St Joseph's School
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St Joseph's School provides an education with a special character, which we reflect through the general school programme, and our teaching and conduct. Our 
proprietor is responsible for supervising the maintenance and preservation of our Catholic special character, and has the right to determine what is necessary to preserve and safeguard it (Education and Training Act 2020, Schedule 6, clause 1).
Our strategic planning reflects the Catholic special character of St Joseph's School. We consult with the school community, including our proprietor, to determine our special character aims and our strategies to fulfil them.
Our integration agreement sets out conditions that support the safeguarding of our Catholic special character, including conditions for employment, enrolment, and property. It is a condition of enrolment at St Joseph's School that students are expected to participate in the general school programme that gives the school its special character.
See Proprietor and Integration Agreement.
The Catholic special character of St Joseph's School is defined in our integration agreement as:
"The school is a Roman Catholic school in which the whole school community, through the general school programme and its religious instructions and observances, exercises the right to live and teach the values of Jesus Christ. These values are as expressed in the Scriptures and in the practices, worship and doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church, as determined from time to time by the Roman Catholic Bishop of the diocese."
We ensure school operations support the goals of Catholic education, as provided by the New Zealand Catholic Bishops, which are to:
Board responsibility
The board of St Joseph's School has a responsibility to uphold the Catholic special character of our school, and to ensure that the vision and strategic direction of the school reflects our Catholic special character. The board works in consultation with the proprietor to ensure our special character is maintained and preserved, and provides the proprietor with an annual compliance attestation to describe how the school is complying with its special character obligations.
Proprietor's appointees on the board consult with the proprietor or their agent on a regular basis. Appointees provide reports to the proprietor at least annually about the state of Catholic special character at the school, and all matters related to it.
Special character evaluation
St Joseph's School participates in regular internal and external evaluations of our Catholic special character. The purpose of evaluation is to determine what is being done to safeguard and strengthen our Catholic special character, to evaluate the impact of these actions, and to assure the proprietor and our school community that the school provides an authentic Catholic education. Our strategic planning is informed by our internal and external evaluation findings, with the aim of continuing to strengthen our Catholic special character.
Our evaluation process aligns with the four dimensions of Catholic Special Character Evaluation for Development:
See Catholic special character evaluation for development 
(NZCEO).
Internal evaluation
We follow an internal self-review cycle of our Catholic special character. We undertake this internal evaluation to determine what is being done to safeguard and strengthen our Catholic special character. We aim to be culturally responsive in our evaluation by recognising Te Tiriti o Waitangi, engaging with mana whenua and local Katorika Māori, and considering te ao Māori and mātauranga Māori as part of the evaluation process.
The board regularly reviews how well it is meeting its Catholic special character obligations, and reports on this through the annual compliance attestation to the proprietor. Proprietor's appointees on the board also provide an annual report on special character matters to the proprietor.
External evaluation
St Joseph's School participates in an external evaluation of our Catholic special character every 3 to 4 years. External evaluation by Diocesan evaluators provides information about on how the school is upholding its special character, the impact of Catholic schooling, and the effectiveness of its goals on the lives of all tamariki and rangatahi, as well as how the school is meeting legislative and regulatory requirements.
The Education Review Office (ERO) also monitors the special character of state-integrated schools as part of its regular review process. St Joseph's School provides evidence to ERO about the maintenance of our Catholic special character.
(links to helpful resources, including Code of Ethics for Catholic Schools)Release history: Term 3 2024, Term 3 2022
