Kakatahi 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 

Kakatahi School is a small rural school located between Whanganui and Raetihi and provides education for students in Years 1 to 8. A newly established board is in place. The values of curiosity, integrity, pride and respect support the school’s vision to inspire all their students to become ‘The best me I can be – ko ahau te mea pai ka taea e au.’

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

• Most learners in mathematics and writing, and a large majority of learners in reading achieve at or above the expected curriculum levels.
• Regular monitoring and reporting of student progress shows Māori learners progress and achieve at similar rates to their peers.
• The school is yet to meet the Ministry of Education target for regular student attendance; absence is closely monitored, and strategies are in place to improve regular attendance for all students.

Conditions to support learner success

• Leaders and teachers use assessment information and feedback from students, staff and community well, to plan and monitor improvement priorities.
• Leaders and staff work collaboratively to improve delivery of the school’s curriculum that meets the needs of learners; strengthening evaluative capabilities to better know and understand the impact of initiatives and strategies for improving learner outcomes is an identified next step.
• Leaders build positive educational relationships with other providers and community groups that lead to increased opportunities for student learning and success.

• Staff know learners well and work together to provide purposeful, well-paced learning opportunities; teachers adapt and respond to learners’ needs and interests in targeted ways.
• Well-established routines and clear expectations result in a calm, learning-focused environment that encourages learners to engage, inquire and apply new learning.
• Curriculum delivery increasingly reflects the aspirations of the community and the local context, making learning relevant and meaningful for students.

• Leaders and staff promote a positive and inclusive school culture with a clear focus on improving learner engagement, wellbeing and success.
• Parents and whānau are respected for what they bring to their child’s learning; their views are valued and guide ongoing school improvement for learner success.
• The board are accessing support and training to establish governance practices to improve accountability for improvement actions focused on learner outcomes.
• The board receives regular information about teaching and learning, learner progress, and health and safety matters, appropriately guiding resourcing and governance decisions.

Part B: Where to next?

The agreed next steps for the school are to:

• continue to improve attendance and sustained progress and achievement outcomes for all learners, particularly in reading
• further develop and embed practices that enable learners to identify next learning steps and how to go about achieving these
• strengthen the school’s evaluation processes to focus on the most significant initiatives for improving attendance and achievement outcomes for all students
• embed a localised curriculum in ways that sustain and build on student engagement and achievement, including strengthening partnerships with local iwi, hapū and community.

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

Within six months:

• engage and consult with iwi and hapū to inform curriculum content and delivery

Every six months:

• moderate, monitor and report on the attendance, progress and achievement of all learners, with a particular focus on reading targets
• review and report on the effectiveness of changes to teaching practice, through the collection of learner voice and learner outcomes
• continue to work alongside whānau, iwi and hapū to engage and share aspirations for all learners and to sustain active participation in the planning and decision-making of the school

Annually:

• collectively analyse, evaluate and report on schoolwide achievement and attendance information, to strategically plan actions that will improve outcomes for all learners
• gather and review student, whānau, iwi and hapū voice on the success of partnerships with the school, to assist with strengthening responsive practices to further engage learners with the local curriculum.

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

• students are active participants in their own learning and can talk about their next steps and what they have achieved, resulting in improved and sustained progress, achievement and attendance for all learners
• embedded, systematic evaluation practice that effectively uses multiple sources of evidence to determine the impact of actions and deliberate decision making on the outcomes for learners
• improved and sustained levels of engagement between the school and its community, including iwi and hapū, that contribute to the depth and breadth of teaching and learning programmes.

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

Sharon Kelly
Acting Director of Schools

20 February 2025

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