Westmere School (Wanganui)

School Context

Westmere School (Wanganui) is a full primary school catering for students in Years 1 to 8. It is situated in the rural outskirts of Whanganui and has a roll of 241 and 11% are Māori.

A new principal was appointed after the 2016 ERO evaluation.

The school vision is for children to be confident to face their future displaying pride, honesty and respect.

The school’s valued outcomes state that the board and staff want students to develop a strong foundation of values that influence them when they are making decisions and give positive direction to their daily life at school, at home and in the wider community.

The current key aims, goals and targets for improvement in student outcomes are that children will increase their levels of literacy, numeracy and independent work habits and skills. There is a specific target in 2018, for improving writing achievement for an identified group of students.

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

• reading, writing and mathematics including from literacy interventions
• wellbeing for success.

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?

Schoolwide end of year achievement information in 2017, reported that almost all students, including Māori, achieved at or above curriculum expectations in reading and mathematics, with most in mathematics. In some aspects of achievement disparity for Māori and boys is evident.

Overall student achievement has remained consistent since 2016.

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

Those students whose learning requires acceleration are well known to the leadership team and teachers.

In 2018, the school has been successful in accelerating the learning for some target students in writing, with the majority of these students making expected progress.

School reported information shows that some students’ learning has accelerated as a result of a specific literacy intervention from 2016 to 2018.

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?

A well-considered and strategic approach supports change, improvement and implementation of new initiatives.

Children experience a broad curriculum with clear expectations for assessment and learning that link to The New Zealand Curriculum. Extensive professional learning and development (PLD) supports teachers to implement new initiatives. E-learning and strengthening learning strategies through the implementation of Growth Mindset are ongoing priorities to enable students to take control of their learning. They are developing resilience and actively supported by teachers to make choices and have a voice in their learning.

The school has developed clear guidelines and processes for appraisal of staff that promote inquiry, foster collaboration and sharing evidence of good practice. Teachers’ PLD and inquiries are aligned to the school’s goals and priorities. Leadership is fostered as teachers take lead roles in developing and strengthening children’s learning. Teachers are reflective and use their inquiries to improve and build on strategies to support children and each other.

Children benefit from strengthened learning partnerships between the school and their families. Their sense of wellbeing is positively promoted. A number of initiatives have been implemented that provide parents and whānau with a range of opportunities to be informed of their children’s learning and achievement. Ongoing community partnerships continue to strengthen.

Students requiring additional learning support are identified and supported. A review of systems and procedures has resulted in a more coherent process that enables the school to better respond to the needs of individual students. Teacher capability to respond to those students is growing. The school collaborates well with external agencies to support students and their families.

Trustees have strengthened their understanding of stewardship. The board actively represents and serves the school in its stewardship role. Trustees responded appropriately to the areas identified for development in the previous ERO report to meet their statutory responsibilities.

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

Leaders and teachers know those students who require further support to achieve equitable outcomes. The board should receive regular student achievement information, particularly for those students whose learning needs acceleration. This would enable trustees to scrutinise the data and monitor the progress and achievement of target students aligned to the school target.

Staff and trustees should continue to develop a shared understanding of internal evaluation to systematically evaluate how well and to what extent changes made, and recently implemented initiatives, promote improved and accelerated learning. This should inform further decision making for ongoing improvement.

The continued development of the Westmere School curriculum and charter should include how the school is implementing a culturally responsive, place-based curriculum. The 2018 school charter makes a commitment to developing practices that reflect New Zealand’s cultural diversity and the unique position of Māori. The enactment of this is not clear.

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.

Area for improved compliance practice

To improve current practice, the board of trustees should:

• ensure that the board is clear about why and when to go in-committee during board meetings.

4 Going forward

Key strengths of the school

For sustained improvement and future learner success, the school can draw on existing strengths in:

• a culture of collaboration among leaders, teachers, parents and whānau that maintains high expectations for teaching and learning across the school
• a well-considered and strategic approach to change, improvement and implementation of new initiatives.

Next steps

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

• curriculum development for a culturally responsive school curriculum that responds better to students’ identity, culture and language
• use of data from a range of sources, to enable internal evaluation that better identifies what is working well for students’ learning and where improvements are needed.

ERO’s next external evaluation process and timing

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

Phil Cowie

Director Review and Improvement Services

Central Region

24 December 2018

About the school