Lyttelton 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 

Lyttelton Primary School located in Lyttelton, Christchurch, provides education for students in Years 1 to 8. The school’s vision is Thriving Today — Ready for Tomorrow and underpins the curriculum.

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 in September 2022, the school and ERO have worked together to evaluate how effectively the literacy programmes ensured equity and excellence for all learners.

Expected Improvements and Findings

The school expected to see:

Improved outcomes for learners in literacy.

• Positive student outcomes in reading have been sustained, there has been small gains made in writing; this remains a priority.
• Outcomes for Māori students have shown a significant improvement in both reading and writing; increasing equity for Māori students is evident, this remains a priority.

A research informed approach to the teaching and learning in literacy.

• Teachers and leaders took part in a range of effective professional development based on the science of reading and writing; this is now embedded into their practice and has strengthened teacher capability in teaching literacy.

Other Findings 

The greatest shift that occurred in literacy learning following the introduction of the structured approach, was the improved engagement of students.

Part B: Current State

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

Learner Success and Wellbeing 

Students are engaged, make good progress and achieve well.

• Most students achieve at or above curriculum level expectations in reading and mathematics, and the majority achieve these expectations in writing.
• Improving equity for groups of students’ achievement remains a priority, including for Māori students in reading and mathematics, boys in writing and girls in mathematics.
• A small majority of students attend school regularly; the school is yet to achieve the Ministry of Education 2024 attendance target.

Conditions to support learner success

Strategic leadership works collaboratively to improve outcomes for learners.

• Leaders set evidence-based targets and use effective interventions to facilitate ongoing innovation, improvement and development of teacher capabilities for high quality teaching and learning.
• Leaders analyse and systematically monitor schoolwide progress and achievement information; learners at risk of underachievement are identified and plans developed to respond to their needs. 
• Leadership fosters a highly collaborative team culture; the staff are responsive, flexible and open to new approaches to improve learner success and wellbeing.

Teaching is highly responsive to the many different needs of learners.

• Teachers use comprehensive guidelines for curriculum delivery; this supports consistent and cohesive practices across the school support learner wellbeing and engagement.
• Teachers and leaders know students well and implement learning programmes deliberately aligned to individual student needs and interests; this enhances engagement in learning.
• Teachers use assessment activities that are inclusive, relate to the real world and fit-for-purpose; they provide meaningful evidence of progress and achievement as a basis for determining next steps for learning.

Key organisational conditions that support learner success are well embedded.

• Leaders use strong consultation processes to gather community aspirations and inform the development of strategic priorities for improvement.
• Teachers and leaders systematically gather and analyse student wellbeing information and have meaningful partnerships with a wide range of external agencies; this enhances student wellbeing and achievement outcomes.
• Leaders and teachers use well embedded evaluation processes to determine the effectiveness of interventions and initiatives and to inquire into teaching practices; this informs planning for improvement.
• Student achievement and engagement is enhanced through meaningful teaching and learning that increasingly includes te reo Māori, tikanga Māori and mātauranga Māori.

Part C: Where to next?

The agreed next steps for the school are to: 

• continue to strengthen teaching practice to accelerate achievement and improve equitable outcomes for Māori students in reading, writing and mathematics, boys in writing and girls in mathematics
• strengthen strategies and initiatives to improve students’ regular attendance.

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

Within three months:

• leaders and teachers review current strategies for addressing attendance concerns to identify what is working and what is not

Every six months:

• take deliberate action in response to emerging data trends, with particular attention to those learners at risk of not achieving and those with lower rates of regular attendance
• identify effective practices in literacy and numeracy teaching and use this to extend strategies for responding to learner needs

Annually:

• continue to use and report student progress and achievement data to inform responsive decision making and effective strategies for improving attendance, teaching and learning 
• evaluate the impact of initiatives for continued improvements in achievement and attendance.

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

• improved equity in reading, writing and mathematics between groups of students; particularly for Māori students, boys in writing and girls in mathematics
• increasingly excellent outcomes in writing
• increased student engagement in learning and more students attending regularly.

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 January 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