Marton 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

Marton School is located in the town of Marton in the Rangitikei district. The school caters for students in years 1 to 8. The school aspires to achieve their collective vision for learner success and promote purposeful partnerships with whānau and their community. 

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 February 2023, the school has focused on building effective teaching, learning and curriculum practice in literacy to achieve equitable and excellent outcomes for all learners.

Expected Improvements and Findings

The school expected to see:

A continued schoolwide positive trajectory in literacy achievement and accelerated progress for targeted learners.

• Reported outcomes over time show a positive trajectory in school wide literacy achievement. All targeted learners progressed their achievement in 2023, with many accelerating their progress.

Effective teaching and learning in delivery of literacy practice aligned to the school’s agreed expectations.

• Sustained participation in schoolwide professional learning and development (PLD) for teachers has strengthened their collective knowledge and delivery of literacy approaches. Continuity in the delivery of literacy ensures a cohesive approach for learners as they transition through the school.

Changes to the Marton School curriculum that established agreed expectations for delivery of the literacy curriculum.

• Observational feedback from leaders, through their coaching and mentoring processes, is increasingly promoting consistency of their agreed expectations in the delivery of literacy approaches.

Other Findings

The greatest shift that occurred in response to the school’s action, is in the participation of teachers in schoolwide literacy PLD and collaborative opportunities to share practice, that have led to improving outcomes for learners. 

Part B: Current State

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

Learner Success and Wellbeing

• most students are progressing well in reading, writing and mathematics
• reported achievement outcomes for Māori and Pacific learners in reading, writing and mathematics shows equitable outcomes when compared to other groups in the school 
• a targeted response to an identified disparity in literacy between boys and girls shows a trajectory of improved progress over time. Fully addressing this disparity remains an identified priority for leaders, teachers, and trustees 
• leaders and teachers use a range of well-considered strategies and approaches to achieve positive levels of attendance and encourage purposeful engagement at school. 

Conditions to support learner success

• the provision of PLD for staff is data driven, and focused on achieving equitable and excellent outcomes for all learners, aligned to the schools shared vision
• leaders, across the school, appropriately support teachers’ professional understanding of shared curriculum expectations, teaching resources, and tools
• evidence based interventions, including the appointment of a specialist literacy teacher, are suitably aligned to the schools' established priorities to meet the diverse needs of learners. 

• staff know learners well. They work collaboratively to determine well considered strategies and actions to respond to their needs 
• teachers engage learners purposefully to build their knowledge, skills and progress their learning
• delivery of the curriculum increasingly reflects local contexts in ways learners can see themselves, their identity and culture
• students experience well-structured learning approaches in an orderly and well-resourced environment.

• assessment processes and practice effectively support the identification, tracking and reporting of learner outcomes
• leaders and teachers facilitate regular opportunities for parents and whānau to share their aspirations, receive information and set shared goals to achieve learner success
• information provided to trustees ensures resourcing decisions are aligned to their established priorities for learner success
• stakeholder information is sought and used meaningfully to inform strategic priorities that guide ongoing school improvement. 

Part C: Where to next?

The agreed next steps for the school are to: 

• provide further PLD and guidance to teachers in delivery of the writing curriculum to further increase outcomes for learners 
• continue to seek opportunities to meaningfully engage with whānau in development of reciprocal learning partnerships to support learner success
• further develop practices to strengthen the inclusion of te ao Māori and te reo Māori.

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

Within three months:

• leaders and teachers will identify at risk learners and develop relevant targets and actions to meet individual needs
• leaders and teachers will implement actions to purposefully partner with whānau to share learning goals and establish strategies to promote learner success and address barriers to progress, attendance, and engagement
• leaders will explore their identified outcomes from Poutama Reo and develop an implementation plan that establishes relevant actions to promote continuous improvement.

Every six months:

• leaders and teachers will determine the impact of teaching on learning through observation of teacher practice and provision of specific feedback against goals to support continuous improvement of key strategic and annual implementation goals 
• leaders will analyse and report progress and achievement data to trustees, to support scrutiny of outcomes and decisions about resourcing
• school protocols are being established to reflect culturally responsive contexts, inclusive of mihi whakatau and pōwhiri for new whānau. 

Annually:

• leaders will gather information in relation to learner progress, observation of teacher practice, attendance, student and whānau voice to support in time evaluation into strategies and actions contributing to the school progressing their strategic and annual priorities 
• leaders and teachers will utilise gathered information, including the outcomes of their professional growth cycle, to inform relevant changes to curriculum delivery as approaches and new learning is embedded into practice.

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

• reciprocal learning partnerships, between parents, whānau and the school that demonstrate whanaungatanga and manaakitanga, and establish relevant goals that promote learner success
• delivery of the curriculum that weaves tikanga Māori, matauranga Māori and te ao Māori reflective of whānau aspirations and the funds of knowledge from parents, whānau and the community
• effective coaching and mentoring that effectively builds the consistency of teacher practice and impacts positively on learner outcomes
• systematic evaluation practice that effectively uses multiple sources of evidence to determine the impact of actions and deliberate decision making on outcomes for learners. 

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

16 April 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