Fairton 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 

Fairton School is situated a short distance from Ashburton in Mid-Canterbury and provides education for learners in Years 1 to 6. Fairton School aims for each learner to achieve their personal best while demonstrating the school values of Pride, Integrity, Excellence and Strength. 

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 

Most learners are engaged and make good progress with increasing equity between groups of learners.

• Most learners are achieving at or above expected curriculum levels in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Learners are well supported by teachers and make appropriate progress.
• Māori learners’ achievement is equitable with their peers. 
• Most learners attend school regularly, meeting the Ministry of Education targets for attendance.

Conditions to support learner success

Collaborative leadership fosters a culture committed to quality teaching, and equity and excellence in learner outcomes.

• Leaders facilitate professional learning for teachers that increasingly targets and supports improved outcomes for all learners. 
• Leaders and teachers are beginning to use multiple sources of evidence to monitor learner progress and respond appropriately to improve outcomes for each learner.
• The principal is strengthening relational trust and effective collaboration across the school community to achieve the strategic vision and improvement goals.

Teachers provide productive classroom environments which maximise learning time to improve engagement for all learners.

• Learners' engagement is strengthened by clear routines and expectations. 
• Teachers are increasingly using evidence-based practices to better respond to the needs of all learners.
• Professional learning is strengthening teacher’s assessment and teaching practices to more effectively monitor improvement of learner’s progress over time.

The school is embedding conditions to improve and sustain learner outcomes.

• Principal and teachers are building a shared understanding of the role of evaluation for improvement.
• Teachers are supported to analyse and discuss learner’s data to better understand each learner’s progress.
• Teachers are engaging in professional learning to support learners to set their own goals around learning and decision making.
• Learner feedback is listened to and acted on, contributing to a positive and inclusive school environment.

Part B: Where to next?

• strengthen teachers’ assessment practices across literacy and mathematics teaching and learning contexts to further improve outcomes for all learners
• support learners to understand what they are learning and how to set next step goals to make progress
• align professional learning opportunities to respond to individual learner’s needs
• establish a planned strategic approach for school improvement which is informed by internal evaluation evidence.

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

Within six months:

• provide opportunities for learners to have ownership of their learning by collaborating with learners to set their next step goals
• teachers share examples of learners’ progress to demonstrate the effects of targeted collaborative goal setting practice on outcomes for learners

Every six months:

• examine learners' work, discuss progress, and align assessments to ensure assessment judgements are agreed and at appropriate levels
• review the assessment programme and literacy and mathematics outcomes to ensure they provide accurate and timely information about learner progress
• analyse whole school student data to look for trends and gaps
• continue to monitor learners' attendance to sustain current levels of engagement

Annually:

• analyse achievement and engagement data to inform planning and resourcing
• evaluate the impact of teacher professional learning on learner progress and achievement
• strengthen partnerships between teachers, parents and whānau to contribute to learning outcomes. 

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

• improved learner engagement and achievement in literacy and mathematics
• increased teacher capabilities to use assessment effectively to monitor and improve outcomes for all learners and to provide learners and their whānau a better understanding of progress and next steps
• stronger partnerships about learning between the school and the community
• further improved and sustained learner engagement and 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 November 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