52 Ferry Road , Spring Creek
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.
Spring Creek School is located in Spring Creek, Marlborough, and provides education for learners in Years 1 to 6. The current school roll is 44 students. New Zealand European/Pākehā students made up the largest proportion of all learners (75%), 28% identified as Māori; and 6% identified as Asian.
The school values of Respect – Manaaki, Responsibility – Takohanga, Resilience – Manawaroa, and Relationships – Piringa, underpins the curriculum. Their mission is for all ākonga to be actively involved learners who are confident, creative, and connected -nā te whaitake ka tū māia, auaha, tauhere hoki te ākonga.
The school expected to improve outcomes for learners through increasing engagement with the community, promoting culturally responsive relationships and better use of evidence-based internal evaluation to guide future school decision making.
The school has had a continued focus on improving engagement with the community and culturally responsive practices. Leaders and teachers use robust consultation processes to gather community aspirations; feedback and ideas are increasingly used well to inform development of some strategic priorities for improvement. Leaders and teachers continue to strengthen partnerships with parents and whānau to actively participate in, and contribute to, students’ learning through ongoing, reciprocal communication. Teachers increasingly work collaboratively to develop and implement teaching and learning opportunities that are inclusive of students’ language, culture and identity.
Raising student achievement and rates of regular attendance remains an urgent priority. The development and use of internal evaluation to accurately identify what is working well and what needs improvement is a next step.
| How well are learners succeeding? | Improvements are required to ensure all learners are engaged, making sufficient progress and achieving well. |
| What is the quality of teaching and learning? | The school is improving teaching and learning. |
| How well does the school curriculum respond to all learners needs? | Learners have sufficient opportunities to learn across the breadth and depth of the curriculum. There is an increasingly consistent focus on supporting learners to gain skills in literacy and mathematics. Learners with complex needs require better support to achieve their education goals. |
| How well does school planning and conditions support ongoing improvement? | The school is establishing planning and conditions that support improvements in the quality of education for learners. |
| How well does the school include all learners and promote their engagement and wellbeing? | The school reasonably promotes learners’ engagement, wellbeing and inclusion. |
| How well does the school partner with parents, whānau and its community for the benefit of learners? | The school is improving its reporting to parents / whānau about their child’s learning, achievement and progress. The school is improving its collection and use of information gathered through community consultation to inform strategic planning and curriculum decisions. |
| Student Health and Safety | The school needs to ensure a physically and emotionally safe learning environment. |
This table outlines how well students across the school meet or exceed the expected curriculum level.
Foundation Skills | |
| Reading | Less than half of learners meet or exceed the expected curriculum level. Results are not yet equitable for all groups of learners. |
| Writing | Less than half of learners meet or exceed the expected curriculum level. Results are not yet equitable for all groups of learners. |
| Mathematics | Less than half of learners meet or exceed the expected curriculum level. Results are becoming more equitable for all groups of learners. |
The school is behind the target of 80% regular attendance.
The school is developing a suitable plan in place to improve attendance.
Regular attendance is improving towards or beyond the target.
Chronic absence is not yet reducing over time.
The school is not yet using an appropriate approach and reliable practices to accurately find out about achievement against the curriculum.
Teachers are developing assessment information to adjust teaching practices to ensure ongoing improvement in teaching and student progress.
The school has high numbers of students with complex needs; this includes both learning and behaviour.
The school is developing good quality planning to increase the rate of progress for all groups of students.
The school has not improved achievement and progress for those learners most at risk of not achieving since the previous review.
The school has not extended achievement and progress for learners working at or above curriculum levels since the previous review.
The school is making some progress towards meeting Government reading, writing and mathematics and/or pānui, tuhituhi and pāngarau targets for 2030 and agrees this will need to be a key strategic priority.
During the course of this review ERO had concerns about the quality of education being provided and made recommendations for support and/or intervention to the Secretary / Ministry of Education.
This section of the report provides more detail for the school to include in strategic and annual planning for ongoing improvement across the school.
The agreed next steps for the school are to:
Within three months:
Every six months:
Annually:
Actions taken against these next steps are expected to result in:
All schools are required to promote student health and safety and to regularly review their compliance with legal requirements.
During this review the Board has attested to some regulatory and legislative requirements in the following areas:
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
ERO 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.
ERO recommends that the Ministry of Education provide tailored support for:
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
Sharon Kelly
Acting Director of Schools
26 February 2025
This website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement. educationcounts.govt.nz/home
Spring Creek School is located close to Blenheim and caters for students in Years 1 to 6. The roll of 35 children includes 11 who are Māori and 3 of Pacific heritage.
The school’s vision is ‘Together we learn, together we grow’. The values of respect, responsibility, resilience and relationships underpin the school’s charter and curriculum.
The strategic aims for 2019 to 2021 are to:
Leaders and teachers regularly report to the board, schoolwide information about outcomes for students in reading, writing and mathematics.
Professional development for 2020 is focusing on the teaching of writing, positive behaviour for learning, and culturally responsive practice.
Since the 2017 ERO review, the school has developed a modern learning environment to cater for mixed-age learning.
The school is a member of the Piritahi Kāhui Ako and the Wairau Cluster of schools.
Spring Creek School is making progress towards achieving equitable and excellent outcomes for its students.
Achievement information from the end of 2019 showed that most of its students progressed well in reading and mathematics and the large majority in writing.
Māori students and New Zealand European/Pākehā students achieved well in reading and mathematics. More girls than boys achieved well in writing. The school should continue to focus on those few students who are not achieving at expected curriculum levels.
The school accelerated the learning of many of the students who needed this in 2019. In reading, mathematics and writing almost all of the students who were achieving below curriculum expectations at the end of 2018 had made accelerated progress by the end of 2019.
High levels of student engagement are evident in learning environments. ERO observed positive, respectful, learning-focused relationships. Teachers affirm students’ positive choices relating to classroom expectations about learning and behaviour. Students with additional learning needs are identified and well supported.
Well-considered systems, practices and processes provide shared understanding and guide teaching and learning. Sound processes ensure the reliability of assessment decisions. The principal has led the development of clearly documented guidelines for the use of nationally normed assessment tools and schoolwide moderation processes. These inform teachers’ overall judgements about each child’s progress and achievement. The school’s curriculum achievement expectations for children reflect those of the Piritahi Kāhui Ako. Comprehensive, well-documented schoolwide systems include specific guidelines for teacher planning for effective teaching and accelerating student progress.
A major focus in 2019 has been the development of the school’s clearly stated, well-aligned mission, vision and values. Trustees, leaders and teachers are purposefully fostering a positive culture aligned to these. Comprehensive curriculum documents outline expectations for teaching and delivery of the curriculum learning areas, including digital technologies. Students have many opportunities to participate in a range of academic, sporting, art and leadership learning experiences. The principal has identified that further development of the local curriculum is planned and ERO’s evaluation supports this direction.
The board has set a clear strategic direction for the school. Trustees have sought external advice to increase their understanding of their governance role and to develop and review school policies and procedures. The principal keeps board members well informed about progress towards the aims of the strategic plan.
The principal works collaboratively with trustees and staff to establish sound school systems, processes and practices to promote positive outcomes for students. She is building effective professional learning relationships with the wider education community.
Two of the school’s strategic aims focus on community engagement and promoting culturally responsive relationships and practice. The school has considered important aspects of community engagement with whānau and identified that a next step is to put these into practice. Planned staff professional development for 2020 includes a focus on cultural responsiveness. ERO agrees that this development is important. Further development of the bicultural curriculum and the inclusion of contexts for learning that reflect and value the students’ ethnicity, is likely to further promote their engagement.
The school is at early stages of using internal evaluation. A framework for documenting the process has been developed. The board and principal seek and value input from students, staff and parents to inform decision making. A key next step is for staff and trustees to develop a shared understanding of evidence-based internal evaluation. This should include the use of clear, measurable indicators of success to better determine the impact of initiatives and interventions on outcomes for students and inform the school’s future direction.
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:
On the basis of the findings of this review, ERO’s overall evaluation judgement of Spring Creek School’s performance in achieving valued outcomes for its students is: Well placed.
For sustained improvement and future learner success, the school can draw on existing strengths in:
For sustained improvement and future learner success, priorities for further development are in:
To improve current practice, the board of trustees should:
Dr Lesley Patterson
Director Review and Improvement
Te Tai Tini (Southern Region)
11 May 2020
Spring Creek School has a roll of 44 children, including 16 Māori children.
Since the 2013 ERO report there have been a number of changes in the school including the appointment of a new principal. The school has joined the Piritahi Kāhui Ako/Community of Learning.
The school is responding effectively to Māori and other children whose learning and achievement need accelerating. The school has a number of good quality practices in place that support equity and excellence. There are some processes requiring further development.
At the time of this review the school’s participation in a Community of Learning was providing useful professional learning opportunities that aligned well with the school’s strategic goals of raising children’s achievement.
Children were achieving well. The school demonstrates strong progress toward achieving equity in educational outcomes, supported by effective, sustainable processes and practices.
ERO is likely to carry out the next review in three years.
The school is responding effectively to Māori and other children whose learning and achievement need accelerating.
Information provided to ERO shows that the school does not have adequate processes in place to ensure reliability of assessment decisions. Teacher overall judgements about achievement against the National Standards are not consistent between teachers. A key priority for the school is to develop clear guidelines and expectations that promote robust assessment and moderation practices.
The school’s achievement information shows that, overall, Māori children are achieving very well in relation to the National Standards in reading, writing and mathematics. The pattern of achievement for other children over the last three years shows consistently high achievement in reading, writing and mathematics.
There is ongoing disparity in achievement for boys, particularly in writing, which the school is working to address.
The school has a number of good quality processes that are effective in achieving equity and excellence.
School values are well embedded and actively used by leaders, teachers and students to develop positive behaviours and an equitable learning environment. The enacted values, in combination with a school focus on key competencies, are supporting children to be effective lifelong learners.
Children have many opportunities for learning that are purposeful and engaging. In particular, children have time to practise and revisit learning, learning is differentiated according to need, and technology is used effectively to enable better access to the curriculum. Students are also encouraged to take responsibility for their learning through meaningful goal setting and decision-making about their learning.
Parents, family and whānau are actively welcomed and involved in the school. Leaders and teachers have established a strong culture of respect, which is further enhanced by effective communication between home and school. Timely communication between school and home supports reciprocal, learning-centred relationships.
Leaders and teachers trial innovative teaching and learning strategies to support priority learners. There is a culture of challenge and strong support for learning. Professional learning opportunities are aligned with strategic planning and student achievement goals. Teachers are encouraged to reflect on effective teaching practices through a well-understood process of inquiry.
There is an understanding among leaders and teachers of Māori values. This contributes to teaching practices that are culturally and pedagogically responsive. Tuakana teina relationships between students support learning and wellbeing. Aspects of te ao Māori are incorporated in learning programmes with the aim of celebrating and promoting Māori language, identity and culture.
Some aspects of internal evaluation are well used to support improvement in teaching and learning. The teacher appraisal system is very useful and well aligned with school priorities. The introduction of a 'spiral of inquiry' approach to developing teacher practice is generating some good examples of innovative and responsive practice to promote equity and excellence and reduce disparity.
The school has some effective processes for supporting equity and excellence. There are a number of areas that require further development and improvement.
Moderation processes to support consistency and reliability of overall teacher judgements in relation to National Standards must be put in place. Some aspects of the curriculum (reading and writing) need to be aligned with NZ Curriculum expectations. The principal has identified these areas as priorities for improvement in order to determine if students are progressing adequately and to inform the board and community accurately.
Planning to support children who need to make accelerated progress should be more detailed and better evaluated to determine the impact of actions on children's learning.
Some aspects of internal evaluation need to be further developed. This includes analysis and evaluation of:
The principal's appraisal needs to be more robust and meet the requirements of the Education Council.
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:
ERO identified non-compliance in relation to the principal's appraisal.
In order to address this the board must ensure that the principal is appraised against the Education Council expectations. [NAG 3; s 77A State Sector Act]
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:
ERO is likely to carry out the next review in three years.
Dr Lesley Patterson
Deputy Chief Review Officer
Southern (Te Waipounamu)
14 July 2017
|
Location |
Spring Creek |
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
2995 |
|
School type |
Primary 1-6 |
|
School roll |
44 |
|
Gender composition |
Male 22 Female 22 |
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori 16 European 24 Dutch 3 African 1 |
|
Provision of Māori medium education |
No |
|
Review team on site |
May, 2017 |
|
Date of this report |
14 July 2017 |
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review May, 2013 Education Review April, 2010 |