Papatoetoe East 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 

Papatoetoe East School is in South Auckland and provides education for students in Years 1 to 6. The school hosts two Resource Teachers of Literacy. The vision of Our Place is underpinned by the three core values of participation, effort and success.

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 October 2022, ERO and the school worked together to evaluate how well the achievement of students who are English Language Learners was accelerated through effective literacy practice.

Expected Improvements and Findings

The school expected to see:

Teachers use effective strategies in their practice that promote equitable and excellent outcomes for all learners.

• Most English Language Learners progress well in literacy; accelerated progress is increasingly evident across this group of learners.
• Teachers are strengthening their use of deliberate strategies in oral language, reading and writing that improves the progress and achievement of English Language Learners.

Parents are well informed and involved in how they can support their child’s learning in literacy.

• A recent survey shows that most parents now know their child’s current level of learning in reading and writing and how they can support them with their learning at home.

Other Findings

During the course of the evaluation, it was found that targeted professional learning and development in literacy for all staff, implemented and sustained over a period of time, had a significant positive impact on teaching and learning in the classroom.

The greatest shift that occurred in response to the school’s action has been increased student engagement and confidence in their learning, particularly within oral language and writing.

Part B: Current State

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

Learner Success and Wellbeing 

The school is working towards equitable and excellent outcomes for learners.

• The majority of learners achieve at or above the expected curriculum levels in reading, writing and mathematics.
• The school has yet to raise the achievement of Māori learners to that of their school peers in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Students express a strong sense of pride in their school and are confident in their languages, cultures and identities.
• Less than half of learners attend school regularly and the school is yet to meet the Ministry of Education’s target; students’ regular attendance has improved significantly when compared with 2023 information.

Conditions to support learner success

A cohesive senior leadership team works strategically and collaboratively to improve outcomes for learners.

• Leadership sets and implements relevant strategic initiatives that promote continuous improvement and increasingly benefit all learners.
• Leaders foster a culture of professional growth that supports teaching practices and responds to learners’ needs and challenges.
• Leadership collaborates well with the board, staff, students and the community to strengthen the visibility of the school’s vision and values in all aspects of school life.

Students experience engaging learning opportunities within a positive and inclusive environment.

• Students’ learning environments have well-established routines; respectful relationships and clear expectations result in calm learning-focused classes. 
• Students participate in a wide range of experiences that support their engagement and learning.
• Teachers increasingly implement meaningful curriculum programmes that build on learners’ experiences, knowledge and understanding; the school continues to strengthen and refine the local curriculum to ensure that it reflects the community context.

Key conditions that underpin successful education are continuing to strengthen.

• Staff have well-considered professional development opportunities that support the school’s strategic initiatives for learner progress and wellbeing outcomes.
• The board, leaders and teachers continue to strengthen their analysis and use of relevant engagement and assessment information to inform decision making and actions that improve outcomes for learners.
• Staff relationships with parents, whānau and the community are increasingly collaborative and supportive of learner success; the strong connection to Manurewa Marae extends rich schoolwide learning experiences.

Part C: Where to next?

The agreed next steps for the school are to: 

• increase the regular attendance of all students through extending the range of responsive engagement strategies
• continue to strengthen effective teaching, learning and assessment practices through collaborative inquiry to ensure teacher consistency and improved student progress and achievement 
• continue to refine and embed the local curriculum to enhance learner engagement and 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 review the school’s current attendance actions and implement a collaborative plan to increase regular attendance

Every six months:

• review the impact of the collaborative plan to improve students’ regular attendance and support further action
• continue to evaluate and provide professional learning opportunities that strengthen teachers’ understanding and use of highly effective teaching, learning and assessment practices
• review the progress made with refining the school’s local curriculum to support future planning and action

Annually:

• evaluate the impact of teaching, learning and assessment practices on students’ engagement, progress and achievement and use this to inform next steps 
• review and report to the board on student attendance, progress and achievement information to support ongoing decision making for improvement.

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

• improved progress and achievement 
• increased regular student attendance
• a local curriculum that engages all learners
• confident learners that actively participate in the learning process and can explain what they are learning, why and their next learning 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

6 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