Seddon School

Seddon 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 

Seddon School is located in Marlborough and provides education for students in Years 1 to 8. The school values of the VINES - Versatility, Integrity, Nurturing, Enterprise and Sustainability underpin the curriculum and life of the school.

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 of August 2022, ERO and the school have worked together to evaluate the effectiveness of the localised curriculum.

Expected Improvements and Findings

The school expected to see:

Improved academic outcomes for Māori students.

  • Outcomes for students schoolwide in writing have significantly improved.
  • Most Māori students achieve at or above curriculum expectations in reading, writing and mathematics; outcomes are continually improving.
  • Māori students have equitable outcomes in reading and mathematics; improvement of equity in writing remains a priority.

A strengthening of partnerships with parents, whānau and community.

  • The school has strengthened reciprocal partnerships with parents, whānau and the wider community through a number of well thought out initiatives; this strengthens student wellbeing and engagement.

Strengthening of curriculum provision.

  • A consistent and cohesive schoolwide approach to teaching and learning across the local curriculum was developed by teachers and leaders following an in-depth evaluation of the local curriculum; this enables increasingly smooth transitions and uninterrupted learning for students across and through learning levels.

Other Findings

The greatest shift that occurred in response to the school’s action was the significant improvement in achievement and wellbeing outcomes for Māori students.

Part B: Current State

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

Learner Success and Wellbeing

Most students are engaged, make good progress and achieve well.
  • Almost all students achieve at or above curriculum level expectations in reading, writing and mathematics.
  • Māori students achieve at similar levels to their school peers in mathematics and reading.
  • Teachers and leaders consistent focus on improving equity in outcomes for Māori students and male learners is resulting in increasing equity between groups of students; Māori students in writing and boys in mathematics remains a priority.
  • The large majority learners attend school regularly, the school is not yet meeting the Ministry of Education’s target for regular attendance; strong partnerships with outside agencies support the wellbeing and improved attendance for those learners at risk of not achieving.

Conditions to support learner success

Collaborative leadership sets and actively pursues evidence-based improvement goals.
  • Leaders and teachers effectively use and analyse a wide range of achievement information to inform responsive changes to teaching and learning.
  • Board members and leaders regularly consult with parents, whānau and the school community to gather feedback and ideas; this informs strategic priorities for improved learner outcomes.
  • Teachers and leaders have well-established and ongoing partnerships with local education providers and agencies to support student wellbeing, including their successful transitions into, through and beyond the school.
Teaching and learning are increasingly responsive to students’ languages, cultures and identities.
  • Learners’ engagement is enhanced through deliberate connections to the localised curriculum.
  • Students with additional learning needs are well supported to access the school curriculum and experience success.
  • Teachers are highly reflective and inquire into their practices to make appropriate changes based on, and targeted to, the identified needs of learners.
Key organisational conditions that support student achievement and wellbeing are well embedded.
  • Teachers and leaders use in depth evaluation processes to better understand what is working well and what is needed to bring about continuous improvement in outcomes for all learners.
  • Teachers access well considered professional development that builds teacher capability and targets identified priorities to improve outcomes for learners.
  • Leaders and teachers maintain a strong focus on improving culturally responsive practices, this is increasing learner engagement and success in learning; staff have identified a need to continue to strengthen their understanding and use of te reo Māori.
  • Partnerships with parents, whānau, iwi and the wider community are strategically planned and used to inform improvement priorities.

Part C: Where to next?

The agreed next steps for the school are to:

  • engage with students, parents and whānau to identify strategies to improve regular attendance at school
  • strengthen leaders’ and teachers’ knowledge and use of effective literacy and numeracy strategies for ongoing improvement of Māori learners in writing and boys in mathematics.

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

Within six months:

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

Every six months:

  • staff take deliberate action in response to emerging trends, with particular attention to those learners at risk of not achieving especially Māori students in writing, boys in mathematics and those with lower rates of regular attendance
  • identify effective practice in literacy and numeracy teaching and use these to inform enhanced strategies for responding to learner need

Annually:

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

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

  • improved and sustained rates of regular attendance at school
  • improved student outcomes, particularly for Māori students in writing and boys in mathematics.

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

2 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

Seddon School 

Board Assurance with Regulatory and Legislative Requirements Report 2024 to 2027

As of April 2024, the Seddon 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 Seddon 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

2 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

Seddon School

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within 14 months of the Education Review Office and Seddon School working in Te Ara Huarau, an improvement evaluation approach used in most English Medium State and State Integrated Schools. For more information about Te Ara Huarau see ERO’s website. www.ero.govt.nz

Context 

Seddon School is a full primary school situated in the township of Seddon at the base of the Awatere Valley, 25km south of Blenheim. Their vision is mōku, mōu, mō te wa kei te tū, knowing ourselves, connecting with others, growing towards the future’.

Seddon School’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are:

  • accelerate learning for all ākonga, strengthen our school’s learning values within the localised curriculum, develop the property to be fit for purpose for modern learning

  • strengthening teaching and leadership capability - digital fluency, distributed leadership capability, culturally responsive practices, assessment practices

  • community, iwi and whānau engagement - engage with iwi to inform school direction

  • develop the school’s model of well-being, improve prosocial behaviours, extend and enhance school mentor practices.

You can find a copy of the school’s strategic and annual plan on Seddon School’s website.

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate the effectiveness of the localised curriculum.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is:

  • the school wants to impact positively on progress and achievement and strengthen parity for all learners

  • current strategic goals include strengthening partnership with Māori to inform the school's local curriculum

  • a focus on enacting, in partnership, whānau aspirations for their tamariki and ensuring that the localised curriculum meets the cultural, wellbeing and learning needs of all ākonga.

The school expects to see planned changes in its approaches to partnerships and curriculum provision, resulting in higher academic outcomes for learners who are Māori, in line with the aspirations of Māori learners, whānau, hapū and iwi.

Strengths

The school can draw from the following strengths to support the school in its goal to evaluate the effectiveness of the localised curriculum.

  • A well-established plan that clarifies action and provides indicators of success.

  • Leadership that works collaboratively, in partnership with the community and is focused on pursuing the school vision, goals and targets for equity and excellence for all learners.

  • An inclusive culture with embedded vision and values that support the wellbeing of all learners.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise:

  • strengthening partnerships with whānau, hapū and iwi

  • ensuring parity of learning outcomes for all learners.

ERO’s role will be to support the school in its evaluation for improvement cycle to improve outcomes for all learners. ERO will support the school in reporting their progress to the community. The next public report on ERO’s website will be a Te Ara Huarau | School Evaluation Report and is due within three years.

Dr Lesley Patterson
Director Review and Improvement Services (Southern)
Southern Region | Te Tai Tini

1 August 2022 

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

Seddon School

Board Assurance with Regulatory and Legislative Requirements Report 2021 to 2024

As of July 2021, the Seddon School Board of Trustees 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 Seddon School Board of Trustees.

The next Board of Trustees 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.

Dr Lesley Patterson
Director Review and Improvement Services (Southern)
Southern Region | Te Tai Tini

1 August 2022 

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

Seddon School - 30/08/2017

Summary

At the time of this review, Seddon School roll was 124, including 10 Māori children.

The school has maintained very good levels of student achievement against the National Standards in reading, writing and mathematics from 2013-2016.

Since the 2013 ERO review the school has experienced two major earthquakes. During this time the school has been well supported by the Ministry of Education and the local and Marlborough communities. This has enabled leaders and staff to maintain a strong focus on raising student achievement and the wellbeing of the children and their families.

Following the earthquakes staff recruitment has been a challenge. During 2016 the deputy principal (DP) responsibilities were shared among staff. A new DP was appointed at the beginning of 2017. The principal has been at the school for a number of years. The board is a mix of long-serving and recently-appointed trustees, many of whom have a long association with the region.

The school responded positively to the previous ERO report and has continued to build closer relationships with Māori families and Ngāi Tahu. The board, principal and staff have further refined their internal review practices. However, evaluating the impact of outcomes of the evaluations remains an area for further development.

The school is a member of the Piritahi Kāhui Ako | Community of Learning (CoL).

How well is the school achieving equitable outcomes for all children?

The school is strongly focused on providing equitable outcomes for all children, particularly those whose achievement needs acceleration.

The school has well-defined values and high expectations for children’s achievement and wellbeing. These are at the forefront of all decision making and are well integrated into the school curriculum and key school documents.

School achievement information is well analysed and used. Programmes for children who need their progress accelerated are thoroughly evaluated. Successful initiatives are well resourced to accelerate the progress of other children with similar needs.

Children are achieving well. The school demonstrates strong progress towards achieving equity in educational outcomes, supported by effective, sustainable processes and practices. 

Agreed next steps are to: 

  • strengthen internal evaluation to focus more on the outcomes of the evaluation, for learning and teaching
  • improve moderation documentation systems and processes
  • increase student involvement in decisions about their learning, progress and the curriculum. 

ERO is likely to carry out the next review in three years.

Equity and excellence

How effectively does this school respond to Māori and other children whose learning and achievement need acceleration?

The school responds very effectively to Māori and other children whose learning and achievement need acceleration.

The majority of children achieve very well in the National Standards in reading, writing and mathematics. Leaders and teachers have made good progress addressing disparity for boys in their writing achievement over time. Interventions are in place to address disparity for the children whose learning needs acceleration.

Children’s progress and wellbeing is closely monitored and reported to the board. Leaders complete detailed analysis of children’s progress and identify the interventions that have most effectively accelerated student progress and achievement.

The school has a good range of internal assessment practices. School leaders have identified and ERO agrees that moderation is an area for further development. During 2017 the teachers plan to use a national evaluation tool to improve the consistency of their judgements. They are also working with colleagues from other schools in the CoL to improve consistency across schools.

School conditions supporting equity and excellence

What school processes are effective in enabling achievement of equity and excellence?

The school has a number of effective processes to support equity and excellence.

The school has well-defined values and high expectations for children’s achievement and wellbeing. These values and expectations are effectively integrated into all levels of decision making, documentation and school life. The board places high priority on achieving the school’s vision and values when allocating resources. Comprehensive leaders’ reports closely monitor achievement of school goals.

Leaders and teachers have an in-depth knowledge of each child and share responsibility for the achievement and wellbeing of all children. Children learn to work collaboratively. They support and care for each other. Tuakana teina is strong. Teachers are proactive in the ways they engage with families and involve them in decisions about their children’s learning. Parents, whanau and the community are welcomed and involved in school activities. Leaders and teachers make considerable efforts to ensure parents are valued as partners in their children’s learning.

Children benefit from very high levels of community support. These partnerships have helped to reduce barriers to learning and ensure that all children have equal access to the school’s rich and comprehensive curriculum.

Leaders are strongly focused on improving learning and teaching. They set and relentlessly pursue the goals and targets that relate to accelerating children’s progress and achievement. Leaders support teachers to engage in systematic, evidence-informed professional inquiry to improve outcomes for children. A high quality staff appraisal process promotes improved teaching practices. This is well linked to professional development and the school’s vision for a successful learner.

Involvement in the CoL is a catalyst for change and ongoing school improvement. Growing interschool professional partnerships and access to high quality professional development are helping to ensure all children benefit from the collective knowledge and expertise within the CoL.

Sustainable development for equity and excellence

What further developments are needed in school processes to achieve equity and excellence?

The school has a number of useful systems and processes in place. These need to be further enhanced by improving internal evaluation, student agency and school moderation processes.

The school’s internal evaluation processes need to be reviewed and extended to increase the ways information is collected and to track the impact or outcomes of the evaluations.

The school needs to clearly document and regularly review the processes for moderation of overall teacher judgements for the National Standards. This is likely to further promoting consistency and accuracy in assessment decisions and processes.

The board, leaders and staff need to continue to build teachers’ capacity so that children take more responsibility for their learning. Particular attention should be given to promoting more in-depth involvement by children in curriculum decisions.

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
  • 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 Vulnerable Children Act 2014.

Going forward

How well placed is the school to accelerate the achievement of all children who need it?

Children are achieving well. The school demonstrates strong progress toward achieving equity in educational outcomes, supported by effective, sustainable processes and practices.

Agreed next steps are to:

  • strengthen internal evaluation to focus more on the outcomes of the evaluation, for learning and teaching

  • improve moderation documentation systems and processes

  • increase student involvement in decisions about their learning, progress and the curriculum.

ERO is likely to carry out the next review in three years. 

Dr Lesley Patterson

Deputy Chief Review Officer - Southern (Te Waipounamu)

30 August 2017

About the school 

Location

Marlborough

Ministry of Education profile number

2988

School type

Full Primary

School roll

124

Gender composition

Boys 60% : Girls 40%

Ethnic composition

Pākehā 84%

Māori 9%

Pacific 2%

Other 5%

Provision of Māori medium education

No

Review team on site

June 2017

Date of this report

30 August 2017

Most recent ERO reports

Education Review July 2013

Education Review December 2010

Supplementary Review October 2008