Spring Creek School

School 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.

About the School 

Spring Creek School is located in Spring Creek, Marlborough, and provides education for learners in Years 1 to 6. The current school roll is 44 students. New Zealand European/Pākehā students made up the largest proportion of all learners (75%), 28% identified as Māori; and 6% identified as Asian.

The school values of Respect – Manaaki, Responsibility – Takohanga, Resilience – Manawaroa, and Relationships – Piringa, underpins the curriculum. Their mission is for all ākonga to be actively involved learners who are confident, creative, and connected -nā te whaitake ka tū māia, auaha, tauhere hoki te ākonga.

Part A – Parent Summary

Progress since May 2020 ERO report

The school expected to improve outcomes for learners through increasing engagement with the community, promoting culturally responsive relationships and better use of evidence-based internal evaluation to guide future school decision making.

The school has had a continued focus on improving engagement with the community and culturally responsive practices. Leaders and teachers use robust consultation processes to gather community aspirations; feedback and ideas are increasingly used well to inform development of some strategic priorities for improvement. Leaders and teachers continue to strengthen partnerships with parents and whānau to actively participate in, and contribute to, students’ learning through ongoing, reciprocal communication. Teachers increasingly work collaboratively to develop and implement teaching and learning opportunities that are inclusive of students’ language, culture and identity.

Raising student achievement and rates of regular attendance remains an urgent priority. The development and use of internal evaluation to accurately identify what is working well and what needs improvement is a next step.

How well placed is the school to promote educational success and wellbeing?

Achievement in Years 0 to 8

This table outlines how well students across the school meet or exceed the expected curriculum level.

Attendance

The school is behind the target of 80% regular attendance.

The school is developing a suitable plan in place to improve attendance.

Regular attendance is improving towards or beyond the target.

Chronic absence is not yet reducing over time. 

Assessment

The school is not yet using an appropriate approach and reliable practices to accurately find out about achievement against the curriculum.

Teachers are developing assessment information to adjust teaching practices to ensure ongoing improvement in teaching and student progress.

Progress

The school has high numbers of students with complex needs; this includes both learning and behaviour.

The school is developing good quality planning to increase the rate of progress for all groups of students.

The school has not improved achievement and progress for those learners most at risk of not achieving since the previous review.

The school has not extended achievement and progress for learners working at or above curriculum levels since the previous review.

The school is making some progress towards meeting Government reading, writing and mathematics and/or pānui, tuhituhi and pāngarau targets for 2030 and agrees this will need to be a key strategic priority.

Support 

During the course of this review ERO had concerns about the quality of education being provided and made recommendations for support and/or intervention to the Secretary / Ministry of Education.

An explanation of the terms used in the Parent Summary can be found here: Guide to ERO school reports 
 

Part B - Findings for the school

This section of the report provides more detail for the school to include in strategic and annual planning for ongoing improvement across the school.

Areas of Strength

• Māori students achieve higher than other students in the school in reading, writing and mathematics.
• The board and leaders regularly consult with the school’s diverse community, using well-established partnerships, this informs strategic priorities for school improvement.
• Teachers and leaders have undertaken professional development in structured literacy and have developed plans to deliver schoolwide from 2025.
• The school curriculum is designed to ensure that students have access to at least one hour per day in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Teachers work collaboratively to develop and implement teaching and learning opportunities that are increasingly inclusive of students’ language, culture and identity.
• Professional learning opportunities, and monitoring of required changes in teacher practice and student outcomes, are increasingly aligned to strategic priorities.
• Teachers and leaders continue to build their understanding and use of evaluation to inquire into teaching practices and identify next steps for improvement in teaching and learning.

Key priorities and actions for improvement 

The agreed next steps for the school are to:

• strengthen teaching practices in mathematics and literacy to improve achievement for all learners in reading, writing and mathematics
• improve teachers’ and leaders’ analysis, understanding and use of progress and achievement data to inform improvement priorities
• evaluate and extend strategies and initiatives that improve students’ regular attendance
• The agreed actions for the next improvement cycle and timeframes are as follows.

Within three months:

• teachers undertake professional development in literacy and mathematics to raise student achievement
• consult with students and parents to understand attendance issues and develop an improvement plan
• leaders and teachers undertake professional development in the effective use of the analysis of students' progress and achievement data to guide continuous improvement

Every six months:

• leaders report to the board on student progress and achievement in reading, writing and mathematics to show the impact of planned actions and intended response to emerging trends
• report to the board and community progress towards improving regular rates of attendance
• review the strategies used to improve attendance, reading, writing and mathematics outcomes to inform next steps

Annually:

• analysis of student attendance, progress and achievement is reported to the board and the community and used to adapt strategies for ongoing improvement
• the school board scrutinises achievement and engagement reporting to inform improvement priorities and resourcing decisions
• teachers share best teaching practice in literacy and mathematics across the school
• evaluate initiatives implemented to improve attendance to inform next steps.

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

• improved outcomes for all students in reading, writing and mathematics
• increased equity in achievement between groups of students
• more students attending school regularly
• improved analysis of schoolwide data to identify improvement priorities and resource appropriately.

Part C: Regulatory and Legislative Requirements

Board Assurance with Regulatory and Legislative Requirements

All schools are required to promote student health and safety and to regularly review their compliance with legal requirements.

During this review the Board has attested to some regulatory and legislative requirements in the following areas:

Board Administration

Yes

Curriculum

Yes

Management of Health, Safety and Welfare

Yes

Personnel Management

Yes

Actions for Compliance 

ERO has identified the following areas of non-compliance during the board assurance process:

• the school board must comply with the requirement to adopt a statement on the delivery of the health curriculum, at least once in every two years, after consultation with the school community
  [Education and Training Act 2020]
   
• the school board must ensure it receives regular reporting on its compliance with the Health and Safety at Work Act.
  [Health and Safety at Work Act 2015]

The board has since taken steps to address the areas of non-compliance identified.

Recommendation to the Ministry of Education 

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

• leadership of learning.

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

Sharon Kelly
Acting Director of Schools

26 February 2025

Education Counts

This website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement. educationcounts.govt.nz/home