Papakowhai 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.

It is intended that this report is a collaborative effort between the Evaluation Partner and the school evaluation team. It is important to remember that this is ERO’s report. ERO makes the final decision about the contents of this report.

Context

Papakowhai School is in Porirua, Wellington and provides education for students from Years 1 to 8. The school vision, Growing Together – Igniting Potential, is underpinned by the school values of excellence, fairness, whakawhanaunatanga and manaakitanga. 

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 

Learners are successfully engaged and achievement is increasingly equitable and excellent.

• Almost all students are achieving at or above curriculum expectations.
• Pacific students are achieving at a higher level than their peers in reading; Māori and Pacific students are achieving as well as their peers in mathematics.
• Ongoing improvements in teaching practice is reducing disparity in reading and writing outcomes for Māori students; leaders continue to prioritise responsive strategies to accelerate learning.
• Most students attend school regularly; the school is meeting Ministry of Education target.

Conditions to support learner success

Collaborative leadership effectively use a range of evidence to monitor the impact of strategic goals.

• Leaders have high expectations, they promote effective teaching and learning opportunities that enable students to progress and improve achievement. 
• Leadership effectively evaluates the impact of strategies to improve learning, engagement and wellbeing, targeting learners at risk of underachieving and implementing initiatives to respond.
• Leadership regularly gathers and analyses student, parent and whānau voice to inform strategic actions.

Effective teaching and learning reflect learners’ strengths, needs and interests, building on existing knowledge and skills to promote progress.

• Teachers collaboratively develop learning programmes that have clear expectations and outcomes for learners.
• Almost all students make progress through challenging and relevant learning experiences in a well-planned local curriculum. 
• English Second Language Learners (ESOL) and students with additional needs are well supported to access learning and make progress; students’ progress and achievement is consistently tracked and monitored.

 Embedded systems, structures and practices promote effective conditions for teaching and learning.

• Information about students is used in a coherent and strategic manner to progress and monitor actions for improvement.
• Leaders and teachers use an appropriate range of learning and wellbeing strategies to support students’ progress and achievement in learning.
• Teachers and students increasingly use te reo Māori, tikanga Māori and mātauranga Māori; leaders have identified this as a priority in strategic planning.
• Inclusive environments effectively promote engagement and support students participation in learning. 

Part B: Where to next? 

The agreed next steps for the school are to:

• Continue to strengthen schoolwide evidenced-based strategies to guide responsive teaching practice to meet the needs for learner’s progress, achievement and wellbeing
• continue to strengthen the use of te reo Māori, tikanga Māori and mātauranga Māori across the school.  

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

Within six months:

• implement schoolwide professional development to strengthen a range of effective learning and wellbeing strategies 
• evaluate the effectiveness of te reo Māori, tikanga Māori and mātauranga Māori learning across the school to identify areas for improvement

Every six months:

• gather, review and respond to student, parents and whānau voice to strengthen partnerships in learning and wellbeing to know the impact of professional development
• evaluate te reo Māori, tikanga Māori and mātauranga Māori teaching and learning practices using observations, teacher and student reflections.

Annually:

• analyse and report student progress, achievement and wellbeing information to the board and school community and use this to plan further improvement actions
• identify successful strategies that accelerate learner progress and promote learner well-being to embed consistent school-wide practices
• review the use of te reo, tikanga and mātauranga Māori learning across the school to plan strategic actions.

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

• sustained high levels of attendance and achievement 
• continued effective schoolwide use of a variety of evidenced-based strategies so that the needs of all students are met; disparity is reduced
• strengthened capability of staff and students in te reo, tikanga and mātauranga Māori.

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 September 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