St Bernard's College

What ERO wrote in its latest report

This is ERO’s report of 20 February 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

St Bernard’s College is a state integrated Catholic school for boys in Year 7 to 13 in Lower Hutt, Wellington. The current roll is 660 of which New Zealand European/ Pākehā make up the largest proportion of all learners at 61%, 26% of students identify as Māori , 24% identify as Pacific and 16% identify as Asian.

The college provides an education underpinned by Gospel values which focus on the sanctity and the dignity of the individual person. The school vision is ‘ to be an inspiring Catholic Learning Community which nurtures the growth of its sons.’

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 September 2022 ERO report. It includes an explanation of the expected improvements and findings.

Expected improvements

The school expected to see a continuity of responsive practice leading to increased student engagement evident across observations and in wellbeing indicators for Years 9 and 10.

Findings

The school regularly and systematically gathers, analyses and reasons to wellbeing data. This results in leaders and teachers having an accurate picture of how the students are feeling about school life, inside and outside the classroom. Weekly engagement reports are emailed to whānau to provide information around progress in different learning areas.

Staff participate in extensive professional learning around culturally responsive practice and a school wide literacy approach. In addition, staff use the Professional Growth Tool as the basis of classroom observations. Leaders are visible in the school, visiting classes every day to observe practice.

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 increasingly equitable and are improving for most learners.

Overall student achievement information shows a small majority of students pass NCEA Level 1, most students achieve NCEA Level 2 and a large majority achieve Level 3, and a small majority of students achieve University Entrance. There is slight disparity for Māori and Pacific learners at Level 2 and for Māori at Level 3.

A large majority of learners achieve the literacy component of NCEA at Year 10, and a small majority achieve numeracy.

Students express a strong sense of inclusion and belonging to the school and a close connection to the school and special character values.

A small majority of students attend school regularly. Data shows it is improving towards the government target; chronic absence is reducing.

Conditions to support learner success

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

Leadership sets and pursues improvement goals with a strong focus on accelerating progress for learners at risk of underachievement.

Leaders share a clear vision and maintain a culture of high expectations that is committed to equity and excellence in student outcomes.

Leaders have built and sustain high levels of relational trust and actively grow middle leadership capability.

Leaders confidently collect and analyse a range of appropriate, quality evidence to plan, monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of strategies to improve learner outcomes.

Professional learning opportunities are strategically aligned with the school’s improvement goals, annual focus and learner needs.

Learners experience a broad, rich curriculum with a strong focus on building solid foundations in literacy and numeracy.

Learners needing additional support are identified and provided with relevant, effective support to learn and progress.

A clear focus on foundational skills in literacy and numeracy provides access to a wide choice of pathway options in the senior school; learner aspirations and pathways are well known and supported by teachers.

Teachers know their learners well and create respectful learning environments that effectively support students to develop skills and confidence in their learning.

Teachers benefit from well considered, targeted professional learning to build their knowledge and skills and their collective understanding about what works best for learners.

School evidence shows that targeted learning programmes and interventions are successfully raising the progress and achievement of students in literacy and numeracy.

A comprehensive range of school wide systems, processes and practices promote learners’ wellbeing, inclusion, confidence and engagement in learning.

Students report a positive, supportive and inclusive school culture and have confidence that teachers and leaders care about their wellbeing and learning.

The Board actively represents the community using reporting and data to guide decision making that strengthens leadership, resourcing and student outcomes, underpinned by the school values, special character and strategic direction.

The school has a well-established, strong, coordinated pastoral system with structures and processes for supporting student wellbeing, including regular gathering and analysis of data to support and enhance positive outcomes.

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

Strengthen the consistency of teaching practice aligned with school wide Professional Learning and Development to improve and sustain student wellbeing, progress and achievement.

Formalise internal evaluation processes to support ongoing improvement to guide strategic decisions.

Continue to prioritise raising regular attendance levels towards the government target of 90%.

Actions to bring about improvement

Within six months:

leaders implement the school attendance management plan

leaders clarify whole school expectations for explicit literacy and numeracy teaching in every subject

leaders document internal evaluation processes for the review of school initiatives

Every six months:

leaders evaluate attendance strategies, report progress to the board, review communication with the community and make changes if required

leaders and staff monitor classroom practice for consistent use of explicit teaching strategies and culturally responsive pedagogy and gather evidence of progress in junior literacy and numeracy

leaders review internal evaluation processes and report on findings

Annually:

review attendance trends and evaluate the effectiveness of the attendance plan

the school Board reports overall achievement, progress, behaviour, wellbeing and attendance information to the community

leaders and the school Board evaluate the impact of initiatives and interventions to inform strategic planning and future improvement.

Expected outcomes

Internal evaluation is consistently applied across the school and regular, formal reviews of initiatives provide clear evidence of impact on student learning.

Improved quality and consistency of teaching practices that are evidence-based, inclusive and responsive for increased learner engagement and achievement.

Increased regular attendance, achievement and progress for all students.

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

20 February 2026

Read this report on ero.govt.nz →