Tutira 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

Tutira School a small rural school located between Napier and Wairoa, provides education for learners in Years 1 to 8. The school’s vision is for students to be ‘empowered by nature and inspired by uniqueness’. The vision is supported by the school and community values of kotahitanga, ako, hauora and aroha.

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 

• Data collected at the end of 2023 shows that the majority of students achieve at or above curriculum expectations in reading and writing, and most achieve very well in mathematics; the school is addressing, through a variety of approaches, a slightly lower achievement rate for Māori students in these foundational areas, particularly writing. 
• Attendance information shows that the school is approaching the Ministry of Education target for regular attendance; the school works closely with its community to support attendance. 

Conditions to support learner success

• Leadership increasingly consults with parents and whānau to inform strategic planning decisions that reflect what parents and whānau want for their children; strengthening communication and access to student progress information is an identified next step. 
• Leadership ensures that expectations for high quality teaching are shared with staff, and that the progress of students is closely monitored, with particular focus on increasing the progress and achievement of learners at risk of not achieving at expected curriculum levels.
• Professional learning is well aligned to school goals and maintained until practices are embedded.

• Teachers increasingly use assessment information to identify and respond to the varied needs of learners in multi-level classrooms.
• The curriculum reflects local contexts and teachers are increasing learning opportunities to broaden students’ knowledge and experiences; a next step is to consistently use the agreed approach to curriculum planning school-wide.
• Teachers are integrating te ao Māori world view into planning and beginning to incorporate the teaching and use of te reo Māori more consistently. 

• The school’s well embedded programmes and inclusive practices prioritise the wellbeing of students and promote a high level of engagement. 
• Evaluation for improvement is becoming more consistent as staff and the school board strengthen the ways they collect, analyse, and interpret data related to learning and school improvement.
• Leaders and teachers increasingly use strategies known to be effective, to reduce barriers to education and to support access to learning for all.

Part B: Where to next? 

The agreed next steps for the school are to: 

• review assessment tools and strengthen assessment for learning practices to better inform teaching decisions
• use a digital platform to regularly share learner attendance, progress and achievement with parents and whānau 
• continue to embed the curriculum planning approach aligned to The New Zealand Curriculum
• strengthen the integration of te ao Māori, tikanga Māori and mātauranga Māori through all aspects of the school curriculum, including regular teaching of te reo Māori.

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

Within six months:

• identify and begin professional learning about assessment for learning practices
• put in place processes to ensure that a range of assessments are consistently used to inform practice and assessment information is accessible digitally to students, staff and parents
• implement planning using the agreed framework that aligns to The New Zealand Curriculum 
• ensure curriculum and classroom planning and practice reflects te ao Māori view and opportunities to integrate te reo Māori; a regular programme of te reo Māori language teaching is in place school-wide

Every six months:

• report to the board on student attendance, progress, and achievement school-wide, with particular analysis of the progress of those students who are not achieving at expected levels of The New Zealand Curriculum
• critically review curriculum delivery and its impact on student progress in all areas of learning, so that successful initiatives are identified, and adjustments made if required, to ensure ongoing progress and acceleration in learning

Annually:

• report to the board and school community, evidencing progress towards school goals; this reporting should inform future school direction 
• invite collaboration and feedback from staff, students and parents on new initiatives, including about the effectiveness of the ways the school shares student progress information with parents and whānau
• review assessment procedures to ensure these provide valid and reliable information to guide teaching and learning practices.

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

• evaluation practices that inform teaching and result in sustained progress for all learners with increased parity for Māori learners
• increased communication between whānau and school about student attendance, learning progress and achievement that enhances collaboration and improves student outcomes
• students learning within a culturally responsive curriculum that reflects their language, culture and identity and enables them to demonstrate broad understandings of concepts in local, national and global contexts
• students and staff learning and regularly using te reo Māori with increased capability.

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

22 August 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