Livingstone Avenue , Nawton, Hamilton
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Nawton 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
Nawton School is located in Hamilton and provides education for learners in Years 1 to 8 in English medium, bilingual and total immersion Māori. The school vision is ‘to provide a safe, holistic, inclusive, modern learning environment which embraces te ao Māori and cultural diversity to empower all students to succeed.’
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
Learners are engaged and make good progress; there is increasing equity between groups of learners. |
- The majority of students are at the expected curriculum level for reading, writing and math; some disparity for boys in reading and writing remains.
- Achievement data over time shows increased equity for Māori learners and positive shifts in reducing disparity for Pacific learners.
- Schoolwide wellbeing data show the majority of students and staff report a positive school climate.
- Just over half of students attend regularly, the school continues to focus on reaching the Ministry of Education attendance target.
Conditions to support learner success
Leadership is strengthening targeted interventions to improve student outcomes. |
- Suitable schoolwide systems and processes are in place to monitor the effectiveness of differentiated strategies to support at risk learners.
- Community organisations and agencies work in partnership with the school to ensure a wide range of wellbeing initiatives and curriculum opportunities are available for all learners.
- Leaders use research and data well to identify strategic goals, aligning resources and professional development to improve teacher practice and improve learner outcomes.
Teachers establish positive and mutually respectful learning environments that promotes student engagement. |
- Students benefit from a sustained focus on positive and personalised teaching practices; well-established learning routines and expectations maximise learning time.
- Localised curriculum continues to strengthen in consultation with mana whenua to encourage a stronger sense of identity as a school.
- Schoolwide wellbeing initiatives foster students’ sense of self and management for learning.
- Teachers work collaboratively with outside agencies and learning support staff to provide differentiated assistance to improve students’ progress and achievement.
School conditions continue to strengthen and support learning outcomes. |
- All learners culture, language, and identity are highly valued within an inclusive school environment.
- The school’s vision, strategic goals, targets and tikanga are grounded in a deeper understanding of the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
- Seamlessly integrated te ao Māori learning opportunities woven through the school’s curriculum increases student engagement.
- The board scrutinises a range of student achievement data to identify strategic improvement priorities and makes appropriate resourcing decisions.
Part B: Where to next?
The agreed next steps for the school are to:
- continue to strengthen student outcomes by improved use and analysis of assessment data and teacher inquiry, to differentiate teaching and learning for learners not yet meeting expected levels
- build on professional development to support deliberate and explicit teaching practices to accelerate students’ progress in reading and writing
- increase attendance and engagement by strengthening home school partnerships with whānau.
The agreed actions for the next improvement cycle and timeframes are as follows.
Every six months:
- implement a cycle of data analysis and reporting to support teacher inquiry across the school
- review the impact of targeted professional development to improve teacher practice and identify next steps
- work in partnership with whānau to identify learning supports and strategies to improve attendance and achievement.
Annually:
- review student achievement data and teacher inquiry to identify shifts in practice that improve and accelerate student outcomes, particularly for students not yet at curriculum expectations
- analyse reading and writing data and identify next steps for ongoing professional development and sharing of best teaching practices across the school
- report attendance and engagement data to the board to continue to strengthen strategies that support home school partnerships.
Actions taken against these next steps are expected to result in:
- schoolwide use of student achievement data and teacher inquiry to differentiate learning programmes that improved student outcomes
- improved teaching practices in literacy to accelerate progress of students not yet meeting expected assessment levels
- increased rates of regular attendance and engagement for all learners.
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
9 December 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
Nawton School
Board Assurance with Regulatory and Legislative Requirements Report 2024 to 2027
As of May 2024, the Nawton School Board has attested to the following regulatory and legislative requirements:
Board Administration
Yes
Curriculum
Yes
Management of Health, Safety and Welfare
Yes
Personnel Management
Yes
Finance
Yes
Assets
Yes
Further Information
For further information please contact Nawton School Board.
The next School Board assurance that it is meeting regulatory and legislative requirements will be reported, along with the Te Ara Huarau | School Evaluation Report, within three years.
Information on ERO’s role and process in this review can be found on the Education Review Office website.
Shelley Booysen
Director of Schools
9 December 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
Nawton School
School Context
Nawton School is located in north Hamilton. It caters for students from Years 1 to 6 in English medium, (Auraki) and partial immersion, (Reo Rua) classes and in Years 1 to 8 in full immersion, (Rūmaki) classes. The current roll is 533 and 70% are Māori. Many of these students whakapapa to Waikato Tainui, the local iwi and Ngāti Māhanga, the local hapū.
The school continues to promote the PRIDE values of perseverance/kawea, respect/whai koha, integrity/ngākau tapatahi, detachment/wehenga kētanga and excellence/hiranga within an holistic and modern learning environment designed to empower all students to succeed.
The school is led by an experienced principal and board chair. The board has both experienced and new trustees. Recent teacher professional development focussed on writing in the English medium and Reo Rua classes, and in reo-ā-waha in Rūmaki classes.
Leaders and teachers regularly report to the board on schoolwide information about student outcome information in the following areas:
- pānui pukapuka, tuhituhi, reo-ā-waha, pāngarau
- reading, writing, mathematics.
The school is part of the He Waka Eke Noa (NW Hamilton) Kāhui Ako.
Evaluation Findings
1 Equity and excellence – achievement of valued outcomes for students
1.1 How well is the school achieving equitable and excellent outcomes for all its students?
Rūmaki Classes.
The school is working towards achieving equitable outcomes for all students in the Rūmaki classes.
Most students are achieving at or above curriculum expectations in pānui pukapuka, reo-ā-waha tuhituhi and pāngarau in 2019.
There was significant improvement in overall achievement in pāngarau and some improvement in reo-ā-waha between 2017 and 2019. Overall achievement in pānui pukapuka and tuhituhi have remained at similar levels over time.
There is a significant disparity for boys in pānui pukapuka and tuhituhi in 2019. This pattern of achievement has been consistent over time in these two areas.
Auraki and Reo Rua Classes.
The school is working towards achieving equitable and excellent outcomes for all its students in Auraki and Reo Rua classes.
A large majority of students were achieving at or above expectations in reading and writing and most in mathematics in 2018. These patterns of overall achievement have remained unchanged over time in all areas. There was significant improvement in the achievement of Māori and Pacific students in writing between 2016 and 2018 and some improvement in mathematics. There was a decline in Pākehā achievement in reading, writing and mathematics between 2016 and 2018.
A significant disparity in achievement for boys in relation to girls in reading and writing is an ongoing challenge for the school. Some disparity for boys remains in mathematics.
1.2 How well is the school accelerating learning for those Māori and other students who need this?
Rūmaki.
The school is accelerating the progress of the majority of Māori and other students who need this in pānui pukapuka and pāngarau but only some in tuhituhi and reo-ā-waha.
Data provided by the school during this external evaluation shows that in 2018 about two thirds of students at risk of not achieving made accelerated progress in pānui pukapuka and pāngarau. About one quarter made accelerated progress in tuhituhi and reo-ā-waha.
Auraki/Reo Rua.
The school is accelerating progress for some Māori and other students who need this in literacy and mathematics.
Data provided by the school during this external evaluation shows that in 2018 a little over a third of those students at risk of underachieving made accelerated progress in reading, writing and mathematics. There was significant improvement in rates of acceleration in writing between 2017 and 2018.
Students with special needs are well supported and there is evidence of progress in their learning.
2 School conditions for equity and excellence – processes and practices
2.1 What school processes and practices are effective in enabling achievement of equity and excellence, and acceleration of learning?
Leaders collaboratively develop and pursue the school’s vision and goals for equity and excellence. They encourage and promote a collegial and cooperative approach, where teachers work across instruction mediums to enrich programmes for students. Middle leaders provide strong ongoing support to teachers through coaching and mentoring and collaborative planning, assessment and moderation. They promote schoolwide consistency through regular planning checks and appraisal observations. Leaders have established and documented clear and consistent expectations to support teaching, learning and wellbeing, and they are strong advocates for students with additional needs.
The school works actively with parents, whānau and the wider community to ensure equitable opportunities for all. Trustees have established positive partnerships with the local iwi. They have formally adopted the Waikato Tainui Education Plan in order to work in partnership with the iwi. There are a range of ways that parents engage as partners in their children’s learning. Leaders proactively develop networks with wider community groups and utilise parent and whānau skills and knowledge to provide enriched curriculum opportunities for students.
Students are active participants in an inclusive learning environment. Relationships between teachers and students support and affirm learning. Teachers share responsibility for each student’s wellbeing. They understand students’ family circumstances and pastoral needs and respond effectively to the impact this has on learning. Processes and systems to promote positive behaviour have been evaluated and strengthened. There are well articulated protocols that promote a strong sense of belonging including pōwhiri at the beginning of each term for new students, regular recitation of pepehā in classrooms and strong support for transition to school, between classes and out of school. Māori students’ language, culture and identity is strongly supported. Tikanga Māori are highly visible and normalised across the school and in many classrooms. Classroom programmes feature high levels of Māori context, content and perspective including Tiriti o Waitangi studies and local iwi history. The cultures of students of other ethnicities are also celebrated.
2.2 What further developments are needed in school processes and practices for achievement of equity and excellence, and acceleration of learning?
Strengthen the focus on accelerated progress at all class levels to improve equitable outcomes for at risk students by:
- revising board targets to prioritise acceleration for all students at risk of underachieving
- analysing and reporting on trends and patterns in rates of acceleration over time
- reviewing how accelerated progress is measured, particularly when tracking progress over short time periods
- strengthening the use of internal evaluation to more robustly identify and evaluate what is working and what needs improvement.
Develop the use of a common language of learning, for example, learning progressions, so that teachers, students and parents to can identify and respond to individual learning needs and take more responsibility for their own learning.
Further develop and document a cohesive local curriculum for the whole school that includes a sequential approach to local iwi history and traditions to ensure that the aspirations of all parts of the school community are reflected.
Urgently address the need for a sustainable approach to the teaching of English literacy to students in Rūmaki classes in order to properly prepare students for transition to secondary school and the world of work.
3 Board Assurance on Legal Requirements
Before the review, the board and principal of the school completed the ERO board assurance statement and self-audit checklists. In these documents they attested that they had taken all reasonable steps to meet their legislative obligations related to the following:
- board administration
- curriculum
- management of health, safety and welfare
- personnel management
- finance
- asset management.
During the review, ERO checked the following items because they have a potentially high impact on student safety and wellbeing:
- emotional safety of students (including prevention of bullying and sexual harassment)
- physical safety of students
- teacher registration and certification
- processes for appointing staff
- stand down, suspension, expulsion and exclusion of students
- attendance
- school policies in relation to meeting the requirements of the Children’s Act 2014.
4 ERO’s Overall Judgement
On the basis of the findings of this review, ERO’s overall evaluation judgement of Nawton School’s performance in achieving valued outcomes for its students is: Well placed.
ERO’s Framework: Overall Findings and Judgement Tool derived from School Evaluation Indicators: Effective Practice for Improvement and Learner Success is available on ERO’s website.
5 Going forward
Key strengths of the school
For sustained improvement and future learner success, the school can draw on existing strengths in:
- leadership that builds relational trust at every level to pursue the school’s vision of equity for all
- partnerships with parents, whānau and the wider community that enrich classroom programmes
- a settled and supportive school and classroom culture that promotes learning.
Next steps
For sustained improvement and future learner success, priorities for further development are in strengthening:
- systems and processes to support a more targeted approach to accelerating the progress of and outcomes for students at risk of not achieving
- the use of progressions by teachers, students, parents and whānau to further empower students to take more responsibility for their own learning
- the use of internal evaluation to identify and evaluate what is working and what needs improvement for students at risk of not achieving.
Phillip Cowie
Director Review and Improvement Services
Central Region
23 January 2020
About the school
Location | Hamilton |
Ministry of Education profile number | 1841 |
School type | Rūmaki: Yrs 1 to 8, Reo Rua and Auraki: Yrs 1 to 6 |
School roll | 533 |
Gender composition | Male 50% Female 50% |
Ethnic composition | Māori 70% NZ European/Pākehā 16% Pacific 5% Indian 3% Other ethnic groups 6% |
Students with Ongoing Resourcing Funding (ORS) | Yes |
Provision of Māori medium education | Yes |
Number of Māori medium classes | 13 |
Total number of students in Māori medium (MME) | 277 |
Total number of students in Māori language in English medium (MLE) | 256 |
Number of students in Level 17 MME | 129 |
Number of students in Level 3 MLE | 148 |
Number of students in Level 5 MLE | 256 |
Review team on site | November 2019 |
Date of this report | 23 January 2020 |
Most recent ERO report(s) | Education Review March 2017 Education Review April 2012 Education Review February 2009 |