Kelvin Road School

School Context

Kelvin Road School is a contributing school catering for children in Years 1 to 6. The school also has Māori immersion and bilingual classes in Te Whatitoka Rimu o te Whānau Kahurangi which include Years 7 and 8 children. The school is experiencing roll growth and of the 491 children currently enrolled, 66 percent are Māori and 27 percent have Pacific heritage.

Leaders and teachers regularly report to the board schoolwide information about outcomes for learners in the following areas:

• achievement in reading, writing and mathematics
• school targets and priority learners’ progress
• attendance.

Since the 2015 ERO evaluation, the school has:

• appointed a new principal and deputy principal
• introduced new leadership structures to improve oversight of achievement and learning outcomes
• revised the school curriculum to better meet the needs of children
• improved processes for reporting achievement information to the board.

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?

Kelvin Road School is becoming increasingly effective at achieving equitable and excellent outcomes for all children.

Achievement information over the last four years shows that children’s overall achievement in reading, writing and mathematics has increased each year with a pronounced lift in 2017.

The majority of children achieve at expected levels in reading and mathematics. In the area of literacy, girls achieve better than boys overall. Leaders and teachers have developed well focused improvement plans and targets to accelerate the progress of Māori boys and all children in writing.

In Te Whatitoka Rimu o te Whānau Kahurangi teachers use Te Marautanga o Aotearoa and related Māori assessment tools. In Te Whatitoka Rimu o te Whānau Kahurangi the large majority of learners achieve at expected levels in pānui and about half achieve in tuhituhi and pangarau. The achievement patterns of children in Rumaki Reo over time, is similar to the rest of the school.

Hauora, Connectedness, Culture and Future Focus are the school’s four pou that are central to children maximising their potential for a successful future. These pou were developed in consultation with the community. They have provided the basis for developing a useful graduate profile that describes the skills, knowledge and attitudes that children will have when they leave the school. This profile will help teachers to evaluate how well children are achieving in relation to the school’s valued outcomes.

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

Since 2017, the school’s strategic plans have been focused on raising children’s achievement in literacy and numeracy. A plan for accelerating progress and achievement now guides and informs literacy and numeracy teaching.

The collation and analysis of achievement information has been strengthened considerably since 2017. Leaders and teachers have well-developed processes in place to monitor children’s learning. They use a range of information to gauge children’s progress and achievement, and to inform teaching and learning programmes.

Rumaki Reo is well established and provides very good opportunities for children to learn through te ao Māori. They benefit from hearing high levels of te reo Maōri. Many children in this learning environment demonstrate competence and confidence as speakers of te reo Māori.

Leaders and teachers have designed a wide range of programmes and initiatives to accelerate children’s progress and achievement. Most children who are achieving below expectations in literacy and mathematics show positive shifts in achievement, and in many cases their progress is accelerated. School data also demonstrates that a significant number of Māori and Pacific children have made accelerated progress over a fifteen week period in 2018.

The following key features of the school are supporting children’s progress:

• leaders and teachers are united in their strong sense of urgency to raise achievement
• well documented clear expectations and processes to support effective teaching practice and acceleration.

Leaders, teachers and teacher aides respond effectively to children with additional learning needs in an inclusive environment. Children are supported well to experience success.

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 principal is effectively leading the school through a period of significant change. Senior leaders have high expectations about the quality of teaching and learning and are focused on improving the learning environment. A key goal is to create a greater sense of pride in the school, and to re-engage whānau and community so that they become more actively involved.

Meaningful consultation with the community has resulted in a new direction and clear vision for ongoing improvement. This is supported by deliberate and well considered plans and goals to raise and accelerate children’s achievement. School leaders have established robust and coherent expectations to support teaching and learning. Good systems are in place to guide teachers’ planning and assessment of the curriculum.

Leaders are outward looking and open to new learning. They have a planned approach to building teachers’ capacity and capability, which include opportunities for teachers to collaborate and undertake inquiry and benefit from relevant professional learning programmes.

Children learn and achieve in the breadth and depth of the New Zealand Curriculum (NZC). A strong emphasis is placed on reading, writing and mathematics. The school’s curriculum has been reviewed using an external facilitator and extensive community consultation.

The review process has resulted in a localised curriculum that is authentic, relevant and continues to evolve to meet the needs of the school’s learners. Leaders and teachers are in the process of completing the documentation of the curriculum. Planned next steps include promoting more choice for children, developing an inquiry model to guide their thinking, and increasing parent partnership in children’s learning.

The board of trustees are very well informed about children’s achievement and use achievement information to inform resourcing decisions. Trustees know their community well and parents are becoming increasingly involved in the life of the school.

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

Several new initiatives have recently been introduced to promote greater equity and excellence for all learners and to accelerate children’s progress. Leaders identify that their priorities will be to continue:

• embedding new leadership roles for teachers
• implementing and embedding effective teaching strategies and practice
• further developing ‘student agency’ by increasing children’s opportunities to direct, shape, and have choice about their own learning.

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 Vulnerable Children Act 2014.

4 Going forward

Key strengths of the school

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

• leadership that is effectively rebuilding relational trust across the school community
• an evolving curriculum design that increasingly meets children’s interests, strengths and needs
• a deliberate planned approach to building teacher professional capacity and capability
• consultation with the community to inform the school’s renewed direction.

Next steps

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

• creating a systematic evaluation framework to evaluate the impact that the school’s new initiatives are having on children’s wellbeing and learning
• continuing to strengthen and establish learning partnerships with parents and whānau that
• enhance learning outcomes for children.

ERO’s next external evaluation process and timing

ERO is likely to carry out the next external evaluation in three years.

Violet Tu’uga Stevenson

Director Review and Improvement Services

Te Tai Raki - Northern Region

21 November 2018

About the school