Winton 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 

Winton School, located in Southland, provides education for children from Years 1 to 8. The school has facilities for technology education that are used by other Central Southland schools. Winton School’s values are respect | whakaute, effort | manawanuitanga, responsibility | takohanga, and empathy |pūaroha.

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 report in July 2022, ERO and the school worked together to evaluate how well literacy learning foundations are built. 

Expected Improvements and Findings

The school expected to see:

Teachers and support staff strengthening their knowledge of the sequence and progression of learning and the integrated nature of literacy learning. 

• Teachers and teacher aides are involved in effective, ongoing professional learning. They developed better understanding about how students learn and how best to deliver a structured literacy approach.

Teachers, support staff and parents | whānau working together to plan responsive teaching strategies and activities.

• Three-way conferences provide an effective platform for teachers to share the structured literacy approach with parents and for students to articulate their progress and learning.
• The school held parent-information forums to support home learning that reinforces the structured literacy approach.
• A useful glossary of terms supports parents’ understanding of their child’s report and the language of learning their children are familiar with.

All students engaged in their learning, developing sound literacy skills and knowledge, and using these to access the curriculum.

• Achievement information shows students are progressing well and, in some cases, making accelerated progress.
• Students confidently talk about their learning and progress.

Effective strategies for lifting the rate of progress in literacy learning of students included the school’s curriculum guidelines/programmes.

• The school has focussed on the early identification of students who may need extra help to succeed in literacy and to access the wider curriculum.
• Students who need extra help to success are given more time and opportunities to consolidate their learning with trained teacher aides who reinforce new knowledge.

The greatest shift that occurred in response to the school’s actions is the early identification of students who have learning difficulties and the support put in place to address these. A cohesive approach across the school to teaching literacy has improved confidence and capability amongst teachers and students. Ongoing professional development for teachers has improved their practice and placed a greater focus on supporting students with diverse needs to learn.

Part B: Current State

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

Learner Success and Wellbeing

Most students are progressing and achieving well. There is strong evidence of learners making accelerated progress. There is increasing equity for groups of learners. 

• Most students achieve to curriculum expectations in literacy and numeracy. 
• Māori students achieve as well as their non-Māori peers. 
• Analysis of December 2023 student achievement data shows that mathematics learning needs to be the next major focus for improving student outcomes. 

Conditions to support learner success

Strategic and effective leadership drive ongoing improvements to school conditions to promote student success. 

• Leadership consistently prioritises and plans for school improvement and for equitable and excellent outcomes, with a consistent focus on priority learners.
• Leadership is continually adapting implementation and strategy to deliver on the school’s priorities.
• Leadership increasingly fosters a culture committed to quality teaching, and equity and excellence in learner outcomes.

With the increasingly targeted teaching practices, issues of equity are being addressed, with very few individuals not reaching their potential. 

• Experienced teachers and trained teacher aides are focused on giving all students the best opportunity to succeed. 
• Teachers scaffold learners’ learning using differentiated teaching practices to respond to learners’ needs and strengths.
• A range of appropriate and good quality assessment information is increasingly used to plan for, evaluate and report the progress and achievement of each learner.

Key conditions to support student success are well embedded. 

• The school culture promotes a positive mindset amongst staff and students.  
• Barriers to learning are identified and reduced or removed where possible. 
• Collaborative, supportive, collegial relationships enable all staff to work together with one accord. 

Part C: Where to next?

The agreed next steps for the school are to: 

• increase students’ number sense and understanding of mathematical concepts  
• use the knowledge teachers have gained about the science of learning to improve learning and teaching in mathematics 
• increase teachers’ content knowledge in mathematics to enable them to refine and tailor their programmes for groups and individuals 
• ensure teachers understand the expectations for progress and what this looks like at key transition points, aligned with the refreshed curriculum 
• engage parents | whānau in helping their child’s mathematics learning. 

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

Within six months:

• access science of mathematics learning professional development to develop shared expectations for consistent, high quality mathematics teaching
• conduct a mathematical dispositions survey with students to enable teachers to identify attitudes, strengths and weaknesses that need to be considered. 

Every six months:

• monitor how well teachers’ knowledge and implementation of the mathematics programme is developing and impacting on students’ learning. 

Annually:

• analyse student achievement data to evaluate the impact of the change in teaching practice on students’ learning 
• use assessment information to guide the next steps to ensure equitable opportunities for all students to succeed. 

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

• an increase in students’ number sense and understanding of mathematical concepts  
• higher levels of engagement and improved confidence in all students 
• teachers’ content knowledge being strong, enabling them to adapt and refine their programmes and practices to meet the needs of all students in their classrooms  
• improved levels of whānau engagement and understanding of mathematical concepts.

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

24 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