Sonrise Christian 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

Sonrise Christian School is a state integrated, special character school for Years 1 to 13 situated in Gisborne. A new principal was appointed in 2021. The school’s values of love (aroha), integrity (pono), faithfulness (tūturu) and excellence(hiranga) underpin the vision of a Christ-centred education. The school has offered a small number of students National Certificate in Educational Achievement (NCEA) Level 1 since 2021, Level 2 since 2022 and Level 3 since 2023.

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

Learner Success and Wellbeing

The majority of learners are achieving at expected curriculum levels.

• Achievement information shows that the majority of learners achieve well and at the appropriate curriculum level in mathematics, reading and writing; outcomes for learners in Years 1 to 10 show inequity in achievement for Māori students, and for boys.
• The few students who stay and undertake national qualifications achieve these; broadening pathways for progressing through the senior school and beyond is a next step.
• Students with additional learning needs are well supported within an inclusive learning environment and they make good progress.
• The school is meeting the current Ministry of Education targets for regular attendance; absence is well monitored and areas of concern identified and students and their whānau are supported by staff to engage.

Conditions to support learner success

Leadership sets and pursues a select number of relevant goals aligned with school priorities that reflect the community’s aspirations for its children.

• Leadership has well established partnerships with whānau, hāpu and iwi; collaboration informs the school’s strategic direction.
• Leadership is strengthening policies, programmes and practices to promote learners’ wellbeing and engagement in learning, through confidence in their identity, language and culture.
• Leadership is beginning to use quality evidence to plan and monitor improvement strategies; a planned next step is to further evaluate the impact of these strategies on learner progress and achievement outcomes.

The school’s curriculum and teaching practices are increasingly responsive to students’ learning needs, interests, and cultural identities. 

• The local curriculum increasingly reflects the school’s bi-cultural journey; building teacher capacity through continued growth in te reo Māori, tikanga Māori and mātauranga Māori is an appropriate planned next step.
• Learners are well supported in developing sound foundation skills in reading, writing and mathematics; teachers continue to strengthen practice for equitable student outcomes.
• Appropriate assessment information is used to plan and adapt teaching practice and report the progress and achievement of each learner; strengthening assessment for learning and more closely monitoring progress over time is a next step to support improved outcomes for all learners.

The school is strengthening and aligning systems, structures and practices to support positive outcomes for all learners over time. 

• Students benefit from positive teaching and learning relationships that support a strong sense of belonging within the special character of the school; their wellbeing is well supported.
• Teacher capacity and capability building is supported through ongoing professional development aligned with the school’s goals.
• Teachers are strengthening reflective inquiry into the effectiveness of their teaching practices; continuing to build a collaborative approach aligned to school improvement goals is a next step.
• Stewardship is representative of the school community and board members work collaboratively with school leaders to realise the vision and improvement goals for learners.

Part B: Where to next?

The agreed next steps for the school are to:

• further strengthen the use of relevant assessment information to inform responses to learner needs, plan for targeted interventions, adapt teaching practices and measure the impact of these practices on learner outcomes
• further develop capability and capacity of all staff to integrate te ao Māori, tikanga Māori, and mātauranga Māori in the school’s local curriculum and to support Māori learners achieve success as Māori
• review and strengthen systems, supports and pathways within the senior school to improve engagement and retention.

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

Within six months:

• identify target groups of students at risk of not achieving, and plan specific interventions to support their progress; staff monitor and evaluate the progress of these learners
• uses data to review targets and improvement actions and have measures to gauge the progress of learners at risk of not achieving
• ensure that teaching as inquiry, within the professional growth cycle, is aligned to the school’s strategic planning and prioritises teaching and learning strategies that make a positive difference to learner outcomes
• prioritise consultation and exploration of ways the curriculum can be broadened to meet the needs of senior students and their career pathways

Every six months:

• track, monitor, analyse and report attendance, progress and achievement data particularly for Māori and boys, with a focus on reducing the levels of disparity for these groups
• review assessment practices and moderation for appropriateness and identify the impact of teacher practices on outcomes
• continue to build on teachers’ capacity and capability to integrate te ao Māori, tikanga Māori, and mātauranga Māori and identify agreed ways to measure progress

Annually:

• set annual targets using good quality baseline data to address the needs of those at risk of not achieving
• report to the board annually and over time about the progress and achievement of all students, with attention to Māori students and boys, including the levels of parity for these groups
• evaluate how effectively teachers respond to the needs of students, particularly those students whose progress needs accelerating, including a range of teacher, student, whānau voice
• measure progress in teacher capacity to integrate te ao Māori, tikanga Māori, and mātauranga Māori within the local curriculum.

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

• improved outcomes for all students, in particular Māori students and boys in literacy and mathematics
• consistent and effective teaching, learning and assessment practices result in improved parity of outcomes for groups of learners
• integration of te ao Māori, tikanga Māori, and mātauranga Māori through all aspects of the local curriculum to better respond learners’ strengths, identity and culture
• data and evidence-based evaluation practices that inform school and classroom decision making.

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                        

25 July 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