Ongaonga School

The same report — the board assurance report of 5 August 2024 — also sets out actions for compliance: the non-compliance ERO identified during that process. This is that section of the report in full, in ERO’s words.

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

consultation with school’s Māori community [Education and Training Act 2020]

worked towards offering students opportunities for learning second or subsequent languages (Year 7-10) [Education and Training Act 2020]

safety checking of workforce: evidence of risk assessment [Children’s Act 2014]

ensure all staff employed have a current police vet. [Education and Training Act 2020]

The board has since taken steps to addre ss the safety checking of the workforce and ensuring all staff have a current police vet and is addressing the other areas of non-compliance identified.

Read this board assurance report on ero.govt.nz →

The roll ERO recorded, and when

ERO writes a roll into each report it publishes: a count taken for that report, on the day shown, by the review team that was there. The Ministry of Education’s current roll for this school is 28 — the figure at the top of this page, and the one to use for how big the school is now. These are a different measurement by a different body, so they will rarely agree, and a difference between them is not a change in the school.

1. September 2018

   104

   Counted while ERO’s review team was at the school. Education Review Office, report of 20 November 2018

This is one count taken for one report. It says what the roll was on that day, and nothing about how the roll has moved.

What ERO wrote in its latest report

This is ERO’s report of 5 August 2024 — “School Evaluation Report” — section by section, under ERO’s own headings, in ERO’s own order. Nothing is summarised, shortened or reordered.

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

Ongaonga School , in rural Central Hawkes Bay, provides for learners in Years 1 to 8. A new principal was appointed in 2021. The vision of the school is for learners to be accepted, extended and encouraged to reach their full potential.

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, including any education in Rumaki /bilingual settings.

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

Most learners are achieving at expected curriculum levels.

Achievement information shows that in relation to curriculum expectations, most students including Māori , achieve well in mathematics and writing and the majority progress and achieve well in reading; outcomes for learners in reading and writing shows inequity for boys.

Positive teaching and learning relationships promote, for learners, a strong sense of belonging.

Students with additional learning needs have an inclusive learning environment and they progress well.

Attendance is just below the current Ministry of Education targets for regular attendance; absence is closely monitored, areas of concern identified and students and their whānau are supported by staff to engage.

Conditions to support learner success

Leadership is strengthening a culture, processes and systems for high quality teaching focused on student outcomes.

Leadership increasingly builds relational trust within the teaching team, resulting in collaborative approaches to in-depth, relevant professional growth, responsive teaching programmes and meeting students’ diverse needs well.

Strategic planning and improvement goals are student-outcome focused and with clear measures for success; students at risk of not achieving are clearly identified in a timely way, targets set, monitored and their progress reported.

Leadership, with staff, are starting to look at the impact that professional learning is having on teaching and what makes the most difference for learners; continuing to strengthen collective inquiry into teaching practice is a next step.

Teaching practice is strengthening to improve learner outcomes.

Students have sufficient opportunity for learning across the curriculum; teachers are taking steps to develop the curriculum and reflect local contexts.

Teachers are increasingly consistent in focusing on foundational skills in literacy and mathematics and student gains in these skills are evident; strengthening the use of effective literacy teaching strategies to support equitable outcomes for boys is an area for further development.

Schoolwide assessments, moderation and analysis of this information by teachers, is becoming established practice and used to respond to learner needs; st rengthening assessment for learning and monitoring of sustained progress over time, is a next step.

The school is strengthening and aligning systems, structures and practices to support positive outcomes for all learners.

The school is improving community partnership with increasing opportunities for parents and whānau to be involved in their child’s learning.

Teachers’ growing capability is supported through ongoing professional development aligned with the school’s goals; continuing to support the integration of te reo Māori, tikanga Māori and mātauranga Māori in the developing local curriculum is an area for further development.

Leadership is beginning to use quality evidence to plan and monitor improvement strategies; a planned next step is to further evaluate the impact of these strategies on learner progress and achievement outcomes.

L eadership is establishing the way they collect, analyse, and interpret data; the use of whānau and iwi perspectives to inform school decision making, is an identified next step and affirmed by ERO’s evaluation.

Part B: Where to next?

The agreed next steps for the school are to:

strengthen teachers’ inquiry into aspects of their practice, to identify and ensure agreed, consistent, effective approaches in literacy, guided by high quality assessments and analysis of data

evaluate the impact of improvement strategies on learner progress and achievement outcomes; this includes strengthening the use of whānau and iwi perspectives and including learner voice to inform school decision making

further develop capability and capacity of all staff to integrate te reo Māori, tikanga Māori , and mātauranga Māori in the school’s local curriculum to support learners’ strengths, identity and culture.

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

Within six months:

ensure that teaching as inquiry, within the professional growth cycle, is aligned to the school’s strategic planning, and prioritises teaching and learning strategies that make a positive difference to all learner outcomes

undertake school-wide professional development in literacy

gather whānau and iwi aspirations and perspectives regarding future school direction

develop and introduce structured and regular opportunities for learners to provide feedback to school leaders about teaching and learning, curriculum and wellbeing.

Every six months:

track, monitor, analyse and report attendance, progress and achievement data with a particular focus on reducing the levels of disparity for boys

professional learning continues to build on teachers’ capacity and capabilities to integrate te reo Māori, tikanga Māori , and mātauranga Māori and identify agreed ways to measure progress

gather teacher voice about the quality of the professional learning and the impact on teaching, clearly identifying next steps to enhance confidence and practice.

Annually:

using a range of moderated data, analyse, evaluate and report to the board on learner attendance, progress and achievement; information is gathered over time to indicate progress against school improvement priorities

evaluate how effectively teachers respond to the needs of students, particularly those students whose progress needs accelerating; include in the evaluation a range of teacher, student and whānau voice

measure progress in teacher capacity to integrate te ao Māori, tikanga Māori , and mātauranga Māori within the local curriculum

collaborate with all stakeholders, students, parents, whānau , iwi , staff and board, to celebrate success and identify strategic goals.

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

improved attendance for all learners

consistent and effective teaching practices that result in improved parity of learner outcomes

integration of te reo Māori, tikanga Māori , and mātauranga Māori through all aspects of the local curriculum to better respond to learners’ strengths, identity and culture

data and evidence-based evaluation practices inform school and classroom decision making to adapt and respond to all learners’ needs.

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

5 August 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

Read this report on ero.govt.nz →