Taupo-nui-a-Tia College

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

Taupo-nui-a-Tia College is a co-educational school located in Taupō and provides for learners in Years 9 to 13. The school vision is an inclusive and dynamic learning environment where all students thrive, achieve academic excellence and are empowered to make a positive impact in the community and beyond. It is guided by the three values, Whakapono, Wero and Manaakitanga. The school hosts alternative education provision off-site.

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 in July 2022, ERO and the school have worked to evaluate how effectively the school raised achievement in literacy and numeracy. 

Expected Improvements and Findings 

The school expected:

That all students would have foundational literacy and numeracy to enable them to access future pathways.

• The school continues to work towards supporting all students to achieve foundational literacy and numeracy.

That all teachers would be confident to deliver best practice literacy and numeracy learning across all curriculum areas.

• Teachers have had ongoing targeted professional learning to develop and grow their understanding of literacy and numeracy teaching strategies.
• Some teachers are confident to deliver best practice literacy and numeracy strategies; further development of teacher capacity remains a key focus for the school.

Other Findings

The greatest shift that occurred in response to the school’s actions has been the growth in understanding about the importance of teachers improving their teaching of literacy and numeracy to improve overall achievement.

Part B: Current State 

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

Learner Success and Wellbeing 

The school is working towards equitable and excellent outcomes for all learners, with a particular focus on raising achievement in Years 9 and 10 and for Māori learners.

• Most students achieve National Certificates of Educational Achievement (NCEA) Levels 1 and 2 and a large majority achieve Level 3; just under half achieve University Entrance and outcomes for Māori students are not yet equitable.
• Progress and achievement information for students in Years 9 and 10 shows that less than half are making expected progress; improving foundational literacy and numeracy remains a priority.
• Most students leave Taupo-nui-a-Tia College with a meaningful qualification and pathway.
• Less than half of students attend school regularly; the government’s target for regular attendance has yet to be achieved.

Conditions to support learner success

Leaders work collaboratively and use evidence to plan and implement strategies designed to improve achievement and wellbeing.

• Leadership fosters a culture committed to quality teaching and equity and excellence in learner outcomes.
• Leaders seek input from students, whānau and the school community to inform school priorities and a strategic direction that reflects the aspirations of the community.
• School leaders are focused on giving effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi, with a focus on building a strong sense of belonging for all.

Teaching and learning strategies are more responsive to the needs of students.

• Culturally responsive and relational teaching and learning practices are embedding.
• Curriculum initiatives and programmes that draw on te ao Māori contexts are focused on building a sense of belonging and identity.
• Learners with additional needs are identified and plans have been strengthened to support their learning.
• Professional learning and development are well-aligned with strategic initiatives and support ongoing improvements and quality teaching and learning.

Organisational conditions are increasingly aligned to identified areas for strategic improvement.

• Refreshed school values have been developed and implemented to support a positive school culture.
• The school has well-developed partnerships with the community that inform and support its strategic direction.
• Student feedback indicates that the school is an inclusive environment where differences are valued.
• The board is focused on using data and to inform their decision making and the identification of strategic improvement priorities.

Part C: Where to next?

The agreed next steps for the school are to:

• develop a coherent schoolwide tracking and monitoring system to more fully understand student progress and achievement to enable targeted responses to learner needs
• effectively use achievement information to inform teaching strategies to raise achievement and reduce disparity for groups of students and evaluate the impacts of shifts in practice
• implement evidenced-based literacy and numeracy teaching and learning strategies schoolwide
• evaluate the effectiveness of attendance strategies and target initiatives to improve student engagement in learning.

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

Within six months:

• design and implement as schoolwide tracking and monitoring system for progress and achievement
• use data to identify learner needs and plan teaching strategies to raise achievement and evaluate the impact using an ongoing cycle of review
• review the current teaching of literacy and numeracy to plan and implement a schoolwide approach
• review attendance strategies for consistency of implementation to raise levels of student engagement

In six months:

• implement schoolwide tracking and monitoring system for monitoring progress and achievement
• use data to identify learner needs and plan teaching strategies to raise achievement and evaluate their impact using an ongoing cycle of review
• continue to review teaching of literacy and numeracy to plan and implement a schoolwide approach
• continue to review and strengthen attendance strategies to raise levels of student engagement and success in learning

Annually:

• review and report to the board on schoolwide student progress, acceleration and achievement to identify annual improvement targets
• evaluate the impact of the targeted literacy and numeracy strategies to raise student achievement and reduce disparity and modify strategies accordingly
• use measures to evaluate the effectiveness of professional learning and development for impact on teaching practice and capacity building to inform ongoing improvements
• evaluate the impact of attendance strategies on lifting student engagement.

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

• improved and more equitable achievement outcomes for all learners
• increased teacher capacity to respond to learner needs
• increased rates of regular student attendance and engagement
• the ongoing use of appropriate measures and indicators to support effective evaluation to inform strategic improvement.

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

26 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