Huntly School (Waikato)

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 

Huntly School (Waikato) is located in the rural Waikato town of Huntly, providing education for students in 
Years 1 to 8. A new principal was appointed for the beginning of 2024. A Limited Statutory Manager (LSM) has been working with the school since the end of 2022. A Ministry of Education School Achievement Function Practitioner (SAFP) began working with the school in 2024. The school has a technology block, providing specialist learning opportunities for Huntly School students and students from local and rural schools. The school’s vision is to enable students to be successful in learning and life.

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’s data from 2023 to 2024 shows that less than half of all students are achieving at expected curriculum levels in reading and mathematics with significantly lower levels of achievement in writing.
• 2023 achievement data does not show comparisons between ethnic groups to determine levels of equity, however girls and boys are achieving at comparable levels.
• Students with additional learning needs are well supported to make appropriate progress in relation to their individual goals.
• Attendance data from early 2024 shows significant improvement, however there is still an urgent need to improve rates of regular attendance for the majority of students.

Conditions to support learner success

• Deliberate steps are being taken to strengthen the consistency and reliability of assessment practices across the school.
• Strategic professional learning opportunities are being implemented to improve targeted teaching in core curriculum areas. 
• The board and Limited Statutory Manager are working collaboratively to develop collective capability for school improvement.

• Building positive relationships is promoting calm and orderly classroom environments.
• Small group teaching opportunities are supporting students to participate fully in activities that are appropriate to their levels of learning.
• Implementing key programmes is increasing explicit teaching to support improvement in literacy and mathematics.

• Liaison with a wide variety of external agencies, and in-class learning and behavioural support, contributes to positive inclusion and success for learners with additional needs. 
• A planned approach to gathering student voice for school decision making should now be extended to include students’ perspectives on their experiences of school and wellbeing considerations.
• Collecting data on student wellbeing is an ongoing priority for the school.

Part B: Where to next?

The agreed next steps for the school are to: 

• develop effective analysis of school achievement data to inform responsive planning to raise achievement, especially in writing
• build teacher capability to accelerate learning through a culturally inclusive, localised curriculum
• further engage with whānau to support student learning and implement effective strategies to increase rates of regular attendance.

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

Within three months:

• building data literacy skills to analyse school-wide achievement information
• setting clear targets and action for improvement in attendance and achievement 
• establishing a process for clearly monitoring students’ learning progress in literacy and mathematics.

Every six months:

• monitoring the rates of student attendance, progress and achievement to inform further planning and action
• developing explicit teaching strategies to support accelerated learning for those students at risk of not achieving, especially in writing.

Annually:

• consultation and planning with students, staff, whānau and the Māori community to enrich te reo, tikanga, mātauranga and te ao Māori within the school’s curriculum
• evaluating the effectiveness of actions to raise achievement and attendance and inform next steps for improvement.

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

• increased rates of regular student attendance and improved overall levels of achievement
• effective use of a range of school data to support internal evaluation for continuous improvement in learner outcomes
• strengthened home and school partnerships for learning
• the development of an inclusive, authentic, localised curriculum supporting engagement and success for all 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                                                                         

10 May 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