Mornington 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 

Mornington School is located in the hill suburbs of Dunedin. The school provides education for students in Years 1 to 6. Their mission states: Noho Tahi, Ako Tahi – Together we live and learn.

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 November 2022, ERO and the school have worked together to evaluate the impact of the ‘Developing Mathematical Inquiry Communities’ (DMIC) approach on teacher practice, curriculum and student learning outcomes

Expected Improvements and Findings 

The school expected to see increasingly consistent and effective teacher practice, leading to improved learning outcomes for all students in mathematics, and particularly for priority students.

• Progress rates in mathematics have accelerated for some learners; outcomes for groups of learners are not yet equitable.
• The school has adopted a coherent approach to teaching mathematics across the school.
• Teachers now use a range of information to plan for anticipated learning outcomes in mathematics and adapt their teaching in response to learners’ needs.
• Teachers and leaders work collaboratively and deliberately to inquire into aspects of their teaching practice to support learner progress and achievement in mathematics.
• Leaders are developing appropriate assessment practices for mathematics; assessment tools increasingly respond to learners’ needs, providing timely individual, class and whole-school insights into learner progress rates. 

Other Findings 

The greatest shift that occurred in response to the school’s action is the growth in teachers’ knowledge about how learners think mathematically and learn new mathematical concepts. Teachers are increasingly using this knowledge to notice and respond to learners’ needs in mathematics lessons. 

Part B: Current State 

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

Learner Success and Wellbeing 

• The majority of learners achieve curriculum expectations in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Achievement outcomes show inequity for groups of learners in reading, writing and mathematics.
• The majority of students attend school regularly; the school is not yet meeting the Ministry of Education target for attendance rates.

Conditions to support learner success

• Leadership ensures planning, coordination and evaluation of the school’s curriculum and teaching is well considered; expectations for high-quality teaching are clear, shared and monitored.
• Leaders use relevant internal and external expertise to strengthen teaching capability across the school; professional learning is well aligned with the school’s strategic goals.
• Leaders are strengthening the ways they collect and interpret data; evaluation capability is growing across the school to better inform decision-making for continuous improvement. 

• Leaders and teachers take shared responsibility for learner outcomes and work collectively to support learner engagement, progress and achievement.
• Teachers use evidence-based teaching strategies, including mixed ability grouping to provide purposeful and well-paced learning opportunities.
• Teachers scaffold learning and use their knowledge of learners’ strengths and needs to target additional support to those who require it.

• Teachers increasingly use a range of culturally responsive practices to engage learners in learning.
• The school provides a wide range of support and resources to parents and whānau so they can assist their child’s learning, including holiday programmes.
• Leaders are strengthening policies, programmes and practices to promote learners’ wellbeing, inclusion and engagement in learning. 

Part C: Where to next? 

The agreed next steps for the school are: 

• evaluate the effectiveness of strategies used to improve students’ regular attendance
• strengthen teaching practice to accelerate progress and improve equitable outcomes for groups of learners
• evaluate targeted interventions to know their impact on outcomes for learners and use this information to support increasingly excellent and equitable outcomes.

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

Within three months:

• leaders and teachers review current strategies used to raise attendance to identify what is working well and what might be improved
• engage with parents and whānau to develop and implement a plan to bring about improvements to regular attendance
• identify effective practice in literacy teaching; use this to enhance strategies for responding to learners’ needs, particularly for those who require accelerated progress
• ensure targeted interventions have appropriate measures of success that focus on outcome for learners

Every six months:

• evaluate the effectiveness of strategies used to improve attendance and make changes where needed
• leaders continue to report to the board on student progress and achievement in reading, writing and mathematics to show the impact of planned actions for increasingly excellent and equitable outcomes

Annually:

• report to the board on improvements in rates of regular attendance and prioritise next steps accordingly
• leaders report to the board student wellbeing, engagement, progress and achievement data to inform responsive decision making for continuous improvement.

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

• more students attending regularly
• increasingly excellent and equitable learning outcomes for all students
• teaching practice that is highly responsive and focuses on the progress of those learners at risk of underachievement. 

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

27 February 2025

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