Porirua East 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 

Porirua East School is in Porirua, Wellington and provides education for learners from Years 1 to 6. A new principal was appointed in 2023, and a new school board established. The school’s vision of ‘embracing diversity’ and ‘empowering success’ is supported through the values of manaakitanga, whanaungatanga, taha tinana, rangatiratanga and kotahitanga.

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 show continuous improvement over time. 

• Achievement information shows that most students in reading and the majority of students in writing and mathematics achieve at or above the expected curriculum level.
• Improving equity for groups of learners, including Māori and Pacific learners, remains a priority for the school.
• Students’ experience a positive and increasingly supportive learning environment that acknowledges their culture, language and identity and contributes to their sense of belonging. 
• Attendance information shows the majority of students attend school regularly, but the school is yet to meet the Ministry of Education’s target; leaders and teachers apply a range of well-considered approaches focused on improving the attendance rates of learners.

Conditions to support learner success

Leaders are strengthening teaching and learning conditions for learner success.

• Leaders set and pursue improvement goals and targets focused on accelerating achievement for learners at risk of not achieving.
• Leaders work collaboratively to monitor teaching practices that are clear and focused on improving learning outcomes for students.
• Leaders and teachers are developing evaluative capabilities to better know and understand the impact of initiatives and strategies for improving learner outcomes.

Teaching is becoming increasingly intentional and responsive to the diverse needs of learners.

• Teachers demonstrate a culture of learning and reflection focused on aspects of their teaching practice to improve learner progress and achievement. 
• 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.
• Staff know learners well and are increasingly responsive to their needs and interests; providing targeted support to progress learning and achieve individual goals.

Key conditions continue to be strengthened to support improved outcomes for learners.

• Learners are encouraged to celebrate their identity, language and culture and show a strong sense of belonging and pride in their school.
• The board and leaders are strengthening self-review processes to ensure alignment between policy, procedures and practice.
• Leadership and staff are taking steps to establish collaborative partnerships with whānau, the wider community, iwi and hapū, as respected and valued partners of the school to guide ongoing improvement.

Part B: Where to next? 

The agreed next steps for the school are to: 

• continue to improve attendance and achievement outcomes for all learners, particularly for Māori and Pacific students  
• adopt an evaluation framework to increase the use of internal evaluation schoolwide, to support ongoing improvement 
• further strengthen relationships and partnerships with whānau, the wider community, local iwi and hapū, using the skills they bring to enhance student learning and guide strategic direction.

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

Within six months:

• review and develop a systematic process to monitor the progress and impact of key improvement actions on attendance and achievement outcomes
• work alongside parents and whānau to assist understanding about the importance of regular attendance and the correlation between attendance and academic progress and achievement.

Every six months:

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

Annually:

• analyse achievement information of target groups of learners to identify initiatives that have been most successful in accelerating progress and develop next steps for strategic planning 
• review and analyse achievement information to identify initiatives that have been most successful in accelerating progress and improving attendance for all learners 
• gather and review parent and whānau voice on the success of partnerships with the school and improving engagement with their children’s learning. 

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

• improved levels of attendance, progress and achievement for all learners 
• strengthened internal evaluative practices that effectively use multiple sources of evidence to know the impact of actions and deliberate decision making on the outcomes of learners
• improved and sustained levels of parent, whānau and wider community engagement with the school and increased participation in the decision-making process.

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

16 October 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