Gordonton 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 

Gordonton School is a rural school in the north-east of Hamilton and provides education for students in Years 1 to 8. The school’s MANA expectations promote a positive learning environment for students through the values of manaakitanga, awhina, ngākau pono and ako. The school has strong relationships with Ngāti Wairere and Hukanui Marae. 

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 of June 2022, ERO and the school worked together to evaluate how well school conditions contribute to supporting Māori students to achieve success as Māori and enable equitable outcomes for all. 

Expected Improvements and Findings 

The school expected to see deliberate actions implemented to improve the quality and effectiveness of culturally inclusive teaching and learning across the school and continuous improvement in outcomes for identified learners. 

• The school wide approach to culturally responsive leadership and teaching improves equitable outcomes and raises achievement for Māori students and other identified target learners.
• Ongoing review and collaboration over student assessment strengthens consistency of practice and reliability of data across the school.
• Regular monitoring of student progress and outcomes supports planning for continuous improvement and innovation. 

Other Findings 

The greatest shift that occurred in response to the school’s action was the strengthening of a culturally responsive curriculum that improves outcomes for learners, enables equity for Māori students and empowers positive changes in the wider school culture. 

Part B: Current State 

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

Learner Success and Wellbeing  

Outcomes for students are increasingly equitable and excellent. 

• Most students are achieving at or above expected levels in literacy and mathematics; approximately a third of all students excel in reading and mathematics; students with additional needs and English language learners make appropriate progress in relation to their individual goals and learning progressions.
• Data over time shows significant improvement in equitable outcomes for Māori learners; Māori students achieve at similar or better levels than their Pākehā peers; boys achieve at slightly lower levels than girls in reading; overall writing achievement has improved over time; significant disparity remains for boys in writing.
• Wellbeing data shows almost all students have a strong sense of belonging, feel culturally valued and respected, have positive relationships with teachers and report feeling safe at school.
• The school is not yet meeting the Ministry of Education’s 2030 target for regular attendance. 

Conditions to support learner success 

Strategic leadership maintains a strong focus on quality teaching, equity and excellence in learner outcomes. 

• A range of assessment information is used effectively to develop relevant improvement goals and targets, including a focus on accelerating progress for students at risk of not achieving.
• Provision of professional learning and collaboration strengthens collective capability to improve equitable outcomes for Māori and other identified target students and enrich the quality of teaching and learning across the school.
• A planned approach to gathering the views of students, staff, parents, whānau and community supports responsive planning for continuous improvement. 

Student learning is effectively supported through an inclusive and responsive curriculum. 

• Positive relationships between teachers and students and the school’s bicultural values promote a calm and inclusive culture for learning.
• A strategic focus on all students gaining strong foundation skills in literacy and mathematics enables high levels of overall achievement and learner success.
• Students requiring additional support are clearly identified and interventions implemented to address their diverse needs and minimise barriers to learning. 

Well established school conditions improve and sustain positive outcomes for all learners. 

• The board makes well informed resourcing decisions to enable equitable opportunities for students to learn and succeed.
• Respectful relationships with parents, whānau, mana whenua and Te Pae Here Kāhui Ako strengthen authentic partnerships for learning and contribute to actions for continuous improvement.
• A collaborative approach to supporting the progress and learning of identified students contributes to targeted teaching and effective transition across classrooms. 

Part C: Where to next? 

The agreed next steps for the school are to: 

• continue to strengthen collective capability to increase rates of accelerated progress for target learners and improve equitable outcomes for boys in writing
• continue to sustain high levels of student achievement in reading and mathematics and challenge students to excel and achieve excellence in writing
• extend the analysis of school progress data to strengthen internal evaluation and further inform targeted action for continuous improvement.  

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

Every six months: 

• continue to monitor and review assessment practices in writing to support effective data analysis and evaluation
• report on the rates of progress for all students at risk of not achieving and continue to monitor and compare progress over time. 

Annually: 

• extend annual target setting to include a focus on accelerating learning to increase the number of students achieving above expected levels in writing and reduce disparity in boys’ achievement
• formally evaluate and report on the effectiveness of strategies and teaching practices to accelerate learning for target students including improving equitable outcomes for boys in writing and raise overall levels of excellence in writing achievement. 

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

• increased and sustained levels of equity and excellence in outcomes for all learners in literacy and mathematics
• high-quality internal evaluation practices. 

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 

​​6 March 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