Wanaka 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 

Wanaka Primary School is a contributing school located in the township of Wānaka. They provide education for learners in Years 1 to 6. Their mission is to ‘empower a community of learners/kia whakamana ai i to hāpori ākonga’.

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 in August 2022, ERO and the school have worked together to evaluate how well the staff are empowering their community of learners to engage successfully in a changing, global world.

Expected Improvements and Findings 

The school expected to see: 

Investigated and scrutinised practice, analysed data and monitored implementation of improvement actions.

• Leaders and teachers have reframed assessment for consistent alignment with the school’s approach to teaching and learning.
• Leaders and teachers use appropriate tools and methods to gather, store and retrieve a range of valid and fit-for-purpose data that can be used to inform next steps for teaching and learning.

The impact of leaders’ and teachers’ actions on enhancing students’ learning, progress, and achievement evaluated.

• Evaluation of the impact of professional learning and development (PLD) in mathematics, reading and writing has shown that assessment is more embedded in the learning process.
• The school’s strategic direction clearly links professional learning, teacher capability, local curriculum design and student outcomes to the strategic goal of a ‘futures approach to learning that maximises students’ engagement and achievement’.

Identification of teachers capability and capacity to make further improvements.

• Teachers are increasingly using assessment and progressions to plan for, document and monitor students' progress in all areas of the curriculum.
• In mathematics, teachers are using their knowledge of students and about how mathematical concepts connect and build on each other, to line up learning experiences and formative practices in a deliberate way.

Other Findings

The greatest shift that occurred in response to the school’s actions was the strengthening of effective learning environments, that have provided conditions where students are developing the confidence to build on their learning agency, take initiative and contribute in a meaningful way.

Part B: Current State

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

Learner Success and Wellbeing 

Learner outcomes are positive and sustained over time.

• Most learners achieve at or above their expected curriculum levels in reading, writing and mathematics; the school is taking active steps to address disparity evident for some Māori in writing and mathematics.
• Target groups of learners at risk of underachieving make significant progress in reading and writing through explicit teaching using a responsive literacy programme.
• The school is meeting the 2024 Ministry of Education target for regular attendance at school, the large majority of students attend school regularly.

Conditions to support learner success

School leadership fosters a collaborative teaching culture that continually works towards high quality teaching and learning outcomes.

• Leadership at multiple levels provides clear guidance and expectations for improved outcomes for all learners.
• Leaders’ evidence-driven decision-making aligns relevant goals and targets that achieve their shared vision for learner success.
• Leaders ensure alignment between the needs of learners, teacher professional learning goals and the provision and delivery of professional learning and development.

Learners have rich opportunities to engage in learning through consistently high-quality teaching.

• The use of current, evidence-based practice informs effective learning opportunities; as a result students have high levels of engagement.
• Learners are very well supported to develop the foundational skills required for self-led learning.
• Teachers provide learners who require additional support with specific teaching programmes that meet their individual needs to improve learner outcomes, including English language learners.

Established partnerships effectively foster positive outcomes for all learners.

• Purposeful learning conversations between parents and teachers encourage individual students to discuss their learning progress and establish next learning goals.
• The school effectively collaborates with its community; it includes the ideas and perspectives of students, parents and teachers in its thinking about improvements needed and in the decisions it makes.
• Board members govern effectively for their community, ensuring resourcing decisions benefit outcomes for learners. 
• High quality teaching and learning, including New Pedagogies for Deep Learning approaches and behaviour and resilience programmes, have strengthened student well-being, engagement and achievement.

Part C: Where to next?

The agreed next steps for the school are to: 

• further modify assessment so it aligns more effectively with the school’s approach to teaching and learning 
• extend learning partnerships with parents and the community to deepen connections that inform the local and global curriculum
• ensure that the focus of internal evaluation continues to align with the school’s strategic direction
• sustain levels of regular attendance.

Every six months:

• leaders and teachers analyse and monitor achievement data to ensure programmes continue to strengthen equitable and excellent outcomes for all learners
• leaders and teachers evaluate the effectiveness of targeted interventions for accelerated learning in literacy, mathematics and English language learning
• continue to embed teaching and learning practices that improve achievement outcomes for learners by building on their strengths, needs and interests.

Annually:

• use learner progress, achievement, and engagement data along with the perspectives of whānau and learners to evaluate the effectiveness of teacher practice to inform further improvement steps
• continue to review and revise strategic planning to reflect any changes to identified priorities for learning
• gather feedback to evaluate the impact of strategies used to strengthen engagement and learning partnerships with parents and whānau.

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

• sustained high levels of attendance, achievement, progress and engagement
• regular communication and engagement with the community to ensure the curriculum continues to reflect their aspirations for learners
• ongoing development of teachers’ content knowledge, ensuring consistency across the school.

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

4 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