Rolleston Christian School

Rolleston Christian 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 

Rolleston Christian School is a state integrated, special character primary school providing education for students from Years 1 to 8. The school values are Hope, Excellence, Love and Peace.

There are two parts to this report.

Part A: An evaluative summary of learner success and school conditions to inform the school board’s future strategic direction.

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

Part A: Current State

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

Learner Success and Wellbeing 

Outcomes for learners are increasingly equitable and most learners achieve well.
  • Most learners achieve at or above expected curriculum levels in reading, writing and mathematics.
  • Learners have a strong sense of belonging deeply embedded through specific learning programmes aligned with the school values.
  • Most learners attend school regularly; the school meets the Ministry of Education targets for attendance.

Conditions to support learner success:

Leaders strengthen relational trust and effective collaboration across the school to achieve the strategic vison and improve outcomes for all learners.
  • Leaders support teachers in their professional growth through coaching sessions which strengthen their reflective practice.
  • School leaders model the school values when collaborating to explore ways to improve school programmes and outcomes for learners.
  • School leaders support teachers by effectively responding to learners’ behavioural and or learning challenges through adapted support for individuals and groups.
Teachers effectively engage learners through a responsive, localised curriculum.
  • Leaders and teachers align curriculum learning with community people, places, resources and contexts to successfully support learning opportunities and learners' achievement outcomes.
  • Teachers collaboratively develop agreed teaching practices that engage and stretch learners; practices are linked to improving outcomes for learners particularly those at risk of not achieving.
  • The inquiry model is well embedded into teachers’ professional growth cycles; this supports teachers to think about their programmes and ways of teaching to improve equitable and excellent outcomes for groups of learners.
Key conditions that underpin successful schooling are embedded and well aligned.
  • Learners have sufficient opportunities to gain foundation skills in reading writing and mathematics.
  • Leaders and teachers use a wellbeing and behaviour initiative that strengthens an inclusive environment for all learners.
  • The Living Christianly curriculum is used and monitored successfully by teachers to develop a growth mindset and self-compassion to enhance and practise wellbeing across all contexts.

Part B: Where to next? 

The agreed next steps for the school are to: 

  • fully implement the school wide behaviour and wellbeing programme to promote a strong focus on learning and behaviour
  • refine assessment systems and practices to align changes in the school’s teaching practices and curriculum content
  • extend teacher capabilities and confidence to use tikanga Māori and te reo Māori into classroom programmes so that it is evident in all learning areas, to affirm learners' cultural identity
  • continue to sustain and monitor student attendance and engagement levels.

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

Within six months:

  • leaders and teachers finalise and begin implementation of the school wide behaviour and wellbeing programme.

Every six months:

  • leaders monitor behaviour and wellbeing data to check how well the programme is being consistently implemented and its impact on learner engagement
  • leaders and teachers examine learners’ work, discuss benchmarks and align assessments to ensure assessment judgements are agreed and at appropriate levels
  • leaders and teachers continue to improve their confidence and capability in te reo and tikanga Māori in learning programmes, to improve engagement in learning and outcomes for Māori students.

Annually:

  • leaders and teachers gather and analyse achievement and engagement data to inform planning and resourcing
  • review the implementation and progress of a whole school behaviour programme and respond to findings
  • review the assessment schedule against literacy and numeracy benchmarks to ensure that it provides accurate and timely information about learner progress
  • leaders and teachers continue to improve their confidence and capability in te reo and tikanga Māori in learning programmes, to improve engagement in learning and outcomes for Māori students.

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

  • improved engagement and participation in learning
  • assessments that give learners more understanding of their progress and support them to plan their next steps
  • leaders and teachers effectively and intentionally weaving te reo Māori, tikanga Māori and mātauranga Māori opportunities through teaching and learning contexts to improve engagement in learning and outcomes for 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

25 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

Rolleston Christian School 

Board Assurance with Regulatory and Legislative Requirements Report 2024 to 2027

As of June 2024, the Rolleston Christian 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:

  • Reporting to the school community on progress and achievement of groups of students and Māori students [Regulation 21 Education (School Boards) Amendments Regulations 2022] 
  • Ensuring that student’s parents or caregivers provide written informed consent if a section on physical restraint is appended to the student’s support plan [Education and Training Act 2020, Education (Physical Restraint) Rules 2023]
  • Checking forms of original primary and secondary identity documents for safety checking of workforce Children’s Act 2014, Children’s (Requirements for Safety Checks of Children’s Workers) Regulations 2015]

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

Further Information

For further information please contact Rolleston Christian 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

25 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

Rolleston Christian School - 11/06/2020

School Context

Rolleston Christian School is a Year 1 to 8 state integrated school that opened in 2015. The school is a member of the Christian Schools Trust and is governed by a board that is comprised of elected trustees and proprietors’ representatives. Its culturally diverse roll of 148 students includes 8% who identify as Māori. Some students from the many cultures represented at the school are English Language learners (ELL).

This special character school states that its vision is to be: Christ-like, Creative and Critical Learners bringing light to the world. The values emphasise that: ‘Through our faith - we HELP (Hope, Excellence, Love and Peace) bring light to our world’. The strategic priorities are for students to be Outward Focussed, Engaging and Growing Self, and Reflecting the HELP culture.

Leaders and teachers regularly report to the board, school wide information about outcomes for students in the following areas:

  • student wellbeing
  • achievement in reading, writing and mathematics
  • progress and achievement in relation to the school targets
  • outcomes for students with additional learning needs, including those who are gifted and talented.

Since the June 2017 ERO review, there have been changes to the structure of the leadership team and significant property development in response to increasing roll growth. A new building for collaborative teaching and learning was opened in July 2019. School-wide professional learning and development has been focused on ‘New Pedagogies of Deep Learning’ (NPDL).

Leaders and staff are members of the Christian Education Network Kāhui Ako I Community of Learning. They are also an honorary member of the Ngā Peka o Tauwharekākaho Kāhui Ako in Rolleston.

Leaders and teachers have made good progress responding to the 2017 ERO review by developing:

  • a cultural narrative
  • a teaching as inquiry process
  • an assessment process for the integrated curriculum.

Evaluation Findings

1 Equity and excellence – achievement of valued outcomes for students

1.1 How well is the school achieving equitable and excellent outcomes for all its students?

The school is working positively towards achieving equitable and excellent outcomes for all its students.

The school’s 2019 school achievement information shows that:

  • most students report that they feel a positive sense of wellbeing and belonging

  • most students achieve at or above expected NZ Curriculum (NZC) levels in reading

  • the majority of students achieve at or above curriculum levels in writing and mathematics

  • most Māori students achieve at or above curriculum levels in reading and writing

  • the majority of Māori students achieve at or above curriculum levels in mathematics.

The school is yet to analyse school-wide student achievement patterns and trends over time to show rates of progress for groups of children.

1.2 How well is the school accelerating learning for those students who need this?

ERO is unable to evaluate how well the school is accelerating learning due to the lack of analysed data.

Detailed information about individual students’ longitudinal achievement and progress needs to be further analysed. This will enable leaders and teachers to know how effectively the school is accelerating learning for all groups of students, including priority learners, over time.

Students with identified needs are well supported to succeed in their learning.

2 School conditions for equity and excellence – processes and practices

2.1 What school processes and practices are effective in enabling achievement of equity and excellence, and acceleration of learning?

The school‘s special character and strongly-shared vision and values are well known and embedded across all areas of the school. The learning community is characterised by respect, relational trust and collaboration. There is a strong focus on fostering student and staff wellbeing.

Leaders and teachers promote an inclusive and caring culture that is responsive to the individual needs of students. They provide a holistic approach to students’ readiness for and engagement in learning. Parents, whānau and community are welcomed and involved in school activities as respected and valued partners in learning.

Students learn and achieve within well-considered programmes that promote student choice and agency. They actively participate in authentic and meaningful learning experiences through the responsive and integrated curriculum. This includes a progressive approach to student inquiries that promote deeper levels of thinking and learning. Students experience personalised and positive transitions within the school that support successful learning outcomes.

Leaders have high expectations and provide clear guidelines for teaching and learning. Research-based decision making informs innovative teaching practices. Leaders and teachers work collaboratively and take collective responsibility for student learning and wellbeing. There is a deliberate focus on growing teacher capability and leadership capacity through targeted professional development and good use of internal and external expertise. Leaders and teachers are reflective and focused on continuous improvement and positive outcomes for all students.

The supportive board actively represents and serves the school and Christian education community in its stewardship role. The board builds relational trust and develops supportive and responsive relationships with the school community to help achieve its vision and valued outcomes for children.

2.2 What further developments are needed in school processes and practices for achievement of equity and excellence, and acceleration of learning?

Leaders and teachers need to develop a deeper understanding of internal evaluation and evaluative thinking to determine the effectiveness of programmes and practices on outcomes for students.

Leaders and teachers have identified, and ERO agrees, that they should extend their understandings of te ao Māori and culturally responsive practices to support the child as a learner in the context of their culture.

A systematic approach to gathering, analysing and reporting school-wide progress, acceleration and achievement information is an important improvement priority.

3 Board Assurance on Legal Requirements

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 Children’s Act 2014.

4 ERO’s Overall Judgement

On the basis of the findings of this review, ERO’s overall evaluation judgement of the performance of Rolleston Christian School in achieving valued outcomes for its students is: Well placed.

ERO’s Framework: Overall Findings and Judgement Tool derived from School Evaluation Indicators: Effective Practice for Improvement and Learner Success is available on ERO’s website.

5 Going forward

Key strengths of the school

For sustained improvement and future learner success, the school can draw on existing strengths in:

  • its special character and strongly-shared vision and values that are well known and embedded across all areas of the school
  • leaders and teachers promoting an inclusive and caring culture and a curriculum that is responsive to the individual needs of students
  • the deliberate focus on growing teacher capability and leadership capacity through targeted professional development and good use of internal and external expertise.

Next steps

For sustained improvement and future learner success, priorities for further development are in:

  • developing consistent understanding of evaluative thinking and approaches to know the effectiveness of programmes and practices on outcomes for students
  • further developing a systematic approach to gathering, analysing and reporting school-wide progress, achievement and acceleration information
  • building on te ao Māori and culturally responsive understandings and practices.

Actions for compliance

ERO identified non-compliance in relation to these areas of Curriculum and Health, Safety and Welfare:

  • consultation with Māori
  • physical restraint.

In order to address this, the board of trustees must:

  • consult with the school’s Māori community [NAG 1 (7)]
  • consistently document and follow the school’s procedures, and the Ministry of Education guidelines, on physical restraint rules [Education (Physical Restraint) Rules 2017].

Dr Lesley Patterson

Director Review and Improvement Services Southern Te Tai Tini

Southern Region

11 June 2020

About the school

The Education Counts website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement.