Kaimata 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

Kaimata School, located inland from Inglewood in Taranaki, provides education for students in Years 1 to 8. The school's vision, ‘our learners grow together’, prioritises growth in learning and the environment. The school's RISE values are Respect Whakaute, Integrity Ngākau pono, Self Esteem Kiritau and Excellence Kairangatira.

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 report in November 2022, ERO and the school have been working together to evaluate how well the school implemented a localised curriculum, designed to result in excellent outcomes for all learners.

Expected Improvements and Findings

The school expected to see:

Excellent outcomes for all learners.

• High levels of achievement in reading, writing and mathematics have been sustained over time and most learners achieve at expected curriculum levels.
• School staff continue to focus on improved practices to enable all learners to experience excellent outcomes.

Learners with a strong sense of identity, language and culture.

• Learners experience a broad curriculum supporting them to have a strong knowledge, understanding and respect for the diverse community they live within, strengthening their identity and cultural connectedness.

A sustained, reciprocal relationship with mana whenua; and a planned curriculum that celebrates the stories of mana whenua and all other members of the school community.

• School leaders foster strong connections and relationships with all members of the school community, including mana whenua. This supports and informs a rich curriculum that is representative of this community.

A progressive programme of instruction in te reo Māori.

• School leaders and staff continue to develop their knowledge and skill in te reo Māori to strengthen learning programmes. Learning progressions have been developed and staff are working towards embedding these in practice. The school has this as an ongoing priority.

Other Findings

During the course of the evaluation, it was found that the school fosters high levels in both learner engagement and sustained achievement.

The greatest shifts that have occurred in response to the school’s action has been the development of a rich localised curriculum, where all learners can see themselves and their culture and a strengthened relationship with local hapū/iwi.

Part B: Current State

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

Learner Success and Wellbeing

• Most learners are achieving at expected curriculum expectations in reading, writing and mathematics; school leaders and teachers are working towards excellent outcomes for all learners.
• Learners who require additional support are well supported; they progress against appropriately challenging goals set in their individual learning plans.
• Learners express and demonstrate a strong sense of belonging and pride in their school.
• Most learners regularly attend and termly attendance fluctuates; the school is not yet consistently meeting the Ministry of Education target for regular attendance.

Conditions to support learner success

• School leaders ensure expectations for high-quality practice are clear, shared, monitored and purposefully focused on improved outcomes for all learners.
• Leadership continues to strengthen teacher practice through a range of targeted professional development, resulting in improved practice and learner outcomes.
• Leaders build and sustain high levels of relational trust, collaboration and communication focused on improved professional practice.

• Teachers use appropriate and good quality assessment information to plan for and adapt teaching practice to respond to learner strengths and needs.
• Leaders and teachers value the cultural backgrounds of their learners and demonstrate this through the school’s programmes, initiatives and practices; learners have a strong sense of cultural connectedness.
• School leaders and staff continue to enhance an already well-developed localised curriculum that supports high levels of learner engagement.

• Professional learning opportunities support staff development in teaching approaches and content knowledge that provide learners with learning for successful outcomes.
• A culture of collaborative inquiry into practice assists teachers to identify and respond well to the needs of all learners.
• School leaders are focused on deepening and building their partnership with mana whenua, to further strengthen the curriculum and cultural connectedness of their learners.

Part C: Where to next?

The agreed next steps for the school are to:

• strengthen data literacy across the school and collective capacity in evidence-informed practices to support excellent outcomes for all learners
• learning progressions for reading, writing, mathematics and te reo Māori to be consistently implemented, supporting learners to know where they are at and how to progress their own learning
• grow staff knowledge and skill in te reo Māori and the mātauranga of local hapū and iwi to further enrich the local curriculum
• further strengthening of learning partnerships with learners, whānau, hapū and iwi to enhance learning programmes, attendance and community wide engagement in the life of the school.

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

Within six months:

• leaders to model in-depth data analysis to strengthen data literacy across the school, including learner wellbeing information
• consistent implementation of schoolwide learning progressions 
• continue to provide staff with professional learning opportunities in te reo Māori and the mātauranga of local hapū and iwi to enhance learning programmes

Every six months

• school leaders and staff closely analyse learner progress and achievement data, identifying what is working and for who and next steps
• the board to scrutinise schoolwide progress and achievement data to understand the impact of teaching programmes and to inform improvement actions
• leadership and staff to evaluate the impact of schoolwide practices designed to enhance attendance, learner engagement and achievement, focused on excellent outcomes for all learners

Annually:

• school leaders and staff use in-depth analysis of learner attendance, achievement and wellbeing data from across the year to identify how they need to adapt practice to ensure excellent outcomes for all learners
• the school board rigorously scrutinise schoolwide attendance, progress and achievement data to understand the impact of programmes, inform improvement actions, and annual and strategic planning
• school leaders gather whānau, hapū, iwi and learner voice about the quality of learning partnerships
• the board evaluates the effectiveness of their own performance and adapts practice and decision-making accordingly.

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

• excellent outcomes for more learners
• learners independently setting goals from the school learning progressions and clearly articulating their achievement, learning and progress
• high levels of data literacy across the staff and evidence-informed practices leading to excellent outcomes for all learners
• shared decision making with learners, whānau, hapū and iwi across a range of contexts in the school.

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