Owairaka District 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

Owairaka District School in Mt Albert, Auckland provides education for children in Years 1 to 6. A new deputy principal started at the beginning of 2024. The school expectations are to ‘be kind, be safe’ and these guide the children in their daily interactions. The school is preparing to move into a new 16 space collaborative learning block by the end of this year.

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 December 2022, ERO and the school worked together to evaluate how effectively the school provides equitable outcomes for all learners; and how effectively teachers’ collaborative practice impacts on all learners. 

Expected Improvements and Findings 

The school expected to see:

Tamariki who are happy, engaged and achieving their potential.

• The majority of learners achieve at and above the expected curriculum levels in reading, writing and mathematics.
• School values are visible and well lived by tamariki and staff across all school settings
• Learning programmes focus on promoting the different cultures within the school and broadening tamariki and adults’ understanding of each other’s unique identity.

All tamariki understanding what they are learning, how they are achieving and what they need to learn next.

• Teachers are strengthening teaching practices to ensure clarity of learning is evident in reading, writing and mathematics and other learning areas.
• Team leaders collect information from learners about their learning during classroom observations to help identify where to next. 
• Systems are being continually developed that support learners to successfully talk about their learning.

The schoolwide expectations in collaborative practice evident, and teachers working in partnership.

• Leaders and teachers have a cohesive approach to teaching and learning in collaborative learning spaces.
• Teaching teams are beginning to be more explicit in their collaborative inquiries to accelerate progress for learners, looking for ‘quick wins’ in a short period of time to accelerate learning. 

Other Findings 

During the course of the evaluation, it was found that providing more opportunities for parents, whānau and the school community to engage, improved student attendance. This engagement also had a positive impact on student progress and achievement.

The greatest shift that occurred in response to the school’s action is participation in professional learning that has improved teachers’ ability to more effectively use and respond to individual student assessment information. This shift is leading to improving the progress and achievement outcomes for all learners.

Part B: Current State 

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

Learner Success and Wellbeing 

Outcomes for learners show continuous improvement over time. 

• The majority of learners achieve at or above the expected curriculum levels in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Māori and Pacific learners make progress and achieve; leaders and teachers recognise there is disparity and respond to this as a priority.
• The majority of students attend school regularly, the school is yet to meet the Ministry of Education’s target; attendance information shows a small upward trend of improvement.

Conditions to support learner success

School leadership works collaboratively and strategically to improve outcomes for all learners.

• Leaders model and ensure a focus of continuously improving teaching practice to support all learners.
• Teachers engage regularly in professional learning that aligns to the school’s strategic priorities and the needs of learners.
• Strong relational trust among leaders and teachers ensures robust professional conversations is focused on best outcomes for learners.

The school's curriculum and teaching practices are increasingly responsive to student learning needs and cultures.

• Well-established learning environments are consistently characterised by respect, inclusion and collaboration.
• Professional development enhances teachers’ understanding of how to identify, plan and provide for learners’ next learning steps. 
• Curriculum initiatives and programmes include the many cultures from within the school community, to support learners’ sense of belonging. 

Key conditions, including board governance and community engagement, that underpin a culture of continuous improvement are well embedded.

• The board actively represents and serves the school in its stewardship role and is committed to providing equitable outcomes for all learners.
• Teachers and leaders regularly analyse and use learner attendance, wellbeing and achievement information to promote learner success. 
• Leaders and teachers work towards providing effective teaching and learning in the new collaborative learning environment.

Part C: Where to next? 

The agreed next steps for the school are to: 

• increase equitable outcomes for Māori and Pacific learners and improved attendance rates for all learners
• embed teachers’ understanding of the significance of providing learners with their next learning steps so they know what to do to make progress 
• continue to strengthen and evaluate collaborative teaching and learning practices across the school to ensure that all staff are well placed for the move to the new learning space
• ensure that the new curriculum requirements are integrated within the school’s local curriculum.

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

Within six months:

• review student progress in reading, identifying students whose progress requires acceleration and plan and implement appropriate strategies to show progress over time
• design a draft action plan for establishing a schoolwide framework for teaching and learning in the collaborative learning environment
• review the content of the revised English learning area of The New Zealand Curriculum and develop an implementation plan
• all staff continue to increase their capacity and confidence in using te reo Māori.

Every six months:

• report to the board on the progress and achievement of target students in reading and of Māori and Pacific learners.

Annually:

• report to the board on attendance, progress and achievement in reading, writing and mathematics for all learners
• leaders and teachers review and report to the board the school’s preparedness to provide effective teaching and learning opportunities in a collaborative learning environment
• report to the board on the implementation and impact of the new curriculum on improved outcomes for all learners
• review and evaluate the Māori and Pacific engagement and achievement annual plan and respond accordingly.

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

• all children and teachers to work and learn in a collaborative learning environment
• continued improvement in progress and achievement particularly for Māori and Pacific learners; and continued improvement in attendance rates for all learners
• systematic evaluation practices effectively use evidence to inform next steps for learning and strategic planning. 

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

9 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