Waitakiri Primary 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 

Waitākiri Primary School is located in Christchurch and provides education for learners in Years 1 to 6. The school vision is to have REAL Heroes making REAL choices, underpinned by the values of Respect - Whakaute, Encourage - Akiaki, Achieve - Eke and Lifelong Learners - Ākonga Mauroa.  

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 of July 2022, ERO and the school have worked together to evaluate how effectively communication and reporting to families and whānau supports learning and increases engagement.

Expected Improvements and Findings 

The school expected to see:

Students and their whānau engage meaningfully in learning and participating regularly in reporting opportunities.

• Learners continue to engage and achieve well in learning. 
• Leaders and teachers have gathered feedback in multiple ways from the community to determine the most effective way to report on the learning and achievement of individual learners.
• Regular learning conversations are attended by most families with useful information provided about each child’s learning progress and next steps.

Learners set and achieve relevant goals that are shared with their whānau.

• Reports to parents about their child’s learning now clearly show achievement and progress in reading, writing and mathematics over time.
• The use of external support has helped to engage with the school’s Māori and Pacific whānau.

Other Findings 

The greatest shift that occurred in response to the school’s action has been that reporting to parents now clearly shows learning achievement and allows parents to monitor their child’s progress during their time at 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 curriculum expectations in reading, writing and mathematics; the school has identified that disparity for Māori remains to be addressed.
• Learners express a strong sense of belonging and wellbeing; learners participate confidently and contribute meaningfully in a range of contexts within the local and wider community.
•  A majority of learners attend school regularly; the school is not yet meeting the Ministry of Education’s 2024 target for regular attendance.

Conditions to support learner success

• Effective leadership maintains a strong focus on high quality teaching and learning, through well considered evidence-based decisions, that inform the school’s priorities and future direction.
• Strong professional relationships and shared leadership opportunities positively reinforce the values and priorities contributing to learners’ wellbeing and sense of belonging.
• The board, leaders and staff collaboratively make strategic resourcing decisions that extend the range of opportunities for all learners to experience success.

• Learners have multiple opportunities to engage in a wide range of learning experiences within the school and its local community; this promotes rich learning and extends learners’ sense of belonging.
• Leaders and teachers actively participate in professional learning to ensure teaching programmes reflect te ao Māori, this is an area of ongoing development.
• Learners are well-known and their achievement, progress and engagement are closely monitored; staff use targeted strategies that enhances engagement and supports ongoing progress.

• Learner wellbeing is prioritised; a wide range of initiatives and meaningful innovations ensure a positive culture promotes wellbeing across the school. 
• Strong networks with a range of external agencies support the learning, wellbeing and engagement of learners; leaders continue to build on the positive links the school has with local iwi.
• The board and leaders have embedded a culture of evaluation, strategic governance and effective professional learning to sustain high quality teaching and learning.

Part C: Where to next? 

The agreed next steps for the school are to: 

• implement national curriculum changes to ensure shared understanding and alignment with reporting and assessment processes
• enhance monitoring and reporting to inform improvements that increase the achievement and engagement of Māori learners to reduce disparity
• review and refine strategies to continue to raise rates of attendance 
• embed further learning of mātauranga Māori to enhance programmes and partnerships for learning. 

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

Within six months:

• become familiar with the national curriculum changes and plan relevant staff development to ensure shared understanding and consistency across the school.

Every six months:

• continue to closely monitor and report progress and achievement of Māori learners to whānau and the board
• engage with whānau and identify strategies to increase the levels of regular attendance.

Annually:

• evaluate and report to the board on the effectiveness of initiatives to improve outcomes for learners and adapt programmes and approaches as required
• the board and leaders review the strategic and annual plans in conjunction with community feedback and ideas and consider changes in relation to emerging priorities 
• consult with whānau Māori about how effectively the embedding of mātauranga Māori is meeting the needs of their children and modify programmes if required.

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

• sustained and improved progress and achievement in literacy and mathematics, particularly for Māori
• mātauranga Māori embedded across the curriculum
• sustained levels of increased 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

17 October 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