Whitau 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

​​Whītau School​ is situated in the east of Christchurch and provides education for students in Years 1 to 6. The school endeavours to develop citizens of the future, who are lifelong learners, show respect and responsibility for themselves, for others and for the environment. They celebrate being a connected and culturally diverse learning community who value authentic learning relationships.

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

The school is working towards equitable and excellent outcomes for all students.

• Less than half of all students achieve at or above curriculum expectations in writing and reading. A small majority of students achieve at or above expectations in mathematics. Māori students achieve at a similar level to their peers.
• The school continues to focus on improving attendance and outcomes for groups of students and reducing inequities.
• There is an effective range of internal and external pastoral care for wellbeing supports being utilised.

Conditions to support learner success

Leaders effectively analyse student outcomes and use this information to inform strategic priorities and the professional learning and development of teachers.

• Coherent professional growth cycles enable identification of teachers’ professional learning and development needs.
• Leaders ensure effective guidelines support cohesion and consistency in teaching and learning across the school.
• School board and leaders engage in robust conversations about student progress and achievement in order to set new strategic priorities and to impact positively on student outcomes.

Improved use of student progress and achievement information is strengthening teaching and learning.

• Teachers successfully track and monitor student progress and achievement in order to design appropriate interventions and impact positively on students at risk of not achieving.
• A suitable range of assessment tools and planned use of moderation ensures reliable and valid data on students’ progress and achievement is used to inform next steps in teaching and learning.
• Strong culture of collegial coaching and critical reflection guides teacher growth in capability.

Organisational conditions effectively support a strong focus on improving outcomes for learners.

• Student identities and whānau and community knowledge, language and culture are represented in curriculum materials and the enacted curriculum.
• Staff are supported by the board to increase understanding and use of culturally responsive practices.
• Students’ progress and achievement data is used to identify the impact of initiatives on improving outcomes for learners.

Part B: Where to next?

The agreed next steps for the school are to:

• accelerate the progress and achievement of all students in reading and writing and reduce disparity for groups within the school
• continue to improve the percentage of students attending school regularly
• strengthen the use of te reo Māori, tikanga Māori and mātauranga Māori throughout the school curriculum
• reduce disparity for Pacific learners by enhancing understanding and responding to their needs.

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

Within three months:

• schoolwide teacher professional development in literacy, especially writing
• increasing teachers’ capability to integrate te reo Māori, tikanga Māori and mātauranga Māori within the curriculum and their teaching and learning
• daily analysing, monitoring and supporting of student attendance to increase regular attendance at school
• leaders participate in Tautai o le Moana professional development and develop an implementation plan

Every six months:

• professional growth cycle processes support improved teacher capability and implementation of literacy and te ao Māori in schoolwide teaching and learning
• schoolwide student progress and achievement data is collated, analysed, used to inform teaching and learning and is reported to the community

Annually:

• strategic priorities are tracked and monitored to identify progress to achieving current goals and future priorities
• school improvement in te reo Māori is analysed using the Poutama Reo indicators
• a reflective, evaluative process is used by teachers to provide evidence on the impact of their teaching practice as part of their professional growth cycle.

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

• improved student attendance and outcomes in reading and writing
• teachers’ te ao Māori content knowledge strengthened to adapt and refine their programmes and practices to meet the needs of all students in their classrooms
• increased equity in learning outcomes between groups of students especially for Pacific learners.

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

​​7 June 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