Turakina 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

Turakina School is located in Turakina Village, south of Whanganui and west of Marton. It provides education for students in Year 1 to 8. The school vision, ‘Learners’ realising their potential, mauri ora’, is underpinned by its values, ’Whanaungatanga, Manaaki, Ako and Manawanui’.

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 students achieve to curriculum expectation in reading and writing; the majority are achieving at expected levels in mathematics.
• Achieving equity for Māori learners in reading, writing and mathematics remains a priority for the school to address.
• Information from 2024 shows the majority of learners attend school regularly; leaders have implemented processes to monitor attendance and its impact on learner achievement, with the aim of meeting the MOE attendance target.
• Students are well-supported through effective inclusion and wellbeing strategies to have a strong sense of belonging to the school.

Conditions to support learner success

• Leaders use student learning information well to inform professional learning for staff that improves outcomes for learners.
• Leaders support teachers to use evidence-based learning and teaching practices proven to promote student success.
• Students who need additional support are known and responded to within the school and by external specialists.

• Learners benefit from an appropriate range of learning opportunities across the breadth and depth of The New Zealand Curriculum.
• Teaching and learning in reading are informed by evidence-based teaching practices that positively impact on learners’ progress and achievement.
• Responsive teaching practices foster a school culture that promotes collaboration, respect, and inclusion for learners.

• Leaders have high aspirations for all learners to progress and achieve and provide targeted support to improve student outcomes.
• Relational trust and communication across school staff promotes effective collaboration and improvement across the school.
• The board aligns resourcing decisions to identified priorities with increasing effectiveness, based on regular tracking and reporting of learner outcomes.

Part B: Where to next? 

The agreed next steps for the school are to: 

• increase teacher knowledge of the learning and teaching in mathematics to support improved learner outcomes
• extend the established relationships with parents and whānau to engage them in their child’s mathematics learning
• monitor the success of initiatives to improve regular attendance and sustain improvements in achievement of all learners.

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

Within three months:

• identify attitudes, strengths and weaknesses in mathematics teaching and learning
• clearly identify teacher strengths and development needs to access relevant professional development in mathematics
• consult with whānau about their child’s learning and what support they may need to increase engagement and achievement in mathematics.

Every six months:

• monitor the progress of teacher practice and the impact this is having on achievement in mathematics
• use assessment information to guide teacher and strategic planning to support equitable opportunities for all students to succeed in mathematics
• school leaders and teachers closely monitor and analyse student attendance.

Annually:

• analyse the achievement and attendance information of all learners to identify initiatives that have been successful in accelerating progress and improving attendance
• evaluate the effectiveness of changes in the teaching of mathematics using progress, and achievement data, and the perspectives of whānau and students.

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

• improved attendance for all students
• raised student progress, achievement, and engagement in mathematics
• strengthened teacher capacity and content knowledge of mathematics to enable them to meet the needs of all students
• improved levels of whānau engagement and understanding in supporting their child’s mathematical learning.

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

10 September 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