Hillcrest Normal 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 

Hillcrest Normal School is located in Hamilton and provides education for students in years 1 – 6. The school has a close association with the Waikato University Faculty of Education, assisting with the training of future teachers. Since the previous ERO report, there have been several changes to the senior leadership team. The school values are expressed as SHINE: succeed, honour, imagine, nurture, explore.

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 achieving increasingly equitable and excellent outcomes for most learners.

• Most students achieve at or above expected curriculum level for reading, writing and maths.
• Boys and girls achieve at similar rates in reading and maths; however, there is significant disparity for boys in writing.
• Māori students’ achievement rates have improved over time; however, significant disparity remains in writing and maths when compared to their Pākehā peers.
• Pacific students achieve at comparable rates to their Pākehā peers in reading and writing. Disparity in maths has decreased over time.

Conditions to support learner success

School leadership works collaboratively and strategically to improve outcomes for learners.

• Leadership values and nurtures a culture of professional growth and development.
• Professional learning for teachers aligns to the school’s strategic priorities and the needs of learners.
• Leadership prioritises and plans for inclusive learning for all students, particularly Māori and students with additional needs.

The school’s curriculum and teaching practices are increasingly responsive to students’ learning needs, interests, and cultural identities.

• Teaching practices are relational and affirming, and classrooms have clearly established routines and expectations for learning.
• Teachers identify the learning needs of students and increasingly plan and use responsive teaching strategies.
• Curriculum initiatives and programmes that draw on tikanga and te ao Māori have been developed and are being implemented.

Leaders and teachers are increasingly using data and evidence to strengthen schoolwide processes and practices for continued improvement in student outcomes.

• Leaders undertake regular review of programmes and initiatives to inform their decision making.
• Student achievement, wellbeing and attendance data is regularly analysed by teachers and leaders.
• Leaders have identified teacher planning and assessment as areas that could be further strengthened for greater schoolwide consistency.
• Leadership is planning for the continued development and integration of te ao Māori learning opportunities throughout the curriculum and building teacher confidence and capability in te reo and mātauranga Māori.

Part B: Where to next?

The agreed next steps for the school are to continue to: 

• decrease disparity of achievement for Māori students in writing and maths, and for boys in writing
• build teachers’ cultural capability, responsiveness, and confidence in mātauranga and te reo Māori
• strengthen the consistency of teacher planning, particularly the clear alignment of how formative assessment is used to select appropriate teaching strategies in response to students’ learning needs. 

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

Every six months:

• use an agreed monitoring process to review and report on how effectively teachers are integrating mātauranga and te reo Māori in the classroom
• develop clear expectations and guidance for teachers about the use of formative assessment and provide appropriate training.

Annually:

Report to the board in relation to:

• the annual and over time progress and achievement of Māori students and boys, including the levels of disparity for these groups
• how effectively teachers are responding to the needs of students, particularly those students whose progress needs accelerating.

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

• teacher practices that result in continued improvement in parity, particularly for Māori learners and boys
• schoolwide consistency in the delivery of an inclusive, culturally responsive curriculum.

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

22 April 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