Fairfield Intermediate

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

Fairfield Intermediate in Hamilton provides education for students in Years 7 and 8. The school’s values are Whaanaungatanga, creating a sense of belonging, Manaakitanga, creating a place of kindness and compassion and Kaitiakitanga, through actions we are guardians of ourselves, others and the environment.

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

The school is working towards reducing inequity between groups of students

• A small majority of students achieve at or above their expected curriculum level in reading and writing, less than half of students achieve at or above in mathematics; improving students’ progress and achievement and equitable outcomes for Māori learners continues to be a priority.
• Students receiving additional support with their learning make progress in reading, writing and mathematics, with many groups showing accelerated progress.
• Students have a strong sense of belonging and their wellbeing is supported through positive teaching and learning relationships.
• A small majority of students are attending regularly, some improvement in attendance is evident, particularly for Māori students; the school is not yet, but working towards, meeting the Ministry of Education target for regular attendance.

Conditions to support learner success

School leaders provide cohesive, focused leadership that increasingly strengthens school conditions to support student success.

• Strategic planning provides clear direction for priorities and targets to improve student outcomes.
• Professional learning for teachers aligns to these strategic priorities.
• Leaders proactively promote and model expectations for a positive school culture and respectful relationships.
• The board and leaders are building strong and learning focused relationships with whānau, families and the community. 

Teaching practices, through the curriculum, are increasingly responsive to students’ learning needs and enhance engagement and outcomes.

• Teachers increasingly incorporate culturally responsive practices into teaching and learning programmes across the school; different teaching strategies are evident, to meet the needs of groups of learners.
• Teaching practices are relational and affirming between students and with teachers; classrooms have clearly established routines and expectations for learning.
• Progress and achievement information is shared with students and whānau; learners understand the progress they are making and the next steps.

The board, leaders and teachers are strengthening schoolwide conditions to support improved student outcomes.

• Attendance and wellbeing data is regularly analysed by teachers and leaders, and reported to the board, to identify trends, patterns and next steps.
• Students requiring additional support with their learning are identified early and receive individualised support focusing on raising achievement in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Students are offered a wide range of learning opportunities and extracurricular activities that supports future pathways and transition into secondary school.
• The board and school leadership are cohesive in their approach to realising school improvement priorities and progress in these is evident.

Part B: Where to next?

The agreed next steps for the school are to:

• improve student attendance to further increase student engagement
• continue to improve student progress and achievement in reading, writing and mathematics, especially for Māori students
• continue to strengthen culturally responsive teaching practices across the school, including mātauranga Māori and the local curriculum.

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

Within six months:

• explore and investigate further strategies to increase attendance for all students, and continue to incorporate this in the school's strategic and annual plans
• continue to build on the work well underway in reading, writing and mathematics to raise student outcomes in reading, writing and mathematics, with focus on further reducing inequity for Māori students
• continue with the staff professional learning plan, to enhance culturally responsive teaching practices, that includes local curriculum and mātauranga Māori

Every six months:

• report on the progress made to improve attendance and identify further actions
• analyse mid-year achievement data for reading, writing and mathematics to identify trends and assess the success of strategies to improve student outcomes; this will also provide information for next steps
• review the progress of the professional learning plan to increase culturally responsive teaching practices

Annually: 

• report analysed attendance data to the board on a termly basis (based on the Ministry of Education targets and reported termly in Everyday Matters) and identify further actions
• provide evidence-based, comprehensive reporting to the board on the impact of strategies to improve reading, writing and mathematics, and to inform next steps
• evaluate and report on the impact of culturally responsive teaching practices, including local curriculum and mātauranga Māori on student engagement and outcomes.

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

• improved attendance and engagement across the school, especially for Māori
• increase the number of students working at their expected curriculum levels in reading, writing and maths and a reduction in disparity for Maōri students
• increased mātauranga Maōri and local curriculum are evident in teacher planning and practices across the school.

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

13 November 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