Makahu 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

Makahu School is a full primary school located in a small rural community east of Stratford, Taranaki, and provides education for students in Years 1 to 8. The school’s guiding values are manaakitanga, kaitiakitanga and being confident, resilient life-long learners.

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

• Achievement information shows that most learners, including Māori, achieve at or above the expected curriculum levels in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Regular tracking, monitoring and reporting of student progress shows that improved outcomes for males and some learners in reading and writing remains a focus for the school.
• Students know and express the school values and show a strong sense of belonging and pride in their school.
• Attendance information shows the school is not yet meeting the Ministry of Education targets; leaders and teachers continue to take actions to improve regular attendance.

Conditions to support learner success

• Leaders collectively analyse and consider the effectiveness of systems, processes and practices to inform evidence-based changes that respond to learner needs.
• Established partnerships with other education providers, and the wider community, positively supports teaching and learning programmes and increases opportunities for learners.
• Leaders and staff seek and engage in ongoing professional development, including through the local Kāhui Ako, to support learner progress and wellbeing.

• Staff create an environment where learning time is made the most of and learners are well-supported to engage and apply new learning.
• The local environment and context are reflected in the curriculum to make learning relevant and meaningful for students, including being kaitiaki of their local area.
• Teachers increasingly integrate te reo Māori me ōna tikanga Māori into teaching and learning so that learners know about and appreciate te ao Māori.

• The board, leaders and staff promote a positive, inclusive school culture, with a clear focus on improving learner engagement and wellbeing.
• Leaders act on evaluative evidence to plan and implement actions for improvement, including regular monitoring and reporting of student attendance, progress and achievement.
• Parents and whānau are respected for what they bring to their child’s learning and their views are actively sought to promote learner success.
• The board, leaders and staff continue to strengthen partnerships with whānau, the wider community and mana whenua to enhance learners’ connectedness to the local community and bring about school improvement.

Part B: Where to next?

The agreed next steps for the school are to:

• continue to strengthen use of achievement information to enable teachers to refine and tailor learning programmes for improved progress and achievement for all learners in reading and writing
• support teachers to further develop consistency in effective teaching and learning practices that enable all learners to identify what their next learning steps are and how to go about achieving these
• strengthen whānau and mana whenua engagement and partnerships with the school, using the skills and knowledge they bring to enhance learner progress and improve attendance and achievement outcomes.

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

Within six months:

• work with parents to assist understanding about the importance of regular attendance and the correlation between attendance and academic progress and achievement.

Every six months:

• continue to track and monitor the progress of all learners, and use this information to inquire into and adapt teaching practice to improve learner outcomes, particularly in reading and writing
• collect, analyse and review data about how well learning partnerships with whānau and mana whenua support learner progress and achievement outcomes.

Annually:

• analyse and report schoolwide achievement data to the board, to strategically plan actions that will improve achievement and learner outcomes
• review achievement information and include the perspectives of whānau and learners to identify initiatives that have been most successful in enhancing learner progress, achievement and regular attendance outcomes
• conduct a wellbeing survey with learners to assist with evaluating the extent of engagement and participation in learning.

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

• improved attendance and achievement outcomes for all learners, particularly in reading and writing
• all students can talk about their learning, next steps and what they have achieved
• improved and sustained levels of engagement with whānau and mana whenua, with increased participation in the decision-making process of 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

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