Oakura 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 

Oakura School, in Taranaki, provides education for students in Years 1 to 8. School leadership is new; a permanent Principal was appointed in Term 2 and two Deputy Principals were appointed this year. 

The school’s vision is Kia ākona te manako me te Manaaki; “Learning to think, learning to care”.

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 levels are high, almost all learners achieve at expected curriculum levels for reading and mathematics and most achieve at expected levels for writing; analysing outcomes for groups of learners is a next step. 
• Learners express a firm sense of belonging and connection to the school; they enjoy a range of learning opportunities including regular te reo me onā tikanga Māori.
• Learners with additional needs are increasingly well supported to help them achieve and progress.
• A small majority of learners attend school regularly; the school is yet to achieve Ministry of Education targets for regular attendance.

Conditions to support learner success

• Leaders are embedding systems and processes to strengthen coherent practices schoolwide; enabling learners to transition through the school with clear and consistent expectations is a next step. 
• Leadership is increasingly well-placed to bring about the key improvements to enhance and sustain positive learning and wellbeing outcomes.
• Leaders purposefully integrate and support te reo, tikanga me mātauranga Māori; capability is building schoolwide with increased expectation for visibility of te reo, tikanga me mātauranga Māori in classrooms. 

• Staff know learners well; learners are supported to engage, inquire and apply new learning within an orderly, supportive and positive learning environment.
• Teachers use achievement data, and other information, to respond to students’ learning needs and strengths; using consistently understood and applied practices schoolwide is a next step.
• Younger students have some choice in their learning (agency); the junior inquiry curriculum is deliberately aligned with the school’s learner profile and actively supports student agency.

• Leaders and teachers respect and collaborate with their community, promoting a community-wide vision for the school; expertise is valued, and the local environment is recognised as an important resource for learning, with community events well supported.
• Staff, trustees and learners show a strong commitment to growing capability and understanding of te reo me ōna tikanga Māori and Te Tiriti o Waitangi; they are actively developing partnerships for learning with the Māori community.
• Inclusion and wellbeing are prioritised with focus on promoting an environment that is welcoming and supportive to learners and their families and whānau.

Part B: Where to next?

The agreed next steps for the school are to: 

• evaluate the alignment and coherence between the school’s values and the learner profile to improve schoolwide understanding of these and to further improve learner outcomes, including attendance
• refine systems, processes and practices schoolwide for improved consistency and smoother transition for learners through the school
• expand data analysis to include groups of students over time, including by gender and ethnicity to identify what is working well and who for, and report this to the board and the community 
• further develop and grow opportunity for student agency so that learners have opportunity for more decision-making in their learning 
• evaluate the schoolwide provision for te reo me onā tikanga Māori; deliberately plan and resource for ongoing improvement. 

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

Within 6 months:

• evaluate the alignment between the school values and the learner profile; start building a collective understanding and practice across the school
• continue to refine systems, processes and practices schoolwide for improved consistency, coherence and smoother transition for learners through the school.

Every six months:

• analyse data, including achievement, progress, attendance, wellbeing and engagement, for groups of learners and share this with the board and community.

Annually:

• communicate the progress made against all annual goals to the community 
• evaluate the schoolwide provision for te reo me onā tikanga Māori and deliberately plan and resource for ongoing improvement. 

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

• school values consistently understood and used schoolwide to further support learner success
• schoolwide consistency of effective and responsive teaching, learning and assessment practices, that improve outcomes for learning and attendance, engagement and enhance student agency for all learners
• learners and teachers confidently using te reo, tikanga, me mātauranga Māori in the classroom.

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

5 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