Nawton 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 

Nawton School is located in Hamilton and provides education for learners in Years 1 to 8 in English medium, bilingual and total immersion Māori. The school vision is ‘to provide a safe, holistic, inclusive, modern learning environment which embraces te ao Māori and cultural diversity to empower all students to succeed.’ 

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 majority of students are at the expected curriculum level for reading, writing and math; some disparity for boys in reading and writing remains.
• Achievement data over time shows increased equity for Māori learners and positive shifts in reducing disparity for Pacific learners. 
• Schoolwide wellbeing data show the majority of students and staff report a positive school climate. 
• Just over half of students attend regularly, the school continues to focus on reaching the Ministry of Education attendance target. 

Conditions to support learner success

• Suitable schoolwide systems and processes are in place to monitor the effectiveness of differentiated strategies to support at risk learners. 
• Community organisations and agencies work in partnership with the school to ensure a wide range of wellbeing initiatives and curriculum opportunities are available for all learners.
• Leaders use research and data well to identify strategic goals, aligning resources and professional development to improve teacher practice and improve learner outcomes.

• Students benefit from a sustained focus on positive and personalised teaching practices; well-established learning routines and expectations maximise learning time. 
• Localised curriculum continues to strengthen in consultation with mana whenua to encourage a stronger sense of identity as a school. 
• Schoolwide wellbeing initiatives foster students’ sense of self and management for learning.
• Teachers work collaboratively with outside agencies and learning support staff to provide differentiated assistance to improve students’ progress and achievement. 

• All learners culture, language, and identity are highly valued within an inclusive school environment. 
• The school’s vision, strategic goals, targets and tikanga are grounded in a deeper understanding of the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
• Seamlessly integrated te ao Māori learning opportunities woven through the school’s curriculum increases student engagement.
• The board scrutinises a range of student achievement data to identify strategic improvement priorities and makes appropriate resourcing decisions.

Part B: Where to next? 

The agreed next steps for the school are to: 

• continue to strengthen student outcomes by improved use and analysis of assessment data and teacher inquiry, to differentiate teaching and learning for learners not yet meeting expected levels
• build on professional development to support deliberate and explicit teaching practices to accelerate students’ progress in reading and writing 
• increase attendance and engagement by strengthening home school partnerships with whānau.

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

Every six months:

• implement a cycle of data analysis and reporting to support teacher inquiry across the school
• review the impact of targeted professional development to improve teacher practice and identify next steps
• work in partnership with whānau to identify learning supports and strategies to improve attendance and achievement.

Annually:

• review student achievement data and teacher inquiry to identify shifts in practice that improve and accelerate student outcomes, particularly for students not yet at curriculum expectations
• analyse reading and writing data and identify next steps for ongoing professional development and sharing of best teaching practices across the school
• report attendance and engagement data to the board to continue to strengthen strategies that support home school partnerships. 

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

• schoolwide use of student achievement data and teacher inquiry to differentiate learning programmes that improved student outcomes
• improved teaching practices in literacy to accelerate progress of students not yet meeting expected assessment levels 
• increased rates of regular attendance and engagement 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

9 December 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