Lauriston 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 

Lauriston School is a rural school located in mid Canterbury and provides education for students in Years 1 to 6. The READY Values (Respect, Enterprise, Achievement and Determination) align with the school’s vision, a thriving learning community that is READY for Success, and are part the school’s local curriculum, Te Marautanga o te Kura kotoku ko Lauriston.

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 are achieving at or above expected curriculum levels in reading, writing and mathematics. 
• Equity of achievement between all groups of students is evident.
• Students express a sense of belonging that is well supported by the school’s competencies and strong values that sit within its local curriculum.
• Less than half of the students attend school regularly and the school has yet to meet the Ministry of Education’s target; strategies are in place to improve regular attendance for all students.

Conditions to support learner success

• Leaders involve students, staff and whānau in strategic decision making to further improve progress, achievement and wellbeing for all students.
• The school’s vision, values and principles guide leaders who effectively drive the school’s planning, monitoring and evaluation for continuous improvement.
• Leaders and teachers collaborate with whānau and the community to build and sustain high levels of relational trust to support their child’s learning.

• Leaders and teachers value a collaborative professional growth culture and engage in targeted professional learning to further improve the progress, achievement and wellbeing of all students.
• Teachers gather and use a range of valid assessment information to inform and guide teaching planning and practice for student learning.
• Teachers are using effective teaching strategies, within the local curriculum, to a greater extent to support access to learning for all students; learning is regularly monitored to make sure students continue to progress and achieve.

• The board, leaders and teachers partner well with the school community to develop strategic goals and targets to improve outcomes for all students.
• Leaders and teachers work collaboratively, prioritising professional growth, including te reo Māori, tikanga Māori and te ao Māori to strengthen teaching practice and support student learning across the curriculum.
• The board regularly reviews and effectively evaluates learning and wellbeing data to set future improvement priorities and make resourcing decisions that support strengthening teacher practice and student learning.

Part B: Where to next? 

The agreed next steps for the school are to: 

• continue developing the school’s local curriculum to create meaning and relevant learning opportunities for all students
• further increase inspirational teaching and learning that further improves outcomes and regular attendance for all students
• enhance the school’s inclusive environment and continue to build and sustain strong partnerships with whānau and the community.

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

Within six months:

• refine and prepare for the changes in The New Zealand Curriculum in reading, writing and mathematics
• embedding this within the school’s local curriculum 
• engage in professional learning in structured mathematics and neurodiversity to build capacity to cater for all learning needs
• actively partner with the community to complete the school’s Community Hub project that provides a space for sporting, cultural and wellbeing events
• track and monitor regular attendance and review current strategies in place.

Every six months:

• continue to gather, analyse and use student and whānau feedback to strengthen the school’s local curriculum, and teaching and assessment practices
• align current school assessment and reporting practices to the changes in The New Zealand Curriculum
• continue to review and evaluate the school’s strategic goals and targets with the board, leaders, teachers, students, whānau and community 
• review regular attendance data to identify students of concern and put appropriate support in place.

Annually:

• evaluate the impact of teaching, learning and assessment practices to determine the direction of future goals and targets to further improve the outcomes for all students
• plan and manage resourcing to support goals and targets in partnership with the community
• evaluate and address staff professional learning needs for alignment with the national priorities of reading, writing, mathematics and regular attendance, to further improve and sustain student progress, achievement and wellbeing
• evaluate the impact of strategies in place increase regular attendance.

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

• engaged and motivated students who demonstrate the school values and competencies to become confident, connected and capable members of the community
• strengthened teaching of reading, writing and mathematics, and to ensure that evidence-based programmes are in place school-wide to further improve outcomes for students
• the community, whānau and the school working in partnership to further improve progress, achievement, regular attendance and the wellbeing of all students.

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

23 October 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