Gisborne Intermediate

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  

Gisborne Intermediate School, located in Gisborne City, provides education for students in Years 7 and 8. The school’s vision is to ‘grow great people’. The school has a bilingual class and two classrooms that support learners with additional needs. A new principal was appointed in Term 3 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  

• The majority of learners achieve at expected curriculum levels in reading and mathematics; a priority for the school is to decrease disparity in achievement between New Zealand European students and their peers (Māori and Pacific learners), and between boys and girls in literacy, particularly writing.  
• Attendance information shows that the school is below the Ministry of Education target for regular attendance; the school’s analysis clearly highlights the correlation between regular attendance and achievement and is working towards addressing this.  
• Students are increasingly engaged in their learning and positive social interactions, within a strengthening school culture. 

Conditions to support learner success 

• Leadership increasingly fosters a culture for teachers that is committed to high quality teaching and the monitoring of learner progress; professional learning is aligned with improvement goals. 
• Leadership provides clear direction, to action and realise a small number of pertinent improvement goals, that reflect the school’s vision and what the community wants for its children.  
• Leadership is strengthening links between the school and wider community, including parents, whānau, mana whenua and contributing schools, and underway in developing reciprocal relationships to enhance transition and enrich opportunities and experiences for learners. 

• Learners increasingly experience positive and affirming learning environments with clearly established routines and expectations for learning; further strengthening teachers’ cultural knowledge and practices is a planned next step.  
• Teachers engage students in meaningful learning, developing concepts, ideas, and skills through deliberate acts of teaching including modelling, questioning, instruction, feedback and feedforward. 
• Teaching practices are increasingly adapted to respond to learner needs, supported by a wide range of teaching and learning resources; school-wide consistency of teaching informed by improved assessment practice is a next step. 

• Leadership acknowledges that the use of internal expertise builds partnerships for learning; staff in rumaki have the capacity to build knowledge in te reo Māori and te ao Māori throughout the school. 
• Stewardship is representative of the school community and board members work collaboratively with school leaders to realise the vision and improvement goals; resourcing for learning is equity and wellbeing focused. 
• Learner wellbeing and inclusivity are increasingly supported by clear expectations about seeing school values in action, improving relationships between students, teachers and whānau, and accessing additional support as required. 
• Evaluation for improvement is developing and the board, leaders and teachers are strengthening the way they collect, analyse, and interpret data; strengthening the use of whānau perspectives and including learner voice to inform school decision making, is an identified next step.  

Rumaki/Bilingual Outcomes and Conditions to Support Learner Success 

Tamariki outcomes 

• Tamariki develop confidence to speak te reo Māori through the recitation of karakia, pepeha, and whakapapa. 
• Kaiako provide a responsive local curriculum that engages tamariki in authentic learning environments. 
• Tamariki make accelerated progress in reading, writing, and mathematics. 

Conditions to support learners 

• Learning programmes purposefully engage tamariki in meaningful learning through te reo Māori. 
• Targeted resourcing of te ao Māori learning programmes, supports and strengthens tamariki outcomes.  
• A responsive, inclusive learning environment supports tamariki to confidently apply new learning. 

Priorities for Improvement 

• Kaiako develop the fluency and comprehension of  tamariki  in every day conversational reo. 
• Leadership develop systems to consistently track Ngā Manu ā Rēhua to monitor the effectiveness of the programme in meeting its goals. 
• Kaiako implement a te reo Māori assessment tool to evidence te reo Māori progression.  

Part B: Where to next? 

The agreed next steps for the school are to:  

• be relentless about having learners attending school regularly  
• increase progress and achievement and parity between different groups of students in reading, writing and mathematics 
• build teachers’ cultural capacity, responsiveness and confidence in delivering practices that benefit all learners 
• strengthen assessment processes, including moderation, and the ways that information is used to inform teaching across the school. 

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

Within six months: 

• strengthen strategies and approaches that support attendance and assist the school community to understand the correlation between regular attendance and academic progress and achievement 
• moderation practices and data driven conversations are a regular feature of team and curriculum meetings to drive improved learning outcomes 
• staff participate in professional learning to grow the school’s collective capacity to respond to the cultural needs of all students.  

Termly: 

• analyse attendance data and measure progress towards improving regular attendance at school. 

Every six months: 

• review curriculum content, delivery and assessment practices to ensure these are still fit for purpose and used consistently as agreed  
• use an agreed monitoring process to review and report on how effectively staff are implementing practices that respond to learners’ languages, cultures and identities.  

Annually: 

• report to the board in relation to annual and over time progress and achievement of all groups of students, including the levels of disparity for these groups  
• evaluate and report progress towards improving attendance for all groups of learners. 

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

• growth in regular student attendance, leading to improved and sustained engagement in learning and progress and achievement 
• teaching practices that result in improved parity of outcomes for groups of learners 
• schoolwide consistency in the use of assessment practices and delivery of the curriculum that responds to learners’ needs, strengths and cultures 
• evaluation practices that inform school and classroom decision making. 

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 July 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