Stanley Avenue 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

Stanley Avenue is a full primary school for Years 1 to 8 in the rural Waikato township of Te Aroha. The vision is for students ‘to aspire to be their best and become self-motivated achievers within a supportive community of learning.’

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

Expected Improvements and Findings

Since the previous ERO report of June 2022, ERO and the school have been working to evaluate how effectively learning progressions and student agency practices raised achievement in written language.

The school expected to see:

Improved outcomes in written language for all learners.

• Achievement information shows a significant improvement in written language across the school for all groups of learners.

Growth in teacher understanding of pedagogy and formative assessment practices to promote equity and excellence in achievement.

• Learner outcomes in reading, writing and mathematics have improved and become more equitable over time.
• Learning progressions are well-embedded and effectively used to plan, teach, assess and report to whānau on learner progress and achievement.
• Learners understand where they are at with their learning and their next steps.
• Teachers have a deep understanding of the progressions and are able to critically reflect and make any required shifts to meet the needs of their learners.

Continued use of internal evaluation to guide the school improvement journey with a focus on improving outcomes for learners, in particular growing teacher capacity to support Māori learners to enjoy success as Māori.

• Increasingly effective use of internal evaluation processes is supporting school improvement initiatives, which have resulted in improved outcomes for learners.
• Leaders and teachers are highly engaged in professional learning and development and continue to build capacity and understanding of te ao Māori, to foster success for Māori.

Other Findings

The greatest shift that occurred in response to the school’s action has been the growth in evaluative capacity to guide whole school improvement.

Part B: Current State

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

Learner Success and Wellbeing

• Most learners achieve at expected curriculum level in reading, writing and mathematics and these outcomes have improved over time.
• The difference between Māori achievement outcomes in literacy and mathematics and that of other learners has reduced over time.
• Accelerated progress in literacy and mathematics for learners who at not yet at the expected curriculum level is evident.
• The school has exceeded the Ministry of Education targets for attendance and continues to prioritise high levels of attendance at school.

Conditions to support learner success

• Leadership builds and sustains high levels of relational trust and effective collaboration at every level of the school community to achieve the strategic vision and aims.
• Leaders value and nurture a culture of professional growth and development to improve improvement.
• The leadership of learning to improve learner outcomes is effectively coordinated, supported, well-resourced and evaluated.

• Teachers have established respectful and inclusive learning environments with high expectations for all learners.
• Teachers use quality achievement information to respond to individual learning needs.
• Learners experience a relevant local curriculum including the ongoing development and integration of Aotearoa New Zealand Histories, te reo Māori, me onā tikanga Māori and mātauranga Māori.

• A strong culture of care and wellbeing for learners, their families, whānau and staff contributes to a positive school environment that promotes engagement and success for learners.
• Authentic and mutual partnerships with whānau, parents and community are well-established and support the school’s improvement journey.
• Well-developed and effective in-school systems, including the use of evaluation, support the effective operation of the school.

Part C: Where to next?

The agreed next steps for the school are to:

• continue to enhance the localised curriculum, including ongoing integration of te reo Māori, me onā tikanga Māori and mātauranga Māori
• continue to utilise internal evaluation to inform the school’s strategic direction for equitable and excellent outcomes for all, particularly Māori.

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

Within six months:

• review the progress on the development of the localised curriculum for impact on student learning
• continue to use internal evaluation processes to understand the impact of initiatives related to te ao Māori on Māori learner progress and achievement
• review attendance initiatives for sustained impact.

Annually:

• evaluate curriculum developments and use this to determine the next steps in the school’s strategic direction
• review student outcome information, including attendance data, to inform the next steps on the school’s improvement journey is progressing positive student outcomes.

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

• consistency in equitable and excellent outcomes for all learners, including Māori
• a localised and responsive curriculum that further integrates te ao Māori perspectives to support learner language, culture and identity
• continued high levels of student attendance and engagement in 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

25 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