Redwood School (Tawa)

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

Redwood School (Tawa) is located in Wellington and provides education for students in Years 1 to 6. The school’s vision is ‘to be a community that engages and empowers lifelong learners’.

There are three parts to this report.

Part A: A summary of the findings from the most recent Education Review Office (ERO) report and/or subsequent evaluation.

Part B: 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 C: The improvement actions prioritised for the school’s next evaluation cycle.

Part A: Previous Improvement Goals

Since the previous ERO report of March 2023 the school and ERO worked together to evaluate how effectively the use of the Zones of Regulation have improved learner wellbeing and engagement. Specifically, to determine the impact of learner self-regulation and emotional control on academic outcomes and behaviour management.

Expected Improvements and Findings

The school expected to see:

Learners have increased empathy for others.

• Learners can articulate, understand, and apply a range of strategies to self-regulate which has a positive impact on their learning, playground interactions and extra-curricular participation.
• Learners have a greater understanding of how their own emotions can impact on others.
• Learners understand and demonstrate in their relationships what it means to think of others and their feelings.

Learners using strategies that support their social-emotional wellbeing, through identifying their own feelings, triggers and using coping strategies that assist their self-regulation.

• The implementation of professional learning, deliberate leadership and responsive teaching has provided learners with the strategies, tools and language to support their social-emotional wellbeing and learning.
• Learners are well supported by regular and effective teaching practice and routines and readily available resources and visual cues in the classroom to use strategies to self-regulate.

Part B: Current State

The following findings are to inform the school’s future priorities for improvement.

Learner Success and Wellbeing

• Prior to 2023, almost all learners achieved at or above curriculum expectations in reading and most learners achieved at or above expectations in writing and mathematics.
• A recent decline in achievement is evident at some year levels, with inequity for groups of learners, including Māori students and girls in mathematics.
• Learners have a sense of belonging and understand how their positive contribution to the wellbeing of others contributes to an inclusive learning environment.
• Almost all students attend school regularly; attendance is higher than the Ministry of Education 2024 target for regular attendance.

Conditions to support learner success

• Leaders increasingly take steps to foster a culture of high-quality teaching and improved learner outcomes; including taking deliberate steps to accelerate the progress of learners at risk of underachievement.
• Teachers engage in focused professional learning and collective inquiry to strengthen practice, including the consistency of assessment, moderation and the use of a variety of sources to inform student progress and achievement.
• Leaders plan and coordinate the school’s curriculum and teaching well; this includes setting high expectations for quality teaching and learning.

• The increased use of standardised school-wide assessments across curriculum levels and learning areas contributes to more reliable information about learner progress and achievement.
• Teachers use a range of explicit teaching strategies to develop learners’ thinking skills, self-belief and emotional regulation.
• Students experience orderly learning environments; teachers actively support learners to engage and apply new learning.

• Professional learning opportunities are becoming more aligned with the school’s improvement goals and learner needs; the school is beginning to use strategies to address inequities in learner outcomes.
• Leaders and teachers engage with whānau and parents by providing relevant support and resources to assist with their child’s learning.
• Teachers and learners are beginning to understand their role in giving effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi and are in the early stages of establishing learning relationships with whānau.

Part C: Where to next?

The agreed next steps for the school are to:

• improve student achievement in reading, writing and mathematics and reduce disparity in achievement for groups of learners
• build teacher capability in high-quality, evidenced-based teaching practices to improve learner outcomes
• establish and embed a strong culture of learning partnerships with whānau and parents.

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

Within six months:

• leaders and teachers will co-construct a framework so that teachers, students and parents know what an engaged and empowered learner looks and sounds like at all year levels
• teachers engage in conversations about learners with parents and whānau to strengthen shared understandings of learner strength and needs, enabling them to actively support their child’s learning.

Every six months:

• analyse school-wide achievement and progress data and report to the board; strategically plan actions based on this information that will improve the achievement and learning outcomes for all students, with focus on those at risk of underachievement
• teachers engage in professional learning about assessment for learning, making and moderating assessment judgements to clearly identify and respond to students who are not making expected or accelerated progress
• school leaders observe teaching practice and provide ongoing feedback so that teachers can reflect on and continue to improve their practice.

Annually:

• use the analysis of achievement and progress data, and other evidence, to understand the impact of initiatives on learner outcomes; identifying what is working and for who and adjust where needed
• gather parent and whānau voice about the quality of the learning partnerships with teachers and leaders and how well they are supported to be active in their child’s learning.

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

• sustained engagement and high levels of attendance
• high-quality, evidenced-informed teaching that improves achievement outcomes in reading, writing and mathematics, and equity for groups of learners
• an embedded culture of learning where parents are active partners in their child’s learning, and learners confidently demonstrate the skills, values and characteristics to be successful learners.

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

31 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/homea