Logan Park High 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

Logan Park High School is a Years 9 to 13 co-educational secondary school in Dunedin. Its vision is for all students to be inspired by their future, confident in their culture, thriving and empowered to succeed in whatever pathway they choose. There has been significant roll growth in recent years.

There are three parts to this report. 

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

Part B: An evaluative summary of learner outcomes and school conditions to inform the school board’s future strategic direction, including 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 report in August 2022, ERO and the school have worked together to evaluate the impact of Kāhui Ako initiatives on supporting improved outcomes for priority learners.

Expected Improvements and Findings

The school expected to see:

Leaders and teachers identifying the roles, systems, processes, and practices needed to support positive outcomes for these learners.

• Student feedback about the impact of initiatives to support wellbeing and engagement is regularly collected and analysed by student groups and staff to inform outcomes or decision making. 
• Students experience positive academic and wellbeing outcomes through the schools expanded vertical pastoral structure which has developed close connections between staff and students.
• The school continues to identify steps it can take to increase students’ sense of belonging and connection to school, in response to the disruptions and dislocation from school caused by Covid-19.

Improved outcomes for a wide range of priority learners. 

• Information to support students with various learning needs and conditions, including neurodiverse learners, is accessible to staff across the school to support and engage these learners.
• The school continues to prioritise students’ successful transition into the school to ensure that they are known well as both learners and as young people.
• The school is identifying and building on the wide-ranging connections that staff across the school have with Māori students to promote engagement and involvement. 

That resourcing is being prioritised to support learners at greatest risk of poor health, wellbeing, and achievement outcomes.

• Teachers' understandings have been developed about issues students prioritise as affecting their engagement at school, including sleep and anxiety.

The greatest shift that occurred in response to the school’s actions is leaders’ increased awareness of the importance that students’ perspectives be recognised across multiple dimensions of school life.

Part B: Current state

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

Learner Success and Wellbeing

Outcomes for learners show increasing equity, with most students progressing and achieving well at appropriate curriculum levels and in school qualifications.

• Students, including Māori learners, achieve well in National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) at Levels 1 to 3 and University Entrance; the majority of Year 11, 12 and 13 students gain endorsements.
• The large majority of junior school students are working at expected levels in literacy and mathematics by the end of Year 10.
• The school is initiating steps to address some disparity in NCEA achievement between male and female students.
• The school maintains consistent levels of attendance that are approaching but not yet at the Ministry of Education’s national target, with the large majority of students attending regularly.

Conditions to support learner success

Student centred leadership approaches increasingly build relational trust and effective collaboration. 

• The school provides collaborative opportunities for students to take on leadership roles that contribute to achieving the school’s vision and improvement goals.
• Leadership builds educationally focused relationships with a range of community groups and tertiary education providers, that increase student opportunities to contribute within the community, as well as pathways beyond school.

Increasing emphasis on developing relevant and responsive opportunities throughout the curriculum enhances students’ learning.

• Teaching practices and curriculum design respond to students’ perspectives.
• The integration of mātauranga Māori is being developed within each learning area to give effect to the school’s bi-cultural partnership.

The school continues to implement a localised curriculum with an emphasis on local history, place and stories, influenced by local iwi.
The school is strengthening its focus on wellbeing and inclusion to better meet the needs of its diverse student community. 

• Students develop a sense of connection to the school through respectful and purposeful learning relationships and a willingness by leaders and teachers to respond to student feedback.
• Leaders and teachers develop wellbeing focus areas based on research over time into students’ wellbeing needs, to develop a comprehensive picture about wellbeing priorities and inform school responses. 

Part C: Where to next?

The agreed next steps for the school are to:

• continue to respond to student-initiated feedback about learning and wellbeing, built on mutually respectful teacher/student relationships
• sustain equitable outcomes for all learners by continuing to review curriculum and assessment programmes.

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

Within six months 

• leaders integrate students’ learning choices, interests and aspirations into school curriculum planning and design to improve student engagement 
• learning areas integrate mātauranga Māori into curriculum planning and teaching across learning areas. 

Every six months

• leaders monitor and respond to attendance data and equity in achievement in literacy, mathematics and NCEA to improve student engagement and progress.

Annually

• the learning coach role is developed further to enable all students to feel secure, unique and valued, including the provision of guidance and support to select and pursue qualifications and post-school goals
• leaders evaluate the learning gained from student and staff-initiated feedback and report these to the board to inform school improvement actions
• leaders report to the board on learner attendance and achievement for all students.

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

• curriculum design and teaching and learning practices that increasingly respond to students’ needs, aspirations and future pathways intentions
• improved regular attendance
• equitable progress and success across curriculum areas for 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

26 September 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