Pareawa Banks Avenue 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 

Pareawa Banks Avenue School is located in Shirley, Christchurch and provides education for learners in Years 1 to 6. The school vision is Living and Learning with HEART (Hauora, Excellence, Aroha, Respect, Togetherness). A new principal has been recently appointed. The school is a member of the Ōtākaro Kāhui Ako.  

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 students achieve at expected curriculum levels in reading and mathematics and in writing, a large majority achieve at the expected curriculum level.
• Some learners are not achieving as well as others; the school has yet to get Māori learners achieving as well as their peers in reading and mathematics and in writing boys achieving as well as girls. 
• Wellbeing data indicates students feel a strong sense of belonging and that teachers believe they can succeed, and it is okay to be different. 
• The majority of students attend school regularly; the school has yet to meet the Ministry of Education attendance target and is actively working to lift the attendance of learners.

Conditions to support learner success

• Leaders ensure cohesive planning, coordination and evaluation of the school’s curriculum and teaching; expectations for high quality teaching are clear, and teachers are well-supported to meet these. 
• Senior leaders have established a distributed model of leadership, with clear expectations and responsibilities, to grow and develop leaders across the school further.
• Leaders use evidence and data highly effectively to plan and monitor the school’s strategic improvement cycle, increasingly evaluating the effectiveness of strategies designed to improve learner outcomes. 

• Teachers work collaboratively in teaching pairs, and within pods, to monitor learners’ progress and achievement, responding to their needs in multiple ways.  
• Teachers are well supported to engage in relevant professional learning, to reflect and receive feedback on teaching practices, and to effectively support all learners.
• A range of meaningful learning opportunities connect learning with cultural stories, the arts and the local environment to engage and inspire learners.  

• Student voice is highly valued, leaders and teachers collect, analyse, and respond to this to improve learner outcomes.
• Leaders and teachers recognise, value and affirm the increasingly diverse languages, cultures and needs of learners.
• Leaders and teachers work effectively and collaboratively with local community organisations and education networks to provide rich learning opportunities for learners.
• The board has identified its work has been focused on the rebuild and relocation to the new site; the board is now focused on wider aspects of its governance role.

Part B: Where to next? 

The agreed next steps for the school are to: 

• consolidate and embed recent professional learning into curriculum design and teaching practice
• review the school’s curriculum, teaching delivery, expectations and assessments, in response to national curriculum changes, to ensure coherence and alignment
• continue to implement and evaluate strategies to improve regular attendance of learners
• further develop strong partnerships with parents across the diverse school community to effectively support the progress and achievement of all learners.

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

Within six months:

• develop a board training strategy to further support their governance role 
• identify priorities for review and establish an agreed timeline and process 

Every six months:

• leaders evaluate the impact of interventions to improve achievement on learner outcomes to inform teaching and learning
• leaders and teachers continue to analyse student data, responding with adapted teaching and learning programmes that support and accelerate the progress of priority learners
• review the impact of strategies to improve attendance 

Annually:

• collectively analyse, evaluate and report on schoolwide achievement and attendance data and strategically plan actions to improve the progress and achievement outcomes for all learners
• gather, review and respond to parent and whānau feedback on the success of partnerships with the school and engagement with their children’s learning.

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

• increased attendance, reduced disparity and improved progress and achievement for all learners
• sustained, effective teaching practices 
• parent and whānau input to assist with strategic planning and the allocation of resources
• consistent board governance for ongoing, targeted support of learners and staff.

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

3 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