Darfield 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

Darfield School, located in Canterbury, provides education for learners in Years 1 to 6. The vision of Standing Tall: Reaching our Potential is supported through the High 5 vision designed to develop the attitudes, skills and knowledge of learners.

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. 

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 are equitable, with consistent achievement sustained over time in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Wellbeing is supported by being effectively monitored and responded to by teachers and leaders.
• A large majority of learners are attending regularly, meeting the Ministry of Educations’ regular attendance target. 

Conditions to support learner success

• Leaders ensure initiatives for learner engagement and achievement are well informed by data, cohesive, carefully considered and evaluated effectively.
• Strategic resourcing decisions to meet learners’ needs are made collaboratively by leaders with staff, extending opportunities for learners.
• Developing leadership capacity across the school has been prioritised, this builds staff capability to provide learners with additional learning opportunities.

• Staff positively engage with learners supporting them to meet clearly identified learning needs.
• A range of deliberate teaching and learning strategies are used by teachers to provide students with meaningful curriculum opportunities.
• Respectful, values-based relationships are evident across the school between learners and staff and support engagement.

• Following consultation, the board strategically and effectively considers and responds to the needs of learners and staff.
• Engagement with whānau is fostered and prioritised building effective communication and partnerships for learning.
• Positive networks with support agencies assist in the provision of a range of appropriate learning support and social services for learners.

Part B: Where to next?

The agreed next steps for the school are to:

• consolidate the school’s localised curriculum to incorporate broader national curriculum and assessment changes
• embed a cohesive framework for engaging and consulting with Māori whānau, giving greater effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi
• sustain regular attendance levels.

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

Within six months:

• leaders evaluate the effectiveness of staff development and plan next steps to increase capability further.

Every six months:

• leaders and teachers review, consider and respond to student attendance, progress and achievement data
• leaders and teachers discuss and plan for adjustments as needed to wellbeing provision.

Annually:

• the board and leaders review the strategic and annual plans following community consultation and with consideration of any emerging priorities
• leaders and teachers analyse, report and respond to attendance and wellbeing data 
• leaders plan for targeted, data driven, professional development for staff.

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

• ongoing positive progress and achievement for learners, enabled by targeted instructional teaching in the context of a well-developed, localised curriculum
• greater reflection of te ao Māori, understanding of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and increased use of te reo by students and staff in learning and in school systems
• 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

27 September 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