Ohaupo 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

Ohaupo School is a co-educational, rural full primary school on the outskirts of Hamilton. The school provides education for students from Year 1 to 8. The principal and a deputy principal joined the school in 2024. The school’s vision is stated as: ‘Growing together, learning together | Tipu ngātahi, ako ngātahi’.

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 

• Most students achieve at or above expected curriculum levels in reading, writing, and mathematics.
• Māori achievement has improved significantly over time; Māori students achieve at comparable rates to their Pākehā peers.
• Disparity for boys remains in writing.
• Student wellbeing is effectively supported, and the school is close to meeting current Ministry of Education targets for regular student attendance.

Conditions to support learner success

• Leaders carefully consider a range of evidence to identify improvement areas in relation to student learning and wellbeing. 
• Leadership effectively aligns professional learning and teacher capability building to support strategic priorities.
• Leaders work collaboratively across the school to create a culture of continuous improvement.

• Teachers create positive, caring classroom environments where students are respected and included.
• Students participate in a curriculum that is increasingly responsiveness to New Zealand’s bi-cultural heritage, and reflects the language, culture and aspirations of the community.
• Teachers use a range of strategies that provide opportunities for students to actively participate in and practise new learning; a next step is to develop consistent assessment for learning practices to increase students’ knowledge of their learning goals and how to make progress towards them.

• Collaborative teacher inquiry is strengthening the consistency and effectiveness of teaching practices and curriculum delivery across the school.
• Leaders and teachers demonstrate a high level of data literacy and use a range of quantitative and qualitative evidence to monitor the impact of interventions and initiatives on student outcomes.
• Regular community consultation feedback identifies the school’s strengths and areas for development and is used by the board to inform decision-making about school improvement.

Part B: Where to next? 

The agreed next steps for the school are to: 

• improve outcomes for boys in writing
• increase students’ understanding of their learning goals and how to make progress
• continue to increase and sustain high levels of regular student attendance. 

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

Within six months:

• develop shared expectations for assessment for learning practices across the school, including the use of effective feedback to students.

Every six months:

• monitor progress and achievement data for boys’ writing and adjust improvement planning as required
• review the extent to which teachers are using effective formative assessment and feedback practices in their classrooms and provide targeted support where needed.

Annually:

• report to the board on the annual and over time progress of boys in writing, including levels of disparity
• monitor the impact of assessment for learning practices on how knowledgeable students are about their own learning
• monitor rates of student attendance and report trends and patterns to the board
• use internal evaluation findings to plan for further improvement in processes and practices that support increased student progress, achievement and engagement.

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

• improved progress and achievement outcomes for boys in writing
• students who can articulate what their next steps in learning are and what they need to do to achieve their learning goals.

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

6 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