Mamaku School

School Context

Mamaku School is a full primary school catering for students Years 1 to 8. It is situated in the village of Mamaku, north west of Rotorua. The current roll of 122, includes 46 students who identify as Māori. Since the previous ERO review in 2015 the leadership structure has been reviewed and a new deputy principal appointed in 2017. There have been several changes in the teaching staff and the majority of school trustees are new to their governance roles. The school reports that a high number of students enrol and leave throughout the year.

Mamaku School continues to be the heart of its community. The school’s newly developed HEART values are honesty, empathy, achievement, respect and team work. Students are encouraged to demonstrate these values and to achieve their personal best. The school states that everyone brings diverse values, beliefs and backgrounds which make up the uniqueness of the environment. The motto “E tupu tātou pēnei ia Tane” along with the mission statement “Together as one” underpins the culture of the school.

The school is part of the Te Maru o Ngongotaha Community of Learning|Kāhui Ako (CoL). Teachers have recently undertaken professional learning and development focused on cultural responsive pedagogy initiated by the leaders and the CoL.

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

• reading, writing and mathematics.

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 working towards achieving equity and excellence for all students. The school’s data from 2016 to 2017 shows that a large majority of students are achieving at or above the expected levels in mathematics and writing.

Overall reading achievement has increased over the past two years with most students achieving at the expected level. Achievement levels of girls and boys are now comparable. However, significant disparity remains in mathematics where boys are achieving at higher levels than girls. The 2017 data shows that in reading and mathematics, Māori students proportionally are achieving at lower levels than their non-Māori peers and at similar levels in writing.

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

The school is unable to show accelerated progress for those Māori and other students who need this. Leaders now need to develop effective systems to collate analyse and report school-wide data to show the rate and pace of acceleration for all at-risk students. This is necessary to ensure target and priority learners achieve 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?

School leaders have established a culture of high relational trust. They provide a safe and inclusive environment for staff, students and their whānau. There are positive working relationships between the board and the leadership team. Leaders support staff and trustees to build their capability through appropriate and relevant professional learning and development. The recently formed leadership team works collaboratively and is focused on school-wide improvement focussed on equity and excellence.

The school and community are actively engaged in reciprocal learning-centred relationships. Whānau and the wider community are respected and valued as partners in learning and are welcomed and involved in school activities. The school has strong connections with relevant external agencies to support whānau and learners. The community and the school work collaboratively to enhance learning opportunities for students. These practices promote a strong sense of belonging for students, and collegial partnerships between the school, whānau and the community.

The school’s curriculum is broad and responsive to children’s interests. There are many opportunities for students to be involved in a range of curriculum areas including: sport, music, art, science, information technology, kapahaka, performing arts and leadership. Students with additional needs are well supported and integrated into classroom programmes. Teachers take full responsibility for the education and care needs of students by ensuring they participate in all aspects of the learning alongside their peers. Leaders and teachers prioritise working together to provide authentic learning contexts to engage students in their learning.

During classroom observations ERO observed a range of effective teaching strategies that included: positive teacher and student relationships, teacher modelling, use of prior knowledge, purposeful questioning and a balanced approach between teacher-directed and student-led learning.

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

Leaders, trustees and teachers need to implement an effective approach to accelerating learning for all at-risk students. This should include:

• developing specific and measurable targets for all at-risk learners and reporting regularly to the board and parents about how effectively progress is being accelerated

• collating and analysing student achievement data to evaluate the effectiveness of classroom teaching programmes and learning interventions. This will better inform planning, and resourcing decisions

• teachers consistently making use of classroom assessment information to plan and target the identified learning needs of at-risk learners.

Leaders and teachers need to develop shared and agreed expectations for teaching and learning.

Leaders and teachers need to strengthen the bicultural dimension within the school. This should include:

• leaders and teachers accessing support to improve their language and knowledge of te reo and tikanga Māori

• the natural integration of Māori content in all curriculum areas and learning environments.

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:

• the school-wide culture of relational trust that promotes a positive learning environment for students

• community partnerships that are focused on improved student outcomes.

Next steps

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

• school-wide target setting and reporting to include all at-risk learners

• deliberate teacher planning that is focused on raising achievement

• internal evaluation processes and practices

• developing a bicultural dimension to acknowledge and reflect the unique place of Māori as tangata whenua.

ERO’s next external evaluation process and timing

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

Adrienne Fowler

Director Review and Improvement Services

Te Tai Miringa - Waikato / Bay of Plenty Region

29 October 2018

About the school