Springston School

Springston 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 

Springston School is situated in Canterbury’s Selwyn District and provides education for learners from Years 1 to 8. The school is a member of a local kāhui ako, Ngā Mātāpūna o Ngā Pakihi. A new principal will lead the school from 2025. 

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. 

Part C: The improvement actions prioritised for the school’s next evaluation cycle. 

Part A: Previous Improvement Goals

Since the previous ERO report in 2022, ERO and the school have worked together to evaluate equity and excellence in schoolwide reading and writing programmes. 

Expected Improvements and Findings

The school expected to see: 

Self-motivated learners who strive to achieve and to be their best.

  • A consistent focus on supporting learners to gain skills in reading and writing is evident, and most now achieve at or above curriculum level expectations in these learning areas.
  • Learners are motivated by the use of a digital medium and are increasingly sharing their learning with their families.

Confident and consistent teaching practices.

  • All staff are now trained in structured teaching and learning approaches and are growing confidence and capability in this area, which supports reading and writing successes for learners. 
  • Teacher-led activities show explicit planning and teaching to respond to learner needs and promote strong learner engagement.
  • An ongoing area for teacher literacy development is to improve the quality of learners’ independent activities so that they relate more directly to reading and writing.

Active engagement with whānau and parents in literacy developments.

  • Well-considered workshops increasingly assist parents to understand the school’s structured reading and writing approaches.
  • Digital reporting platforms provide families with regular and relevant posts about their child’s progress and achievement in reading and writing.

Other Findings

During the course of the evaluation, it was found that the school had trialled a range of structured literacy approaches to determine which best suited the needs of their learners. Leaders continue to review and design a coherent progressive literacy-learning pathway from Years 1 to 8.

The greatest shift that occurred in response to the school’s action was moving from mainly play-based learning in the junior classrooms toward more explicit structured literacy teaching approaches. 

Part B: Current State

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

Learner Success and Wellbeing 

Outcomes for learners are equitable, and achievement levels are sustained over time.
  • Most learners achieve at or above expected curriculum levels in reading, writing and mathematics; Māori learners experience parity in achievement outcomes.
  • Learners express a sense of belonging and appreciate supportive relationships with staff and peers; 2024 mid-year survey information shows significant improvement in wellbeing over the past two years.
  • Learners demonstrate self-management skills and positive behaviours for learning; learners are confident to use the school’s competencies for learning, known as A+ characteristics. 
  • A small majority of learners attend regularly; the school has yet to achieve the 2024 Ministry of Education target for regular attendance and set strategic goals and targets to improve attendance.

Conditions to support learner success

Leadership work cohesively and deliberately to model a supportive culture for staff and this increasingly fosters a collective focus on improvement.
  • Leaders provide targeted professional development for building teacher capability; responsive training in understanding, minimising and managing challenging behaviours has positively impacted on school culture and learner wellbeing in 2024.
  • Leaders are taking steps to further review, document and coordinate their expectations for structured teaching and learning approaches in relation to the wider curriculum, including for mathematics.
  • Leaders analyse data to monitor learner success and increasingly promote teachers’ use of data, to review how well their planning and programmes foster positive learner outcomes in practice. 
Learners benefit from some good quality teaching practices that sustain engagement, progress and achievement.
  • Leaders have recently initiated expectations for teachers to observe each other’s teaching practice and provide feedback to improve consistency and quality of teaching.
  • The reliability of assessment information has been strengthened by deliberate moderation training for staff and more regular team discussions focused on targeting learners’ who need additional support. 
  • Learning is enriched by opportunities for environmental learning and education outside the classroom; tikanga Māori and mātauranga Māori are increasingly woven through these experiences. 
Organisational conditions are being reviewed and refined to promote further improvements.
  • Students with complex needs receive planned interventions; these are collaboratively designed with whānau/family and agency supports to develop shared strategies for promoting learner success. 
  • A designated coordinator role oversees supports for learners with additional education and/or behaviour needs; systematic monitoring and review practices are evident. 
  • The school shares useful information about curriculum, teaching and learning with families; a digital platform also gives regular updates on individual learning experiences, progress and achievement. 
  • The school hosts a wide range of events which are well-attended by whānau/families; these celebrate learner successes and further build community relationships.
  • The board and school leaders need to set clear and visible school improvement priorities and actions; the board must meet their legislative requirements in regard to strategic and annual planning. 

Part C: Where to next?

The agreed next steps for the school are to: 

  • refine and embed consistent structured learning approaches across the school for reading and writing, and explore potential programmes, strategies and tools for a structured mathematics approach
  • further develop formal leadership structures and supports for monitoring and growing the consistency and quality of teaching, to include team leaders observing and giving feedback on practice
  • strengthen the analysis and use of data for decision-making at schoolwide, team and class levels, including for reporting purposes
  • formally evaluate the impact of staff professional development on learner achievement and wellbeing, incorporating student feedback into day-to-day teaching to gauge the success of initiatives in practice
  • clearly document and share with the community improvement priorities, this needs to be captured in the strategic and annual planning requirements.

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

Within three months:

  • set clear and visible school improvement priorities and actions and share them with the community to meet legislative requirements
  • explore opportunities for senior and team leaders to train in coaching and giving feedback to enhance teachers’ professional growth
  • review and strengthen the structure of the existing professional growth cycle for teachers, with greater focus on discussing improved learner outcomes
  • undertake a schoolwide wellbeing survey and develop a plan for improvement.

Every six months:

  • leaders track, analyse and share data with staff and board to discuss trends and patterns in attendance, wellbeing, behaviour and achievement, and refine plans and interventions accordingly
  • team leaders observe teaching practice and provide feedback, to grow consistency and capability within and across teams
  • the school board connects with whānau/families through the school newsletter and holds whānau hui to gather community perspectives and aspirations for the school’s strategic direction-setting.

Annually:

  • survey learners, whānau/parents and staff to monitor satisfaction and wellbeing, and gather information to inform strategic and annual planning
  • evaluate the effectiveness of the refinements to teaching and learning practices to ensure they are positively and sufficiently impacting learning and wellbeing 
  • board, leaders and teachers monitor attendance patterns and initiate collective strategies with the community to promote greater regular attendance 
  • leaders effectively analyse data to report schoolwide progress and achievement to the board and community, including for groups of learners at risk of not achieving.

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

  • consistent and responsive teaching practices as a result of leaders explicitly monitoring, reviewing and coaching staff
  • strengthened analysis and use of data for decision-making evident at all levels of the school, including for strategic and annual implementation planning, and in target-setting and annual review
  • the community involved in decision making, and well-informed about schoolwide learner progress and achievement including for those groups of learners whose needs have not yet been well met
  • improved attendance that consistently meets the Ministry of Education target.

Recommendation to the Ministry of Education

ERO recommends that the Secretary for Education consider action plan intervention listed in section 174 of the Education and Training Act 2020 in order to bring about the following improvements: 

  • strategic and annual implementation planning and reporting requirements are met
  • address the actions for compliance identified in the school’s Board Assurance with Regulatory and Legislative Requirements Report

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

28 January 2025 

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

Springston School

Board Assurance with Regulatory and Legislative Requirements Report 2024 to 2027

As of October 2024, the Springston 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 areas of non-compliance during the board assurance process:

  • ensure that the contents of strategic plan, annual implementation plan, annual report, and statement of variance are sufficient, and are published to the school’s website
    [section 639 Education and Training Act 2020; Education (School Planning and Reporting) Regulations] 
  • keep accurate records about each aspect of the safety checking process for employees as evidence of risk assessment, in line with the school’s appointment policy and procedures 
    [sections 25-27, and 599 Education and Training Act 2020]
  • implement procedures and practices in relation to the use of physical restraint, including planning, training, authorisation and reporting requirements
    [sections 99-101 Education and Training Act 2020; Education (Physical Restraint) Rules 2023]
  • create monthly monitoring reports to inform the board about maintenance and hazards, including hazard management and monitoring
    [Health and Safety at Work Act 2015]
  • provide a planned programme of career education and guidance for learners in Years 7 and 8
    [section 103(b) Education and Training Act 2020]
  • work towards offering students in Years 7 and 8 opportunities to learn a second or additional language
    [The New Zealand Curriculum].

The board has since not yet addressed the areas of non-compliance identified.

Further Information

For further information please contact Springston 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

28 January 2025 

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

Springston School

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within twelve months of the Education Review Office and Springston 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 

Springston School caters for learners from Years 1 to 8. The school is located in a semi-rural setting in Canterbury’s Selwyn District. It is a member of a local Kāhui Ako/Community of Learners, Ngā Mātāpūna o Ngā Pakihi.

Springston School’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners focus on:

  • student and staff cultural competencies enhancing the sense of belonging and community
  • positive behaviours for learning being consistently evident
  • effectively engaging parents in school-wide literacy programmes, and development.

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

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate equity and excellence in schoolwide literacy programmes.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is:

  • the school wishes to see whether a structured literacy approach will benefit learner success, and improve achievement
  • developing the literacy curriculum will be underpinned by the work the school has been doing to enhance culturally responsive relationships for learning
  • a strong commitment to ensure Māori learners achieve education success, as Māori.

The school expects to see confident and consistent teaching practice, self-motivated learners who strive to achieve and to be their best, and active engagement with whānau/parents in literacy developments.

Strengths

The school can draw from the following strengths to support the school in its goal to enhance literacy outcomes:

  • dedicated, positive teachers who are open to inquiry and improvement
  • collaborative approaches and processes that develop shared literacy practices
  • purposeful use of data and seeking best practice research to build shared understandings.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise:

  • identifying measures or indicators of quality teaching and learning
  • creating a framework and approach to monitor evaluation for improvement
  • engaging with whānau and families in this evaluation and improvement.

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

11 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

Springston School

Board Assurance with Regulatory and Legislative Requirements Report 2022 to 2025

As of February 2022, the Springston 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 Springston School 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

11 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