Pukeatua Primary School (Wainuiomata)

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 

Pukeatua Primary School (Wainuiomata) is located in Wellington and provides dual-medium education for students in Years 1 to 8. A new leadership team and presiding board member have recently been appointed. A Ministry of Education special advisor supports the school with curriculum development. The school’s values are Whakaute (respect), Manaakitanga (caring and sharing), Ngana (commitment) and Tuakiri (identity).

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 

• Achievement information shows a small majority of students in mathematics, less than half in reading and a few students in writing are meeting expected curriculum levels; improvement in learner progress and achievement is required.
• Improving equity for groups of learners, including Māori students, is an ongoing priority.
• School attendance rates are not yet meeting the Ministry of Education target with fewer than half of the learners attending school regularly; leaders and teachers are taking steps to apply a range of well-considered approaches focused on improving the attendance rates for all learners.

Conditions to support learner success

• Leaders are establishing expectations for high quality, evidence-based teaching, and are taking steps to improve the way they collect, analyse and interpret data to better inform teaching and learning.
• Deliberate steps are being taken to strengthen and align schoolwide planning, use of assessment and reporting practices, to better inform teaching and learning.
• Leaders work collaboratively to monitor teaching practices that are clear and focused on improving learning outcomes for students.

• Learners experience meaningful learning opportunities within an inclusive, supportive environment that acknowledges who they are as learners.
• Learners needing additional in-class learning and behavioural support are identified and provided with effective assistance; this contributes to a positive and inclusive learning environment.
• Schoolwide professional learning and development increasingly builds teacher capability and consistency of practice across the school.

• The board, leaders and staff prioritise a relational and inclusive culture that fosters student wellbeing and active participation in learning through the school’s values.
• Strengthening the collection, analysis, reporting and use of relevant attendance, progress, and achievement information is needed, for board and school leadership to decide on strategic priorities focused on improving student outcomes.
• The board and leaders are developing self-review processes to ensure alignment of key schoolwide practices focus on learner wellbeing, achievement and engagement; strengthening the use of information from a range of sources to plan for ongoing improvement is an identified next step.
• Leaders and staff are taking steps to strengthen and build opportunities for whānau to contribute to and enhance learning programmes; increased use of their knowledge, skills and abilities to strengthen the school’s dual-medium identity is an identified next step.

Rumaki/Bilingual Outcomes and Condition to Support Learner Success 

Learner success and wellbeing 

• Assessment practices and systems are increasingly reviewed to collect and analyse achievement in literacy and mathematics.
• Tracking and monitoring of some achievement data informs the planning of teaching and learning programmes to support progression.
• Relational trust is fostered within a learning environment that promotes authentic connections and respectful interactions between kaiako and tamariki.

Conditions to support learner success

• Leaders and kaiako work collaboratively to organise visits to local marae to enhance students use of te reo Māori and the tikanga of mana whenua.
• Learning is beginning to reflect the local narratives of Te Āti Awa.
• Leadership practices are beginning to strengthen established partnerships focused on building relational trust between Kaiako, whānau and leadership.

Part B: Where to next? 

The agreed next steps for the school are to: 

• strengthen the use of attendance, wellbeing and achievement information to inform responsive teaching practice and school improvement priorities that focus on improving equity, and attendance and achievement outcomes for all learners
• support teachers to further develop consistent, responsive teaching, learning and assessment practices with a focus on accelerating learning of students at risk of not achieving
• further develop partnerships with whānau and the wider community, using the skills they bring, to support the design and development of their localised curriculum, Te Manawa Pao o te Repo
• strengthen schoolwide systems, processes and procedures to ensure that the school meets its statutory responsibilities and improvement priorities.

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

Within six months:

• review and develop a systematic process to track and monitor the progress and impact of key improvement actions, including attendance, achievement outcomes and legislative requirements
• engage and consult with the school community, including iwi and hapū, to inform curriculum content and delivery.

Every six months:

• moderate, monitor and report to the board on the progress and achievement of all learners, particularly for achieving equity for groups of learners and those at risk of not achieving
• review and use assessment information and learner feedback to adjust programmes and practice to achieve accelerated achievement outcomes for learners
• connect and consult with whānau, iwi and hapū to engage and share aspirations for learners and participate in the planning and decision-making of the school’s priorities.

Annually:

• review, analyse and report schoolwide achievement and attendance data to the board, to strategically plan actions that will continue to improve progress, achievement and attendance outcomes for all learners
• review and analyse achievement information for target groups of learners, to identify initiatives and practices that have been most successful in accelerating progress and improving attendance
• gather and review student and whānau voice to assist with evaluating the extent of engagement in and how well the curriculum is responding to student learning needs.

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

• increased equity in attendance, progress and achievement for all learners in reading, pānui, writing, tuhituhi, and mathematics and pāngarau, particularly for Māori learners
• improved levels of engagement between the school and its community, including iwi and hapū, that contribute to the depth and breadth of teaching and learning programmes
• embedded, systematic evaluation practices that effectively use multiple sources of evidence to determine the impact on the outcomes of learners of actions and deliberate decision making.

Recommendation to the Ministry of Education

ERO recommends that the Ministry of Education continue to provide tailored support for:

• curriculum planning and assessment.

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

10 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