Baring Street, Bunnythorpe
View on mapThis Profile Report was written within 12 months of the Education Review Office and Bunnythorpe 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
Bunnythorpe School is a rural school situated between Feilding and Palmerston North and caters for learners in Years 1 to 8. The school seeks to provide quality learning that prepares students for their future. As an EnviroSchool, sustainability and connections to the whenua are promoted. A new principal was appointed in Term 4 of 2022.
Bunnythorpe School’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are to:
maintain strong community partnerships that reflect the school’s unique and rural setting
create a safe and sustainable learning environment, where everyone and everything is respected and appreciated, where positive relationships and hauora are promoted
deliver the national curriculum with a strong emphasis on literacy and numeracy
recognise and honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi and appreciate Aotearoa New Zealand’s diversity in cultural heritage.
You can find a copy of the school’s strategic and annual plan on Bunnythorpe School’s website.
ERO and the school are working together to evaluate how effectively school-wide practices and the curriculum are responsive to the needs of each learner.
The rationale for selecting this evaluation is to:
provide the conditions for increased levels of learner agency
strengthen assessment for learning practices so that all staff can effectively address the needs of learners in a multi-level classroom environment
ensure the development of a local curriculum guided by the aspirations of the wider school community.
The school can draw from the following strengths to support its goal to achieve excellent outcomes for all learners:
A highly collegial school team that communicates effectively within the team about learner needs and successes.
Children learn in a caring, collaborative environment and are at the centre of classroom decision making.
School leadership has created and guides, systems, processes and practices focused on continuous improvement of practice.
Moving forward, the school will prioritise:
embedding consistent school-wide systems, processes and practices of assessment and moderation
the use of learning progressions to guide teachers, learners and their whānau in next steps for learning
strengthening partnerships with learners, whānau, hapū and iwi in order to further develop the local curriculum
the board of trustees undertaking professional learning to fully understand and enact their roles and responsibilities.
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.
Shelley Booysen
Director of Schools
3 July 2023
The Education Counts website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement. educationcounts.govt.nz/home
As of April 2023, the Bunnythorpe School Board has attested to the following regulatory and legislative requirements:
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
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Yes
The board has identified the following area of non-compliance during the board assurance process:
The Annual Plan was not completed as required for 2022.
[Schedule 1 Clause 7 Saving Provision, Education and Training Act 2020]
The board has since taken steps to address the area of non-compliance identified.
For further information please contact Bunnythorpe 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.
Shelley Booysen
Director of Schools
3 July 2023
The Education Counts website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement. educationcounts.govt.nz/home
The school has made sufficient progress in relation to priorities identified in this report and will transition into ERO’s Evaluation for Improvement process.
Bunnythorpe School, in Manawatū, caters for 19 students in Years 1 to 8 of whom six identify as Māori.
The 2018 ERO report identified significant areas for improvement. Over the past two years the school has participated in an ERO evaluation process to support improvement.
During this time the principal and board have received ongoing support from the Ministry of Education (MoE) to bring about the changes required. School leaders have worked to address areas identified in the previous ERO report and are working well together to lead the school forward.
This ERO report evaluates the progress made and how well placed the school now is to sustain continuous improvement.
The overall goal was to improve governance, school practice and operation to promote positive learning outcomes and accelerate progress of all students. Areas of focus to support this have included:
There has been a deliberate focus on creating an environment that promotes student wellbeing and engagement in learning. Respectful, reciprocal relationships across the school promote a sense of belonging.
School reported data for the end of 2020 shows a small majority of students are achieving at and above expectation in writing. Some learners have made accelerated progress in mathematics. Disparity remains for Māori students and boys in writing and mathematics.
The school has used collated data to identify achievement targets and intervention programmes for 2021. Frameworks to monitor and track student achievement and progress have been developed and are in the early stages of implementation.
The principal is leading the development of a localised curriculum. The continued development of a relationship with local iwi will support, inform, and guide this work.
Mathematics and literacy curriculum have been further developed which should guide effective and consistent teaching practice.
The principal and ERO agree the next steps for the school are to:
Trustees receive useful information through the principal’s reports on school operations, learning opportunities, student achievement and personnel.
The school needs to continue to grow its capacity to sustain, improve and review its performance. As programmes and initiatives are implemented and embedded it is appropriate to continue to reflect, and evaluate their effectiveness for the impact on student learning and to identify further changes for improvement.
The principal and ERO agree key next steps for the board are to:
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:
During the review, ERO checked the following items because they have a potentially high impact on student achievement:
The school has made sufficient progress in relation to priorities identified in this report and will transition into ERO’s Evaluation for Improvement process.
Phil Cowie
Director Review and Improvement Services (Central)
Central Region - Te Tai Pūtahi Nui
21 July 2021