Heriot 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 

Heriot School is a contributing primary school catering for students in Years 1 to 6. It is located in the heart of rural West Otago. Its vision is ‘Nurturing the Heart of the Community’ and its values are ‘Honesty, Excellence and Respect’.

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 in October 2022, ERO and the school have worked together to evaluate the development of a vision and values that contribute to equity and excellence in student outcomes.

Expected Improvements and Findings

The school expected to see:

Students, staff and the community taking ownership and responsibility for increased learning progress.

• Increasing rates of progress for reading, writing and mathematics are evident for students at risk of underachieving.
• Leaders and teachers have identified that the increase in community engagement has further strengthened children’s engagement in learning.
• Strong community support for the refreshed Heriot School’s vision and values has been clearly communicated through consultation and engagement.

A stronger local curriculum for improving outcomes for all learners.

• The design of a collectively owned, localised curriculum has acknowledged the changes over time for the community and the environment.
• Students understand themselves as learners and can confidently set goals to promote their ongoing progress and achievement.

Other Findings

The greatest shift that occurred in response to the school’s action was a strengthening of school and community partnerships leading to more successful outcomes for all learners.

Part B: Current State

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

Learner Success and Wellbeing 

Outcomes for most learners are increasingly equitable and excellent.

• Most learners meet curriculum level expectations for reading and writing, and a large majority of learners in mathematics.
• Achievement has continued to improve over time for all groups of learners; continuing to work towards equity of outcomes for boys in reading and writing is a priority.
• Learners are highly engaged and experiencing success as a result of the effective identifying, close monitoring and specific addressing of their wellbeing and learning needs.
• Attendance information shows the school is not yet meeting the Ministry of Education’s target; staff and trustees are ensuring that close monitoring and support is provided to improve attendance rates of students.

Conditions to support learner success

School leadership works collaboratively and strategically to effectively improve and sustain learners’ progress and achievement.

• Leadership prioritises having a culture of productive relationships for consistency in high quality teaching and ongoing assessment practices so learners experience success.
• Leadership regularly consults with the community to inform the strategic direction of the school and seeks deliberate feedback on curriculum developments and initiatives.
• Leaders ensure alignment between the needs of learners, teachers’ professional learning goals and the provision of professional learning development.

Teachers use responsive strategies that provide learners with purposeful and innovative learning opportunities.

• Leaders and teachers design and implement a cohesive local curriculum that engages and responds to learners’ needs, interests and cultures.
• Targeted professional learning builds the capability of teachers to implement evidence-based and responsive strategies that improves outcomes for learners.
• Learners benefit from highly collaborative staff who regularly share and apply new learning to build their collective practice.

The school has well-aligned systems, structures and practices to bring about success over time.

• Highly reflective practices and ongoing review are effectively used by the board, school leaders, and teachers to inform further improvement and direction.
• Meaningful community partnerships support the school in identifying and achieving its strategic goals for learning and achievement.
• Staff and board members show a strong commitment to growing their capability and understanding of Te Tiriti o Waitangi; this is strengthening responsive decision making.

Part C: Where to next?

The agreed next steps for the school are to:

• continue the focus on accelerating the progress of boys at risk of not achieving in reading and writing
• develop an effective plan to raise the number of learners attending school regularly
• embed the process of teachers inquiring into their individual practice for ongoing improvement.

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

Every six months:

• continue to review and revise strategic planning to reflect any changes to identified priorities for learning
• continue to refine practices to identify and support learners so that they make accelerated progress
• review the strategies and initiatives used to raise attendance and adapt the plan accordingly for ongoing improvement
• monitor teachers knowledge and implementation of assessment practices to ensure consistency across the school.

Annually:

• plan for appropriate professional learning to help leaders and staff implement and understand changes to The New Zealand Curriculum
• use learner progress, achievement, and engagement data along with the perspectives of parents, whānau and learners to evaluate the effectiveness of teaching practice to inform further improvement planning
• ensure strategic planning and annual goals are aligned with the school’s priorities, community aspirations and continue to promote positive outcomes in all areas for all students.

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

• improved attendance and progress and achievement outcomes that are increasingly equitable and excellent for all learners
• ongoing development of teachers’ content knowledge, ensuring consistency across the school
• regular communication and engagement with the community to ensure the curriculum continues to reflect their aspirations for 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

6 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