43 Tahuna-Ohinewai Road , Tahuna
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Tahuna 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
Tahuna School, situated in a small settlement north of Morrinsville, provides education for learners in Years 1 to 6. Since the previous ERO report of 2020, the board appointed a new principal. The school’s vision of ‘Learning for life’ is underpinned by their rural ‘ICARE’ values.
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
Most learners are engaged, make good progress over time and achieve well. |
- Most learners achieve at or above expected curriculum levels in reading, writing and mathematics; the school is focused on improving achievement in writing.
- Learners express a positive sense of belonging and pride in their school that supports their wellbeing and engagement with learning.
- The large majority of students attend school regularly; the school is yet to meet the Ministry of Education’s 2024 target for regular attendance.
Conditions to support learner success
Collaborative leadership promotes an inclusive and orderly learning environment, with an increasingly strategic focus on learners who are at risk of underachievement. |
- Leadership promotes a positive culture of shared responsibility among board and staff that extends learner wellbeing and achievement outcomes.
- The principal actively supports teachers in their professional learning and development, strengthening their capacity to implement the school’s improvement goals.
- Leadership and teachers implement and use effective systems for tracking and monitoring student achievement that enables all learners who need more support to achieve expected outcomes.
Learners experience engaging opportunities to learn across The New Zealand Curriculum, with a consistent focus on the development of foundation skills in literacy and mathematics. |
- Learners benefit from purposeful learning through a meaningful curriculum that provides them with a wide range of opportunities.
- Staff know learners well and integrate a range of responsive teaching practices that ensure learners make progress in their learning.
- Teachers effectively use schoolwide learning progressions in reading, writing and mathematics that enables learners, their parents and whānau to know and understand progress, achievement and next steps.
Key conditions that support successful education have been strengthened. |
- The board and leadership take deliberate and well-considered actions that include the implementation of an aligned approach to strategic planning and schoolwide systems and processes.
- Teachers and the principal regularly work together to inquire into their practice and evaluate the impact of actions on learner outcomes.
- Parents and whānau, as key partners in their child’s learning, take an active role in the life of the school.
Part B: Where to next?
The agreed next steps for the school are to:
- continue to refresh the school’s curriculum so that local contexts and te reo Māori and mātauranga Māori continue to be effectively integrated into curriculum planning
- further develop and integrate the teaching of structured literacy approaches to raise student achievement, particularly in writing
- continue to strengthen initiatives to improve students’ regular attendance.
The agreed actions for the next improvement cycle and timeframes are as follows.
Within six months:
- review the current curriculum in consultation with the school community to ensure it reflects student, teacher, parent and whānau aspirations
- review initiatives to improve students’ regular attendance.
Every six months:
- monitor progress with implementing the school’s refreshed local curriculum to identify next steps for refinement
- continue to provide relevant professional learning opportunities that strengthen teachers’ understanding and use of structured literacy approaches
- evaluate the impact of strategies and initiatives on student attendance to inform further actions.
Annually:
- review and report to the board on the attendance, progress and achievement of all learners, with a particular focus on writing outcomes
- evaluate progress on the implementation of the school’s local curriculum and its impact on teaching and learning programmes within the Aotearoa New Zealand context.
Actions taken against these next steps are expected to result in:
- improved regular student attendance
- excellent and equitable achievement outcomes for all learners, particularly in writing
- a refreshed local curriculum that reflects the aspirations of the school’s rural community and integrates te reo Māori and mātauranga Māori within learning contexts.
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
Tahuna School
Board Assurance with Regulatory and Legislative Requirements Report 2024 to 2027
As of September 2024, the Tahuna 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 Tahuna School, 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
Tahuna School
School Context
Tahuna School is a contributing primary school catering for students from Years 1 to 6. It is situated in a rural area, 20 kilometres north of Morrinsville.
Since the last ERO review in 2016, a new deputy principal has been internally appointed. The school has experienced significant roll growth. The current roll of 91 includes 10 students of Māori descent and a small number from other ethnicities. There are fluctuations in roll numbers throughout the year, often in response to the local community farming context. Building work as a result of the growing roll is underway.
The Tahuna School motto is ‘Learners for Life’ and the vision is to develop dynamic learners who make a positive contribution to their community. The school promotes its ‘CARES’ values of challenge, achievement, respect, encouragement and support.
Leaders and teachers report to the board, schoolwide information about outcomes for students in the following areas:
- reading, writing and mathematics.
The school is a member of the Morrinsville Kāhui Ako and have accessed schoolwide professional development on teaching as inquiry.
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?
The school is working towards achieving equitable and excellent outcomes for all students who need this.
In 2018, most students achieved expected curriculum levels in reading, writing and mathematics.
Achievement levels in literacy and mathematics have increased since 2016. This data shows that there is significant disparity between Māori and Pākehā in reading, writing and mathematics. School data also indicates that girls achieve at significantly higher levels than boys in these areas. This pattern of achievement remained consistent between 2017 and 2018.
1.2 How well is the school accelerating learning for those Māori and other students who need this?
The school is able to show accelerated learning and progress for some Māori and other students who need this.
Analysed 2018 data shows more than half of at-risk learners in reading, writing and mathematics, made accelerated progress to reach expected curriculum levels. Girls made significantly more progress than boys in all areas.
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?
Students experience settled and calm learning environments. Positive and affirming relationships between students and teachers were observed. Supportive learning environments enhance students to be engaged and on task with their learning. Teachers use a wide range of effective teaching strategies. They identify students requiring additional learning support within the class, and plan, track and monitor these students. The teaching programme has a strong focus on literacy and mathematics. Some classes have effective examples of student-led learning, supporting self-management and students knowing their next learning goals.
There is a positive and inclusive school culture. Students experience a wide curriculum and they are actively involved in learning experiences that include their strengths and interests. There are many opportunities for students to be extended across curriculum areas including sports, leadership, technology and literacy. Students are encouraged to work cooperatively with their peers in ability and social groupings. Students with additional learning and health needs are well integrated and supported in classroom programmes. There are opportunities for parents to contribute to the daily life of the school.
2.2 What further developments are needed in school processes and practices for achievement of equity and excellence, and acceleration of learning?
Leaders and trustees need to continue to build their knowledge of school operation. There is a need to review and refine the charter, strategic and annual plan goals to provide a more aligned approach to school development.
There is also a need to build leadership of learning capability in the school giving priority to:
- setting specific achievement targets in the charter focused on students below expected curriculum levels making accelerated progress
- strengthening the use of schoolwide achievement information including monitoring and reporting on the progress of at-risk learners
- developing an agreed understanding of effective teaching practice and learning pathways of literacy and mathematics
- implementing consistent school-wide processes that support students to be aware of their achievement and learning
- considering implementing a schoolwide te reo Māori programme.
Priority should also be given to:
- finalising the current review of reporting to parents to ensure it includes clear information relating to their child’s progress against expected levels
- implementing a robust appraisal process that reflects the school’s current documented policy
- leaders and teachers implementing a collaborative approach to schoolwide improvement with a focus on acceleration to reduce disparity, especially for Māori and boys.
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 Tahuna School’s performance in achieving valued outcomes for its students is: Developing.
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:
- teachers who use a range of teaching techniques and provide supportive learning environments that engages students in learning
- an inclusive school culture and wide curriculum that provides opportunities for all learners to participate.
Next steps
For sustained improvement and future learner success, priorities for further development are in:
- trustees and leaders continuing to access support to strengthen an aligned approach to school operation
- leadership of learning to achieve equity for all groups in the school
- using and reporting data to better identify what is working well for students’ learning and where improvements are needed.
Actions for compliance
ERO identified non-compliance in relation to health and safety, safety checking of staff, Equal Employment Opportunities, including appraisal and personnel. In order to address this, the board of trustees must:
- ensure that the hazard register is accurately completed
[National Administration Guideline 5] - more clearly document the process of safety checking of staff
[National Administration Guideline 5] - be provided with personnel reports by the principal.
[National Administration Guideline 2]
Since the on-site phase of the review the school has made good progress in addressing these aspects of health and safety compliance. In addition, an annual board work plan has been developed and progress has been made in addressing some of the key next steps in the report. The board is well aware of aspects of the school that need further development and committed to ongoing school improvement.
Recommendations to other agencies
ERO recommends that the school considers accessing relevant professional learning to address the key next steps identified in this report.
Phillip Cowie
Director Review and Improvement Services Central
Central Region
6 July 2020
About the school
Location | Morrinsville |
Ministry of Education profile number | 1972 |
School type | Contributing (Years 1 to 6) |
School roll | 91 |
Gender composition | Female 50 Male 41 |
Ethnic composition | Māori 10 NZ European/Pākehā 72 Australian 5 Other ethnic groups 4 |
Students with Ongoing Resourcing Funding (ORS) | No |
Provision of Māori medium education | No |
Review team on site | November 2019 |
Date of this report | 6 July 2020 |
Most recent ERO report(s) | Education review July 2016 Education Review April 2013 Education Review June 2010 |