Hastings Street East , Waltham, Christchurch
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.
Waltham School is located in Christchurch and provides education for learners in Years 1 to 8. The school’s roll is 266, with a wide range of ethnicities including 20% of students of Māori descent. The school vision Tamariki to ‘Reach for the Stars’ – Tikina ngā Whetū is underpinned by the 4 R values of Respect for Ourselves, Others, Our World and Ready to Learn. Since the previous ERO report in 2022, a new principal and deputy principal have been appointed.
The school expected to improve the achievement of identified groups of learners in reading and mathematics, with increased engagement and participation of these learners and their whānau.
The majority of have learners have benefitted from individualised planning and monitoring of their progress and achievement, with improved rates of progress overtime, particularly in reading. The attendance of some of these learners has increased, but ensuring this is sustained is still an area to monitor. Teachers have continued to focus on developing and strengthening teaching practices to improve the achievement of learners, mathematics remains a priority.
| How well are learners succeeding? | Success and progress for all learners is increasing. |
| What is the quality of teaching and learning? | Learners benefit from good quality teaching practice that improves progress and achievement in reading, writing and mathematics.
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| How well does the school curriculum respond to all learners needs? | Learners have rich opportunities to learn across the breadth and depth of the curriculum. There is a consistent focus on supporting learners to gain skills in literacy and mathematics. Learners with complex needs are well supported to achieve their education goals. |
| How well does school planning and conditions support ongoing improvement? | School planning and conditions to support ongoing improvement to the quality of education for learners are well established. |
| How well does the school include all learners and promote their engagement and wellbeing? | The school successfully 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 reports usefully and accurately to parents / whānau about their child’s learning, achievement and progress. The school responds well to a wide range of information gathered through community consultation, to inform strategic planning and curriculum decisions. |
| Student Health and Safety | The school board is taking reasonable steps to ensure student health and safety. |
This table outlines how well students across the school meet or exceed the expected curriculum level.
Foundation Skills | |
| Reading | A large majority of learners meet or exceed the expected curriculum level. Results are equitable for all groups of learners. |
| Writing | A small majority of learners meet or exceed the expected curriculum level. Results are becoming more equitable for all groups of learners. |
| Mathematics | A small majority 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 has 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 uses an appropriate approach and reliable practices to find out about achievement against the curriculum.
Assessment information is used well to adjust teaching practices to ensure ongoing improvement in teaching and student progress.
The school has good quality planning to increase the rate of progress for all groups of students.
The school has to some extent improved achievement and progress for those learners most at risk of not achieving since the previous review.
The school has to some extent extended achievement and progress for learners working at or above curriculum levels since the previous review.
The school is making some progress towards Government reading, writing and mathematics targets and is likely to meet them by 2030.
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:
Extend targeted teaching and assessment strategies of mathematics and literacy across the school to ensure consistency for learning.
Consolidate and embed structured teaching practices school wide for ongoing improvement in progress and achievement levels in mathematics and writing.
Extend partnerships for learning with Māori whānau and mana whenua to support Māori learner success and enhance the school curriculum.
Continue reviewing and refining approaches and initiatives, alongside parents whānau, to increase rates of regular attendance.
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:
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’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
28 February 2025
This website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement. educationcounts.govt.nz/home
This Profile Report was written within twelve months of the Education Review Office and Waltham 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
Waltham School is located in southeast Christchurch and provides education for students in Years 1 to 8.
Waltham School’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are:
To raise student achievement levels through high quality teaching practice and classroom programmes
To improve the quality of students’ social interactions and positive behaviour for learning
To develop the physical school environment and integrate the use of digital technology to support modern teaching and learning.
You can find a copy of the school’s strategic and annual plan on Waltham School’s website.
ERO and the school are working together to evaluate how effectively building educationally powerful connections and positive relationships with whānau address attendance and wellbeing of priority learners.
The rationale for selecting this evaluation is to:
enable teachers to focus on raising the learning opportunities and achievement of those learners whose achievement is not as high as it should be, particularly in reading and maths
identify barriers to learning, the strategies and approaches that are most effective in supporting learners’ engagement and regular attendance
assist teachers and school leaders to know the most effective ways to engage with all families and whānau to support their children’s participation in learning.
The school expects to see improved achievement for identified groups in Years 2 and 3 reading and Years 4 to 8 maths and increased engagement and participation of children and their whānau.
The school can draw from the following strengths to support the school in its goal of effectively addressing the learning, achievement, engagement, and wellbeing of priority learners through the:
strong leadership that promotes a positive and collaborative team culture across the school
inclusive culture that supports students’ sense of belonging, positive social interactions, and wellbeing
well-established and regularly reviewed systems that identify and monitor students’ progress and achievement
pastoral care systems and resources that provide high levels of support for whānau and families.
Moving forward, the school will prioritise:
implementing and sustaining effective teaching practices to support priority learners in literacy and numeracy
improving parent engagement and increase learning dialogue through the use of the online communication tool Seesaw.
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
29 August 2022
The Education Counts website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement. educationcounts.govt.nz/home
As of September 2021, the Waltham School Board of Trustees has attested to the following regulatory and legislative requirements:
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
For further information please contact Waltham 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
29 August 2022
The Education Counts website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement. educationcounts.govt.nz/home
Waltham School is a full primary school and has a roll 261 students. Of these children, 23% identify as Māori and 14% as Pacific. Children come from diverse backgrounds and from an increasing range of ethnicities. Many children are English Language Learners (ELL). Considerable numbers of children enter and leave the school throughout the year.
The school roll has increased substantially in the last three years. As a result there has been significant refurbishment of buildings, with redesigned learning spaces. This has also increased the number of staff. There continues to be an experienced senior management team, which has supported consistency across the school. The board has a mix of new and longer serving trustees which provides stability to the board. Waltham School is a member of Te Mana Raupō CoL|Kāhu Ako.
The school’s vision is ‘Reaching for the Stars’ and the valued outcomes for children are:
respect for ourselves
respect for others
respect for the world
ready to learn
The school’s current aims and goals are to raise student achievement in line with national expectations, particularly in reading, writing and through the integration of digital technologies. The school is also focused on improving children’s social interactions and supporting the development of collaborative practice across teaching teams.
Leaders and teachers regularly report to the board, school-wide information about outcomes for learners in the following areas:
achievement and progress in reading, writing and mathematics and across other learning areas
participation and engagement of all learners.
The school is highly proactive in working towards achieving equitable and excellent outcomes for all learners.
Achievement information from 2014 to 2016 is complex, with a significant number of children entering and leaving the school over this time. The majority of children achieve at or above expectations in mathematics, reading and writing. Girls achieve well in reading and writing. The school has identified that just less than half of Māori and Pacific children and boys need support to raise their achievement in reading, writing and mathematics. School leaders and teachers have a well-planned approach to raising achievement through targeted interventions.
The school is effectively focused on supporting individuals and groups of children whose learning needs accelerating. The school’s information shows that while children are at Waltham School, they make good rates of progress in reading, writing and mathematics.
The school identifies children whose learning needs accelerating by closely monitoring their progress and regularly reviewing interventions. Many of these children make positive progress during their time at the school. ELL children are well supported with carefully planned programmes and additional monitoring. Most successfully meet their individual goals.
The school has many processes and practices that effectively support the achievement of equity and excellence. There is a strong focus on children’s holistic wellbeing, engagement and learning.
Leaders are improvement focused and have clear expectations for learning and teaching. They work well together and skilfully use their complementary skills. Leaders are highly supportive of children, families and their staff. Leaders and teachers regularly engage with external expertise to improve teaching programmes that support positive outcomes for children.
Senior managers make well-considered decisions when engaging with new ideas and initiatives. They build capacity across the teaching teams through careful use of teachers’ strengths and interests. School leaders and teachers make good use of teaching as inquiry to improve their practices. There is a strong culture of regular reflective practice about what is working well and what needs to change for successful learning.
Teachers are positively engaged in improving professional practice. Since 2014 the school has participated in a number of targeted initiatives to enhance children’s learning and engagement. Teachers work collaboratively and have shared responsibility for improving learning outcomes for all children.
The vision and values underpin the basis for the school’s localised curriculum. Te ao Māori is integrated authentically throughout school programmes and practices. This has been enriched through new initiatives and consultation with children’s whanau.
Children benefit from a positive and inclusive school culture. School leaders and teachers proactively build partnerships with children’s families and the wider education community. There are strong pastoral care provisions and behaviour is managed positively. The school is very well supported by the local community.
The school has identified and ERO agrees that in order to further strengthen process and practices for achievement of equity and excellence there is a need to:
extend the board’s understanding of their governance role through targeted training
continue to build internal evaluation understanding and practices across the school
embed the school’s cultural narrative within the documented curriculum
strengthen the appraisal process to provide teachers with formalised next steps for improvement.
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
finance
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.
For sustained improvement and future learner success, the school can draw on existing strengths in:
the ways teachers and leaders are monitoring and responding specifically to children whose learning needs accelerating
a culture of collaboration among teachers and leaders that ensures a shared understanding of best practices to support positive outcomes for all learners
clear direction setting and expectations of leaders that promotes a positive and inclusive school culture.
For sustained improvement and future learner success, development priorities are in:
analysing, evaluating and reporting of the sufficiency of progress learners are making over time at the school
increasing internal evaluative understanding and practices to enable the school to show what is working well and what is having the best impact for all learners
improving the appraisal process to ensure a robust process that supports teachers’ professional growth
strengthening trustees’ understanding of their governance role.
ERO is likely to carry out the next external evaluation in three years.
Dr Lesley Patterson
Deputy Chief Review Officer
Te Waipounamu - Southern Region
19 February 2018
|
Location |
Christchurch |
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
3581 |
|
School type |
Full Primary |
|
School roll |
265 |
|
Gender composition |
Girls 52% Boys 48% |
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori 25% Pākehā 37% Pacific Island 15% Asian 11% Other ethnicity 12% |
|
Provision of Māori medium education |
No |
|
Review team on site |
November 2017 |
|
Date of this report |
19 February 2018 |
|
Most recent ERO reports |
Education Review January 2014 Education Review December 2010 Supplementary Review November 2007 |