Hauroko Valley Primary 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 

Hauroko Valley Primary School is a rural school in Western Southland for children in Years 1 to 8. The school’s vision is for children to achieve their potential and become motivated, adaptable learners who strive for excellence.  The school’s values are that children will care for people and places, connect with others, develop a can-do attitude and celebrate their identities, cultures, progress and achievements.

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 

Over the last three years ERO and the school worked together to evaluate effective teaching and learning in literacy with a particular focus on raising achievement for boys.

Expected Improvements and Findings

The school expected to see collaborative and planned development of an innovative, responsive, localised curriculum that provides the opportunity for all students to apply their literacy skills and improve learner outcomes. 

• The school has sustained high levels of achievement in reading and writing.
• Most students continue to achieve at or above expected curriculum levels in reading and writing however there continues to be disparity in achievement for boys.
• Leaders and teachers have implemented explicit, consistent and coordinated literacy programmes and teaching practices that support success in literacy learning.
• Teachers and students have clear shared understandings of expectations for achievement and progress in literacy learning and use these well to identify next learning steps. 

Other Findings 

During the course of the evaluation, it was found that there was a need to strengthen core reading and spelling skills, particularly for senior students; the school implemented a structured programme to respond to this need. 

The greatest shifts that occurred in response to the school’s actions are strengthened teacher knowledge and confidence in the teaching of reading and writing, and growth in students’ ability to know about and monitor their own progress in writing. 

Part B: Current State

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

Learner Success and Wellbeing

• Most learners achieve at expected curriculum levels in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Some disparity in achievement levels for boys in literacy is evident, particularly in writing, and the school is focused on addressing this through achievement targets.
• Students with additional needs are well supported to access the curriculum and make good progress against individualised goals. 
• The majority of learners attend regularly, the school continues to work with learners and their families to foster regular attendance in line with national targets.

Conditions to support learner success

• School governance, leadership and teachers share high aspirations for equity in the achievement, progress and wellbeing of all learners. 
• Leadership builds and sustains high levels of relational trust and effective collaboration at every level of the school community to achieve the strategic vision and improvement goals.
• Leaders and teachers prioritise and engage in ongoing professional development to ensure they have high-quality, evidence-based teaching practices to support the success of all learners.

• Teachers create respectful, collaborative and inclusive classroom environments that encourage learners to ask for help when needed and engage, experiment and apply new learning in innovative ways. 
• Working in partnership with the community, the school provides broad learning opportunities that respond well to students’ interests and connections with the local environment, community and farming sector.
• Teachers are embedding evidence-based teaching strategies to better support all learners to progress and achieve in reading and writing. 

• Leaders and teachers facilitate regular parent and whānau engagement and participation in the life of the school, including their contribution to decision-making in relation to the school’s strategic priorities. 
• Governance, leadership and teachers are strengthening policies, programmes and practices to further improve all learners’ wellbeing, inclusion and engagement in learning. 
• The board represents and works with the school community to develop the school’s vision, strategic direction and improvement priorities; it has appropriate systems and processes to review and report on its statutory responsibilities.
• The school is beginning to give effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi through developing partnerships with Māori whānau and mana whenua.

Part C: Where to next?

The agreed next steps for the school are to:

• embed structured, evidence-based teaching and learning programmes for literacy to ensure all students have the opportunity to learn foundation literacy skills
• further develop the school’s curriculum focused on fostering learners’ wellbeing and resilience skills
• strengthen incorporation of te reo Māori, tikanga Māori and mātauranga Māori within the curriculum to provide all students with the opportunity to develop knowledge, understandings and capabilities related to New Zealand’s bicultural heritage.

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

Within six months:

• continue to support teachers to participate in professional learning on structured approaches to teaching literacy and to identify development goals, receive feedback and reflect on progress and outcomes 
• review and align new practices for assessing literacy with school frameworks for reporting to families and tracking progress and achievement
• develop guidelines and planning for a strengthened focus on wellbeing and bicultural learning in the curriculum. 

Annually: 

• monitor the consistency and quality of literacy programmes and teaching school wide against agreed criteria and identify development areas
• evaluate the impact of changed practices in the teaching of literacy on learner progress and achievement and make adjustments as relevant
• monitor delivery of the school’s wellbeing and bicultural curriculum against guidelines and expected learning outcomes and use this to inform planning for improvement.

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

• improved progress and achievement in spelling and writing across the school
• greater equity in writing achievement for boys 
• learners able to reflect on and use a range of wellbeing and resilience strategies to enhance their wellbeing, engagement and success in learning
• learners increasingly able to articulate broad understandings of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and histories of Aotearoa and developing basic capabilities in te reo Māori, tikanga Māori and mātauranga Māori.

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

10 September 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 April 2024, the Hauroko Valley Primary 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: 

• the board must receive assurance at intervals of not more than six months of trial evacuations 

[Reg 29, Fire Safety, Evacuation Procedures, and Evacuation Schemes Regulations 2018]

• the school needs to check a primary identity document and a secondary identity document, required for safety checking of workforce [Sections 25, 26, 27, Children’s Act 2014]. 

The board has since taken steps to address the areas of non-compliance identified.

Further Information

For further information please contact Hauroko Valley Primary 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

10 September 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