Edendale School (Southland)

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  

​​Edendale School (Southland)​ is situated in Edendale, Eastern Southland and provides education for students in Years 1 to 6. The school’s aspirations are for students to go on to make their dreams a reality, becoming confident, connected, actively involved, life-long learners now and in the future. 

There are two parts to this report. 

Part A: 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 B: The improvement actions prioritised for the school’s next evaluation cycle.  

Part A: Current State 

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

Learner Success and Wellbeing 

Most students make sustained progress and achieve in reading, writing and mathematics.

• A large majority of students achieve at or above curriculum levels in reading, writing and mathematics. 
• Teachers and leaders continue to work on improving equity between groups of students, including Māori learners in reading, writing and mathematics and boys in writing. 
• The school is meeting the 2024 Ministry of Education target for regular attendance at school, a large majority of students attend school regularly. 

Conditions to support learner success 

A highly collaborative leadership team guides and realises continuous improvement in learning outcomes.

• Strategic and annual goals are informed by rigorous analysis of student progress and achievement data. 
• Leaders and teachers carefully monitor and track progress and achievement for those students who are at risk of not achieving to respond in a timely way. 
• The school board is well informed by leaders on all teaching and learning across curriculum areas and progress and achievement for all students to resource where it matters most. 

Teachers have and respond to high quality teaching and learning expectations.

• Teachers use comprehensive guidelines for curriculum delivery; consequently consistent and cohesive practices across the school support learner engagement. 
• Individual needs of learners are considered and responded to in a planned and deliberate approach to teaching and learning. 
• Teachers use assessment information well, to inform their knowledge growth and for next steps in teaching and learning. 

Key organisational conditions that support learners’ success are well established.

• Strong community consultation practices guide the development of the school’s vision and values and inform improvement actions. 
• The school has meaningful partnerships with a wide range of external agencies, that support improved wellbeing and achievement outcomes for learners. 
• Community collaborations, based on the rural environment are well-established; these are enriching opportunities for students to learn from and about their local community. 
• Continued consultation with whānau, hapū and iwi is identified as a next step for a schoolwide approach to the teaching and learning of te reo Māori. 

Part B: Where to next? 

The agreed next steps for the school are to:  

• improve outcomes in writing across the school 
• continue to improve parity in achievement between groups of students including Māori students, and boys in writing 
• continue to develop and implement a progressive te reo Māori curriculum plan. 

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

Within six months: 

• teachers undertake professional development to raise achievement in writing 
• teachers mentored across the school with a focus on writing in the senior school 
• the te reo Māori curriculum plan drafted alongside consultation with Māori whānau to implement within twelve months. 

Every six months: 

• leaders alongside staff, analyse student progress and achievement information in reading, writing and mathematics and report to the board 
• staff take planned action in response to emerging trends, with particular attention to those learners at risk of not achieving 
• teachers use an inquiry framework to find out about the impact of their teaching practice in literacy as part of their Professional Growth Cycle 
• observation of teaching practice in alignment with te reo Māori curriculum plan. 

Annually: 

• leaders and teachers report to the board on student achievement in reading, writing and mathematics, to take planned action in response to emerging trends 
• evaluate the effectiveness of te reo Māori curriculum plan; adapt as necessary and report back to Māori whānau for their further input 
• evaluate progress towards achieving strategic goals and report back to the school board and community 
• teachers report to colleagues in the Community of Learning on the results of their inquiry into literacy practices to share insights and further improve on their own teaching practice. 

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

• improve outcomes in writing for all students 
• increase parity for boys in writing and Māori students in numeracy and literacy 
• students and teachers participate in a progressive te reo Māori programme and build 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 

​​1 July 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