Glendowie College

What ERO wrote in its latest report

This is ERO’s report of 18 May 2026 — “School Evaluation Report” — section by section, under ERO’s own headings, in ERO’s own order. Nothing is summarised, shortened or reordered.

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.

Every New Zealand state and state integrated school has an ERO review at least once every four years to evaluate what is working well for learners and what needs to be improved.

About the school

Glendowie College provides education for students in Years 9 to 13. The roll is approximately 1200, including 66% Pākehā /New Zealand European, 28% Asian, 6% Pacific heritage, 5% Māori , 5% Middle Eastern, Latin American or African and 2% other ethnic groups. Around 10% of domestic students receive English Language Learning support.

The college’s vision is to be a community empowering ākonga to experience success, ready to embrace the future. The International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme (MYP) provides a framework for curriculum delivery in Years 9 and 10.

Education Counts provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement, school enrolments and school zones. educationcounts.govt.nz/home

An explanation of the terms and judgements used in this report can be found here: Reporting | Education Review Office

Improvement and progress

This section is about the progress the school has made since the October 2022 ERO report. It includes an explanation of the expected improvements and findings.

Expected improvements

The school evaluated how well the coherence and alignment of the curriculum across the school promotes equitable and excellent outcomes for all learners.

The school expected to see learners experience a coherent and cohesive curriculum that ensures learning is visible and prepares students for meaningful pathways.

Findings

Teaching and learning programmes are underpinned by a well-considered, coherent curriculum that is consistently enacted across the school. Strategic curriculum review by teachers and leaders resulted in the Year 11 Pathway Curriculum Framework, which deliberately links the Year 9 and 10 MYP and Year 12 and 13 National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) programmes, and has strengthened alignment, continuity, and clarity of learning expectations at each year level.

A shared approach to teaching, grounded in current research and embedded through sustained professional learning contributes to excellent and equitable learning outcomes for students.

What we know about learner success

This section provides a summary of learner success, wellbeing and foundation school conditions, including any education in Rumaki/Reo Rua settings. The judgments are based on the ERO School Improvement Framework and evidence provided to ERO during the evaluation.

Less than a third Less than half Small majority Large majority Most Almost all

0 to 33% 34 to 49% 50 to 64% 65 to 79% 80 to 90% Over 90%

Learner success and wellbeing

This section provides a summary of learner success and wellbeing.

Outcomes for learners are excellent and equitable for all groups of learners.

Almost all students achieve NCEA Level 2 and 3 and most achieve University Entrance (UE); almost all students remain at school until their 17 th birthday.

Most Year 11 and almost all Year 12 and 13 students achieve the literacy and numeracy requirements for NCEA.

Outcomes for learners are equitable for all groups of learners.

Most students attend school regularly. Regular attendance is at the Government target of 80%. Sustaining regular student attendance over time remains a priority for the school.

Conditions to support learner success

This section provides a summary of leadership, teaching, curriculum and foundation school conditions for improvement.

Strategic and improvement focused leadership sets high expectations within a culture of care and collaboration.

Leadership sets and relentlessly pursues a small number of targeted and coherent improvement goals informed by a range of appropriate high-quality evidence.

Leadership maintains high levels of relational trust and effective collaboration to achieve the strategic vision and improvement goals.

School leaders ensure effective planning, alignment and systematic monitoring of the school’s curriculum and teaching programmes through purposeful classroom observations and the delivery of meaningful and well-timed professional learning.

A coherent and responsive curriculum effectively promotes student engagement and supports meaningful pathways.

Students have rich opportunities to learn across the breadth and depth of the New Zealand Curriculum ; there is a consistent focus on supporting students to gain sound literacy and numeracy skills.

Teachers create collaborative and orderly learning environments where learning time is maximised; students experience consistent, shared approaches across learning areas.

Teachers use reliable evidence to inform teaching practice and respond to the learning needs of students. Students experience well‑sequenced learning, clear progressions, and consistent teaching approaches that enable them to understand what they are learning and why.

The school has well-aligned systems and practices that enable success and improvement over time.

Leaders and staff demonstrate strong collective capability, with clear priorities and connected systems that support consistent, ongoing improvement across the school.

Embedded systems and processes promote proactive responses to students’ wellbeing and learning needs in the form of timely and targeted interventions.

The Glendowie College Board scrutinises a range of quality data to inform effective strategic decision making.

Next steps for improvement

This section provides more detail for the school to include in its strategic and annual planning for ongoing improvement across the school. It identifies key priorities and actions for improvement.

Key priorities

Improve regular student attendance to consistently meet or exceed the government target over time.

Further strengthen internal evaluation and self-review processes for increased consistency and alignment across all areas of the school.

Actions to bring about improvement

Within six months:

evaluate self-review processes across all areas of the school

Every six months:

leaders monitor the effectiveness of initiatives to sustain student attendance, adjust where needed and report to the school Board and parent community

leaders and teachers embed consistent internal self-review practices through clear frameworks, capability building and monitoring to strengthen alignment and quality across all areas of the school

Annually:

leaders and the school board monitor the impact of attendance initiatives, with a focus on sustaining the government target over time

Leaders and the school board evaluate the overall effectiveness of internal review processes and ensure evidence-informed decision-making leads to sustained, school-wide improvement in learner outcomes.

Expected outcomes

Regular student attendance which consistently meets or exceeds the government target.

A coherent and consistently applied schoolwide framework for evaluation that contributes to enhanced outcomes for all learners.

The next public report on ERO’s website will be a School Report and is due within four 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

Sharon Kelly Director of Schools

18 May 2026

Read this report on ero.govt.nz →