Solway College

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 

Solway College is a Years 7 to 13 girls’ school located in Masterton (Wairarapa). The special character is founded on a Christian, inclusive environment, and seeks to provide a holistic education.

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 

In the past three years, the school has focused on evaluating the implementation of an evaluation framework to support the review of school’s curriculum (Tō Mātou Ara Manaia - Our Solway Way) and its impact on student achievement and wellbeing.  

Expected Improvements and Findings 

The school expected to see:

Equitable and excellent outcomes for all learners as they transition successfully through their Solway education and beyond school.

• Individual learning plans, including rigorous tracking and monitoring of learners, ensure equitable and excellent outcomes for most students.
• Just under half of the students gain Excellence and Merit endorsement at all levels of the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA).
• A sustained emphasis is placed on academic mentoring, goal setting and tracking towards excellence for all learners. 
• Junior student achievement in literacy and numeracy is prioritised, with most learners achieving above curriculum level and many learners making accelerated progress over time. 

A positive impact on student achievement and wellbeing as a result of the Tō Mātou Ara Manaia – ‘Our Solway Way’ curriculum review.

• A cross-curricular learning and horizons model encompassing Tō Mātou Ara Manaia, using student voice, provides a wider range of pathways for learners.
• Learners and teachers have a shared understanding and language about what Tō Mātou Ara Manaia – ‘Our Solway Way’ means.  
• Tō Mātou Ara Manaia – ‘Our Solway Way’ is highly visible and woven through all contexts of school life with a range of cohesive supports, programmes and interventions in place to enable individual students achieve personal excellence.

Other Findings

The greatest shift that occurred in response to the school’s action has been the strengthening of its collective capacity to use evaluation for improvement and innovation across the school. This is evident in the alignment of strategic priorities directly with Tō Mātou Ara Manaia – ‘Our Solway Way’, placing the school’s special character and values at the heart of excellent achievement and wellbeing outcomes for each learner. 

Part B: Current State 

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

Learner Success and Wellbeing 

Outcomes for most learners are equitable, excellent and sustained over time. 

• Almost all students, including Māori learners, achieve at or above curriculum level in reading, writing and mathematics in the junior school and almost all students achieve NCEA Levels 1, 2 and 3.
• Almost all learners gain knowledge and skills to successfully progress towards recognised school qualifications and are well prepared for further education or employment.
• Regular student attendance is substantially higher than the Ministry of Education 2024 target.

Conditions to support learner success

Strategic and effective leadership drives improvement to systems and processes, setting high expectations for teaching and learning.

• The school’s vision and values are clearly articulated by leadership, learners, and teachers, and are evident throughout all aspects of school. 
• Leaders use an evaluation framework to plan, monitor and evaluate the impact of strategic actions on learner outcomes, and make adaptations as required to respond to learners who are at risk of underachievement.
• Leaders create opportunities that strengthen collaboration and internal evaluative capacity at every level of the school community to achieve the strategic vision and improvement goals, lifting achievement outcomes for all learners. 

Students have meaningful and intentional teaching, and they are effectively supported to achieve success.  

• Learners have a curriculum that increasingly reflects local contexts, helps them learn to be responsible for their school environment and contributes to developing school values as they transition through the school.
• Learners have explicit teaching of literacy and numeracy across the curriculum in Years 7 to 10 to develop foundational skills for learning in preparation for NCEA subjects.
• Learners are engaged and increasingly experience a wider range of choices in their learning.

The school has strongly embedded and well-aligned systems, structures and practices that underpin successful learner outcomes.

• The school regularly use evaluative evidence, in a coherent and strategic manner, to progress and monitor actions for improvement.
• Leadership and governance have sustainable professional networks and partnerships with Māori and mana whenua to improve outcomes for all learners.
• Leaders and teachers use a range of effective strategies to reduce barriers to learning and support progress towards excellence for all learners.

Part C: Where to next? 

The agreed next steps for the school are to: 

• increase the percentage of learners gaining University Entrance and NCEA Excellence endorsements, by strengthening responsive teaching and learning practices in literacy and mathematics at Years 7 to 10 to accelerate learner progress and achievement
• continue developing and implementing the Tō Mātou ara Manaia curriculum to provide a breadth of learning pathways aligned with learners' talents, interests and learning needs
• continue to build on partnerships with local iwi so learners can authentically connect to and become kaitiaki of the whenua with an understanding of its rich history.

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

Every six months:

• track, analyse and report on achievement and progress data for Year 7 to 10 students in reading, writing and mathematics, to monitor learner achievement and progress in literacy and mathematics
• use appropriate interventions for at-risk students who are not showing evidence of making progress in literacy and mathematics
• identify, track and mentor Year 11 to 13 students who are not engaging or making expected progress towards their learning outcomes 
• track and report on achievement and progress of all learners towards annual achievement targets, using school-wide systems and processes.

Annually:

• analyse achievement data and targets for Year 7 to 10 students in reading, writing and mathematics, including statement of variance, report to the board and action improvements
• evaluate the impact of teacher strategies for learners at risk of not making progress in literacy and mathematics 
• analyse achievement data and targets for Year 11 to 13 students in NCEA, including statement of variance, and report to the board
• review and evaluate the impact of Tō Mātou ara Manaia curriculum on learner engagement, achievement, and wellbeing, to make adaptations and further develop the curriculum.

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

• the development of a school-wide system for collecting and tracking achievement and progress data with regular check points for early identification of learners who are at risk of underachievement 
• responsive teaching and learning practices with integrated literacy and numeracy strategies, to increase the percentage of students gaining University Entrance and Excellence endorsements in NCEA
• an embedded local curriculum, including a breadth of pathways and access to partnerships, to engage and encourage learners to be kaitiaki te kāreti o Manaia.

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

1 October 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.