Gonville 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

Gonville school, located in Whanganui, has students in Years 1 to 6. The collective vision for the school is to deliver powerful learning that empowers and achieves learner success.

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 February 2022 ERO report, the school has focused on building teacher and curriculum practice to strengthen the engagement, progress and achievement of learners.

Expected Improvements and Findings

A continued trajectory of improved outcomes for learners in relation to their wellbeing, and engagement.

• The introduction of restorative practice is well considered, establishing shared strategies and expectations to foster positive relationships as the foundation for purposeful learner engagement.
• Reintroduced positive behaviour strategies have strengthened the collective response of staff to ensure increased consistency in meeting the diverse needs of students.

Improved capability and practice of staff that reflects agreed school expectations for effective teaching and learning.

• Teachers’ and teacher aides’ participation in professional learning and development (PLD) is increasingly strengthening the consistency of practice by establishing shared expectations for curriculum delivery, assessment practice and use of restorative practice strategies.

The greatest shift that occurred in response to the school’s action is developing distributed leadership to facilitate improvements toward established priorities aligned to strengthening outcomes for learners.

Part B: Current State

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

Learner success and wellbeing

• A positive trajectory in learner progress has been achieved over time, with many students achieving curriculum expectations in reading, writing and mathematics.
• An identified disparity for boys in literacy has, and continues to be, a priority for the school to address.
• A co-ordinated and timely response to learners identified with additional and complex needs supports their individual needs and progress.
• The school applies a range of well-considered approaches to achieve regular attendance for most learners.

Conditions to support learner success

• Leaders’ co-ordination and implementation of ongoing improvement is well planned, aligning priorities and actions to guide continuous improvement.
• Curriculum leadership roles appropriately build shared teaching practice that benefit learner outcomes.

• Promoting positive learner engagement, clearly aligns shared values and restorative practice strategies, encouraging purposeful learner engagement.
• Collaborative practice between teachers and teacher aides supports their collective focus on reducing barriers to learner progress, achievement, and engagement. 
• Structured literacy approaches increasingly are ensuring learners gain sound foundational knowledge that supports their progress and achievement.

• Trustees work collaboratively with school management to design and progress relevant strategic goals and annual priorities to promote continuous improvement for learners.
• Parents and whānau are provided with regular opportunities to engage in events and share their aspirations for individual learner success.
• Reported information from leaders in relation to learner progress, attendance, and wellbeing is used well to inform resourcing decisions aligned to achieving positive learner outcomes.

Part C: Where to next?

The agreed next steps for the school are to: 

• Continue to review and make appropriate changes to strengthen the range of assessment tools to better inform teaching and learning.
• Further develop specific targets for learners working toward curriculum expectations in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Continue to increase the collective knowledge and capability of staff in using assessment to effectively differentiate teaching to the needs of learners.
• Use outcomes of the self-review of Poutama Reo to extend the current school action plan to strengthen practice in delivery of te reo Māori for learners. 

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

Within three months:

• leaders and staff will review assessment tools and make informed changes that reflect the scope of curriculum levels
• achievement targets will be set to incorporate learners working toward curriculum expectations in reading, writing and mathematics
• leaders will continue to work with teachers to strengthen their collective understanding of assessments to support greater consistency in differentiating teaching aligned to the specific needs of learners.

Every six months:

• curriculum leaders will continue to implement PLD for staff to strengthen their knowledge, understanding and implementation of Te Mātaiaho, culturally responsive practice and effective use of assessment
• staff will begin to establish and document culturally responsive contexts and practices with its community to inform the localised curriculum and achieve successful outcomes for all learners and whānau
• leaders and teachers will collectively analyse and report to trustees the impact of their actions to improve learner outcomes.

Annually:

• leaders’ observation of practice and evidence gained through ongoing rigorous implementation of the teacher professional growth cycle is used to understand the impact of teaching on learner outcomes
• senior and curriculum leaders will review their annual implementation actions and gather relevant information aligned to planned targets to evaluate the impact of intentional actions on outcomes for learners
• leaders and teachers will collectively analyse and evaluate the impact of changes in assessment practice on progress for targeted learners and achievement outcomes for all learners.

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

• learner outcomes showing improvement is sustained over time with no significant inequities for groups of learners
• teachers demonstrate knowledge and confidence in delivery of Te Mātaiaho with shared expectations for curriculum delivery evident and benefiting learner outcomes
• localised curriculum content reflects the aspirations of whānau Māori and Tangata Whenua
• teachers are capably and confidently using assessment information to plan and respond to the diverse learning needs of students.

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.

He mihi ka tuku kī ngā kaimahi, kaiako mē ngā kaihautū o te kura e whakapau kaha ana kia whanaketia tonu ngā hua e kaingākautia ana mo ngā tamariki katoa.

We acknowledge the staff, teachers, and leaders of the school for their continued contribution to the improvement of valued outcomes for all students.

Shelley Booysen
Director of Schools

10 June 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