Description of School

Rata Street School is a large state primary contributing school, catering for Year 1 (New Entrants) to Year 6 (Standard 4) pupils.  It is co-educational and has a pupil age range of 5 -11 years.  Our grading roll for 2009 is 404, and our socio-economic rating (decile rating) is Decile One.  We are a multicultural school the current composition being:

NZ Maori 50%, NZ Euro 20%, Pacifika 21%, African 5%, Asian 3%, Other 1%

In the junior syndicate, we have ten fulltime classroom teachers, an Assistant Principal, and two support teachers. In the senior syndicate we have seven fulltime classroom teachers, and a Deputy Principal. We have a total staff of 42 (including all non-teaching staff). The Principal is a non-teaching Principal.  The Assistant Principal and Deputy Principal do not have a class allocated but are in curriculum and support/special needs roles. There are eleven teacher aides, an ESOL tutor, an administration manager/bursar, an administration assistant/receptionist, a resource manager, a librarian, a caretaker and two cleaners.

The school opened in 1950 and was built on a single cell model.  A three classroom block was added in the mid 1990’s, and another two classrooms added in 2008. There have been refurbishments to many areas of the school. These have included staff and student toilets, the ‘linkway’, the hall, our administration block, and a classroom block. The next phase of the refurbishment programme will be to continue the classroom refurbishment. Our facilities now include a central resource and teachers work room, library, artroom, Gifted Education Centre, reading recovery room, school hall – which is frequently used by the community, three adventure playgrounds, outdoor hard court area for netball and PE/sport, PE storeroom, caretaker’s room, boiler room, administration block, teachers’ aide rooms, medical room and a staffroom.

The school has an emphasis on student achievement in Literacy and Numeracy. To complement these programmes, there are strong cultural, arts, and sport programmes. The school uses its cultural and arts programmes to celebrate its cultural diversity. A Cultural Club is a feature of our cultural programme, and songs and dance of Maori, Samoan, Tokelauan and other Pacific cultures are experienced by the students.

Delivery of student support programmes is also a strength. Students needing extra help or extension because they have a special talent are catered for. Support programmes include English as a Second Language (ESOL) and Reading Recovery.  As well, there is teacher and teacher-aide support in both senior and junior areas.

To complement school programmes and to address wider community issues, Rata Street School has a Family Support Worker (Social Worker in Schools Scheme) and a Health Clinic. Students and parents are able to access these services. The school is also involved in the Health Promoting Schools initiative. Current projects include the successful Breakfast Co-operative – whereby parents have access to discounted breakfast foods for their families, and participation in the Fruit in Schools initiative. An OSCAR before and after school care facility is also based at the school.

Outside agencies involved with Rata Street School include: Wellhealth (health nurse), Resource Teachers of Learning and Behaviour, Speech Language Therapist, Resource Teacher of Literacy, and the Police (Education officer).

The school is equipped with a modern telecommunication and computer network systems. All classrooms have computers and phones. Scanners, digital camera, video camera, and fax machines are also available to support classroom programmes. Internet and email access is available throughout the school. A school web site has been developed, and innovative classroom practice is encouraged.

Throughout the school there is an ethos of high expectations – in both achievement and behaviour. Annual achievement targets are set and the results reported to the Board of Trustees. Achievement data shows a steady improvement by pupils in Literacy and Numeracy, although many students are achieving below national norms. Professional development initiatives are aimed at improving achievement for these students.

There are several school development themes - Literacy and Numeracy

Literacy For 2006/2007, teachers were involved in the Ministry of Education’s Literacy Professional Development Project. The development had an emphasis on student achievement, with Professional Development aiming to improve teacher effectiveness (and student achievement) in the area of writing. Since then, the project was expanded upon with the extra support provided by the local schooling improvement project – Naenae LEAP. This is a cluster wide focus (8 schools including the intermediate and college) on effective teaching of literacy – with attention to the specific learning needs of Maori, Pasifika, and male students. The overall aim is to raise achievement in students currently achieving significantly below national norms.

Numeracy The school participated in the Ministry of Education’s Numeracy Development Project (2004 – 2006) with the aims of improving teacher delivery of Mathematics (with a focus on number) and raising student achievement. During 2004 and 2005, the Professional Development involved teachers of junior and senior students, and 2006/2007 was seen as consolidation years. This consolidation and upskilling new teachers and lead teachers has continued.