Balaclava 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 

Balaclava School is for learners from Years 1 to 6. It is an urban school in a country setting close to the centre of Dunedin. The school’s vision is to challenge learners to become confident, capable, connected, actively involved lifelong learners.

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 March 2023, ERO and the school have worked together to evaluate to what extent the localised curriculum, play-based and project-based learning, ensured success for all learners in accessing and achieving the expectations of Te Mātaiaho, the refreshed curriculum.

Expected Improvements and Findings 

The school expected to see:

Learners experience a coherent and responsive curriculum from Year 1 to Year 6.

• Learners’ development in literacy and mathematics has been made explicit through a local curriculum which emphasises play and project-based approaches and the school’s valued competencies.
• Development for learners in key competencies, literacy, mathematics and other curriculum areas is now well tracked by teachers using the school’s graduate profile as learners move through the school.
• Parents and whānau are explicitly guided in how to support their children’s learning by the graduate profile that provides consistency of expectations to know progress, achievement and next learning steps. 

Those learners identified as not yet meeting curriculum expectations will achieve to the best of their ability and make accelerated progress.

• Teachers respond effectively to students’ learning needs by regularly reviewing learning data to identify and provide learning support or enrichment, so that students’ learning progress is accelerated.
• Learners’ social and emotional development, self-regulation, problem-solving and collaboration skills have been improved by teachers’ increasing their skills and confidence in play-based and project-based learning.

The continued development of an authentic curriculum that engages learners’ interests.

• Learners have increased confidence and responsibility for their own learning through assessment and student led conferencing.
• Increased student feedback and engagement is evident in learning, including student council and student led school projects. 
• Local environment is an increasing feature of the school curriculum, learning contexts are more relevant and engaging for learners.

Other Findings 

The greatest shift that occurred in response to the school’s actions has been increased consultation with community to inform school improvement and empower parents and whānau to support their child’s progress, achievement and next learning steps.

Part B: Current State 

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

Learner Success and Wellbeing 

Outcomes for learners are increasingly equitable and excellent.

• Achievement in reading, writing and mathematics is equitable; most learners, including Māori learners, achieve at or above expected curriculum levels.
• Most learners identified as needing to accelerate their progress in reading, writing and mathematics make consistent improvements.
• Student attendance is above Ministry of Education targets for regular attendance.

Conditions to support learner success

School leadership increasingly strengthens relational trust and collaboration to deliver improvements in learning.

• Leaders respond effectively to feedback from learners, staff and the school community to develop and enact the school’s strategic goals to engage learners in learning.
• Leaders prioritise the development of leadership of curriculum initiatives to increase student achievement.
• Leaders build educationally focused relationships with the school community and take deliberate steps to involve parents and whānau in their children’s learning, including regular consultation with Māori and Pacific whānau on their aspirations for their children.

Curriculum design and teaching practices reflect clear expectations that raise student achievement.

• Teachers intentionally develop learners’ learning-to-learn skills, encourage responsibility for learning and self-regulation through structured literacy and numeracy learning, play-based and project-based learning approaches. 
• Professional learning for staff is tailored to individual learning goals and supports the school’s strategic goal to raise student achievement.
• Learners experience a coherent and sequenced school curriculum; clear progressions in key competency development and literacy, mathematics and other curriculum areas support learners to know their next learning steps.

Conditions to support learner wellbeing and achievement are increasingly responsive to student, whānau and staff feedback.

• Learners, whānau and teachers effectively use the school’s graduate profile to set learning goals and monitor progress; learners know and are well prepared for their next steps in learning.
• Learner wellbeing is effectively promoted through opportunities to initiate and lead projects to enhance the school environment.
• The board effectively supports and resources improvement priorities for improving learners’ wellbeing and learning progress.

Part C: Where to next?

The agreed next steps for the school are to: 

• continue to embed the graduate profile to support learners’ progress 
• monitor and respond to the progress of those learners identified as needing to make accelerated progress in reading, writing and mathematics
• continue to provide meaningful curriculum opportunities that engage and challenge learners
• sustain regular attendance.

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

Every six months

• teachers continue to compare and analyse achievement data across the school for consistency of achievement judgements to inform next steps in learning
• leaders report to the board on attendance and learner progress and achievement in reading, writing and mathematics and respond to emerging trends.

Annually

• teachers use the graduate profile to improve consistency in overall teacher judgements to ensure that learners’ progress in reading, writing and mathematics is accurately tracked and supported by evidence-based practice 
• leaders use student and whānau surveys to monitor the school’s learning culture to continue to improve learners’ progress and achievement
• teachers further improve opportunities for student participation in meaningful learning experiences.

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

• an embedded graduate profile for teaching and learning practices across Years 1 to 6, with learners and teachers collaboratively tracking progress as part of a learning partnership with parents and whānau
• schoolwide consistency in the integration of project-based learning with reading, writing and mathematics skills development in Years 4 to 6, balancing creativity with structured learning approaches
• accelerated achievement for priority learners
• improved teacher capability in assessment practice
• enhancing student direction of and involvement in their learning, with an increasing use of meaningful local contexts that build on students’ experiences, knowledge and understanding.
• 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

30 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