Dargaville Primary School

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.

Context 

Dargaville Primary School is situated in the town of Dargaville and provides education for students in Years 1 to 6. The school has three core values of Atawhai (Kindness), Whakaute (Respect) and Manawaroa (Resilience).

There are three parts to this report.

Part A: A summary of the findings from the most recent Education Review Office (ERO) report and/or subsequent evaluation. 

Part B: An evaluative summary of learner success and school conditions to inform the school board’s future strategic direction, including any education in Rumaki/bilingual settings. 

Part C: The improvement actions prioritised for the school’s next evaluation cycle. 

Part A: Previous Improvement Goals 

Since the previous ERO report of August 2022, ERO and the school worked together to evaluate how well the school’s newly developed DPS Learner Profile promoted student engagement to impact positively on learner outcomes.

Expected Improvements and Findings 

The school expected to see:

Students demonstrating increased engagement in and ownership of their learning that results in improved outcomes for all learners.

• Most students are highly engaged in the learning process; senior students are increasingly developing ownership of their learning. 
• Achievement information shows that outcomes are improving for the large majority of learners.

Teaching and learning reflects students’ strengths and supports the development of their hauora.

• Teaching and learning programmes reflect students’ strengths, interests and needs well; a stronger focus on relationships, high expectations and promoting student ownership of their learning is evident.
• A range of initiatives have been implemented that sustain and enhance students’ wellbeing; students have the opportunity to lead these through Peer Mediators and Physical Activity Leaders.

Teachers consistently use effective teaching strategies and practices that ensure students experience success and are actively engaged in their learning.

• Teachers increasingly use effective teaching strategies that enable students to actively engage in their learning; schoolwide consistency of practice that supports students to know what they are learning, why and their next learning steps is strengthening. 

Other Findings 

During the course of the evaluation, it was found that learners have grown in confidence and are increasingly engaged in the learning process. The school continues to implement and refine the DPS Learner Profile to enable all learners to take more ownership of their learning.

The greatest shift that occurred in response to the school’s action is the development of the DPS Learner Profile that strongly reflects parent, whānau and community aspirations for their child. 

Part B: Current State 

The following findings are to inform the school’s future priorities for improvement.

Learner Success and Wellbeing 

• A large majority of learners achieve at and above expected curriculum levels in reading, writing and mathematics.
• The majority of Māori learners progress and achieve at and above curriculum expectations in reading, writing and mathematics. 
• Students are confident and express a strong sense of belonging in their school that supports their wellbeing and engagement with learning.
• A small majority of learners attend school regularly; the school is yet to meet the Ministry of Education’s target for regular attendance.

Conditions to support learner success

• Leadership regularly gathers relevant feedback and ideas from students, staff, parents and whānau and uses this information appropriately to inform decision making.
• Leadership roles are distributed across the teaching team, building teachers’ professional knowledge and strengthening teaching consistency and effectiveness.
• Leaders continually prioritise the improvement of student wellbeing and learning through strategic planning, supporting positive outcomes for learners.

• Students experience positive and inclusive learning environments where mutual respect between learners and teachers supports high engagement in learning activities.
• Teachers increasingly use a range of responsive evidence-based teaching strategies and assessment practices that support learners to take responsibility for their learning and wellbeing.
• Leaders and teachers are strengthening the integration of curriculum initiatives and programmes that draw on te reo Māori and te ao Māori.

• The board analyses, reviews and uses a wide range of information well to inform future strategic planning.
• Parents and whānau, as key partners in their child’s learning, actively participate in the life of the school; leadership continues to strengthen the school’s relationship with mana whenua to better reflect aspirations for learners.
• Well-considered staff professional development is targeted, planned and purposefully implemented for ongoing improvement of teaching and learning.
• A strong schoolwide culture of collaboration supports leadership and teachers to reflect on their practice, evaluate their impact on learner outcomes and respond through action.

Part C: Where to next?

The agreed next steps for the school are to: 

• continue to review initiatives to increase the regular attendance of all students
• consolidate curriculum initiatives, including the implementation of the DPS Learner Profile, to continue to raise student achievement and strengthen students’ active engagement in their learning
• embed a shared understanding of evaluation for improvement among staff to ensure schoolwide consistency of high quality teaching and learning.

The agreed actions for the next improvement cycle and timeframes are as follows.

Every six months:

• review the impact of initiatives to improve students’ regular attendance and identify further action
• continue to provide professional learning opportunities that strengthen teachers’ understanding and use of highly effective teaching, learning, assessment and evaluation practices
• review the progress made with consolidating the curriculum initiatives to inform future planning and action

Annually:

• review and report to the board on student attendance, progress and achievement information to support ongoing strategic decision making for improvement 
• evaluate the impact of teaching, learning and assessment practices on students’ engagement, progress and achievement and use this to inform next steps.

Actions taken against these next steps are expected to result in:

• more students attending school regularly
• continued progress in student achievement for reading, writing and mathematics
• sustained use of student learning information by teaching staff that ensures consistent high quality teaching and learning practices
• confident learners that actively participate in the learning process and take ownership of their learning.

ERO’s role will be to support the school in its evaluation for improvement cycle to improve outcomes for all learners. The next public report on ERO’s website will be a School Evaluation Report and is due within three 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

Shelley Booysen
Director of Schools

3 December 2024

About the School

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