Horsham Downs 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

Horsham Downs School, a semi-rural school north of Hamilton, provides education for students in Years 1 to 8. The school aims to empower ākonga to exceed their own expectations and surprise themselves with what they can accomplish. Students aspire, grow and succeed through the values of kotahitanga, rangatiratanga, kaitiakitanga and manaakitanga.

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 October 2022, ERO and the school worked together to evaluate how effectively school programmes and practices are enabling equitable outcomes for all learners.

Expected Improvements and Findings

The school expected to see further actions implemented to strengthen culturally responsive practices, enhance the quality and effectiveness of teaching and learning and enable continuous improvement in equitable outcomes for learners.

• Leaders and the board have responded to the views and aspirations of whānau and increased learning in te reo and tikanga Māori across the school.
• Involvement in the Kāhui Ako builds further engagement with the local Māori community.
• New Entrants transition successfully into school, are well engaged in meaningful activities that develop foundational skills for learning and enable future success.
• Leaders and teachers evaluate the impact of teaching and learning programmes and regularly adapt these to meet the needs of learners.
• Students at risk of not achieving are clearly identified and some make accelerated progress to improve equitable outcomes.

Other Findings

The greatest shift that occurred in response to the school’s action has been the strengthening of greater inclusion for all learners and growing confidence and success for Māori students.

Part B: Current State

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

Learner Success and Wellbeing

Outcomes for learners are increasingly equitable and excellent.

• Most students are achieving at or above expected levels in reading and mathematics and the large majority in writing; just under half of all Year 3 to 8 students are excelling in reading; students with additional learning needs make progress in relation to their individual goals.
• Data over time shows improved achievement for boys and Māori students; significant disparity remains for boys in literacy and Māori students in literacy and mathematics.
• Wellbeing data shows almost all students in Years 4 to 8 including Māori students and English language learners have a strong sense of belonging, feel their cultures are valued and respected, have positive relationships with teachers and feel safe at school.
• Regular attendance has improved significantly over the last two years and the school is meeting all the Ministry of Education targets.

Conditions to support learner success

Effective leadership prioritises strategies and actions for continuous learner improvement.

• A range of well-analysed data is closely tracked over time and used to inform change and innovation in teaching and learning programmes.
• Provision of targeted professional learning, mentoring and collaboration grows and strengthens teacher capability to respond to the ongoing needs of all students.
• A strategic focus on developing middle leaders promotes consistency of teaching across teams and supports sustainability of school improvement actions.

Leaders and teachers implement a highly responsive curriculum that enables students to experience success.

• A deliberate focus on supporting learners to gain strong skills in literacy and mathematics promotes high levels of overall achievement.
• A range of appropriate assessment information is used consistently to report on progress and achievement to respond effectively to learners’ strengths and needs.
• Warm, respectful relationships between teachers and students contribute to positive levels of engagement, wellbeing and settled environments for learning.

Well-established school conditions strengthen continuous improvement in learner outcomes.

• A systematic approach to planning and evaluation is well informed by high-quality data and evidence including the perspectives of students, teachers, parents and whānau.
• Leaders and teachers use a range of effective strategies to reduce barriers to learning and support success for all learners, including Māori students, English language learners and students with additional learning needs.
• A strong commitment to involving parents in their children’s learning with regular reporting on student achievement strengthens home and school partnerships.

Part C: Where to next?

The agreed next steps for the school are to:

• continue to implement effective strategies to accelerate learning and improve equitable outcomes, especially boys in reading and writing and Māori students in literacy and mathematics
• challenge students to excel and achieve excellence in writing and mathematics and continue to maintain high levels of student achievement in reading
• continue to develop te reo, tikanga, mātauranga and te ao Māori to strengthen the school’s bicultural curriculum.

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

Within three months:

• leaders and teachers collaboratively review the school’s Māori curriculum to develop shared ownership, understanding and agreed expectations for teaching and implementation

Every six months:

• monitor and report on the rates of progress for all students at risk of not-achieving with a specific focus on Māori students and boys; to further inform effective internal evaluation and planning for improvement

Annually:

• extend annual target setting and improvement planning, to include a focus on accelerating student learning and increase the number of students achieving above expected levels in writing and mathematics
• evaluate the effectiveness of actions and practices to enhance student learning, progress and achievement.

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

• improved and sustained levels of equity and excellence in outcomes for all learners
• the effective implementation of a culturally rich and responsive localised 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

30 October 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