Tinui School

Summary

Tinui School, for students in Years 1 to 8, is a remote rural school serving a large catchment area in the Wairarapa. Of the 36 students enrolled, five are Māori.

Since the May 2014 ERO report, a significant roll drop has resulted in the loss of one teaching position and classroom. The previous principal left in mid-2016. A new permanent appointment was not able to be made until the beginning of 2017, after a period of temporary leadership. Since that time, one new teacher has been employed and extensive refurbishing of the school buildings has been undertaken.

The board has committed to joining a recently formed Community of Learning |Kāhui Ako.

Responsibility, enthusiasm, success, participating with pride, excellence, caring and togetherness (RESPECT) are identified as valued learning outcomes at Tinui School.

How well is the school achieving equitable outcomes for all children?

Publically reported data over the past three years shows that the high and equitable overall achievement of students has been sustained.Support for moderation within the school has been put in place to help teachers make more dependable judgements about children’s achievement in relation to the National Standards.

Trustees plan to seek further training to support their roles and acknowledge that some organisational conditions, that support school operation and decision-making, require strengthening.

Children are achieving well. The school demonstrates strong progress towards achieving equity in educational outcomes and is focused on further developing sustainable processes and practices.

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

Equity and excellence

How effectively does this school respond to Māori and other children whose learning and achievement need acceleration?

The school is developing its response to students whose learning and achievement need acceleration.

Teachers use an increased range of assessment tools and engage in ongoing discussion with each other to gauge student achievement and progress. Data has been collated from beginning and mid-year testing in 2017. This is used to inform decisions about strategies to support learners who may require acceleration to meet the National Standards by the end of the year. The principal is confident that membership of Kāhui Ako will provide opportunities for external moderation that will add further rigour to teachers’ judgements.

Children requiring additional learning support are identified and appropriate strategies put in place to facilitate their learning and progress.

School conditions supporting equity and excellence

What school processes are effective in enabling achievement of equity and excellence?

The board actively represents and serves the community in its stewardship role. Trustees have recently consulted with families to refresh the mission, vision and values underpinning school operation. They proactively seek opportunities to increase the range of learning experiences and pathways available to students. Trustees receive regular reports from the principal about the school’s progress towards meeting annual operational goals.

The new principal has been highly focused on building relational trust within the school and local community. He actively seeks external assistance for his professional role as school leader and change manager. Staff express satisfaction with the level of support they are receiving for their work and with the positive school culture.

Children benefit from being part of a small and caring learning community. Collaboration between the school and families enriches opportunities for their learning. Parents receive useful information about their children’s progress in relation to the National Standards.

Since the previous ERO review, some work has been undertaken to progress the implementation of a stronger bicultural perspective in the curriculum. Links have been made with local iwi that have the potential to improve the school’s approach to working with Māori learners.

Curriculum priorities reflect the national priorities of reading, writing and mathematics. Science, environmental studies and discovery learning, along with a range of sporting and cultural activities, add breadth to children’s learning opportunities. In 2017, there is a focus on supporting students to take more responsibility for, and to lead their own learning, is impacting positively particularly with senior students.

The appraisal process is constructive and provides effective support for teacher development. Useful appraiser feedback and feed forward is provided. Appropriate mentoring is now in place to assist teachers to meet professional requirements for certification.

Sustainable development for equity and excellence

What further developments are needed in school processes to achieve equity and excellence?

The board and principal are positive about ongoing improvement and agree the key next steps are:

• promoting school priorities through:
• reviewing the charter and long-term plans to better represent the needs of students and the community
• using internal evaluation to decide what works and what needs to change
• aligning teacher development and strengthening teacher enquiries to support better student outcomes
• documenting curriculum guidelines
• further involving children in decisions about the environment that supports their learning.
• agreeing the dimensions of practice for a culturally responsive school
• further strengthening trustees’ understanding and enactment of the stewardship role including attending to aspects of compliance, particularly in relation to the implementation of the Health and Safety at Work Act, 2015.

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

• 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.

Actions required

ERO identified non-compliance in relation to:

• hazard management

• first-aid training for key staff

• the condition of the impact surface under the adventure playground.

In order to address this the board must:

• put in place procedures that meet legislative requirements for the safety of students, staff and visitors to the school. [Health and Safety at Work Act 2015]

To improve current practice, the board of trustees should:

• ensure suitable procedures are in place for recording and reporting serious accidents, and managing student medication and allergies.

Going forward

How well placed is the school to accelerate the achievement of all children who need it?

Learners are achieving well. The school demonstrates strong progress towards achieving equity in educational outcomes and is focused on further developing sustainable processes and practices.

ERO will provide an internal evaluation workshop in response to a request by the school.

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

Alan Wynyard

Deputy Chief Review Officer Central (Acting)

28 September 2017

About the school