Middleton Grange 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

Middleton Grange School, a state integrated school located in Christchurch, provides education for learners in Years 1 to 13. The school’s mission is to ‘assist families in the education of their children by providing an environment in which the Biblical truths of Jesus Christ are taught and lived.’

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 July 2022, ERO and the school have worked together to evaluate how effectively the school’s curriculum responds to and provides opportunities for English Language Learners (ELL) in Years 2 to 8.

Expected Improvements and Findings 

The school expected to see:

Increased and sustained literacy progress and achievement for all ELLs.

• The majority of ELL students made greater than expected progress in achieving at or above expected curriculum levels in English.

Ongoing development of teaching strategies and understandings of ways to support the diverse learning needs of ELLs. 

• Surveys show that teachers’ knowledge and confidence in supporting ELL has been increased through targeted professional learning and individualised support from internal and external expertise.
• Almost all ELL have benefitted from specially trained learning assistants and the development of specialised resources to support their language development. 

Other Findings 

The greatest shift that occurred in response to the school’s action was the strengthened confidence of teachers to meet the specific needs of ELL. Effective schoolwide training and the development of useful resources has supported classroom programmes and built greater understanding and cultural competency among staff. 

Part B: Current State 

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

Learner Success and Wellbeing 

• Most students in Years 1 to 10 achieve at or above the expected curriculum levels in reading, writing and mathematics; disparity for some groups remains, which the school has identified. 
• Most students achieve National Certificate Educational Achievement (NCEA) at Levels 1, 2 and 3; close monitoring assists students to achieve intended outcomes.
• Students are regularly surveyed about their wellbeing, with most responses positive about the school; valuing cultural identity and increasing opportunities for student voice have been identified as areas for further development.
• A large majority of students attend school regularly and the school is meeting the Ministry of Education’s target for regular attendance; thorough school processes for monitoring and following up any unexplained absences is evident.

Conditions to support learner success

• Collaborative leadership across the school enacts a shared understanding of the school’s direction; this supports a cohesive approach to realising the strategic vision and goals.
• Leaders have high expectations for teaching and learning; individual skills and expertise of staff are used appropriately to further strengthen consistency of practice schoolwide.
• Leaders prioritise growing capability and capacity of leadership at all levels of the school to ensure sustainability of quality teaching and learning practices across the school. 

• Teachers participate in ongoing professional development that improves their practice for inclusion and responding to specific learning needs.
• Leaders and teachers scrutinise student engagement and achievement information to identify what is working well and for whom.
• Teachers regularly reflect on the impact of learning programmes on enhancing successful outcomes for learners; reviewing current assessment practices in Years 1 to 8 to ensure all learners achieve personalised success has been prioritised by leaders. 

• The board is provided with regular and detailed reporting that informs decision making and resourcing for positive outcomes for all learners.
• Leaders and teachers are highly reflective and responsive to student needs across the school.
• The board, leaders and teachers have strong links with the school community and provide growing opportunities for families to contribute to the school’s future direction.
• Leaders have identified the need to continue to integrate mātauranga Māori across all aspects of the school to strengthen the curriculum. 

Part C: Where to next? 

The agreed next steps for the school are to: 

• review current curriculum practices schoolwide, including literacy and mathematics, to effectively integrate the national curriculum changes 
• monitor the implementation and effectiveness of the changed Year 11 programme on sustaining a successful pathway direct to Level 2 NCEA
• reflect and report on interventions and innovations to accelerate progress for groups of learners who need this and support increasing rates of attendance
• continue to develop and embed mātauranga Māori across the school.

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

Within six months:

• implement and review effectiveness of structured literacy and mathematics practices in the primary school
• reflect on levels of accelerated progress for targeted groups and plan further steps to support learning
• engage with the wider Christian Education Network rōpu to further enhance understanding of mātauranga Māori within the school’s special character.

Every six months:

• gather student, staff and community feedback and ideas to review the effectiveness of the changes to the Year 11 programme and to inform improvements for the successful pathway to NCEA Level 2 
• extend the use of achievement data to inform teaching and learning with specific attention to strategies for targeted groups who need this.

Annually:

• report to the board on the accelerated progress of specific targeted groups and identify ongoing improvements
• review how effectively mātauranga Māori is integrated across the school and identify next steps to continue to grow schoolwide practices and understandings
• monitor the trends and patterns of regular attendance for all learners and develop strategies and approaches to improve and sustain attendance. 

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

• embedded schoolwide curriculum and teaching practices that achieve success for all students
• improved levels of achievement for identified groups 
• increased staff, student and the wider school community’s knowledge, understanding and implementation of mātauranga Māori 
• increased rates of regular student attendance.

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

17 October 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

Board Assurance with Regulatory and Legislative Requirements Report 2024 to 2027 

As of August 2024, the Middleton Grange 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

Actions for Compliance

ERO and the board have identified the following area of non-compliance during the board assurance process:

• renewal of police vetting for non-teaching staff is required every 3 years
  [Schedule 4 of the Education and Training Act 2020].

The board has since addressed the area of non-compliance identified.

Further Information

For further information please contact Middleton Grange 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

17 October 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

Provision for International Students Report 

Background

The Education Review Office reviews schools that are signatories to the Education (Pastoral Care of Tertiary and International Learners) Code of Practice 2021 established under section 534 of the Education and Training Act 2020.

Findings

The school is a signatory to the Education (Pastoral Care of Tertiary and International Learners) Code of Practice 2021 established under section 534 of the Education and Training Act 2020. The school has attested that it complies with all aspects of the Code and has completed an annual self review of its implementation of the Code. 

At the time of this review there were 95 international students attending the school, and no exchange students. 

Well-established, highly effective systems are in place to support the learning and wellbeing of International Students. Careful consideration is given to the provision of targeted learning to assist with positive outcomes.

International Students told ERO they feel well supported, included in the life of the school. They have multiple opportunities to learn about New Zealand culture through participation in a wide range of extra-curricular activities.

Shelley Booysen
Director of Schools

17 October 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