Ilminster 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 

Ilminster Intermediate, located in Gisborne, provides education for Years 7 and 8. The school’s vision is to enable all students to apply their skills, knowledge and understandings so they can develop into active, productive healthy members of the community.

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 

• Collated standardised data is not used to its full potential to give a clear overall picture of the numbers achieving at expected curriculum levels in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of each year.
• Analysed, reliable assessment information shows that most students, including Māori, progress noticeably over the two years; this is an established pattern over time.
• Students with additional learning needs have an inclusive learning environment and they progress well.
• Attendance information shows that the school is well below the Ministry of Education target for regular attendance; absence is closely monitored, areas of concern identified and students and their whānau are supported by staff to engage.

Conditions to support learner success

• Leadership increasingly uses student achievement evidence to collaboratively plan with staff responsive teaching programmes to meet students’ learning needs.
• Leaders involve staff in strategic planning and identifying improvement goals that are 
  student-outcome focused, particularly for those at risk of not achieving.
• Leadership and staff are starting to look at the impact that professional learning has on teaching and what makes a difference for learners; continuing to strengthen the use of student achievement data to support learning is a next step.

• Learners experience positive and respectful relationships with teachers in the classroom; teachers know their students well and what they bring with them to learning.
• Local contexts are increasingly reflected in the local curriculum; building teacher capacity through continued growth in te reo Māori, tikanga Māori and mātauranga Māori is a next step.
• The introduction of specialist literacy and mathematics teachers, to lead the Matauranga Learning Centres has had a significant impact on student achievement; all teachers are increasingly supported to adapt teaching practices to respond to and meet specific learner needs. 

• Partnerships between whānau and staff, for learning and re-engaging students, are re-building and at an early stage; strengthening communication and strategies to engage with whānau to support them to understand and be involved in their child’s learning is a next step.
• Teaching capacity and capability building is supported through ongoing professional development aligned to the school’s goals; a next step is to evaluate the impact on learner progress and achievement of teachers’ new knowledge.  

Part B: Where to next?

The agreed next steps for the school are to: 

• make better use of the comprehensive data collected, to be clearer about overall student achievement against curriculum levels and more closely monitor and analyse patterns of attendance
• strengthen communication and develop further strategies to engage with whānau to support attendance and to be involved in their child’s learning 
• continue to strengthen culturally responsive practices to support learning; build teacher capacity through continued growth in te reo Māori, tikanga Māori and mātauranga Māori
• evaluate the impact of professional development on learner progress and achievement.

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

Within three months:

• use existing data to establish a clearer picture of overall achievement in relation to curriculum levels in reading, writing and mathematics
• analyse student attendance data and measure progress towards improving regular school attendance.

In six months:

• analyse and report to the board, progress and achievement in relation to curriculum levels in reading writing and mathematics to inform resourcing decisions
• evaluate the progress in engaging parents in learning partnerships and to improve attendance and plan forward accordingly 
• establish with teachers, expected outcomes of professional learning on classroom practice.

Every six months: 

• analysed attendance, progress and achievement data is reported to the board to inform progress against improvement priorities
• review and report on how effectively staff are strengthening their growth in te reo Māori, tikanga Māori and mātauranga Māori to support culturally responsive teaching practices in the school 
• review and report on the effectiveness of communication strategies to engage whānau in their children’s learning.

Annually:

• analysed attendance, progress and achievement data is reported to the board to inform the next year’s improvement priorities and professional learning for teachers; this reporting includes the impact of undertaken professional development on learning outcomes.

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

• improved attendance for all students 
• improved engagement in learning, and progress and achievement
• strengthened partnerships between whānau and the school to support learners’ attendance, progress and achievement
• direct impact on teaching practice and visible in learner outcomes of professional development.
• well aligned systems, processes and practices that support improvement priorities for learner achievement. 

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

30 January 2025

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