54 Kennedy Road , Napier
View on mapTēnā koutou e mau manawa rahi ki te kaupapa e aro ake nei, ko te tamaiti te pūtake o te kaupapa. Mā wai rā e kawe, mā tātau katoa.
We acknowledge the collective effort, responsibility and commitment by all to ensure that the child remains at the heart of the matter.
Nelson Park School is located in Napier and provides education for learners in Years 0 to 6. The school’s vision is to seek the highest in all things: Whaia ko te Taumata. The school’s values are Whakamahia: Participate, Whakapiki: Achieve, Whakamana: Respect and Whakaaroha: Kindness.
There are three parts to this report.
Part A: A summary of the findings from the most recent Education Review Office (ERO) report and/or subsequent evaluation.
Part B: An evaluative summary of learner success and school conditions to inform the school board’s future strategic direction, including any education in Rumaki/bilingual settings.
Part C: The improvement actions prioritised for the school’s next evaluation cycle.
Since the previous ERO report of August 2022, ERO and the school have worked together to evaluate how effectively professional learning in literacy promotes continuous improvement for all learners.
The school expected to see:
The close monitoring of learner progress as they transition from junior to middle school and beyond.
Focused professional learning that sustains improvement goals.
The continued growth and repertoire of teaching practices that lead to improved literacy outcomes.
During the course of this evaluation, it was found that achievement in reading and mathematics has increased significantly over time; there is also evidence of improved achievement in writing.
The greatest shift that occurred in response to the school’s action has been that structured approaches to teaching and assessing reading and writing are now embedded consistently across the school.
The following findings are to inform the school’s future priorities for improvement.
| Most learners are engaged, make sustained progress and experience positive outcomes in relation to their learning and wellbeing. |
| Leadership effectively fosters and sustains a culture committed to quality teaching and continuous improvement. |
| Students have a range of opportunities to engage in learning through high quality and effective teaching practices. |
| The school has well established systems, practices and programmes that prioritise and promote learners’ wellbeing, learning and engagement for success. |
The agreed next steps for the school are to:
The agreed actions for the next improvement cycle and timeframes are as follows.
Within six months:
Every six months:
Annually:
Actions taken against these next steps are expected to result in:
ERO’s role will be to support the school in its evaluation for improvement cycle to improve outcomes for all learners. The next public report on ERO’s website will be a School Evaluation Report and is due within three years.
Me mahi tahi tonu tātau, kia whai oranga a tātau tamariki
Let’s continue to work together for the greater good of all children
Sharon Kelly
Acting Director of Schools
26 February 2025
The Education Counts website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement. educationcounts.govt.nz/home
As of September 2024, the Nelson Park School Board has attested to the following regulatory and legislative requirements:
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
ERO has identified the following areas of non-compliance during the board assurance process:
The board has since taken steps to address the areas of non-compliance identified.
For further information please contact Nelson Park 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.
Sharon Kelly
Acting Director of Schools
26 February 2025
The Education Counts website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement. educationcounts.govt.nz/home
As of May 2022, the Nelson Park School Board of Trustees has attested to the following regulatory and legislative requirements:
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
For further information please contact Nelson Park School Board of Trustees.
The next Board of Trustees 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
26 August 2022
The Education Counts website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement. educationcounts.govt.nz/home
This Profile Report was written within 15 months of the Education Review Office and Nelson Park 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
Nelson Park School is located in Napier South in Hawke’s Bay and caters for learners in Years 1 – 6. It draws its student population from a supportive and diverse community.
Nelson Park School’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are:
to continue to develop a curriculum that is responsive to the cultures, needs and interests of all ako
to further embed professional capabilities and collective capacity within the school.
You can find a copy of the school’s strategic and annual plan on Nelson Park School’s website.
ERO and the school are working together to evaluate how effectively professional learning in literacy promotes continuous improvement for all learners.
The rationale for selecting this evaluation is:
the school has identified that strong literacy foundations will empower learners as they transition through their schooling
to ensure that professional learning in literacy is sustained and becomes embedded practice.
the school expects to see enhanced academic progress and achievement ensuring positive literacy outcomes for all.
The school can draw from the following strengths to support its goal to improve literacy achievement:
learners participate in caring, collaborative and inclusive learning communities
leaders build a positive and inclusive school culture that enables and sustains relational trust, collective efficacy and teacher agency
school processes and practices support culturally responsive education provision.
Moving forward, the school will prioritise:
the close monitoring of learner progress as they transition from junior to middle school and beyond
ensuring professional learning is focused and sustains improvement goals
the continued growth and repertoire of teaching practices that lead to improved literacy outcomes.
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
26 August 2022
The Education Counts website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement. educationcounts.govt.nz/home
Nelson Park School, in central Napier, caters for Years 1 to 6 students. At the time of this review there are 435 students enrolled, with 27% identifying as Māori. A new principal and deputy principal have been appointed in the last three years.
The school is currently involved in the Ministry of Education (the Ministry) programmes, Accelerating Learning in Literacy (ALL) and Accelerating Learning in Mathematics (ALiM) aimed at raising students' achievement in literacy and mathematics. They will be participating in the Ministry's Positive Behaviour for Learning (PB4L) programme in 2017.
Nelson Park School is a member of the Napier City Community of Learning (CoL). All schools in the CoL have registered in 2017 to use the Progress and Consistency Tool (PaCT) to support making student achievement judgements in relation to National Standards.
The school has had Ministry support to address the areas for improvement identified in the February 2014 ERO report. Some areas remain priorities including:
The vision and valued outcomes defined by the school for all children are to build the culture of the school to be a place where students, in all things, seek the highest - whaia ko te taumata. The core beliefs foster learners to:
The school’s achievement information shows that the majority of students achieve at or above in relation to the National Standards in reading, writing and mathematics. The school reports an increase in overall achievement in 2016. The school is yet to raise the achievement of Māori students to that of their peers in reading and writing.
The school has strengthened the dependability and reporting of teachers' judgements in relation to National Standards. They discuss evidence of students' learning to support their decision making. To further strengthen the usefulness and consistency of judgements, leaders and teachers should continue to document clear guidelines for assessment and expectations for achievement.
Since the last ERO evaluation the school has focused on:
School leaders and teachers recognise that raising achievement of Māori students is a priority. The school has begun to identify Māori learners and their needs. The school is yet to be effective in accelerating the achievement of all Māori students.
The principal and trustees recognise the need, and actively support, the building of teachers' confidence and competence in te reo me ngā tikanga Māori. There is a well-considered approach to building authentic integration of te ao Māori.
The school's response to other children whose learning needs acceleration is the same as for Māori students. This approach should be strengthened by:
Data related to ALiM and ALL interventions indicates that most students in these groups have made accelerated progress in 2016.
Student achievement information is used to inform schoolwide targets. Teachers inquire into the effectiveness of their practice to identify strategies that are having the most impact on improving outcomes for students. More purposeful use and analysis of data including collating this information at a leadership level, should better inform the schoolwide response to groups of learners. Appropriate resourcing decisions should result from knowing about what works best in accelerating achievement.
The school has good systems and processes to support the engagement and achievement of students with additional needs. They interact with a wide range of external agencies, provide programmes and interventions and regularly discuss, as a team, the needs and success of these learners.
The school's curriculum and organisational practices support enactment of its vision.
Trustees have been proactive in addressing the areas for improvement identified in the previous ERO report. They should continue to strengthen their understanding of school governance roles and responsibilities to support schoolwide improvement. A useful framework has been developed to guide consistent stewardship procedures. Trustees have developed a work plan and are currently in the process of reviewing key policies.
School leadership has a clear vision for development through:
A wide range of opportunities for whānau to engage supports and fosters the community atmosphere in the school. Parents are well informed of student learning and achievement. The school is continuing to explore ways to strengthen the learning focused home-school partnership.
The ongoing focus on child centred learning through choice is empowering students to follow their passions and interests. Students are confident and willing to share their successes and learning choices. Teachers know their learners well. The curriculum is under review with the intent to better align it to current best practice and thinking. To support the development of consistent practice, it is timely to consider:
Building teacher capability through a range of professional learning and development initiatives has been targeted to teacher needs and school priorities. The appraisal process has been recently reviewed and strengthened to better support professional development. Clear links to strategic goals are evident. The procedure continues to be developed to better show the impact of teaching strategies on student achievement. A more robust schoolwide approach is needed, to use evidence to effectively demonstrate how teachers are meeting the Education Council requirements for renewing their practising certificates.
Reflection and review has shown priorities for improvement and changes over the last two years. It is now timely to build an evaluative approach to schoolwide improvement and innovation, including:
Leaders and teachers:
There has been a significant focus by the school to establish a collaborative teaching culture to better support schoolwide improvement. A strong and supportive community is highly evident. Leaders and teachers should continue to develop the curriculum to promote equitable and excellent outcomes for all learners.
Action: The board, principal and teachers should participate in an internal evaluation workshop. They should use this workshop, the Internal Evaluation: Good Practice exemplars and the School Evaluation Indicators to address the findings of this evaluation and develop more targeted planning that includes a significant focus on building teacher capability to accelerate learning and achievement.
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.
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.
The school plans to participate in PB4L in 2017. This should assist leaders and trustees to collect student wellbeing information through analysed anonymous surveys and to develop procedures for behaviour management.
Nelson Park School is well placed to strengthen their practice and approach to accelerate the achievement of all children. Key areas to support this improvement should include:
Joyce Gebbie
Deputy Chief Review Officer Central
9 February 2017
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Location |
Napier |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
2620 |
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School type |
Contributing (Years 1 to 6) |
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School roll |
435 |
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Gender composition |
Male 51%, Female 49% |
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Ethnic composition |
Māori Pākehā Other ethnic groups |
27% 63% 10% |
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Review team on site |
November 2016 |
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Date of this report |
9 February 2017 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review Education Review Education Review |
February 2014 November 2010 August 2007 |