Manukorihi Intermediate

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 

Manukorihi Intermediate is in Waitara, Taranaki. It provides education for students in Years 7 and 8. The school has recently refreshed its values, now known as WHAIA; Whakawhanaungatanga, Hauora, Akoranga, Ihi and Aroha. These values underpin the school’s new strategic plan that is formed around the four articles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

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 of October 2022, ERO and the school have been working together to evaluate the extent to that deliberate literacy teaching strategies improve learner outcomes in reading. 

Expected Improvements and Findings 

The school expected to see improved achievement and progress across the curriculum for targeted groups of learners.

• A range of information is used to identify target groups of learners including those who are not yet achieving curriculum expectations in reading; teachers respond well to most needs in the classroom, more targeted support is made available for those who need it most. 
• Teachers have participated in internal and external professional learning and have a clearer understanding of how to teach reading to those learners that are not yet achieving at expected levels.
• Information shows that by the end of the year, the majority of target learners are at expected levels in reading with most learners making expected or accelerated progress.

Other Findings

During the course of the evaluation, it was found that internal expertise was the most effective way to support teacher development; internal experts continue to help teachers to effectively tailor teaching to meet identified learner needs. 

The greatest shift that occurred in response to the school’s action was teachers’ understanding of how to effectively teach reading. Teachers now teach reading in more structured ways and choose more reading materials aligned to learner interest. This has made reading more accessible and interesting for learners. 

Part B: Current State

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

Learner Success and Wellbeing 

• Overall achievement levels are lower than expected, data shows that most learners make progress over each year, particularly in writing with less progress made in reading and mathematics; there is some disparity for boys in reading and writing. 
• Student wellbeing is evident and promoted by the explicit teaching of the WHAIA values; students are helped to better understand themselves, each other and their community.
• Learners with additional needs are well supported; internal and external expertise is used effectively to meet diverse needs. 
• Less than half of students attend school regularly, below the Ministry of Education target; a range of well-considered strategies and approaches to support improved attendance and engagement have been developed.

Conditions to support learner success

• The WHAIA values are evident in daily routines and classroom practice; learners build a firm sense of belonging along with the skills needed for successful lifelong learning. 
• Leaders ensure that professional learning aligns with school and national education priorities; internal expertise is used in systematic ways to build teacher capacity and trusted external expertise helps ensure the school has access to best practice that promotes improved outcomes for all learners.
• Leaders are responsive to the increasing range of students’ needs; systems and processes are in place to ensure needs are identified and responded to quickly and effectively. 

• Staff know learners well; staff are increasingly working together to use information to determine well considered strategies and actions that help them to effectively respond to learners.
• Learners are well supported to build knowledge and skills for successful living; a range of strategies are in place to support young people to engage and build confidence in learning.
• Te reo Māori, tikanga me mātauranga Māori are visible and integrated into the school’s local curriculum; belonging and connection is prioritised, providing a strong platform for learning. 

• The new strategic plan aligns the priorities expressed by the community and sets aspirational goals for ongoing development; the articles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi are used by the school to provide a strong foundation to drive improvement. 
• The school communicates well with parents and whānau using a range of tools; some classes have established useful ways to work with whānau to identify and support shared aspirations and goals. 
• Community expertise and knowledge are increasingly sought, encouraged and offered; this helps learners to access a broad range of skills, knowledge and opportunities.

Part C: Where to next?

The agreed next steps for the school are to: 

• further refine the use of schoolwide assessment to create a consistently understood approach that supports the quality implementation of the school’s local curriculum
• further determine the strategies, systems, processes and practices that make the most difference to learner success, wellbeing and regular attendance; embed and sustain these practices across the school
• continue to seek opportunities to meaningfully engage with whānau in reciprocal learning partnerships that identify, support and celebrate learner success
• further embed and sustain the inclusion of te ao Māori and te reo Māori into daily school life. 

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

Within six months:

• decide and implement the standardised assessment tool the school will use for reading and mathematics

Every six months:

• gather and analyse schoolwide information on achievement and progress, attendance, wellbeing, engagement, behaviour and te reo me on tikanga Māori; present this information to the board for their scrutiny and decision-making

Annually:

• use schoolwide achievement and progress, attendance, wellbeing, engagement, behaviour, whānau partnership and te reo me ōna tikanga Māori information to know what is working best for all learners and develop next steps for strategic planning
• share evaluation findings with the community so they know what is working well and can be effective partners in learning.

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

• improved outcomes and reduced disparity for learners’ achievement and progress, attendance, wellbeing, engagement, behaviour
• all staff having a more consistent understanding about what works best to support learning and wellbeing and implementing best practice 
• improved confidence and use of te reo Māori in all classrooms; Manukorihitanga and mātauranga Māori authentically used throughout the school
• enhanced learning partnerships with whānau that support and celebrate shared aspirations for success.

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

7 November 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