Port Chalmers 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

Port Chalmers School is a Years 1 to 8 primary school, long-established within the Port Chalmers community. It works closely with the nearby early learning centres, local schools and other educational support agencies. Leaders and teachers know the students and their families and whānau well. The school’s vision for its learners is for them to be creative, resilient and enthusiastic as they learn within the foundation of the school’s values.

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

In the past three years Port Chalmers School and ERO worked together to evaluate extending culturally responsive teaching and learning practices to accelerate the literacy progress of learners who most need this.

Expected Improvements and Findings

The school expected to see: 

Improving equity for Māori learners in all aspects of their learning

• Māori learners are increasingly achieving as well as other learners at the school. Māori learners achievement in reading, writing and mathematics is equitable or better than their peers.

Identification of the key teaching practices, including those that are targeted to best meet the needs of learners, in a culturally responsive way.

• Leaders and teachers have effectively identified, implemented and evaluated the key teaching practices and progressions across a range of programmes and contexts, that best meet the needs of learners.

Teachers consistently understand and respect local tikanga and Māori culture sufficiently to be able to respond appropriately to ākonga, whānau and community.

• All teachers are increasing their knowledge and understanding of local tikanga and Māori culture. This has been well supported by professional learning opportunities from a range of sources.

Effective reciprocal learning-centred relationships with the school and its community.

• Leaders and teachers persistently build relationships in shared time, including laughter, to celebrate and extend learning with whānau.

The greatest shift that occurred in response to the school’s action has been to eliminate disparity for Māori learners in writing and mathematics. Teachers are better able to evaluate the effectiveness of the range of tailored approaches they are using to promote learning. 

Part B: Current State

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

Learner Success and Wellbeing

• Most learners are achieving at or above curriculum expectations for writing, reading and mathematics. 
  Sustained accelerated progress in aspects of literacy can be shown for learners who need this.
• Students report and show a strong sense of belonging and whanaungatanga. This has been an ongoing school priority.
• Students have a wide range of opportunities to learn and grow in Te Ao Māori, with this being highly valued by their whānau.

Conditions to support learner success

• Equitable and excellent outcomes for Māori learners are a consistent focus.
• School leadership prioritises school improvement and fosters a culture of evidence-based evaluation and targeted responses to areas of identified need. 
• Learners with diverse learning needs are also a priority through deliberate, tailored support and nurturing with bespoke learning programmes. 

• Teachers consistently create a positive learning environment where respect, inclusion, empathy and safety are ongoing priorities.
• The school is continuing to strengthen the responsiveness of its localised curriculum. 
• Learners have increased opportunities to learn and experience a broader curriculum that supports their cultural identity.
• Leaders and teachers are increasingly adapting teaching approaches to achieve equitable outcomes for learners.

• Learner success and wellbeing is the focus of all school-whānau interactions, fostering a collaborative approach.
• The school has well-established and ongoing partnerships with local education providers and agencies to support effective transitions and student and whānau wellbeing.
• Evaluation, inquiry and knowledge building practices are embedded, well understood and widely used.

Part C: Where to next?

The agreed next steps for the school are to:

• continue to strengthen and evaluate the consistency of teaching and learning practices in mathematics across the school
• integrate ‘understand, know, do’ planning into curriculum design and action
• ensure that the school is enacting the articles and intentions of Te Tiriti o Waitangi in a meaningful and sustainable way for learners, their whānau, hapū and iwi.

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

Every six months

• critically evaluate teaching and learning inputs and outcomes for learners in mathematics
• progressively plan and enact the refreshed curriculum expectations beginning with Aotearoa New Zealand Histories and mathematics
• use Poutama Reo to implement a meaningful te reo Māori teaching and learning programme.

Annually

• assess progress made in te reo Māori teaching and learning and identify next steps using appropriate progressive frameworks
• continue to use research informed teaching and learning practices to build teachers, students and whānau understanding of how children learn best.

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

• learners being well-prepared, through explicit teaching and learning in mathematics, to be successful in their transition to more advanced mathematics curricula
• students participating in a progressive te reo Māori programme and building their te reo Māori capability.

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

17 April 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