Whatawhata 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 

Whatawhata School is a semi-rural primary school situated in the small town of Whatawhata, west of Hamilton. The school provides education for Years 1 to 8 in English-medium and Māori bilingual classes. The school values are: ‘to care, kia Manaaki, to grow, kia whakatupu, to achieve, kia whakatutukitanga.’

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 learners make sustained progress, and the majority achieve at the expected curriculum level in reading, writing and mathematics; targeted interventions are in place for students below expected levels of achievement.
• Student wellbeing data shows positive shifts that confirms school strategies support emotional and social wellbeing.
• The majority of students attend regularly; strengthening whānau relationships is a focus to reach the Ministry of Education regular attendance target.

Conditions to support learner success

• Leaders implement schoolwide initiatives to continually enhance reading and writing outcomes for all learners.
• Leadership effectively grows teacher capabilities across the school; this supports the provision of targeted supports for improved learning and wellbeing outcomes. 
• Leaders continue to embed a localised curriculum in collaboration with mana whenua; this increases students experience of culture, language and identity across the school.

• Teachers participate in ongoing professional development to improve responsive practice; they increasingly use deliberate approaches to enhance teaching and learning programmes.
• Students benefit from relational and affirming teaching practices within well-established classroom routines and expectations.
• Evidence-based teaching practices underpinned by reliable assessment data is used to support teaching to improve student outcomes.
• Māori medium Reo Rua pathways for learners are seen as a key focus in the school’s strategic plan to improve outcomes for Māori learners.

• Schoolwide professional development is focused on improving student wellbeing and a sense of belonging. 
• Partnership with parents and whānau continue to grow including identifying strategies to improve students’ progress and achievement.
• Students’ views are increasingly sought to inform school decision-making: student leadership opportunities are valued and fostered.

Part B: Where to next? 

The agreed next steps for the school are to: 

• increase student outcomes by further embedding literacy focus across the school, including teachers sharing best practice to respond better to student needs
• build teacher capability and capacity by further strengthening the use of data and evidence to inform targeted teaching and learning
• strengthen and formalise the localised curriculum, including strengthening the use of te reo Māori schoolwide
• continue to improve regular attendance to meet the Ministry of Education attendance targets. 

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

Every six months:

• continue to embed and evaluate effective teaching practices for literacy, utilising established school systems, to further enhance quality teaching, and improve learner progress and achievement in literacy
• review the impact of leadership and teacher professional learning, on leaders' growth and development to support improve outcomes for all learners
• further strengthen partnerships with mana whenua by integrating te reo Māori me onā tikanga and mātauranga Māori in the school's curriculum to support learners' strengths, identity and culture
• report progress towards meeting attendance targets to the board.

Annually:

• review and report on progress made with literacy initiatives, and identify key next steps to continue to improve teacher practice and student outcomes 
• leadership will review the use of data to inform teaching and learning programmes across the school to identify shifts in practice
• review localised curriculum implementation and formalise into a curriculum framework with measurable outcomes and indicators of student success, including te reo Māori me onā tikanga
• report trends and patterns of attendance for the year to the board and identify next steps.

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

• improved learner progress and achievement in literacy from effective teaching practice
• increased capacity and capability of leaders and teachers to embed data and evidence-based teaching practices that adapt and respond to all learners needs
• a formalised and cohesive localised curriculum that embeds the use of te reo Māori me onā tikanga schoolwide
• improved regular attendance outcomes to meet the Ministry of Education targets.

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

18 October 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