Gore Main 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

Gore Main School, a contributing primary school located in Gore, provides education for students in Years 1 to 6. The school has a strong focus on inclusion and living each day through the school's values of respect, kindness, integrity, perseverance, and excellence.

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, ERO and the school have worked together to evaluate the effectiveness of teaching practices and curriculum change on improving learner progress and achievement, with the inclusion of a new structured literacy approach.

Expected Improvements and Findings

The school expected to see: 

The structured literacy approach fully implemented and for all learners to have strong foundational skills in literacy.

• The implementation of this programme has resulted in significant improvements in literacy outcomes for learners; most students now achieve at or above curriculum expectations.
• The structured approach provides all children with strong foundational skills in both reading and writing.
• Sustained participation in schoolwide targeted professional learning and development for teachers in structured literacy, has strengthened their collective knowledge and delivery of literacy approaches.

Other Findings

The greatest shift that occurred in response to the school’s action was the introduction of a consistent approach to the teaching of literacy that ensures a cohesive approach for learners as they transition through the school.

Part B: Current State

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

Learner Success and Wellbeing 

• Most learners achieve at or above expected curriculum levels in reading, writing and mathematics; improved equity for Māori learners is evident.
• Most learners show a strong sense of belonging; all learners are well supported with positive relationships within a caring, inclusive environment that supports their wellbeing.
• Learners at risk of not achieving are closely monitored with a focus on improving learning to reach curriculum levels; a number of these learners make accelerated progress.
• A large majority of students are attending school regularly; the school is not yet meeting the Government’s target for attendance in 2024.

Conditions to support learner success

• Leadership promotes a culture of relational trust at all levels of the school, supporting conditions for collaboration and good quality teaching.
• Leaders increasingly use relevant expertise of others to support curriculum development and innovation to provide engaging learning experiences for learners.
• Leadership continually engages in professional knowledge building with teachers; this intentional approach enhances teaching and learning.

• Leaders and teachers ensure the intentional building of foundational skills in reading, writing and mathematics, through meaningful learning opportunities; this strengthens positive learner engagement.
• Learners needing additional support are identified promptly and provided with relevant, individual support to learn and progress.
• Teachers consistently create learning environments that foster improved learner engagement, inclusive participation and positive, mutually respectful teacher-learner relationships.

• The board scrutinises a range of learner data and evaluative information; they regularly consult with the school community to identify strategic improvement priorities, plan and make appropriate resourcing decisions.
• Staff professional learning and development aligns well with the school’s strategic priorities and enhances learner progress and achievement.
• Teaching and learning programmes increasingly include te ao Māori, tikanga Māori and te reo Māori.
• Leaders carefully manage and provide resources to reduce barriers to learning for identified target learners.

Part C: Where to next?

The agreed next steps for the school are to: 

• continue to strengthen structured literacy practices across all year levels
• sustain the implementation of the schoolwide structured mathematics programme and ensure that learners achieve success across all areas
• develop initiatives and implement strategies to improve attendance
• support teachers to implement changes in processes and school wide expectations that are designed to target and accelerate learners’ progress.

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

Every six months:

• monitor the progress of identified target groups and the impact of key initiatives to improve equitable outcomes
• ensure that the regular attendance of students is a priority in upcoming strategic planning and continue to work with families to promote the regular attendance of learners
• identify effective practice in literacy and numeracy teaching and use these to inform enhanced strategies for responding to learner need.

Annually:

• report on student outcomes in reading, writing and mathematics to the board to inform progress towards achieving annual targets and identify strategies for where to next
• report to the board on the implementation and impact of the new curriculum requirements to inform future planning
• engage in targeted professional growth and development to ensure teachers have high-quality expertise to effectively support the learning and wellbeing of all students.

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

• equitable and excellent student achievement
• increased consistency of teacher professional practice across the school to support all learners to achieve and make progress
• increased levels of regular attendance.

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

3 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