Woodhill School

School Context

Woodhill School is a rural school west of Auckland that caters for Year 1 to 8 learners. The school has a roll of approximately 27 students of whom 18 are Māori.

Since the 2015 ERO evaluation the school has gone through significant change. The school has experienced a marked decrease and then steady growth in its roll. At the end of 2016 it had a vacant principal position and too few members for the board of trustees to function. To address these issues, the Ministry of Education (MOE) appointed a commissioner to govern the school. The commissioner then appointed a teaching principal for a fixed-term period.

The commissioner and fixed-term principal ensured that the school continued to serve its community. By mid-2018 the commissioner had overseen the election of a board of trustees and worked with the MOE to secure the appointment of an experienced and proven permanent principal to the school. The commissioner’s position was then terminated and the MOE appointed a specialist advisor to support the board. The specialist advisor is currently the board chairperson.

The principal, specialist advisor and trustees have made progress in prioritising relevant next steps for the school and improvements are evident.

An unused section of the school is currently being leased to a private school for a two year period. The two schools share the playing areas and the expertise and experience of staff from both schools.

The school is part of the Community of Learning | Te Kāhui Ako o Kaipara.

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?

Recent school achievement data show that the school is working towards achieving equitable and excellent outcomes for all students.

The majority of students are achieving at or above expectations of the New Zealand Curriculum in reading, writing and mathematics.

Many students achieve well in relation to the school’s other valued outcomes. Many demonstrate that they:

• enjoy a sense of belonging and connection to the school and community

• feel included, cared for, safe and secure

• are developing self-management skills

• use digital technologies purposefully.

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

The school is developing ways to accelerate the learning progress of those Māori and other students who require this. The school’s 2018 achievement targets identified students who required acceleration in reading, writing and mathematics.

Recent analysis of school achievement data indicates that good progress has been made in accelerating the progress of boys in reading. Some individual acceleration of boys in writing and mathematics is also evident.

Specific, well designed interventions have been put in place to further lift the achievement levels of these target students. In addition, the new principal is focused on working with students, families and external support providers to improve the learning outcomes of all students.

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 good work of the commissioner enabled the school to continue functioning in difficult times. The commissioner worked successfully with the interim teaching principal and supported her leadership of the school. Financial challenges that threatened the school’s ongoing viability have been redressed. The decision to lease out a section of the school has assisted the school in a wide range of ways, including professionally, socially, collaboratively and financially. The commissioner’s well-considered decisions and consultative work in the community have supported the school through its transition stage.

The new principal has already demonstrated a strong commitment to the school. Her clear personal vision of building strong relationships has supported her to make significant progress in gaining the trust and confidence of the community, teachers, students and whānau. The principal is providing the school community with clarity in determining priorities for school development and is appropriately ensuring that local history features strongly in her decision making.

Equity and excellence, and the acceleration of learning are further promoted by the principal’s high expectations of good quality teaching and learning, and her strong educational knowledge. The principal is using her experience, expertise and personal strengths to model best teaching practices and develop the school’s curriculum. Her collaborative approach resonates with the school’s staff and wider community, and together they are all capitalising on opportunities that benefit children’s learning.

The MOE’s appointment of a specialist advisor for the board continues to contribute to improved school conditions. His interim position as chairperson is supporting the board and the principal to work effectively together to address areas of priority, including those related to student achievement. Most trustees are new to school governance. They are benefiting from the support and the ongoing training they are receiving.

At the 2018 community consultation hui, parents expressed a desire for the school to be spiritually uplifting for the children and the community. They wanted the school to be connected to the local marae, with inspirational and happy teachers who are respected by their children and whānau, and for the school to be a place where everyone feels they belong. The school is supported by its community, including the local marae. Its positive and affirming environment is helping to promote student learning. There is good evidence that the community’s expressed expectations are beginning to come to fruition.

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

The new principal has been considered in her approach to making plans for the school. She deems the past, present and future important, and believes that the community needs to be part of forming these plans. Her efforts to gain the trust of the community through developing sound relationships provides a secure platform for ongoing consultation and cooperation. To improve the school’s sustainable future, the principal should now:

• work with the board of trustees and the community, including local iwi, to redevelop the school’s guiding documents so that everyone has a shared understanding about the future direction of the school

• continue to develop the local curriculum so that it is relevant to the students and their families, and is responsive to their aspirations and needs

• build consistent teaching and learning practices across the school so that students have increased opportunities to manage their own learning, and teachers understand and practise strategies that lift student achievement and promote accelerated learning.

In addition, the board of trustees should continue to:

• establish and develop management systems, policies and procedures so that all legislative requirements are being attended to and clear expectations of practice are adhered to by all stakeholders

• build the knowledge, capability and capacity of trustees so that they understand fully the stewardship role of the board

• increase the board’s focus on outcomes for students

• develop suitable internal evaluation processes.

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.

Areas for improved compliance practice

To improve current practice, the board of trustees should:

• improve systems and documentation to provide assurance about how the board will meet the full range of its contractual and legal obligations.

4 Going forward

Key strengths of the school

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

• short and long-term MOE support and interventions

• well established relationships

• strong school leadership in teaching and learning

• an active board of trustees

• responsiveness to the expectations of the community.

Next steps

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

• redeveloping the school’s governance and management documents so that community voice guides future school development, and all regulatory and legal expectations are met

• continuing to develop the school’s local curriculum, and teaching and learning across the school so that students benefit from consistently relevant, authentic, and stimulating learning experiences

• continuing to build the capability of trustees so that the board can better support school viability and sustainability.

ERO’s next external evaluation process and timing

ERO intends to carry out a process of ongoing external evaluation to support development over the course of one-to-two years.

Violet Tu’uga Stevenson

Director Review and Improvement Services

Te Tai Raki - Northern Region

20 December 2018

About the school