Hamilton Seventh-Day Adventist 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 

Hamilton Seventh Day-Adventist School is a special character school providing education for students from Year 1 to 8. It is located semi-rurally in Hamilton. A significant proportion of the school roll comprises students whose first language is not English. The school’s stated core values are respect, responsibility and resilience.

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 

• The large majority of students achieve at expected curriculum levels in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Māori and Pacific students experience equitable outcomes in reading and writing, compared to their peers; boys are achieving less well than girls in reading, writing and mathematics.
• The school is effectively accelerating the progress of the majority of students who are at risk in their learning, including students with additional needs.
• The school is not yet meeting the Ministry of Education’s targets for regular student attendance.

Conditions to support learner success

• Leadership sets clear expectations for effective teaching practices and is developing and embedding appropriate frameworks to continue to grow teacher capability.
• Leadership collects and analyses a range of data to make evidence-informed decisions to improve student outcomes.

• Teachers use a range of strategies to enable students to actively participate and make progress in their learning; a next step is to increase students’ knowledge of their individual goals and the steps to get there through more consistent use of learning progressions.
• Students benefit from a well-resourced, literacy-rich learning environment.
• Teachers use positive strategies to affirm students and promote positive learning behaviours, creating settled classrooms where students are encouraged to develop self-management skills. 

• The board undertakes relevant consultation with parents in relation to key areas of school operations and uses the feedback to make decisions about school direction and priorities for students.
• Students with additional needs, including those students whose first language is not English, are well supported to make progress in their learning.
• The teacher inquiry process is helping to build teaching practices that are responsive and individualised to the needs of at-risk students.
• Students experience positive relationships and a culture of care that supports their wellbeing and sense of belonging.

Part B: Where to next? 

The agreed next steps for the school are to: 

• continue to reduce achievement disparity for boys in reading, writing and mathematics, and for Māori students in mathematics
• increase students’ awareness of their individual learning goals, and what they need to do to make progress
• increase rates of regular student attendance.

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

Within three months:

• plan strategic actions to improve achievement outcomes for boys and Māori, and increase rates of regular student attendance
• review shared expectations for assessment for learning practices across the school, particularly in relation to strategies and tools to support students to have increased understanding of their individual learning progress and next steps

Every six months:

• monitor and report to the board rates of student progress and attendance and adjust planned responses as necessary
• monitor how well teachers are using assessment for learning practices to increase students’ understanding of their individual learning progress and next steps; provide targeted professional support as required

Annually:

Report to the board:

• the annual and over time progress and achievement of boys and Māori, and other targeted students in literacy and mathematics
• the school’s attendance trends and patterns against Ministry of Education targets and the school’s strategic plan.

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

• increased parity for boys and Māori in their academic achievement
• increased achievement from students knowing how well they are progressing in their learning through the year and what steps they need to take to continue to make progress
• higher levels of regular student attendance that is sustained over time.

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

Sharon Kelly
Acting Director of Schools

26 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