Rotorua S D A 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

Rotorua S D A School is a small, state-integrated special character school located in central Rotorua. It caters for learners from Years 1 to 8. The school vision and mission state they are: ‘Building for eternity’ and ‘Developing the character of God and achieving personal excellence.’

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

• A large majority of students achieve at expected curriculum levels in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Accelerated progress in reading and mathematics is evident for some students.
• The majority of students attend regularly; the school has yet to reach the Ministry of Education target for regular attendance.

Conditions to support learner success

• Leadership values and has effectively nurtured a schoolwide culture for professional growth and development.
• Increased whānau involvement in decision-making alongside leaders is informing improvement priorities.
• Leadership builds educationally focused relationships with a range of providers to increase opportunities for learning and success.

• Students experience, learn and achieve through a localised curriculum that focuses on building foundational literacy and mathematical knowledge and provides high interest learning experiences.
• The classroom learning culture is well-established and consistently characterised by respect, inclusion and collaboration.
• Teacher professional development is enhancing teacher practice, however the extent of the impact on student achievement is yet to be fully understood.

• Students experience a positive and inclusive school culture which supports their engagement in learning.
• School leaders and teachers are establishing positive partnerships with whānau and iwi to more effectively respond to the needs of Māori learners.
• The board is establishing a better understanding of their collective roles and responsibilities; board members identify they need to participate in governance training opportunities to continue to improve.

Part B: Where to next?

The agreed next steps for the school are to: 

• improve regular school attendance
• embed the use of te reo Māori to respond to whānau aspirations
• use an evaluation cycle to formally review the impacts of teacher professional learning on student outcomes
• complete the board review of school polices and formalise the review cycle to ensure timely scrutiny.

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

Every six months:

• review achievement and attendance data for progress against set goals and determine next steps
• formally evaluate the impact of professional learning on student achievement and respond accordingly
• use classroom observations or other tools to measure progress in the use of te reo Māori
• the board to implement a cycle of policy review including the provision for community feedback.

Annually:

• extend formal evaluation to other areas of the school with the focus on improving student outcomes, including attendance
• review the levels of te reo Māori use schoolwide and set new goals aligned with community aspirations
• review initiatives for improving attendance for effectiveness and identify next steps
• ensure the school policy review cycle is working effectively.

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

• more students attending regularly
• well-informed and effective teacher practice evidenced by improved student outcomes in reading, writing and mathematics
• regular use of quality te reo Māori by students and teachers
• an informed and current school policy framework that support school operations.

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

20 September 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