Awakeri School

School Context

Awakeri School is a full primary school catering for students in Years 1 to 8. It is located approximately 15 km west of Whakatane. The current roll of 366 students includes 24% who identify as Māori.

The school’s vision is to encourage students to be the best they can be – kia toa, kia manawanui. Virtues are promoted as the foundation of character and as a basis for self-esteem.

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

• reading, writing and mathematics.

The principal and staff of the school have remained consistent since the 2015 ERO review. The board of trustees comprises a mixture of experienced and new members. At the time of this review the long-standing principal was preparing the school for his retirement, the board had a focus on succession planning.

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 achieving excellent outcomes for most students and is working towards equity for all. Most students achieve at or above expectations in mathematics, reading and writing. There has been disparity for Māori students and significant disparity for boys in writing over the last four years. There continues to be a small disparity for Māori and boys in reading. In 2017 Māori students were achieving at comparable levels to their Pākehā peers in mathematics.

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

The school is working towards accelerating the progress of students who are at risk of not achieving. Data provided by the school for 2017 – 2018 shows that approximately a third of Māori and other students at-risk of underachieving made accelerated progress in reading and mathematics. Some Pākehā and other at-risk students made accelerated progress in writing. Fewer Māori students made accelerated progress in writing.

The progress of students who need additional assistance is regularly monitored by support teams that include teachers, teacher aides, external experts and parents and whānau. These students are progressing satisfactorily in relation to their learning goals.

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?

Leaders are systematically pursuing the school’s vision, goals and targets for equity and excellence. Robust systems for data collation allow leaders and teachers to focus regularly on how well they are progressing towards their strategic targets for student achievement. Review days and appraisal interviews provide teachers with the necessary time to evaluate this progress and critically reflect on successful strategies for learning. There is a wide and effective range of interventions targeting at-risk learners. The progress of these students is well monitored by the special education coordinator (SENCO). Professional development is aligned to the school wide priorities for raising levels of overall student achievement.

Students participate and learn in a caring, collaborative, learning community. Virtues such as kindness and friendship are well promoted. Relationships between teachers and students are respectful and friendly. Having fun is a normal part of learning in classrooms. There is an inclusive school culture where younger children and children who require additional assistance feel valued and supported. This is reinforced by many opportunities for tuakana/teina and ako, or reciprocal learning. Positive relationships between the school and the local community promote a strong sense of belonging. Leaders and teachers model positive relationships by working in collegial and supportive ways.

A wide range of quality learning experiences builds confidence and increases students’ opportunities for experiencing success. Leaders and teachers make evidence-based decisions in relation to teaching resources and strategies. High expectations promote positive dispositions for learning. Students have many opportunities to experience rich cultural, sporting and outdoor education activities. There are many leadership opportunities for both older and younger students.

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

Trustees and leaders now need to:

• develop a clearer focus on accelerating learning and progress of at-risk learners
• rationalise and streamline school policies and procedures to ensure a clear and coherent operations framework that is easily accessible to all stakeholders
• strengthen relationships with local iwi to ensure that local tikanga, knowledge and kawa are maintained and enhanced in school programmes and practices.

Teachers need to:

• make better use of learning progressions in planning, tracking and monitoring, and goal setting with students and parents
• review systems for feedback and feedforward with a focus on students’ individual next steps in learning
• review the curriculum document to ensure it presents a coherent approach to the organisation and delivery of curriculum and that local curriculum emphases are well understood, integrated and embedded.

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.

To improve current practice, the board of trustees should:

• clarify procedures to ensure the school meets the requirements of the Vulnerable Children Act
• develop an internet safety policy to give clarity and coherence to procedures and practices.

4 ERO’s Overall Judgement

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

ERO’s Framework: Overall School Performance 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:

• leadership that is strategic and focused on raising student achievement
• a learning environment that is warm and inclusive
• a broad curriculum that provides many opportunities for students to experience success.

Next steps

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

• reviewing the collation and use of assessment data at all levels to focus on accelerating the progress of those at-risk of underachievement
• review curriculum documents to ensure the local curriculum is embedded and enacted
• making better use of learning progressions to promote more targeted teaching and empower students, parents and whānau to be more meaningfully involved learning
• targeted planning to accelerate learning

Phil Cowie

Director Review and Improvement Services

Te Tai Pokapū - Central Region

10 April 2019

About the school