8 Martin Street , Porirua East, 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.
Porirua East School is in Porirua, Wellington and provides education for learners from Years 1 to 6. A new principal was appointed in 2023, and a new school board established. The school’s vision of ‘embracing diversity’ and ‘empowering success’ is supported through the values of manaakitanga, whanaungatanga, taha tinana, rangatiratanga and kotahitanga.
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.
| Outcomes for learners show continuous improvement over time. |
| Leaders are strengthening teaching and learning conditions for learner success. |
| Teaching is becoming increasingly intentional and responsive to the diverse needs of learners. |
| Key conditions continue to be strengthened to support improved outcomes for learners. |
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
16 October 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 April 2024, the Porirua East School Board has attested to the following regulatory and legislative requirements:
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
The board has identified the following areas of non-compliance during the board assurance process:
The board has since taken steps to address the areas of non-compliance identified.
For further information please contact Porirua East 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
16 October 2024
The Education Counts website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement. educationcounts.govt.nz/home
On the basis of the findings of this review, ERO‘s overall evaluation judgement of Porirua East School’s performance in achieving valued outcomes for its students is: Developing
Porirua East School caters for students in Years 1 to 6. The current roll of 110 children includes 38% who are Māori and 42% who are of Pacific heritage.
The February 2017 ERO report identified concerns relating to student achievement, reviewing the curriculum and developing internal evaluation.
Trustees, leaders and staff developed an action plan that aligned to the school’s annual plans. Over the next two years, leaders and trustees worked with ERO to report on and evaluate progress towards meeting the identified goals. Two new teachers have been appointed in the last two years.
Since 2017, there have been changes to the board, including three different chairpersons. The board has been supported by the New Zealand School Trustees Association (NZSTA) to understand and implement their governance role, and the review and development of policies.
In 2017 and 2018, staff focused on professional learning and development (PLD) in literacy, working with an external facilitator. In Term 2, 2018, staff began the current PLD focus on mathematical inquiry processes. In 2019, a Student Achievement Function (SAF) practitioner has begun to work with the school, focusing on evaluation.
From the areas for improvement identified in the February 2017 ERO report, the following goals were developed:
Steady progress has been made to improve student achievement since the end of 2016. The number of students achieving at and above expected curriculum levels has increased, especially in mathematics. At the end of 2018, the large majority of students were achieving at and above curriculum levels in reading, writing and mathematics. Pacific students as a group have shown an increase in reading and mathematics since 2016. The overall results for all groups of children, including Māori children, were similar at the end of 2018.
In 2018, approximately one quarter of students at risk of not achieving made accelerated progress in mathematics. Leaders and teachers have begun to use data more effectively to better show a schoolwide picture of students’ progress over time and to report this information to the board of trustees.
ERO and leaders agree that:
Leaders should continue to strengthen regular reporting to the board. This should clearly show the tracking and monitoring of progress of students at risk of underachieving, and the impact of initiatives and interventions on their progress.
School targets set in 2018 were more specific than those for 2017, focusing on improving the achievement of Pacific students in mathematics and Years 1 and 2 students in oral language. Continuing to strengthen the target setting process in 2019 should be a priority. This should enable trustees and leaders to work collaboratively to more clearly identify, plan and resource strategies that promote accelerated achievement.
Teachers have been involved in mathematics professional development. Through PLD, appraisal and teachers’ inquiring into how they can improve the effectiveness of their practice, teaching strategies have become more student-focused. As teachers continue to develop their shared understanding of deliberate teaching strategies that lead to accelerated student progress, guidelines for effective teaching should be documented.
Continuing to develop students’ knowledge of their own learning is a next step. As part of increasing opportunities for student voice, the implementation of regular student wellbeing surveys will increase the collection and use of student voice to inform school decision making.
Leaders and teachers have continued to implement a focus on supporting student learning through culturally responsive teaching. Teachers emphasise the importance of knowing the children well and valuing what each child brings to their learning. Daily school practices and special events, involving parents, promote and celebrate children’s language and culture. Continued development and documentation of a shared understanding of culturally responsive practice and areas of cultural significance should be guided by whānau.
Increased opportunities for parents to discuss their child’s learning and progress has strengthened emphasis on promoting learning partnerships with parents, families, whānau and aiga. Continued development should include seeking and valuing of parents’ input into the curriculum and direction of the school.
The appraisal process for teachers is well implemented to promote teacher reflection on practice in relation to the Standards for the Teaching Profession (STPs) and PLD. A next step is to ensure teachers are supported to take increased ownership of the appraisal process, collecting and analysing evidence to show progress in relation to their personal goals and the STPs. Aspects of the principal’s appraisal in 2018 were not fully implemented. An appropriate performance agreement is in place for 2019.
Leaders and teachers are beginning to use a framework to undertake internal evaluation and are using analysed information to ask good questions about effectiveness.
The school has made positive changes and is continuing to improve and review its performance. Introduced initiatives and programmes, continued support from the SAF and NZSTA, and ongoing professional development focusing on teaching mathematics, have the potential to strengthen outcomes for students.
Trustees have been focused on policy development and review. A useful governance manual that clearly documents roles and responsibilities, relationships, meeting protocols and a timetable for policy review has been developed.
Next steps are for trustees to implement the governance manual requirements, including regular policy review, and strengthen board minutes to clearly show progress against strategic priorities.
It is important to ensure that policies, including the complaints policy and the policy and procedures for managing challenging behaviour, are able to be easily accessed by parents and the community.
Before the review, the board of trustees 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:
During the review, ERO checked the following items because they have a potentially high impact on student achievement:
Trustees and leaders need to establish regular consultation with the school’s Māori community, and work collaboratively on planning for the future.
The board of trustees must:
To improve practice the board should:
On the basis of the findings of this review, ERO‘s overall evaluation judgement of Porirua East School’s performance in achieving valued outcomes for its students is: Developing.
ERO’s Framework: Overall School Performance is available on ERO’s website.
Alan Wynyard
Director Review and Improvement Services Southern
Southern Region
2 April 2019
| Location | Porirua | |
| Ministry of Education profile number | 2963 | |
| School type | Contributing (Years 1 to 6) | |
| School roll | 110 | |
| Number of international students | 0 | |
| Gender composition | Girls 53%, Boys 47% | |
| Ethnic composition | Māori Samoan Pākehā Other Pacific Other ethnic groups | 38% 21% 10% 21% 10% |
| Review team on site | February 2019 | |
| Date of this report | 2 April 2019 | |
| Most recent ERO report(s) | Education Review Education Review Education Review | February 2017 April 2014 November 2010 |