Little River 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 

Little River School is a small rural school in the heart of Little River, Banks Peninsula. They provide education for students in Years 1 to 8. In 2023, a new principal was appointed.

There are three parts to this report.

Part A: A summary of the findings from the most recent Education Review Office (ERO) report and/or subsequent evaluation.

Part B: 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 C: The improvement actions prioritised for the school’s next evaluation cycle. 

Part A: Previous Improvement Goals 

Since the previous ERO report of February 2023, the school evaluated the effectiveness of the use of curriculum progress tools for writing and related progressions to inform responsive learning programmes.

Expected Improvements and Findings 

The school expected to see:

Significant improvement in student achievement in writing and in particular vocabulary.

• More students are achieving at and above expected curriculum levels in writing; the school continues to focus on this as an area for ongoing improvement.
• Deliberate strategies to strengthen learners’ vocabulary and oral language skills have been used for teaching and learning.
• Consistency of practice across the school of the use of learning progression framework and student management system.
• Teachers now collaboratively moderate assessments across the school; this is strengthening consistency in progress and achievement decisions.
• Increasing reliability in achievement information is strengthening teachers’, leaders’ and board members’ scrutiny of data to inform resourcing and next steps for learning.

Part B: Current State 

The following findings are to inform the school’s future priorities for improvement.

Learner Success and Wellbeing 

Outcomes for students are increasingly equitable and excellent.

• Most students achieve at or above curriculum expectations in reading and mathematics, and a small majority in writing.
• Increasing equity for groups of students is evident; this remains a priority for boys in writing and Māori students across reading, writing and mathematics.
• Students have a strong sense of belonging to the school and community; students are well supported through effective wellbeing strategies.
• A majority of learners regularly attend school; the school is not yet meeting the Ministry of education target for regular attendance.

Conditions to support learner success

Leaders and teachers purposefully foster a culture committed to high quality teaching and learning.

• Teachers implement relevant plans that support and ensure student progress in reading and mathematics; planning is strengthening in writing.
• A strengths-based school culture is developing, with increasing levels of relational trust and community engagement that extend learning opportunities for all students.
• Leaders and teachers collaborate with other schools to increase the validity of moderation for student achievement data and judgements; this includes greater use of the student management system to report student achievement to parents, board and the community.

Teaching and learning approaches are engaging and increasingly responsive to learner needs.

• Teachers regularly analyse valid progress and achievement information; this informs adaptations to teaching and learning in response to identified needs.
• Teachers and leaders are embedding a curriculum that meaningfully reflects the local area and its histories; students increasingly experience their languages, cultures and identities in teaching and learning.
• Student engagement is enhanced through well managed classroom environments where respect between learners and teachers is evident, and clear expectations result in calm learning environments.

Key organisational conditions that support learner success are well established.

• Strong relationships are evident between learners, staff, and whānau within a supportive learning-focused school environment.
• The new principal has implemented a broad consultation framework for the development of the 2025 to 2027 strategic plan; data from the consultation is well analysed and reported to the board to inform priorities for ongoing improvement.
• The board is strategic, and highly focused on student outcomes; they use comprehensive information well to make effective resourcing decisions to target what is best for students.

Part C: Where to next?

The agreed next steps for the school are to: 

• collaboratively build the ongoing monitoring and reporting of progress against the new strategic priorities to inform improvements in teaching and learning
• evaluate the effectiveness of the literacy programme to identify where to next for learning programmes and assessment practices
• review and refine the schools’ values in consultation with whānau and iwi to ensure they reflect the school community’s aspirations for learner success
• consult with students and parents to identify barriers to attendance and form a plan to improve regular rates of attendance.

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

Within six months:

• consult with iwi and whānau to gather their aspirations for learner success to inform the refinement of the school’s values gather community feedback and ideas to improve attendance and develop a plan 

Every six months:

• collate and analyse schoolwide student progress and achievement data to inform teaching and learning and ensure improved equity between groups of students
• monitor and report to the board on the progress towards the strategic goals to celebrate positive shifts and identify where to next to improve attendance and achievement
• feedback to the community on improvements and challenges for rates of regular attendance and plan for ongoing support 

Annually:

• continue to use and report on student progress and achievement data to inform responsive decision making, and prioritise effective strategies for improving attendance, teaching and learning 
• evaluate the effectiveness of engagement strategies and the impact on improving attendance and achievement for learners.
• gather and collate student feedback and ideas on what is working well for them and where to next for teaching and learning to inform curriculum planning.

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

• a clear strategic plan that sets direction and focus for school improvement 
• improved equity of achievement between groups of students 
• improved and sustained outcomes in reading, mathematics and writing
• increased student engagement in learning and more students attending regularly.

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