Waerenga-O-Kuri School

School Context

Waerenga-O-Kuri School is a two teacher, full primary school situated southwest of Gisborne. At the time of this review there were 44 children on the roll, 11 identifying as Māori.

The school’s vision statement, Growing Confident Learners Together, Whakatipu tahi i ngā ākonga māia is underpinned by the school’s recently redeveloped values: respect, achievement, honesty, persistence and self-esteem.

The 2019 strategic plan gives priority to ongoing improvement in student outcomes in reading, writing and mathematics.

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

• progress and achievement in reading, writing and mathematics for all students in relation to The New Zealand Curriculum
• Māori student progress and achievement
• progress in intervention programmes including Accelerating Learning in Mathematics (ALiM) and Accelerating Literacy Learning (ALL)
• attendance.

Professional learning and development (PLD) for all staff contribute to curriculum approaches. These include, ALiM in 2019, ALL in 2018 and 2019 and developing student agency throughout 2019. This will continue in 2020.

The school is part of the Kāhui Ako.Taha Tinana

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?

Data shows the school has maintained high levels of achievement for most groups across reading, writing and mathematics since the last review.

End of year data for 2019 indicates most children including Māori, achieved at or above curriculum expectation in reading, writing and mathematics. Boys achieve slightly lower than girls across these areas.

Attendance is regularly monitored and reported to the board. There are high levels of attendance.

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

The school is effective in accelerating learning for those students who are at risk of underachievement.

An improvement focus for all students is evident. Tracking and monitoring systems reflect this focus. The school identifies and prioritises students for targeting and acceleration of achievement.

Data from 2018 for students targeted in specific interventions such as ALIM and ALL shows many made acceleration to either be at, or closer, to curriculum expectation.

In 2019, a group of students at risk of underachievement in reading were identified. Most of these students have accelerated their progress.

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?

The school environment has a positive tone. Relationships are respectful. Students experience a broad curriculum and have opportunities to learn in authentic contexts. Students are involved in a range of enrichment opportunities provided through school and community connections. Digital tools and resources are used appropriately to promote children’s thinking and learning.

There is a strong focus on student engagement and participation. Students are encouraged to be self-managing. Collaborative learning is promoted across the school. Teachers use a range of effective practices to engage and teach students.

Teachers and leaders are collaborative and collegial. Processes and practices strengthen and sustain professional learning and collaboration to improve teaching and learning.

Assessment systems and practices have been developed and implemented to promote reliability and consistency across the school. Leaders and teachers engage in regular reflection and consideration of ways to improve outcomes for students.

Established systems and processes provide an overview of students with additional learning needs. Internal and external expertise is sought to provide appropriate inteventions and programmes and support teachers in developing strategies and programmes to assist teaching and learning.

Learning relationships have been well developed with parents and whānau and promote learning opportunities and transitions for students.

The board bring a variety of strengths and skills. They have undertaken training and provide competent oversight of school operations. Trustees maintain a strong focus on equitable resourcing for the school to maximise student outcomes.

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

Leadership has a strong focus on equity for all children’s opportunities for learning. Clearly identifying achievement targets to address the disparity for boys in achievement should continue to promote this strategic intent.

The school should continue to develop and document their localised curriculum and delivery guidelines. These should reflect the school values, current practices, and connections to place and context to achieve its vision for successful learning.

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 Children’s Act 2014.

4 ERO’s Overall Judgement

On the basis of the findings of this review, ERO’s overall evaluation judgement of Waerenga-O-Kuri School’s performance in achieving valued outcomes for its students is: Well placed.

ERO’s Framework: Overall Findings and Judgement Tool derived from School Evaluation Indicators: Effective Practice for Improvement and Learner Success is available on ERO’s website.

5 Going forward

Key strengths of the school

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

• tracking, monitoring and assessment systems that are effectively support student’s progress and achievement
• learning environments that are effectively enabling increased student collaboration, participation and engagement
• relationships and connections from community, resources and expertise that support learning and teaching opportunities for all students.

Next steps

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

• sharpening current achievement targets to more clearly identify those students in need of acceleration and achieve equity for all groups in the school
• continuing to document the curriculum and then effectively implementing this to enact the school’s vision for teaching and learning.

Areas for improved compliance practice

To improve current practice, the board of trustees should:

• document its lockdown procedures to reflect current school practices
• develop a checklist for safety checking to ensure all steps are documented
• fully document in committee minutes
• review all procedures to ensure they are up to date.

Phillip Cowie

Director Review and Improvement Services

Central Region

17 February 2020

About the school