Rahotu 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 

Rahotu School is located on the Surf Highway, south of New Plymouth. The school provides education for students in Years 1 to 8. The school’s vision is ‘Igniting our passion for learning’ and is underpinned by the values of ‘family, learning, aroha, manaaki and excellence – F.L.A.M.E.’

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 learners achieve at or above expected curriculum levels in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Achieving equity for groups of learners, particularly for boys, and for Māori in writing is a priority. 
• Learners with additional needs are effectively catered for in programmes designed to support their learning progress and achievement.
• The Ministry of Education target for regular attendance is yet to be achieved as just over half of students attend regularly; leaders and teachers apply a range of well-considered approaches focused on improving the attendance rates of learners. 

Conditions to support learner success

• Leaders are embedding systems and processes to achieve improvement priorities and meet the needs of learners.  
• A strong school culture of collaboration and trust promotes high expectations for teaching practice and learner success.
• Leaders regularly use information from a range of sources to evaluate the effectiveness of initiatives designed to improve outcomes for learners.

• Teachers and staff consistently implement evidence-based learning programmes that assist students to make ongoing progress with their learning. 
• Curriculum planning and scheduling prioritises reading, writing and mathematics teaching to effectively support improvement in learning outcomes.
• Students have an extensive range of opportunities and experiences in which to participate and apply new learning.

• Positive relationships between teachers and students, aligned to the school’s values, create inclusive learning-centred classrooms.  
• Parents and whānau receive relevant information about their child’s progress and achievement and have many opportunities to share their knowledge and contribute to learning outcomes.  
• Information provided to the board ensures resourcing decisions align with agreed priorities and drive school improvement strategies and actions.
• Reciprocal education connections with whānau, hapū and iwi facilitate the weaving of te reo Māori and mātauranga Māori through the curriculum, supporting knowledge building and learner outcomes. 

Part B: Where to next?

The agreed next steps for the school are to: 

• embed agreed teaching, learning and assessment practices to improve achievement outcomes and strengthen equity for boys and Māori 
• adopt a systematic evidence-based process to evaluate school improvement initiatives and monitor their impact on learner outcomes
• increase and sustain rates of regular student attendance.

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

Within six months:

• implement the schoolwide plan to guide assessment practices
• work alongside parents and whānau to assist understanding about the importance of regular attendance and the correlation between attendance and academic progress and achievement

Every six months:

• use evidence such as teacher observation, student voice and learning outcomes to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of programmes to support ongoing progress and achievement for learners  
• report rates of regular student attendance and the impact of the school’s initiatives to increase attendance to the board, parents and whānau

Annually:

• report on the effectiveness of teaching, learning and assessment practices in improving equity and outcomes for learners to inform future planning decisions.

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

• improved levels of attendance, progress and achievement for all learners 
• strengthened internal evaluation capabilities and a shared understanding of teaching, learning and assessment practices that support improved outcomes for learners.

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

2 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