Tauraroa Area 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

Tauraroa Area School is located south of Whangārei and provides education for learners from Years 1 to 13. The school values are Manaakitanga (caring), Kotahitanga (togetherness) and Poutamatanga (striving to improve). Two new senior leaders have joined the leadership team since the 2023 ERO report.

Tauraroa Area School is a member of the Ngā Kura mo te ako o Whangārei Kāhui Ako group 4.

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 January 2023, the school and ERO have been working to evaluate how well assessment is used to support teaching and learning, ensuring equity and excellence for all learners.

Expected Improvements and Findings

The school expected to see:

Improvement in learning and teaching practices built on positive culturally responsive relationships.

• Leaders and teachers have established a system of regular professional meetings where they address and respond to the learning needs of learners who require additional support.
• Teachers have participated in professional learning and strengthened relational practices.
• Teachers’ knowledge and use of achievement data and learning progressions has improved, however this remains an area of focus.

Other Findings

During the course of the evaluation, it was found that regular meetings by teachers to focus on learner progress and achievement has led to improved outcomes.

The greatest shift that occurred in response to the school’s action is the embedding of systems to record and monitor the progress and achievement of learners who are at risk of not achieving.

Part B: Current State

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

Learner Success and Wellbeing

• The majority of learners in Years 1 to 10 achieve at or above curriculum expectations in reading, writing and mathematics; achievement information does not yet include analysis by gender or ethnicity, or progress and achievement over time.
• The majority of Years 11 to 13 learners achieve National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) Levels 1, 2 and 3; a small majority achieve University Entrance.
• Māori learners achieve at similar rates in NCEA Levels 1 and 2; the performance of females is stronger than males at NCEA Levels 2 and 3.
• Regular attendance has improved over the past two years, however less than half of learners attend school regularly; the school does not meet the Ministry of Education targets for regular attendance.

Conditions to support learner success

• The leadership team continues to work towards sustaining and embedding a strong professional culture, with a focus on raising teacher capability and the quality of teaching.
• Academic and vocational excellence are celebrated; leaders foster strong community relationships with work experience providers to promote meaningful career pathways for students.
• Leaders actively support the strengthening of systems for early identification and responses to learning needs.

• Teaching and learning programmes increasingly reflect local contexts and are beginning to offer more meaningful learning opportunities.
• Teachers use deliberate teaching strategies to support learning and use their knowledge of learners’ needs, strengths and interests to tailor support.
• Teachers use explicit level-appropriate approaches to provide opportunities for learners to experience challenge and success, and to engage in learning within an orderly environment.

• Student achievement information systems are in place to collect data; this is an area to further strengthen to provide a clearer picture of student achievement over time.
• Regular opportunities are well established for teachers to meet and discuss strategies to respond to and plan for the learning needs of students who are at risk of not achieving.
• The school provides a secure and inclusive environment for learners with additional learning needs.
• Tikanga and te reo Māori are beginning to be embedded in the life of the school.

Part C: Where to next?

The agreed next steps for the school are to:

• further develop schoolwide systems for the collection, analysis and use of data to measure progress and achievement over time
• continue to build consistent and coherent teacher practice that reflects school values and has a focus on progress, achievement and wellbeing
• further strengthen relational trust and effective collaboration at every level of the school to drive continuous improvement
• continue to engage with whānau/families and external agencies to increase regular attendance.

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

Within six months:

• collect, analyse and report on achievement data for all learners, including groups of learners
• develop a plan to guide teaching and learning programmes across the school to exemplify Tauraroa Area School values and changes to The New Zealand Curriculum
• explore and use findings from a school culture review to increasingly strengthen relational trust and effective collaboration
• review and promote effective attendance initiatives

Every six months:

• analyse progress and achievement data to further refine reporting practices to parents
• align professional development to support teachers to consistently embed teaching and learning priorities
• continue to measure the school culture to enhance collaboration and wellbeing
• monitor the effectiveness of attendance initiatives and make further adjustments

Annually:

• ensure progress and achievement data informs strategic and annual planning
• review and adapt professional development initiatives to ensure consistency and coherence in teaching and learning across the school to improve outcomes for all learners
• evaluate the effectiveness of the school’s response to the school culture review
• evaluate the effectiveness of attendance initiatives and incorporate findings in strategic planning.

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

• consistent use of data to support raised achievement
• increased consistency and coherence of teaching practices across the school
• high levels of relational trust, effective collaboration and a strongly embedded professional culture
• increased attendance to meet Ministry targets.

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

12 November 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