Witherlea 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 

Witherlea School is located on the outskirts of Blenheim township and provides education for learners from Years 1 to 6. The school values are Respect, Integrity, Courage, Resilience and Compassion. These values underpin the expectations for all school community members to Be Kind, Be Brave, and Be Fair – Kia Atawhai, Kia Kaha, Kia Tika.

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 

• Most learners achieve at or above expected curriculum levels in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Learners achieve and make progress at similar rates in reading and writing; the school has yet to address disparity for Māori and Pacific learners in mathematics.
• Most learners report they experience a strong sense of belonging in an inclusive environment.
• Most learners attend school regularly and the school meets the Ministry of Education’s attendance target; school leaders actively engage with attendance services where moderate absenteeism is limiting learner progress and achievement.

Conditions to support learner success

• Leaders deliberately build the capacity and capability of all teachers through targeted professional learning that supports improved outcomes for students.
• Leaders enable improved teaching through consistent use of feedback as a tool to evaluate and stretch teacher practice.
• Leaders purposefully track the progress of all students through timely data gathering systems that effectively identify and address learner’s needs.

• Outcomes for all learners are improving supported by a whole school collaborative approach to structured teaching practices that focus on systematic progressions across the curriculum.
• Learners experience increasing success through a range of teacher implemented strategies and interventions that support all learners.
• Teachers’ use of school wide assessment practices are increasingly appropriate and aligned with progress and achievement expectations to better respond to learners' strengths and needs.

• Leaders carefully manage and apply resources to reduce barriers to learning for identified target learners.
• The school gathers and analyses wellbeing data and effectively responds to learner voice to support improved outcomes for all learners.
• Learners have a wide range of opportunities and take part in activities and leadership roles that enhance engagement and success.

Part B: Where to next?

The agreed next steps for the school are to:

• continue to strengthen partnerships with whānau to encourage regular conversations around learners’ progress 
• further refine the localised curriculum to engage all learners and recognise all cultures, identities and languages
• support teachers to implement changes in processes and school wide expectations that are designed to target and accelerate learners’ progress
• continue to actively engage with whānau and attendance services where absenteeism is impacting on learner progress and achievement.

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

Within six months:

• plan opportunities to engage learners in localised curriculum contexts
• communicate with, and support parents and whānau to understand the importance of regular learner attendance and achievement
• strengthen teacher responsiveness to learners’ identities and cultures so that all learners can engage in and contribute their knowledge to learning contexts across the curriculum

Every six months:

• align appropriate assessment tasks with the school's local curriculum contexts to show what learners understand and what is important for them to learn and know, and to identify next steps for teaching and learning
• compare achievement data and judgements, within and between teams, to monitor consistency of teacher practices
• discuss and use learners’ progress data to inform planning and teaching

Annually:

• monitor teacher responsiveness to learners’ identities and cultures so that all learners can engage in and contribute their knowledge to learning contexts across the curriculum
• provide evaluative reports on learners’ progress and achievement to the board to inform ongoing strategic planning and resourcing
• continue to monitor the impact of strategies to further improve learner engagement and attendance to inform planning
• discuss the school wide expectations of a learning focused culture as part of teacher’s professional growth cycles so all learners experience a consistent teacher approach to learning across the school.

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

• teachers supporting learners to make connections about learning across the curriculum 
• increased consistency of teacher professional practice across the school to support all learners to achieve and make progress 
• strengthened learning centred partnerships between teachers, parents and whānau to support learner achievement, progress and attendance; teachers initiate conversations with learners and their whānau to effectively plan next steps for learners
• sustained levels of regular attendance.

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

2 December 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