Royal Oak 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

Royal Oak School is in central Auckland and provides education for students in Years 1 to 6. The school’s vision of Manaaki |Care, Whakaute |Respect and Whakamana |Empower underpins the mission statement of creating a broad range of opportunities for curious, critical thinkers who continue to learn and make a difference in their world.

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 November 2022, ERO and the school have worked together to evaluate how effectively the development of a localised curriculum responded to learners’ language, culture and identity and aligned with the dispositions (how students engage in and relate to the learning process) of the graduate profile.

Expected Improvements and Findings

The school expected to see:

Learners engaging with the localised curriculum developing the knowledge, skills, and dispositions needed to successfully progress through the graduate profile.

• Almost all learners actively engaged with the localised curriculum, providing an authentic context for teaching and learning.
• Learners’ sense of belonging was enhanced through using the Mana Model that focused on the school values and learner dispositions, promoting positive relationships and interactions across the school.
• The newly-developed localised curriculum values learners’ identity, language and culture through using deliberate teaching strategies; these were evident in the delivery of the Tūrangawaewae Inquiry and during the school’s centennial celebrations.
• By the end of Year 6 most students who attended school continuously were successful in meeting the expectations of the graduate profile.

Other Findings

During the course of the evaluation, it was found that there was improved schoolwide collaboration, as well as increased student and whānau engagement. Through building and enhancing connections with whānau, the school has experienced a stronger sense of relational trust within their community.

The greatest shift that occurred in response to the school’s action was by the end of Year 6, learners were equipped with the skills and dispositions to successfully transition to intermediate. This was particularly evident for those students who had spent their entire primary school years at Royal Oak School.

Part B: Current State

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

Learner Success and Wellbeing

• Achievement information over time (three years) shows that the majority of learners achieve curriculum expectations in reading, writing and mathematics.
• The school has yet to have Māori and Pacific learners achieve as well as others, with slightly lower in reading and mathematics than their peers and the largest achievement gap in writing.
• Learners with additional needs are engaged and make good progress in their learning. 
• The school has yet to meet the Ministry of Education’s target for regular attendance, with a small majority of students attending regularly.

Conditions to support learner success

• Leadership sets and pursues specific and relevant improvement goals that focus on the progress of learners at risk of underachievement.
• Leaders and teachers share high equitable aspirations for the achievement and wellbeing of all learners that enables positive student engagement.
• Leaders use evaluative evidence well to monitor the progress and impact of improvement goals, with teachers incorporating this information in their planning to continuously raise learner outcomes.

• Teachers collaborate effectively to provide meaningful and authentic learning experiences that respond to students’ interests, strengths and needs.
• Through the localised curriculum learners clearly see their identity; their language and culture reflected within the school, creating a place where learners are confident and connected to their local environment.
• Learners with additional needs are identified and provided with consistent support that improves their progress and positive outcomes.

• Parents and whānau are respected learning partners; they have relevant opportunities that encourage their active involvement in school life, supporting their child’s engagement and learning.
• Learners participate in a range of contexts across the school, including the arts, science and technology, that enable them to explore their interests and experience success.
• Well-considered staff professional development is targeted, planned and implemented for improving and sustaining learner outcomes.

Part C: Where to next?

The agreed next steps for the school are to:

• monitor and review initiatives to improve students’ regular attendance
• continue to strengthen teachers’ collective knowledge and capability to effectively deliver structured literacy and the new mathematics curriculum
• develop consistent schoolwide assessment practices to achieve high quality teaching and learning outcomes, especially for Māori and Pacific learners and those in need of acceleration
• continue to provide learners with strategies to grow and sustain their sense of wellbeing.

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

Within six months:

• implement professional learning related to the new mathematics curriculum
• provide ongoing professional development opportunities in structured literacy that supports schoolwide assessment practices
• continue to implement the schoolwide wellbeing approach in class programmes

Every six months:

• review delivery of structured literacy and the mathematics curriculum, making refinements where necessary
• continue to develop a standardised approach to assessment and teaching practices in reading, writing and mathematics
• continue to monitor rates of student attendance to know the impact of initiatives and inform further school actions

Annually:

• evaluate the delivery of reading, writing and mathematics, ensuring consistent assessment practices across the school to achieve high quality teaching and learning outcomes
• review and report to the board on student attendance, progress and achievement, with a focus on Māori and Pacific learners and those requiring acceleration, to inform future planning
• evaluate the impact of the schoolwide wellbeing approach to support next steps.

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

• more students attending regularly and improved achievement outcomes for all learners in reading, writing and mathematics
• consistent assessment practices and the successful delivery of structured literacy and the mathematics curriculum
• confident and resilient learners who are able to manage their wellbeing and behaviour.

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 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