Sutton Park 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 

Sutton Park School is located in Māngere, south Auckland and provides education for students in Years 1 to 8. Since the previous ERO review a new principal and deputy principal have been appointed. Sutton Park School’s vision is to ‘Cast the net wide, set it deep to nourish learners for life’, its values are perseverance, respect, identity, diversity and excellence.

The school has established bilingual education provision with Whaia te Mātauranga, a Reo Rumaki Whanau, Masina Va’aia, a Samoan Bilingual Unit, and Sia Ua, a Tongan Bilingual Unit.

There are two parts to this report.

Part A: 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 B: The improvement actions prioritised for the school’s next evaluation cycle.

Part A: Current State 

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

Learner Success and Wellbeing 

• A large majority of students, including Pacific students in the bilingual units, are meeting curriculum expectations in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Less than half of Māori students are achieving at curriculum expectations in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Learners with additional needs are supported to achieve and most make expected progress in their learning.
• A small majority of students attend school regularly; attendance is an ongoing focus and the school is progressing towards meeting the Ministry of Education targets.

Conditions to support learner success

• Leaders increasingly foster a school culture that promotes quality teaching and equitable and excellent outcomes for all learners.
• School leaders build educationally focused relationships with education providers and community groups to provide opportunities for students’ learning and success.
• Leadership is strengthening relational trust, cultural connections and effective collaboration in the school community to achieve the school’s strategic vision.

• The curriculum increasingly reflects relevant contexts that build on learners’ experiences, knowledge and understanding and challenges their thinking.
• Teachers are strengthening their use of effective teaching strategies that engage students with purposeful, responsive and relevant learning.
• Learners with additional needs are identified and provided with relevant and increasingly effective support to progress their learning.

• Leaders and teachers place a high value on the diverse cultural backgrounds of their learners as indicated by the school’s programmes, initiatives and practices that promote engagement.
• Parents and whānau are respected and valued partners in their contribution to their child’s learning.
• The board represents, serves and works with the school community including mana whenua to develop the school’s vision, values, strategic direction, improvement priorities and goals related to students’ learning and wellbeing.
• Teachers demonstrate a growing commitment to te Tiriti o Waitangi by understanding and valuing the unique status of tangata whenua in school kawa and the curriculum.

Rumaki/Bilingual Outcomes and Condition to Support Learner Success

Tamariki success and wellbeing

• Tamariki achievement is supported by tracking and monitoring progression towards schoolwide targets.
• Tamariki are developing confidence to engage in learning opportunities.
• Tamariki are developing strong tuakana, teina relationships.

Conditions to support tamariki success

• Consistent assessment practices and achievement information support tamariki progress.
• Te Marautanga o Aotearoa guides the learning that takes place in Whāia te Mātauranga.
• Routines and classroom management contribute to a calm learning environment for all tamariki.

Part B: Where to next?

The agreed next steps for the school are to:

• build on teachers’ capability in the use of effective teaching strategies in reading and writing to improve students’ achievement outcomes, access to the curriculum and confidence as learners.
• implement national standardised bilingual assessment processes in gagana Samoa and Lea Faka-Tonga to sustain and improve students’ fluency and expression in their respective heritage languages
• continue to enhance a te ao Māori focus in the curriculum to further develop students’ bicultural understanding
• identify strategic priorities for the growth and development of Whāia te Mātauranga.

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

Within three months:

• document shared approaches to guide the implementation of effective teaching of reading and writing to support consistency of capability and delivery
• separate achievement data for all Māori students in reading, writing and mathematics to inform decision making for a key priority group
• develop an action plan for improvement to strengthen the capacity and capability within Whāia Te Mātauranga.

Every six months:

• implement the use of effective teaching strategies in reading and writing for all students
• reflect on and review the implementation of effective teaching practices 
• continue to monitor and improve students’ regular attendance levels
• incorporate the action plan for Whāia Te Mātauranga into the schools strategic and annual implementation plan.

Annually:

• embed effective reading and writing teaching strategies schoolwide to improve learning outcomes for all students
• use students’ achievement data for all students and groups of students, to monitor and further improve the quality of teaching and planning for a responsive curriculum
• use indicators of effective practice to evaluate the impact of initiatives to progress the school’s strategic goals
• review and evaluate the progress of Whāia Te Mātauranga and the impact on tamariki progress and wellbeing.

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

• sustained high levels of student learning outcomes particularly in reading and writing and improved levels of regular attendance
• improved teacher capability and consistency in the effective teaching of reading and writing
• increased levels in students’ capacity in Samoan and Tongan languages for those students in respective Pacific bilingual education
• improved learning outcomes for tamariki through the growth and development of Whāia Te Mātauranga.

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

Sharon Kelly
Acting Director of Schools

6 March 2025

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