Kahutara 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 

Kahutara School, located rurally near Featherston, provides education for students in Years 1 to 8. The school board appointed a new principal at the beginning of 2024.

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 

Outcomes for learners at Kahutara School are not yet known.

• The school was unable to provide any current, reliable achievement information in reading, writing or mathematics; the new principal has established dependable systems and processes to track and monitor student progress and achievement using a range of appropriate assessment tools and with clear expectations for teacher use.
• The Ministry of Education’s target for regular student attendance is met.

Conditions to support learner success

Leadership sets and pursues improvement-focused goals and targets, with a focus on quality teaching and equity and excellence in learner outcomes.

• The new principal is taking a considered and deliberate approach to strengthening school practices that ensure all students are given opportunities to learn from a broad curriculum. 
• Leaders are working to provide a positive environment that is inclusive, supports student wellbeing and ensures teaching and learning enable equitable and excellent outcomes for all learners. 
• Leaders are strengthening relational trust and collaboration with the school community to achieve the strategic vision and improvement goals.

Teachers create collaborative learning environments that support students to be engaged.

• Learners experience positive and respectful relationships with teachers in the classroom.  
• Teachers are developing an understanding of agreed teaching strategies to support the many different needs of learners.

Organisation conditions, policies, systems, processes, and practices are strengthening to drive strategic improvements.

• Enhanced relational trust and communication across school staff supports increased levels of collaboration and improvement across many areas of the school.
• Led by the principal, the school has clear strategic priorities that focus on developing reliable and useful assessment and reporting, establishing systems to promote positive behaviour and wellbeing, and strengthening the school’s local curriculum.
• Parents and whānau have improved opportunities to be involved in their child’s learning.

Part B: Where to next? 

The agreed next steps for the school are to:

• embed dependable assessment practices to support teaching and learning and inform the school’s ongoing strategic direction
• in partnership with the school community, strengthen the school’s curriculum to ensure consistent expectations for teaching and learning reflect local contexts and offer more relevant learning opportunities for students
• strengthen the new board’s understanding of their governance roles and responsibilities.

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

Within three months:

• all board members undertake New Zealand School Board Association (NZSBA) training to support understanding of their roles and responsibilities, including the requirement to meet legislative obligations.

Within six months:

• engage in community consultation to inform the school’s development of their local curriculum.

Every six months:

• analyse learners’ attendance, progress and achievement information to inform their next steps and respond to any differences amongst groups of learners.

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 
• ensure strategic planning and annual goals are evidenced by student information and align with the school’s priorities and continue to support positive outcomes for all learners.

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

• continuous improvement of learner attendance, progress and achievement outcomes by effective use of school data that supports evaluation and informs strategic planning
• strong governance by the board that fulfils its legislative requirements and governance obligations
• the development of an inclusive and relevant local curriculum that supports learner engagement and success.

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

29 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