West End School (P North)

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 

West End School is a multicultural primary school in Palmerston North. A new principal began in February 2024 with additional changes in the senior leadership and middle leadership teams since then. The school vision of Mahi Tahi, Whakaaro, Akoako Tahi, Working Together, Thinking Together, Learning Together drives school improvement. A specialised class provides support for learners with high and complex needs. Two bilingual te reo Māori classes have been in operation since 2022. 

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 at or above expected curriculum levels in reading and mathematics and a large majority achieve at or above expected curriculum levels in writing.
• The school has a plan to address the disparity for Māori boys in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Students with additional needs have an inclusive, supportive learning environment in which they achieve personal success. 
• Regular attendance is lower than the Ministry of Education 2024 attendance target; the school is working with parents and whānau and other agencies to support the regular attendance of students. 

Conditions to support learner success

• Leadership is developing clear, shared expectations for teaching and learning to improve student achievement. 
• A clear focus on wellbeing for learning, supported by programmes that promote a positive school culture, supports student engagement in learning. 
• A coaching model is increasingly used to support teachers extend their teaching practices.

• School values underpin learning programmes; students can talk confidently about what they mean in different contexts. 
• Students benefit from an appropriate range of effective teaching practices; a suitable range of assessment tools support the gathering of data to track and monitor student progress and achievement. 
• Data on the progress and achievement of groups of learners, year and gender group cohorts, Māori, Pacific and other ethnic groups, as well as identified priority learners is gathered, it is not yet well analysed to know the impact of teaching and learning for these groups of students.

• Enhanced relational trust and communication across school staff supports increased levels of collaboration and improvement across many areas of the school.
• Trustees, leaders and teachers are increasingly giving effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi through partnerships with Māori and increasingly integrate quality te reo Māori, tikanga Māori and mātauranga Māori throughout the curriculum: reviewing the impact of te ao Māori initiatives is a next step.
• The board actively represents and serves the school in its stewardship role with diversity, sustainability and succession being key priorities. 

Part B: Where to next? 

The agreed next steps for the school are to: 

• expand teacher capability and practice for consistent high-quality, evidence informed practices, including assessment to improve outcomes for students; with an additional focus on reducing disparity in the achievement of Māori boys
• continue to develop and extend the integration of te reo Māori, te ao Māori, tikanga Māori and mātauranga Māori into programmes of learning
• continue to develop the bilingual classrooms to reflect the needs and aspirations of the school community
• develop strategic targets and goals that measure and define what success looks like in terms of improved attendance.

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

Within six months:

• inquire into the underachievement of Māori boys and develop an implementation plan to address this
• review current assessment and moderation practice; develop assessment practices to support a responsive approach teaching and learning to accelerate achievement, including feedback to students

Every six months:

• continue to analyse learners’ attendance, progress and achievement information to inform the next steps and respond with targeted interventions for identified groups of students
• review the impact of te ao Māori initiatives on student engagement and progress

Annually:

• review and report on the impact of teaching and learning programmes on students’ progress and achievement to know what has been successful and what needs further improvement
• use the analysis of achievement and progress data, and other evidence, to know and report on the impact of professional learning in curriculum and assessment for teachers on outcomes for students 
• ensure robust strategic planning and annual goals, aligned with identified priorities, continue to promote positive outcomes in all areas for all learners.

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

• raised and sustained achievement for Māori boys in reading, writing and mathematics 
• improved and sustained student attendance. 
• strengthened use of data to inform decision making, collaborative planning and teaching practices 
• consistent use of responsive teaching practices, including te ao Māori, to meet the varied needs of 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

4 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