Wiri Central 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 

Wiri Central School is located in South Auckland and provides education for students in Years 1 to 8. Mōkai Āwhina provides Māori bilingual learning and Fofoa i Vaoese provides Samoan bilingual learning. The school’s vision of Learning today for a better tomorrow is underpinned by the four core values of Kotahitanga, Manaakitanga, Whanaungatanga and Rangatiratanga. 

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 

• Less than half of learners achieve at and above expected curriculum levels in reading, writing and mathematics. 
• Learners have a strong sense of belonging to their school; they experience a positive, inclusive and supportive learning environment that celebrates their cultures and identities. 
• Less than half of learners attend school regularly and the school is yet to meet the Ministry of Education’s 2024 target for regular attendance; leaders and teachers apply a range of well-considered approaches focused on improving attendance rates.

Conditions to support learner success

• Leaders use student achievement information and feedback from the school community to plan strategic goals; leadership is strengthening their evaluation of progress against these goals to support positive learner outcomes. 
• Relevant professional learning opportunities and shared understandings of effective teaching and learning approaches among leaders and teachers are building consistent teaching practices across the school. 
• Senior and middle leaders promote and sustain relational trust across the school; staff work collaboratively to plan learning that is increasingly responsive to learner needs.

• Positive and respectful relationships between teachers and learners, that includes effective support from learning assistants, ensure engaging and supportive classroom learning environments. 
• Teachers plan and implement learning experiences that increasingly meet the different needs of learners. 
• Students speak confidently about their current learning and goals and have increasing opportunities to collaborate and discuss progress against these goals. 

• Parents and whānau, as valued partners in their child’s learning, increasingly participate in the life of the school. 
• Teachers regularly monitor the progress of target students and are strengthening their use of achievement information to plan next steps for teaching and learning. 
• Leaders carefully plan consultation with whānau and the community, responding to their feedback and strengthening parent and whānau knowledge of learning programmes. 
• The board makes appropriate resourcing decisions that align with and are responsive to the strategic goals and emerging needs of learners and staff. 

Rumaki/Bilingual Outcomes and Condition to Support Learner Success 

Learner success and wellbeing 

• Ākonga are confident practitioners of mātauranga Māori in all contexts.
• A small majority of ākonga are progressing towards meeting or exceeding expected achievement levels in pānui, tuhituhi, and pāngarau.
• Ākonga are mature, capable, reo speaking role models in the school and their local communities.
• Ākonga are proud and confident in their Māori identity.

Conditions to support learner success

• The learning programme in Mōkai Āwhina immerses ākonga in authentic cultural experiences.
• Kaiako participate in ongoing targeted professional development to strengthen teaching and learning in literacy and numeracy.
• Leadership promotes te reo Māori by offering ākonga opportunities to participate in school and community activities, kaiako deliver focused te reo Māori literacy programmes.
• The school authentically honours partnerships with whānau and mana whenua for guidance on relevant kaupapa.

Part B: Where to next? 

The agreed next steps for the school are to: 

• evaluate strategies and approaches to continue to increase the regular attendance of all learners 
• embed effective teaching, learning and assessment practices to ensure teacher consistency and improved student progress and achievement 
• strengthen school wide analysis and use of achievement information by leaders and teachers to effectively respond to learner needs
• provide ongoing professional development for using valid assessment, and planning and teaching strategies to support ākonga progression in te reo matatini and pāngarau.

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

Within three months:

• review school attendance outcomes and strategies that are having the most impact to inform future planning
• design and implement a school wide system for robust analysis of achievement information that shows the impact on learner outcomes over time; this system should clearly identify groups of learners who are at risk of underachieving.

Within six months:

• refine the process for tracking and responding to the needs of target learners and support teachers to use achievement information effectively 
• provide professional learning for middle leaders so that they continue to build consistent teaching, learning and assessment practices in their teams
• leaders and teachers of Mōkai Āwhina should analyse 2024 data and targets, review the current schedule to align with new education priorities, integrate curriculum areas through the oracy programme and incorporate feedback from beginning teachers.

Every six months:

• monitor and review strategies for improving students’ attendance to inform next steps
• use the systems and processes for analysing and responding to student achievement information to identify priorities for teaching and learning
• continue to evaluate and provide professional learning opportunities that strengthen teachers’ understanding and use of highly effective teaching, learning and assessment practices.

Annually:

• evaluate the impact of teaching, learning and assessment practices on students’ engagement, progress and achievement and use this to inform future planning and resourcing
• review and report to the board on student attendance, progress and achievement information, with a focus on responding to those learners who are at risk of underachieving, to support ongoing decision making for improvement
• consult with kaiako to track and monitor achievement data in relation to annual targets and gather feedback from beginning teachers.

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

• increased regular student attendance
• improved progress and achievement for all learners
• consistent use of systems and processes for analysing and tracking student achievement information, effectively responding to the needs of learners
• improved engagement and progress in te reo matatini and pāngarau for all learners in Mōkai Āwhina.

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

4 February 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