Russell School (Bay Of Islands)

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

Russell School (Bay Of Islands) is located in the town of Russell and provides education for students in Years 1 to 8. Since the previous ERO report, the board appointed a new principal. The school’s core values of manaakitanga (be kind), whakamana (use your manners) and mahi ngātahi (work hard) are underpinned by Positive Behaviour for Learning expectations and practices.

There are two parts to this report.

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

Part A: Current State

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

Learner Success and Wellbeing 

• Almost all learners achieve at or above expected curriculum levels in mathematics, and most in reading and writing.
• Learners have a strong sense of belonging and pride in their school that supports their wellbeing and engagement with learning.
• The majority of learners attend school regularly; the school is not yet meeting the Ministry of Education’s target for regular attendance.

Conditions to support learner success

• Leadership and the board use appropriate evidence, including student achievement information and community feedback, to set and implement relevant strategic goals.
• The principal continually engages in professional knowledge building with teachers that enhances consistency and teaching effectiveness.
• Well-established community partnerships provide students with an increasingly diverse range of learning experiences.

• Students’ learning environments have well-established routines; respectful relationships and clear expectations result in calm learning-focused classes.
• Teachers use relevant reading, writing and mathematics programmes with explicit teaching approaches that enhance positive learning outcomes.
• Teachers increasingly integrate tikanga Māori, te reo Māori and mātauranga Māori within localised learning contexts and in the wider life of the school.

• The board deliberately consult with iwi and the local community; information is analysed, reviewed and used well to inform decision making.
• All staff implement and use an appropriate range of intentional strategies that support students’ wellbeing.
• Staff have well-considered professional development opportunities that advance the progress of strategic goals.
• The board and principal’s active engagement with mana whenua is strengthening their knowledge and understanding of the local area and aspirations for learners.

Part B: Where to next?

The agreed next steps for the school are to:

• continue to prioritise strategies that increase the rate of regular attendance
• continue to strengthen effective teaching, learning and assessment practices through collaborative inquiry to build students’ active participation in their learning.

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

Within six months:

• undertake a community engagement process to develop and implement a collaborative plan to improve attendance
• provide targeted professional development opportunities for teaching staff around curriculum initiatives in literacy and mathematics to strengthen teaching, learning and assessment practices.

Every six months:

• monitor and review the rates of student attendance, progress and achievement to inform further planning and action
• involve teaching staff in a collaborative review of their professional practice inquiries to promote students’ active participation in their learning.

Annually:

• evaluate and report to the board on the impact initiatives have had on raising student attendance and achievement to inform next steps
• review schoolwide planning, assessment and evaluation practices to ensure these support sustainable and ongoing improvement.

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

• more students attending school regularly
• effective use of student learning information by teaching staff to sustain student progress and achievement
• increasingly confident learners that actively participate in the learning process and can explain what they are learning, why and their next steps.

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

27 September 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