excellent provision for equipment and related facilities, especially in speciality areas (i.e. Sciences and Technology). Student engagement is high. There is quality equipment available and is accessible for all students.
Curriculum
The ERO Team noted the dual pathway and the 50:50 split in the spread of students between NCEA and CIE. The curriculum being offered by the College at Years 9 - 11 is aligned to the New Zealand Curriculum. The curriculum is reviewed and adapted to respond to students’ needs. Handbooks are available to all and information is ready for all audiences. Our award systems appreciate students’ achievements in the areas of curriculum and academics. There is evidence of good assessment practices, full reporting with detailed information about programmes with high expectations for everyone.
Suitable Tuition
The team visited many rooms on Tuesday of the ERO visit. There is a wide range of pedagogical techniques being engaged throughout all classrooms. Teachers are very relational, highly competent, using a range of individual and group dynamics. Resources are available and of great quality. Students and classes are settled and focused. Students are very complimentary about the quality of the teaching and appreciate getting 1-1 attention and assistance when it is needed. They feel support is ready when things get hard, and that help is there when needed. Teachers are helpful and responsive.
Our Learning Centre is very effective and supportive and high standards are set and met.
Safe Physical and Emotional Environment
Our safety systems are sound and robust - there are clear policies and procedures in this area. There are layers of help and care systems throughout the College and students feel that there is at least one adult they can go to if they require support. The Advisory Panels (Māori and Pacifica) are very powerful and capture the community voice. The girls’ committee feel empowered. Students feel that it’s acceptable to be an individual at King’s – everyone is made to feel welcome. There are high levels of acceptance and tolerance.
EOTC (Education Outside the Classroom)
Documentation is of high quality and compliant; risks are identified for day trips, overnights and overseas trips and where risks are identified, they are mitigated.
The See it. Say it. Stop it anti-bullying campaign is widely recognised and appreciated, especially along with the new ‘unusual behaviour’ reporting. Whakaroa Lodge is amazing in terms of both the facilities and the staffing.
International Students
The College has great staff, including Robbie Pickford (Recruitment) and Catherine de la Mothe Fenelon (Students Liaison). Systems for international students are robust and frequently reviewed and there are well-defined processes. Students felt safe, welcomed and well supported. There are many opportunities for them to be involved in College life. Feedback is offered by the students and listened to; parents feel informed.
Hostels (Boarding Houses)
The reviewers physically examined and talked to all lead staff of every Boarding House separately. This is a different process from previous reviews in that ERO are taking an individual review of each House. Robert Paterson offers great leadership in Boarding and is acknowledged for that. There are no concerns or areas of non-compliance. There are good facilities, some more tired than others, but all well maintained and clean. There is high-quality food and generous portions being provided. Snacks and drinks are available.
Staff are approachable and all there to help; there are many layers of support for students in Boarding. Friendship and relationships between ages and Houses are encouraged by the College.
While this summary is very promising, we now await the full report to be reviewed and sent to us from the ERO Team office. I will ensure you have a copy of this once it is finalised. As you will have read above, there were no obvious areas of concern or recommendations.
This was superb feedback and the product of many years' work, initiatives and development from our dedicated teachers, leadership team and staff members, all of whom work with students at the forefront of their decision making.
We are now focused on our next opportunity to appraise the College with our MMG survey, which you should have been sent on Friday. I encourage you to please complete this anonymous survey and give us your feedback about how you think the College is going. The survey is accessible until Sunday 1 June.
Kind regards,
Simon Lamb - Headmaster