Maihiihi 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 

Maihiihi School is a rural school located east of Ōtorohanga. It provides education for students in Years 1 to 8. The school motto is ‘Kāore te mea nui e māma te whiwhi; Nothing great is easily won.’ Maihiihi School aims for young people to be confident, connected and actively involved lifelong learners. The school has recently appointed a new principal.

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 

• A large majority of students achieve at or above the expected curriculum level in reading, writing and mathematics, with boys achieving less well in reading and writing.
• Achievement information shows equitable outcomes for boys and girls in mathematics. 
• Students who require additional support with their learning make expected progress.
• The majority of students attend school on a regular basis, and this has improved since 2023 but the school is yet to meet the Ministry of Education target for regular attendance.

Conditions to support learner success

• Leadership know their learners well and prioritise wellbeing and inclusion for all learners, including those with additional learning needs.
• Leadership values and encourages a culture of professional growth and development to support improvement.

• The school community contributes to the development of the local curriculum that reflects the interests and needs of learners.
• Teachers respond well to social and learning needs, supported by well-established classroom routines.
• School programmes and initiatives support the growth in tikanga Māori and te reo Māori in the localised curriculum and wider school.
• Assessment practices and the use of learning progressions require further refinement to ensure students know what and how well they are achieving.

• The board is seeking further governance training to fully understand their stewardship role.
• Relationships with parents and whānau are highly valued and community voice contributes to the strategic direction of the school.

Part B: Where to next? 

The agreed next steps for the school are to: 

• raise the achievement of boys in reading and writing through targeted actions which respond to the particular needs of boys
• refine school assessment practices and systems, including the analysis and accurate reporting of data to ensure consistent practice across the school
• review the use of assessment so that teachers use it to respond to learners’ strengths and needs and adapt their teaching within the classroom
• embed the use of learning progressions to grow the capacity of students to understand where they are at and their next learning steps. 

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

Within six months:

• use reading and writing data to determine the next steps in raising achievement for boys in literacy
• gather a range of evidence to fully understand teacher capacity to use data to inform planning for next learning steps
• review and reframe the use of learning progressions to support student understanding
• through professional networks, investigate effective assessment systems and practices and identify good practice suited to the school context.

Every six months:

• measure the progress of boys’ achievement in reading and writing and report this to the board
• refine the school assessment practices and systems, then report to the board so they can fully understand the progress of all learners
• develop clear guidelines and expectations for teachers for the use of assessment and learning progressions
• gather student voice to find out what they know about how well they are doing and their next learning steps.

Annually: 

• use student achievement information and attendance data to inform the school improvement priorities
• review the assessment practices and systems to ensure they are meeting the needs of the school community
• evaluate how effectively teachers are responding to the needs of students particularly those who are not yet at the expected curriculum level. 

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

• improved achievement outcomes and greater equity for boys in reading and writing
• effective and efficient practices and systems to measure and report on the progress and achievement of all students
• teacher planning is data informed and responds to the needs of every learner
• students that are highly engaged and can demonstrate understanding about their learning. 

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

20 September 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