1 Context
Ohaupo School is a full primary school approximately 15 kilometres south of Hamilton. The principal and senior managers bring considerable professional experience to the leadership of the school. There is traditional support for the school from the parent and wider rural community.
2 Equity and excellence
The vision and valued outcomes defined by the school for all children are to provide a platform which enables children to make their own limitless choices to excel in a continually changing world. School values are expressed in both Māori and English. These values are respect (whakaute), honesty (pono), independence (mana motuhake), resilience (aumangea) and inclusiveness (tae ana ki). The school principles, as summarised in the 'Ruru Learner', incorporate the key competencies of The New Zealand Curriculum and the core goals of academic competence, social confidence and preserving the unique rural school culture.
The school’s achievement information shows that at the end of 2015, the proportion of children achieving at or above the National Standards in reading (75%), writing (67%) and mathematics (75%). These proportions have remained consistent over the past three years. There were 41 children not achieving in mathematics, 40 in reading and 53 in writing.
There is a small number of Māori children and data indicates that they achieve at similar levels to other children in the school. School data for girls' achievement, and overall achievement levels in mathematics shows steady improvement over the same period. Data from the past three years shows that boys who have attended the school for more than a year, have also made good progress in reading and writing.
Teachers gather an extensive range of achievement information and work collaboratively within learning hub syndicates, and across the school, to reach overall teacher judgements (OTJs), about each child's achievement in relation to National Standards. Moderation of these OTJs is supported by sharing writing samples with other schools.
Since the last ERO evaluation the school has contracted an outside facilitator to work with senior leaders and teachers to review and strengthen the staff appraisal systems. 'Teaching as Inquiry' has been incorporated into individual teacher performance management. Literacy teaching and learning, especially written language and children at risk of underachievement, has been an ongoing strategic focus. The school has also been developing 'learning hubs' comprising of more than one classroom, where students and teachers cooperate in curriculum planning and delivery. Leadership of learning has been shared within the learning hubs, and curriculum leadership of te reo Māori, mathematics and literacy has been established.
3 Accelerating achievement
How effectively does this school respond to Māori children whose learning and achievement need acceleration?
The school is responding to all Māori children whose learning and achievement needs acceleration. Evidence from recent interventions indicates that students made significant progress in reading and writing. The school recognises that the important challenge is to ensure that this accelerated progress is sustained over longer periods and reflected in annual school-wide data.
The school has recently developed a detailed template that defines expectations for teachers about what they do to identify and monitor Māori children within each learning hub, whose achievement needs accelerating. Teaches are required to document deliberate acts of teaching and any interventions in place to support each child, and predictions or individual learning goals. Senior leaders and teachers are able to talk about these individual plans with knowledge and confidence. The next step is to identify and evaluate the positive changes to engagement, progress and achievement of Māori students, resulting from these plans and interventions.
The school has a range of well-resourced interventions and support available for Māori children whose achievement needs accelerating. Experienced teacher aides work alongside teachers in classrooms, and the STEPS, Maths Whizz and various reading support programmes are available. Leaders recognise that effective formal and informal communication with parents is an important step in supporting children at risk of not achieving equitable outcomes.
How effectively does this school respond to other children whose learning and achievement need acceleration?
Data indicates that the school has responded better to girls whose learning and achievement need acceleration. The small number of boys whose learning needs accelerating has improved.
The identification of other children at risk of not achieving equitable outcomes is less detailed, and is based on accumulated achievement information and teacher knowledge of the child and their family. Each classroom learning hub teacher has an identified group of priority children and is expected to plan deliberate acts of teaching to support them.
Achievement information is shared with parents at meetings early in the year, and twice more during the year. The same combination of classroom and withdrawal interventions is available for these children, as for Māori.
4 School conditions
How effectively do the school’s curriculum and other organisational processes and practices develop and enact the school’s vision, values, goals and targets for equity and excellence?
The school recognises the need to improve the effectiveness of the school's curriculum and enact the school's vision, goals and targets for equity and excellence. Trustees govern the school in the best interests of children and the community. They are well informed by senior leaders, and allocate resources to support priorities such as literacy learning for students at risk of underachievement. The next step for the board is to review their charter targets to bring a clearer aligned focus onto those priority children whose achievement needs accelerating.
The principal continues to provide professional leadership for the staff and school community with a focus on equity and excellence for all children. She has ensured completion of in-depth reviews of important curriculum areas, and promoted a subsequent professional development focus on written language. The principal and senior leaders recognise that considerable work still needs to be done to consistently embed the recent initiatives such as 'learning hubs', student agency, the use of digital technologies and te reo Māori and tikanga plans.
Teaching quality and effectiveness is variable, and so strengthening quality assurance is likely to improve educational outcomes, especially for priority children.
Teachers follow an assessment schedule that requires considerable amounts of professional time to administer. Senior leaders and teachers recognise the need to rationalise the selection, and strengthen the use, of assessment tools to ensure that robust and valid judgements are reached. These steps should allow the school to more effectively evaluate the impact of programmes on the learning needs of priority students.
The school maintains constructive educational partnerships with other local primary schools as a means of mutual support for the moderation of National Standards judgements. In addition, there are close links with the local wānanga and their tertiary students are often in the school. These tertiary students provide additional support and role models of life-long learning for Māori students.
Many elements of culturally responsive practice are evident in classrooms. Teachers value and affirm children, and the knowledge and experiences they bring with them. Respectful relationships support classroom environments that are conducive to learning for all. The inclusive school culture benefits children with special needs and others who need additional help with their learning.
5 Going forward
How well placed is the school to accelerate the achievement of all children who need it?
Leaders and teachers:
- know the children whose learning and achievement need to be accelerated
- respond to the strengths, needs and interests of each child
- regularly evaluate how teaching is working for these children
- need to systematically act on what they know works for each child
- need to have a plan in place to build teacher capability to accelerate the achievement of all children who need it.
School leaders, staff and trustees have a future-focused approach to strategic planning. The school is in the early stages of several significant educational initiatives that have the potential to extend the learning experiences and success of all children, including Māori. These initiatives include teachers working collaboratively in 'learning hubs', the increased use of digital technologies, a focus on developing student agency and te reo and tikanga Māori action plan.
Senior leaders recognise the need to review and strengthen important aspects of curriculum planning and delivery, assessment management and quality assurance to realise the full positive potential of the current initiatives for all children, and especially for those whose achievement needs accelerating.
Action: The board, principal and teachers should use the findings of this evaluation, the Effective School Evaluation resource, the Internal Evaluation: Good Practice exemplars and the School Evaluation Indicators to develop more targeted planning to accelerate student achievement. Planning should show how processes and practices will respond effectively to the strengths and needs of children whose learning and achievement need to be accelerated.
As part of this review ERO will continue to monitor the school’s planning and the progress the school makes. ERO is likely to carry out the next full review in three years.
6 Board assurance on legal requirements
Before the review the board of trustees 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
- 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
- processes for appointing staff
- stand down, suspensions, expulsions and exclusions
- attendance
- compliance with the provisions of the Vulnerable Children Act 2014
7 Recommendation
ERO recommended that school leaders strengthen quality assurance to ensure the agreed expectations for curriculum planning and delivery are consistently implemented.
Lynda Pura-Watson
Deputy Chief Review Officer Waikato/Bay of Plenty
21 October 2016
About the school
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Location
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Ohaupo, Waikato
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Ministry of Education profile number
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1855
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School type
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Full Primary (Years 1 to 8)
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School roll
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185
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Gender composition
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Boys 54%
Girls 46%
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Ethnic composition
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Pākehā
Māori
Indian
South East Asian
Other European
Other
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80%
11%
1%
1%
4%
3%
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Review team on site
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May 2016
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Date of this report
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21 October 2016
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Most recent ERO report(s)
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Education Review
Education Review
Education Review
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August 2013
October 2010
January 2008
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