Waimauku 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 

Waimauku School is a Year 1 to 8 school located northwest of Auckland City. The school is focused on achieving its vision; we belong, we grow, we contribute, through a revised strategic plan. 

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 last ERO report, ERO and the school have worked together to evaluate how effective, continuous improvement of the school curriculum promotes inclusion, wellbeing, and equitable and excellent outcomes for all learners. 

Expected Improvements and Findings

The school expected to see:

A local curriculum that is enriched with local stories.

• Strong connections with local hapū and manawhenua is supporting the school to develop a local curriculum.
• Students learn through a curriculum inclusive of te ao Māori; they participate in environmental programmes, visit local historical sites to learn about the significance of the area. 

Increased opportunities within the curriculum that add value, relevance, engagement, and authenticity.

• Teachers plan collaboratively to align their classroom programmes with practical learning opportunities from the local area and use practical learning from global contexts.

Teachers who are confident and able to be responsive to the needs of every learner and their developmental stage while empowering them to guide their own learning.

• Teachers are focused on using assessment information to better understand where learners are achieving so they can adapt their teaching to support them to reach their full potential. 

Effective use of the school online platform to identify and support the wellbeing of Years 7 and 8 learners.

• Intermediate learners regularly use the online platform to seek assistance to support their well-being when they need it. 

Teachers empowering and supporting students to treat each other with respect.

• Social skills teaching programmes support teachers and learners to successfully develop a positive culture based on respect; students who spoke to ERO commented that they can say when they are being treated respectfully and how they are able to treat others with respect. 

Other Findings

During the course of the evaluation, it was found that teachers have a collective clarity about effective reading programmes and how to teach these successfully.

The greatest shift that occurred in response to the school’s action is the systematic approach to implementing an anti-bullying programme.

Part B: Current State

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

Learner Success and Wellbeing 

Most learners are engaged, make good progress and achieve well.

• Most learners are achieving at or above the expected curriculum level in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Māori and Pacific learners progress and achieve at similar rates in reading and mathematics to their peers; leaders and teachers have identified some disparity in writing, they closely monitor their progress and achievement and respond to inequities as a priority for teaching and learning.
• Learners with complex learning and engagement needs are closely monitored with a focus on improving learning and wellbeing, allowing teachers to respond to individual needs to support inclusion at school. 
• The majority of students attend school regularly; school attendance is yet to meet Ministry of Education 2024 attendance targets.

Conditions to support learner success

School leaders collaboratively build high quality systems and processes for teaching and learning. 

• Leaders and teachers successfully align their vision and strategic direction with the curriculum.
• Evidence based interventions align well to the school’s established priorities and meet the different needs of learners.
• Well analysed achievement information informs leaders decision-making and next steps to improve learner outcomes.

Staff foster a collaborative learning culture and continually work toward high quality teaching and learning outcomes for all.

• Leaders ensure staff professional learning and development aligns well with the school’s strategic priorities and enables positive outcomes for all learners. 
• Teachers consistently create an inclusive learning environment where respect, support and empathy are prioritised to ensure learners achieve their best outcomes.
• Students learn in an environment where they are encouraged to be independent and take risks to make the most of all learning opportunities. 

Key conditions, including learner wellbeing, staff collaboration and partnerships, that underpin successful schooling are embedded and well aligned.

• The school board, leaders and staff continue to actively strengthen partnerships with whānau and mana whenua to support Māori learners to achieve success. 
• Parents and whānau are respected and valued partners in their child’s learning.
• Regular opportunities for staff to collaborate and share practice promotes consistent delivery of agreed expectations for effective teaching and learning.
• Learners use the school inquiry cycle to assist them to engage and achieve success during their learning journey.

Part C: Where to next?

The agreed next steps for the school are to: 

• monitor and continue to improve attendance rates
• implement a structured mathematics programme and structured literacy approach to engage all learners to achieve at expected curriculum level, particularly in writing
• continue to develop their cultural capability to strengthen the partnership with local iwi and the school community. 

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

Every six months:

• review and report attendance rates to the school board and school community to work towards achieving Ministry of Education attendance targets
• leaders and teachers monitor and evaluate learners’ progress in mathematics and literacy and report outcomes to the school community
• review and strengthen the school Māori strategic plan with staff and whānau to ensure the partnership is focused on improvement for all learners.

Annually:

• continue to evaluate the professional capacity of leaders and teachers to increase the use of te reo Māori and tikanga Māori throughout the school day
• evaluate and report to the board on attendance rates and the impact of teaching and learning in literacy and mathematics on learner outcomes to support ongoing strategic decision making. 

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

• sustained high levels of attendance 
• further improved levels of achievement in literacy and mathematics across learning areas
• established practices based on the school’s Māori strategy that support all learners, particularly Māori learners, language, culture and identity. 

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

10 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