1647 State Highway 2 , Whakatane
View on mapNukuhou North School
Nukuhou North School
Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report
Background
This Profile Report was written within nine months of the Education Review Office and Nukuhou North School working in Te Ara Huarau, an improvement evaluation approach used in most English Medium State and State Integrated Schools. For more information about Te Ara Huarau see ERO’s website. www.ero.govt.nz
Context
Nukuhou North School is located at the foothills of the Waimana and Matahi Valleys in the Eastern Bay of Plenty and provides education for students in Years 0 – 8. The school appointed a first-time principal in 2021. Over the past two years, the school has seen a significant increase in the number of Māori students on its roll.
Nukuhou North School’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are:
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to improve student achievement in literacy
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to embed te ao Māori in the Nukuhou North curriculum
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to promote student wellbeing and increase engagement in school-life.
The school’s website is currently being rebuilt. A copy of the school’s strategic and annual plan will be available on Nukuhou North School’s website from Term 2, 2023 and copies are available at the school.
ERO and the school are working together to evaluate the extent to which school-wide literacy teaching practices are being strengthened to support equitable outcomes for all learners. The school has identified that more needs to be done to ensure parity and excellence for Māori learners.
The rationale for selecting this evaluation is:
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the need to ensure equity for Māori learners in literacy
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the opportunity to understand which improvements to literacy teaching practices are having the greatest impact on student outcomes
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the potential impact on pathways for learners as they progress through primary and into secondary schooling.
The school expects to see more equitable outcomes resulting from:
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teachers using curriculum knowledge and assessment to identify student needs and refining their teaching practice to meet those needs
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regular, consistent and effective literacy teaching at all levels
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robust systems and processes for identifying and responding to students with additional needs.
Strengths
The school can draw from the following strengths to support its goal to strengthen literacy outcomes:
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a genuine commitment to meeting the school’s obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi
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staff and leaders with the cultural capacity to respond to the needs of Māori learners
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community connections that support an increasingly localised curriculum.
Where to next?
Moving forward, the school will prioritise:
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developing a shared understanding of effective literacy assessment and teaching practices
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supporting teachers to implement consistent and effective literacy practices that pinpoint and respond to learner needs and promote more equitable outcomes
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continuing to strengthen the systems and processes for identifying and responding to students with additional needs.
ERO’s role will be to support the school in its evaluation for improvement cycle to improve outcomes for all learners. ERO will support the school in reporting their progress to the community. The next public report on ERO’s website will be a Te Ara Huarau | School Evaluation Report and is due within three years.
Phil Cowie
Director Review and Improvement Services (Central)
Central Region | Te Tai Pūtahi Nui
6 April 2023
About the School
The Education Counts website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement. educationcounts.govt.nz/home
Nukuhou North School
Board Assurance with Regulatory and Legislative Requirements Report 2022 to 2025
As of December 2022, the Nukuhou North School, School Board has attested to the following regulatory and legislative requirements:
Board Administration
Yes
Curriculum
Yes
Management of Health, Safety and Welfare
Yes
Personnel Management
Yes
Finance
Yes
Assets
Yes
Actions for Compliance
ERO and the board have identified the following areas of non-compliance during the board assurance process:
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Accurate records of the safety checking process for employees were not kept.
[Children’s Act 2014] -
Consultation with the community on the delivery of the Health Curriculum and a statement following this has not been undertaken.
[Education and Training Act 2020 Section 91] -
The child protection policy does not outline how suspected neglect and abuse will be identified and reported.
[Children’s Act, 2014]
The board has since addressed the first two areas of non-compliance identified and has taken steps to address the third.
Further Information
For further information please contact Nukuhou North School, School Board.
The next School Board assurance that it is meeting regulatory and legislative requirements will be reported, along with the Te Ara Huarau | School Evaluation Report, within three years.
Information on ERO’s role and process in this review can be found on the Education Review Office website.
Phil Cowie
Director Review and Improvement Services (Central)
Central Region | Te Tai Pūtahi Nui
6 April 2023
About the School
The Education Counts website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement. educationcounts.govt.nz/home
Nukuhou North School - 19/01/2018
School Context
Nukuhou North School, located mid-way between Taneatua and Opotiki, is a small rural full primary school providing education for students in Years 1 to 8. The school’s roll of 75 includes 45 Māori students, many of whom whakapapa to the local iwi Ngai Tūhoe.
The school is committed to providing an education that supports all children to meet their potential and take a positive role in society. The values of individuality, respect, honesty, and perseverance are promoted and contribute to the school’s culture for learning. Trustees set targets focused on accelerating the achievement of students achieving below or well below national expectations in reading, writing and mathematics.
Since the previous ERO review in 2014, leadership and staffing have remained consistent. There has been an increase in the school’s roll and the proportion of Māori students attending the school has increased significantly. The school continues to operate three classrooms. Teachers have participated in professional learning and development in the areas of literacy and mathematics.
The school is part of the Whakatane Community of Learning|Kāhui Ako (CoL).
Leaders and teachers regularly report to the board, school-wide information about outcomes for students in the following areas:
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reading
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writing
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mathematics.
Evaluation Findings
1 Equity and excellence – valued outcomes for students
1.1 How well is the school achieving equitable and excellent outcomes for all its students?
Nukuhou North School is effectively achieving excellent outcomes for many of its students. The school’s achievement information for the previous three years indicates that most students achieved at or above the National Standards in reading, writing and mathematics. This data also shows a significant disparity between Māori and other students at the school, with the proportion of Māori students achieving at or above the National Standards remaining lower than their peers. This information also shows that the proportion of boys achieving the standard is comparable to girls in reading and mathematics but lower in writing. Raising the achievement of Māori students, and boys in writing, to achieve equitable outcomes, is a priority for the board, leaders and teachers.
1.2 How effectively does this school respond to those Māori and other students whose learning and achievement need acceleration?
The school does not effectively respond to all Māori and other students whose learning and achievement need acceleration. The school’s achievement data from 2015 to mid-2017 indicates that approximately one third of Māori students who were achieving below national expectations had made accelerated progress in reading and writing. This data shows that a small number of at-risk Māori learners made accelerated progress in mathematics. There is a similar pattern of acceleration for other students achieving below national expectations.
The school’s data for students with additional learning needs indicates that they make significant progress as a result of specific support programmes.
2 School conditions for equity and excellence
2.1 What school processes and practices are effective in enabling achievement of equity and excellence?
School leadership is well informed and focused on equitable outcomes for all students. There are high expectations for teaching and learning at the school. The principal, well supported by a senior teacher, effectively monitors and tracks school-wide student achievement. This includes the regular tracking of the progress of targeted students. Achievement information is well used by leaders to inform decision making about accessing support for students and professional development for teachers. The principal provides teachers with ongoing feedback about the effectiveness of their practice as part of a robust teacher appraisal process. As part of the CoL focus on raising achievement for Māori, the principal has recently engaged with an external facilitator to support teachers to implement a more culturally responsive curriculum. Useful internal evaluation systems focus----------- on accelerating achievement.
Trustees provide effective stewardship. They are supportive of the principal and teachers, and allocate funds to ensure that there are equitable opportunities for all students. They set specific targets in the school charter focused on the number of Māori students whose learning requires acceleration. Trustees are well informed about student achievement and use this data effectively to make resourcing decisions related to accelerating achievement.
Teachers use a wide variety of well-considered teaching strategies. They make very good use of assessment data to inform their planning and implement specific needs-based teaching programmes. Teachers provide students with regular and useful feedback and feed forward about their work. Through a ‘teaching as inquiry’ process, teachers regularly reflect on the effectiveness of their practice in accelerating the achievement of targeted students. Teachers have positive and affirming relationships with students and whānau and ERO observed high levels of student engagement in meaningful activities.
The broad curriculum effectively engages students in learning. There is an appropriate focus on literacy and mathematics. The curriculum reflects the rural nature of the school, including students’ participation in gardening, calf club days and local community events. There are many opportunities for students to experience success in sporting events and competitions. The curriculum is enhanced by camps, visits within the local and wider community, as well as frequent visitors who share their knowledge and expertise with students. Students with additional learning needs benefit from participating in a range of literacy support programmes.
2.2 What further developments are needed in school processes and practices for achievement of equity and excellence?
Empowering students as self-managing learners is an area for development. Teachers need to implement processes that support students to better understand their learning achievements and next steps. This should include the use of learning progressions to allow students, with their teacher, to track their achievement and to identify their specific next learning goal. Consideration should also be given to sharing these with whānau, along with possible strategies that they can use to support their children’s learning at home.
As identified in the 2014 ERO report there remains a need to implement a more culturally responsive curriculum. Priority should be given to:
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incorporating contexts for leaning that reflect Māori students’ language, culture and identity
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strengthening partnerships with Māori whānau and iwi to incorporate their local knowledge and expertise within the curriculum.
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:
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board administration
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curriculum
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management of health, safety and welfare
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personnel management
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finance
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asset management.
During the review, ERO checked the following items because they have a potentially high impact on student safety and wellbeing:
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emotional safety of students (including prevention of bullying and sexual harassment)
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physical safety of students
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teacher registration and certification
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processes for appointing staff
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stand down, suspension, expulsion and exclusion of students
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attendance
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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:
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professional leadership that sets high expectations for teaching and learning
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stewardship that is strongly focused on equitable opportunities for all students
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teaching practices that that are responsive to the learning needs of students
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a curriculum that provides opportunities for students to experience success.
Next steps
For sustained improvement and future learner success, development priorities are in:
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strengthening students’ knowledge of their achievements and next learning steps to support them as self-managing learners.
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implementing a culturally responsive curriculum to make better connections to students prior understandings and cultural identity, and to better reflect the changing demographic of the school’s community.
ERO’s next external evaluation process and timing
ERO is likely to carry out the next external evaluation in three years.
Lynda Pura-Watson
Deputy Chief Review Officer
Te Tai Miringa - Waikato / Bay of Plenty Region
19 January 2018
About the school
Location |
near Whakatane |
Ministry of Education profile number |
1854 |
School type |
Full Primary (Years 1 to 8) |
School roll |
75 |
Gender composition |
Boys 45 Girls 30 |
Ethnic composition |
Māori 45 |
Provision of Māori medium education |
No |
Review team on site |
November 2017 |
Date of this report |
19 January 2018 |
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review December 2014 |