Puni 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 

Puni School is located near Pukekohe, bringing together a mix of rural and urban families across a range of ethnicities. The school provides education for students in Years 1 to 6. The school’s values are aligned to their Positive Behaviour for Learning (PB4L) approach. International students are hosted. 

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 prioritized for the school’s next evaluation cycle. 

Part A: Previous Improvement Goals 

Since the previous report of July 2022, the school and ERO worked together to evaluate how effectively student outcomes improve through the strengthening of teacher knowledge and capability in evaluation. 

Expected Improvements and Findings 

The school expected to see: 

Improved learner outcomes and rates of progress (with a focus on mathematics). 

• Significant positive shifts have been made in student outcomes in mathematics. 
• Achievement data shows strong evidence of accelerated progress for students who needed this most. 

Increased capability in evaluation to inform practice that drives continuous improvement. 

• Meaningful professional learning has strengthened collective capability to use evaluation effectively to inform next steps for teaching and learning. 
• Leaders and teachers are increasingly able to evaluate the effectiveness of the range of tailored approaches used to increase student achievement. 

Other Findings 

The greatest shift that occurred in response to the school’s action, is the increase in mathematics achievement and strengthened collective evaluation capability to improve outcomes for all students. 

Part B: Current State 

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

Learner Success and Wellbeing 

Achievement outcomes for learners show continuous improvement over time and are increasingly equitable. 

• Most learners achieve at or above curriculum expectations in reading, writing and mathematics, with increasingly equitable outcomes for Māori learners. 
• Students with additional learning needs are well supported and progress in relation to their individual goals. 
• Learners demonstrate school values through genuine care for each other that increases their wellbeing, engagement and success. 
• Attendance data shows improvement over time; most students attend school regularly in relation to the Ministry of Education’s targets. 

Conditions to support learner success 

Strategic, collaborative leadership prioritises school improvement, using evidence-based knowledge to enhance learner success.  

• Leaders model and encourage consistent approaches in teaching, assessment and evaluation that promote seamless learning for all students. 
• Well-considered professional development is targeted, planned and implemented to areas of focus for improving learning outcomes. 
• The board works alongside leaders to ensure planning is strategic and focused on learner success.

Teachers and leaders increasingly refine, adapt and use consistent teaching practices to raise student outcomes. 

• Students’ learning needs, interests and cultural identities are well responded to through the implementation of increasingly effective systems and processes. 
• Teachers have comprehensive systems to effectively track and monitor progress, ensuring planning and teaching are responsive to the different needs of learners. 
• Learners experience an engaging curriculum that reflects the local context and aspirations of the wider community. 

The school has well established conditions that promote successful school improvement. 

• Students benefit from positive relationships within the school that enhance calm, learning-centred classroom environments. 
• A collaborative team culture enables all staff to work together and liaise with external agencies to improve outcomes for learners. 
• Consultation and planning with students, staff, whanāu and the Māori community enriches the curriculum with te reo Māori, tikanga Māori, mātauranga Māori and te ao Māori. 
• Leaders and teachers work alongside whānau as respected and valued partners in learning to progress school priorities for learner success. 

Part C: Where to next?  

The agreed next steps for the school are to:  

• embed and monitor targeted approaches to raising achievement in reading and writing, in line with positive mathematics progress 
• continue to strengthen teachers’ ability to manage change that benefits their practice and student outcomes 
• further develop teachers’ evaluation capability and practice to guide continuous improvement. 

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

Within three months: 

• develop and implement a tailored, purposeful evaluation cycle to support continuous improvement. 

Every six months: 

• monitor and evaluate progress towards raising achievement outcomes in reading and writing 
• plan and implement professional learning opportunities to extend teachers’ growth mindsets to effectively manage beneficial change in education 
• review the impact of strengthening evaluation capability at leadership, syndicate and teacher levels for increasing student success. 

Annually: 

• evaluate and analyse the effectiveness of the literacy focus, comparing these outcomes with achievement data in mathematics 
• review the impact of the implemented evaluation cycle to monitor effectiveness of targeted actions to improve outcomes for all learners 
• provide evidence-based reporting to the board in relation to schoolwide consistency of practice and responses to change management, and the impact of these on teaching and learner outcomes. 

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

• increased student outcomes in literacy that are comparable with mathematics achievement data 
• the implementation of a tailored, schoolwide evaluation framework that sharpens decision-making for the benefit of all students and groups of learners. 

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 

​​31 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