Thornton 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

Thornton School is a rural primary school located near Whakatāne and provides education for students in Years 1 to 8. 

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 

Since the previous ERO report in August 2022, the school and ERO worked together to evaluate the effectiveness of schoolwide processes and systems for assessment and evaluation that support and promoted outcomes of equity and excellence for all learners.

Expected Improvements and Findings

The school expected to see:

Improved outcomes of equity and excellence for all learners, particularly in writing.

• Most learners are progressing and achieving at or above curriculum levels in writing, reading and mathematics.
• Disparity in writing and mathematics for groups of learners has significantly decreased; there remains disparity for boys and Māori learners in writing and mathematics.

Enhanced and sustained processes and systems of effective assessment and evaluation.

• Schoolwide implementation of writing progressions has supported consistency in assessment and teaching and learning, resulting in improved outcomes for learners in writing.
• Structured literacy approaches across the school are leading to positive outcomes for most learners in reading and writing.

High quality and responsive teaching and learning practices, particularly in writing.

• Improved learner progress and achievement in writing reflects the improved consistency of teachers’ increasingly intentional and responsive teaching in writing. 

Other Findings

During the course of the evaluation, it was found that learner outcomes in reading and writing have improved as a result of the structured literacy approaches implemented across the school. Writing progressions have been established, these have strengthened teachers’ consistency in assessing learner progress and responding to learner needs.

Part B: Current State

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

Learner Success and Wellbeing 

Outcomes for learners are increasingly equitable and excellent. 

• Most learners achieve at or above expected curriculum levels in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Learners’ engagement and achievement in literacy is improving through the implementation of structured literacy programmes across the school. 
• Some groups of learners show accelerated progress in writing; continuing to improve outcomes in writing and mathematics for boys and Māori learners remains a priority for teachers and leaders.
• The majority of learners attend school regularly; the school continues to work towards meeting the Ministry of Education target for regular attendance. 

Conditions to support learner success

Leaders increasingly foster a culture committed to quality teaching and improving learner outcomes.

• Leaders focus on strengthening the consistency of teaching programmes to raise expectations for quality teaching and learning, resulting in improved outcomes for learners in literacy and mathematics.
• Leaders build positive relationships with education providers and community groups to access resources that improve learner engagement and achievement, particularly for those learners requiring additional learning support.
• Leaders increasingly involve parents and whānau in sharing aspirations for their children, this information supports school decision making that improves learning opportunities and positive outcomes for all learners.

Teaching is increasingly intentional and responsive to the diverse needs of learners. 

• Structured approaches to the teaching and learning of literacy increasingly supports improved learner outcomes and teacher practice.
• Established school systems continue to strengthen how well teachers work together to effectively monitor and support learner progress and achievement.
• Respectful and collaborative teacher-learner relationships foster an inclusive environment that promotes student engagement in learning. 

The school is strengthening conditions that underpin school improvement. 

• Leaders and teachers provide regular opportunities for parents and whānau to engage in school life and are increasingly involving parents and whānau in their child’s learning.
• Gathering student feedback and ideas to better understand schoolwide learner wellbeing data is a focus for leaders and teachers, this informs how well the school’s initiative is supporting the cultural and inclusive welfare of all learners.
• Leaders and teachers are strengthening the use of evaluative information to continue to improve learner outcomes and support ongoing improvement.

Part C: Where to next? 

The agreed next steps for the school are to: 

• continue to improve outcomes for all learners in reading, writing and mathematics, with a particular focus on accelerated progress for those who are not yet meeting curriculum level expectations
• embed consistent implementation of the school's wellbeing initiative to support and promote cultural and inclusive wellbeing for all learners
• strengthen processes, including the use of data, for teachers and leaders to regularly monitor and evaluate the impact of teaching and learning practices on learner progress and achievement
• continue to implement improvement strategies to raise rates of regular attendance for all learners.

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

Within six months:

• gather and analyse voice from whānau and all learners about wellbeing, cultural belonging and inclusiveness, to know the impact of the school’s wellbeing initiative 
• establish improvement plans for literacy and mathematics that include monitoring and evaluating student progress, and next steps for continued improvement
• establish robust processes to collectively monitor and evaluate the impact of teaching, learning and use of assessment on learner progress and achievement 
• identify teachers' strengths and development needs in mathematics teaching to inform professional learning requirements

Every six months:

• review the consistency of practice, and impact for learners of the schoolwide wellbeing initiative 
• monitor accelerated progress for learners identified at risk of underachieving in reading, writing and mathematics 
• analyse how well assessment information is used to monitor learner progress and to guide responsive teaching and learning in reading, writing and mathematics
• monitor and report on the impact of strategies used to improve regular attendance rates for all learners

Annually:

• evaluate improvements in literacy and mathematics outcomes for all learners and use this information to identify what is having the most impact for learners and where further improvement is needed
• evaluate the impact for learners, staff and whānau of the schoolwide wellbeing initiative
• analyse how well monitoring and evaluation processes have improved teaching, learning and assessment practices, and outcomes for learners not yet meeting curriculum expectations
• evaluate patterns and improvements in attendance to identify next steps to continue to increase regular rates of student attendance.

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

• improved rates of student progress and achievement, and equitable outcomes for all learners in reading, writing and mathematics
• increased rates of regular attendance for all learners
• embedded and consistent systems and processes to understand, monitor and support high levels of learner wellbeing
• strengthened systems and processes for gathering and using valid evidence to inform teaching and learning; and to inform schoolwide improvement priorities.

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

3 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