Mountview School

School Context

Mountview School, located in Taupō, is a dual medium primary school that caters for students in Years 1 to 8. Of the 301 students at the school in 2019, approximately 73% identify as Māori. Most of the rest are Pākehā, with a small number of Indian and Pacific students.

The school’s mission is to develop students’ skills and values to be successful, lifelong, independent learners and valuable, contributing members of society. The WHAIA values of Whakaute, respect, Hauora, wellbeing, All together, kotahitanga, I am responsible, Haepapatanga, Angitū, excellence continue to be promoted. The current key aims of the school are to strengthen community engagement, innovation and collaboration, develop a future-focused curriculum, and continue to improve student progress and achievement. A key focus in recent years has been the establishment and use of the Ministry of Education Progress and Achievement Tool (PACT). This is a system for collating and analysing assessment information in a way that will be more useful for trustees, leaders, teachers, students and parents.

The principal, who was acting in the role from September 2018, was appointed permanently at the school in January 2019. The board comprises of a mixture of experienced and new trustees as a result of the recent board elections.

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

• mathematics, reading, writing, oral language
• pānui pukapuka, tuhituhi, pāngarau, reo-ā- waha
• wellbeing.

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 equitable and excellent outcomes for most of its students in the English medium section of the school. In the Māori medium, the school is achieving equitable and excellent outcomes for some of its students.

English Medium

In 2018 most students were achieving at or above expectations in reading and mathematics. A large majority were achieving at or above expectations in writing. Overall the pattern of achievement in reading was unchanged between 2014 and 2017 but rose in 2018. There was a decline in achievement in writing and mathematics between 2015 and 2017 but significant improvement in both these areas occurred in 2018. In 2018 the achievement of boys and girls was equivalent in reading and mathematics but in writing boys achievement was significantly below that of girls. In 2018, after many years of disparity Māori student achievement was equivalent to that of their non-Māori peers in all areas.

Māori Medium

In 2018 achievement was low across all areas. A small majority was achieving at or above expectations in pānui pukapuka. Less than half were achieving at or above expectations in tuhituhi, pāngarau and reo-ā-waha. Achievement appears to vary from year to year with no real pattern over time.

Students with additional needs are making progress against their individual learning goals.

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

The school is accelerating the progress of the majority of those Māori and other students who need this.

In 2018 the majority of the students who were at risk of underachieving at the beginning of the year made accelerated progress in reading, writing and mathematics. All students who were at risk of underachieving in tuhituhi made accelerated progress. Most made accelerated progress in pānui pukapuka. No at risk students made accelerated progress in pāngarau.

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?

Leadership collaboratively develops and pursues the school’s vision, goals and targets for equity and excellence. Leaders build relational trust at every level of the school community and have established clear and consistent systems and processes to support teaching and learning. They manage change by ensuring that innovation and improvement aligns with the current strategic direction. There are many opportunities for focused professional learning and collaborative inquiry to improve teaching and learning. Leaders ensure policies and practices promote both student and teacher wellbeing.

There is a strategic and coherent approach to internal evaluation which leads to improvement. Evaluation, inquiry and knowledge building processes are systematic and align with current best practice. Internal evaluation includes consideration of current research and student and community voice. Appropriate measures are used to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions. Teacher inquiry is well embedded in the school-wide appraisal system, promoting both critical reflection and innovation. Ongoing evaluation happens at every level and across a broad range of school operations.

Students participate and learn in a caring, inclusive environment. The well-embedded Positive Behaviour for Learning (PB4L) approach underpins a coherent set of processes and beliefs that support students and teachers to interact with one another in a positive and inclusive manner. School values are well-promoted and celebrated. A long term and ongoing commitment to culturally responsive systems and practices where Māori identity, language and culture are celebrated promotes a strong sense of belonging for all students and whānau. Students with additional needs are well supported. There are strong systems in place to identify these learners and track their progress. The Special Education Needs Coordinator (SENCO) effectively coordinates support and funding to enhance positive outcomes. The school has contributed significantly to improved systems and processes across the Taupō area that have strengthened services to students and provided smoother transitions between schools.

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

Using assessment information to focus on the rates of progress of at-risk learners. This will include:

• reviewing board targets to focus on acceleration for all students at risk of underachieving
• ensuring these targets continue to be well-embedded in ongoing systems for internal evaluation
• enabling teachers to understand and make effective use of the learning progressions to identify and respond to student learning needs.
• continuing to deepen teacher understanding of ways that students are empowered to take greater responsibility for their own learning and progress.

Reviewing the school curriculum to include:

• how the document will respect the integrity of both The New Zealand Curriculum (NZC) and Te Marautanga o Aotearoa (TMoA) under a common set of valued outcomes
• a sequential approach to Tūwharetoa history and te reo Māori across the whole school.
• strengthening the pedagogical leadership and curriculum documentation for the Rūmaki section of the school.

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 Children’s Act 2014.

4 ERO’s Overall Judgement

On the basis of the findings of this review, ERO’s overall evaluation judgement of Mountview School’sperformance 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 builds teacher capability
• internal evaluation that informs decision making
• a caring, supportive environment that supports learning.

Next steps

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

• measuring rates of progress data to further promote equitable outcomes for at-risk learners
• teacher understanding of how to increase students’ learning-to-learn capabilities
• local school curriculum development to further maintain and enhance Māori students’ understanding of their language, culture and identity.

Phillip Cowie

Director Review and Improvement Services

Central Region

17 September 2019

About the school