Waipa 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

Waipa School is located in the town of Ngāruawāhia and provides education for students in Years 1 to 8. The school has 14 core values that focus on building lifelong learners and underpin The Waipa Way.

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 progress and achieve at expected curriculum levels in reading, writing and mathematics.
• The school has yet to address disparity in achievement for some groups of learners, particularly in reading and writing; addressing this remains an identified priority for leaders, teachers and the school board.
• Learners with additional learning and behavioural needs make appropriate progress and are well supported through the school’s liaison with a range of external agencies and in-class support.
• In relation to the Ministry of Education’s target, less than half of students attend school regularly; the school is working to improve attendance for all learners.

Conditions to support learner success

• Leaders are increasingly developing a learning culture among staff for commitment to high quality teaching and improved outcomes for learners.
• Leaders engage in relevant professional learning and development with teachers for enhanced teaching effectiveness and better learner outcomes.
• Leaders have identified, and ERO’s evaluation affirms, teacher planning and assessment as areas to further strengthen for greater schoolwide consistency.

• Teachers and leaders collectively inquire into aspects of teaching practice to support learner progress and achievement.
• Teachers are establishing and embedding teaching practices that respond to students’ languages, cultures and identities.
• Leaders and teachers are taking steps to develop and implement curriculum initiatives and programmes that draw on te reo Māori, tikanga Māori and te ao Māori.

• Positive relationships among teachers and students enhance learners’ sense of belonging.
• Through systematic wellbeing approaches, leaders and teachers well support learners, parents and whānau.
• The board is strengthening governance practices to ensure improvement actions focus on positive learner outcomes.

Part B: Where to next? 

The agreed next steps for the school are to:

• further engage with parents and whānau to implement effective strategies to increase rates of regular attendance
• improve outcomes for all learners through strengthening the effective use of schoolwide assessment information to guide responsive teaching and learning practices
• in consultation with the community, continue to develop and implement the school’s strategic plan to provide clear direction and support effective self review
• strengthen and refine the school’s local curriculum to give effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

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

Within six months:

• review current school initiatives and explore further strategies with parents and whānau to improve student attendance
• consult with the community to develop and implement the school’s new strategic plan

Every six months:

• analyse and monitor rates of student attendance to know the impact of attendance initiatives and inform further school planning and action
• review and report to the board on student progress and achievement information, prioritising and analysing the impact on reducing disparity
• evaluate how well teachers use assessment information to plan and teach responsive and engaging learning experiences for all students
• review the progress made in developing and implementing the school’s local curriculum to support the integration of te reo Māori, tikanga Māori and te ao Māori

Annually:

• leaders and the board will use student attendance, progress and achievement information to evaluate the effectiveness of strategic planning priorities on learner outcomes and respond
• develop, implement and review annual planning that aligns with the school’s strategic priorities.

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

• increased rates of regular student attendance
• improved overall levels of student progress and achievement are informed by the effective use of schoolwide assessment information
• learners and teachers confident in their use of te reo Māori, tikanga Māori and knowledge of te ao Māori.

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

30 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