Upokongaro 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 

Upokongaro School is located on the outskirts of Whanganui in the Upokongaro township and provides education for learners in Years 1 to 8. A new principal started at the beginning of 2023. The school's vision: ‘Where I can enjoy success as me’ is underpinned by the principles, ‘he tangata’ (the people), ‘angitu’ (achievement), and ‘akoranga’ learning.

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 

The school is working towards equitable and excellent outcomes for all learners.

• School practices are increasingly inclusive and support learners to have a strong sense of belonging.
• Most learners achieve at or above expected curriculum levels in reading and the majority achieve at or above expectation in writing and mathematics. 
• There is an identified need to accelerate the progress and achievement of boys in reading and writing (literacy).
• Less than half of learners attend school regularly; leadership is actively working towards meeting the Ministry of Education’s national target and strategies are in place to improve learners’ regular attendance.

Conditions to support learner success

Leadership is taking collaborative steps to improve school systems and processes to promote improved outcomes for all.

• Leaders effectively use best-practice evidence to plan and coordinate the school’s curriculum and teaching; expectations for high-quality teaching are shared and learner outcomes are tracked and consistently monitored.
• Leaders increasingly identify targeted actions through regular review cycles that promote equitable outcomes for all learners.
• Leaders build educationally focused partnerships with local iwi, whānau, and the school community to increasingly provide opportunities for learning and success.

Teaching practices and the design of the local curriculum increasingly reflect community aspirations, the local context and are responsive to learner needs.

• Leaders and teachers are working toward establishing and sustaining shared understandings of effective, responsive and inclusive teaching to enhance engagement in learning.
• Teachers increasingly integrate te ao Māori and mātauranga Māori across the curriculum, valuing iwi aspirations, and increasing learner confidence in their culture, language and identity.
• Teachers collaboratively plan and monitor the effectiveness of their teaching practices to improve all learners’ progress, achievement and wellbeing.

School leadership is strengthening conditions to support improved outcomes for all learners.

• School leaders actively engage with the school community, including mana whenua, to ensure that strategic planning is aligned with their aspirations for all learners.
• Teachers are well supported to build their capacity and capability through targeted, carefully paced professional development that aligns with the school’s goals.
• Learners’ benefit from positive teacher/learner relationships; further strengthening schoolwide systems for positive behaviour is a school priority.

Part B: Where to next?

The agreed next steps for the school are to: 

• embed strategies to improve achievement outcomes for all learners in writing and mathematics; reduce disparity for boys in literacy
• continue to implement and review the effectiveness of strategies and initiatives to improve attendance
• continue to build teacher capability through high-quality, evidence-based professional development to improve learning outcomes for all learners in writing and mathematics
• review and improve processes and practices that support positive behaviour, wellbeing and engagement for all learners.

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

Within six months:

• clearly identify teacher strengths and areas for development to facilitate targeted professional development focused on improving outcomes for all learners in writing and mathematics
• define and prioritise the next steps for reviewing and improving the school’s positive behaviour processes and practices

Every six months:

• teachers participate in targeted professional development to improve learning outcomes for all learners in writing and particularly for boys in reading 
• monitor and evaluate progress in improving attendance and achievement outcomes for all learners in writing and for boys in literacy
• evaluate the effectiveness of deliberate interventions and chosen teaching strategies in writing and for targeted groups of learners, especially boys’ literacy, to guide future actions
• ensure consistent implementation of updated positive behaviour processes and practices across the school

Annually:

• analyse and report school-wide achievement data to the board and strategically plan actions aimed at improving attendance and learning outcomes in writing and mathematics
• review the progress and achievement of boys’ literacy and evaluate the effectiveness of teaching approaches and resource allocation decisions
• plan and implement professional learning opportunities to further strengthen teachers’ content knowledge in improving learning outcomes for all learners in writing and mathematics and for boys in reading and writing
• evaluate the impact of processes and practices that support positive behaviour on learners' wellbeing and engagement.

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

• improved achievement outcomes for all learners, with reduced disparity for boys, and an increased number of learners meeting or exceeding curriculum expectations in writing and mathematics
• consistently effective and responsive teaching and learning across the school, leading to improved achievement and engagement in learning. 
• improved processes and practices that support positive behaviour for all learners, improved and sustained levels of attendance.

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

5 December 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