Spey Place , Papakowhai, Porirua
View on mapTēnā 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.
It is intended that this report is a collaborative effort between the Evaluation Partner and the school evaluation team. It is important to remember that this is ERO’s report. ERO makes the final decision about the contents of this report.
Papakowhai School is in Porirua, Wellington and provides education for students from Years 1 to 8. The school vision, Growing Together – Igniting Potential, is underpinned by the school values of excellence, fairness, whakawhanaunatanga and manaakitanga.
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.
The following findings are to inform the school’s future priorities for improvement.
| Learners are successfully engaged and achievement is increasingly equitable and excellent. |
| Collaborative leadership effectively use a range of evidence to monitor the impact of strategic goals. |
| Effective teaching and learning reflect learners’ strengths, needs and interests, building on existing knowledge and skills to promote progress. |
| Embedded systems, structures and practices promote effective conditions for teaching and learning. |
The agreed next steps for the school are to:
The agreed actions for the next improvement cycle and timeframes are as follows.
Within six months:
Every six months:
Annually:
Actions taken against these next steps are expected to result in:
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
30 September 2024
The Education Counts website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement. educationcounts.govt.nz/home
As of June 2024, the Papakowhai School, Board has attested to the following regulatory and legislative requirements:
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
For further information please contact Papakowhai 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
30 September 2024
The Education Counts website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement. educationcounts.govt.nz/home
Papakowhai School, for students in Years 1 to 8, is situated in Papakowhai, Porirua. The roll of 425, includes 57 students who identify as Māori.
Since the June 2014 ERO report, there has been a period of roll growth. This resulted in the remodelling of a classroom block, the addition of two new classrooms, appointment of additional teachers and provision of new playground equipment.
Teachers have completed professional learning and development (PLD) in writing and mathematics teaching. They are currently involved in PLD to support changes for an innovative learning environment.
Valued outcomes for students expressed in the charter are: aspiring to develop confident learners, well-rounded, socially skilled and highly literate and numerate.
The school is part of the Northern Porirua Community of Learning|Kāhui Ako and is open to the opportunities provided by membership of this group.
Children are achieving excellent educational outcomes. School performance has been sustained over time through well-focused, embedded processes and practices. The school has shown it can successfully address in-school disparity in educational outcomes. There has been a significant improvement in the achievement of Māori and Pacific learners over time.
Data for 2016, shows that 84% of all students achieved at or above in relation to the National Standards in writing. Māori and Pacific student achievement was higher than this. In mathematics and reading the overall percentage was 90%. Significant numbers of students are achieving above the National Standard in each of these areas. The school is working to achieve equity for Asian students as a group and to further raise achievement of boys in writing and girls in mathematics.
Curriculum delivery is well managed and focuses on student engagement, achievement and wellbeing. Leadership is strategic and provides appropriate support for teacher growth and development.
Agreed next steps are to continue to strengthen curriculum initiatives, middle school leadership and appraisal and evaluation practices.
ERO is likely to carry out the next review in four-to-five years.
The school has developed useful systems and processes to respond to students whose achievement requires acceleration. This has resulted in a significant improvement in the achievement of Māori and Pacific learners over time.
Data for 2016 shows that 84% of all students achieved at or above in relation to the National Standards in writing. Māori and Pacific student achievement was higher than this. In mathematics and reading the overall percentage was 90%. Significant numbers of students are achieving above the National Standard in each of these areas.
The school is working to achieve equity for Asian students as a group and to further raise achievement of boys in writing and girls in mathematics. Groups of learners requiring accelerated progress are appropriately identified in school targets. Closer monitoring of students at the margins of standards is required.
Robust processes to ensure consistency of teacher judgements for National Standards in reading, writing and mathematics are in place.
Students at risk of not achieving are well identified, their needs recognised and programmes of support are put in place. Progress is monitored and reported to trustees and whānau. Students with specific, additional needs and English language learners are well supported.
Students are purposefully engaged in learning. They are supported to succeed in a calm and responsive learning environment. Respectful interactions are evident in classrooms.
Management of the curriculum ensures that it is coherent and that students have sufficient opportunities to learn. In response to feedback from parents and students, changes have been made to include more sport and physical education programmes. Strengthening support for student wellbeing is a current focus. Significant progress has been made to integrate te reo me ngā tikanga Māori in the curriculum. External expertise supports the growth of student and staff understanding.
Strategic leadership provides a strong framework for the school’s operation and student achievement. Building teacher capacity and capability, through involvement in tactical professional learning and development, has fostered collaborative practice. It has lifted expectations and supported the development of shared understandings about effective teaching strategies.
Trustees are suitably focused on student learning, wellbeing and achievement. They survey the community regularly and are responsive to the views and information received.
Many schoolwide systems and processes have been strengthened since the previous ERO review. Leaders acknowledge the need to continue to embed and refine initiatives put in place. Key initiatives to progress are to:
The appraisal system has been strengthened. Inquiry processes are beginning to contribute to the growth of professional practice. Teachers are raising their expectations of students and better reflecting on the strategies that support student engagement and progress. Leaders should continue to refine appraisal to strengthen its alignment with school goals, targets and schoolwide professional learning foci.
There are good examples of student achievement information informing teaching. The progress made by some groups of students is well tracked and reported to trustees and parents. Evaluation and reporting of how well school initiatives and programmes of learning are impacting on students targeted is an area to strengthen.
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:
During the review, ERO checked the following items because they have a potentially high impact on student safety and wellbeing:
Children are achieving excellent educational outcomes. School performance has been sustained over time through well-focused, embedded processes and practices. This school has successfully addressed in-school disparity in educational outcomes.
Agreed next steps are to continue to strengthen curriculum initiatives, schoolwide leadership and appraisal and evaluation practices.
ERO is likely to carry out the next review in four-to-five years.
Patricia Davey
Deputy Chief Review Officer Central (Acting)
7 June 2017
| Location | Porirua |
| Ministry of Education profile number | 2946 |
| School type | Full Primary (Years 1 to 8) |
| School roll | 425 |
| Gender composition | Boys 54%, Girls 46% |
| Ethnic composition | Māori 14% Pākehā 58% Asian 13% Pacific 8% Other ethnic groups 7% |
| Provision of Māori medium education | No |
| Review team on site | March 2017 |
| Date of this report | 7 June 2017 |
| Most recent ERO report(s) | Education Review June 2014 Education Review March 2011 Education Review November 2007 |