140 Hampden Street , Hokitika
View on mapWestland High School
Westland High School
Findings
On the basis of the findings of this review, ERO’s overall evaluation judgement is that the school has made suitable progress in relation to many of the key priorities identified for improvement. The school will now transition to Te Ara Huarau, ERO’s school evaluation for improvement approach.
1 Background and Context
What is the background and context for this school’s review?
Westland High School, located in Hokitika on the West Coast, is a Years 7 to 13 co-educational school which includes a bilingual unit for Years 9 and 13. The current roll is 356 of whom around 25% identify as Māori. Māori medium education provision through The New Zealand Curriculum provides bilingual education for 11 junior and nine senior students.
The school is a member of the Westland Kāhui Ako | Community of Learning.
In 2019, after several challenging years, a new principal was appointed, along with a new board chair. By 2021 a stable school leadership team was in place, with improved role clarity for middle leaders. A significant building programme was completed in 2023. This programme involved developing a close working relationship with the two local iwi. A new principal started at the school in Term 3, 2023.
The November 2019 ERO report noted the continued need to improve teaching, responsive curriculum and bicultural practices schoolwide. This included better assessment practices, addressing disparity in Māori learner outcomes, accelerating learners’ progress and achievement, and developing targeted actions to improve Māori learning opportunities and outcomes.
Since 2020, ERO has regularly engaged with the school, providing ongoing monitoring of progress and evaluations for school improvement. This has involved regular visits, meetings and work with groups in the school.
2 Review and Development
How effectively is the school addressing its priorities for review and development?
The school is effectively addressing many of the key areas for review and development that ERO had identified for improving student outcomes. Further work is required to strengthen provisions for Māori learners, their whānau and in building connections with local iwi.
In addition to the November 2019 ERO report areas for improvement, ERO identified the following evaluation priorities:
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school culture and student wellbeing
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student outcomes – attendance, progress and achievement
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teaching effectiveness and responsive curriculum (including responsive curriculum)
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professional leadership and stewardship for school improvement.
School culture and student wellbeing
School leaders have prioritised building a positive and supportive environment for staff and students. Leaders and staff have established systems and resourcing to improve communications and relationships within the school and with whānau and the wider community. Surveys of student voice have provided valuable feedback which has been included in decision making involving aspects of the school environment and operations.
The school is responsive to student wellbeing and works closely with specialist expertise, both within the school and from external providers, to support students and whānau. A new whānau structure, placing students in smaller groups, has recently been put in place to encourage the building of a more supportive, relational approach to teaching and learning. This is in early stages of implementation and still to be fully embraced by all staff.
The school has a restorative approach to managing behaviour and is developing a targeted approach to supporting students in a more holistic way.
Substantial work has been completed to ensure that the school is a well presented, pleasant physical environment in which students can have a sense of belonging and pride.
The opening of the new school hall and adjoining classrooms and facilities has enabled the school community to gather to celebrate student success, reinforce the school culture and values, and share important occasions. The local physical and cultural environment is reflected in the new school buildings and local iwi participated in this development. The challenge now is to continue to work to embed respectful bicultural behaviour and attitudes of the school community through the enactment of school values and understandings that are visually represented around the school.
It is also essential that there is a schoolwide impetus to ensure that all Māori students experience a sense of belonging and safety and have equal opportunities to achieve equity and success.
Student outcomes - attendance, progress and achievement
Students are, in the main, well supported in their learning and wellbeing. There is now greater clarity of staff roles, improved support and data systems, and targeted resourcing to support specific identified needs.
New systems are in place to monitor and support senior students to achieve success. The school has worked hard to ensure that students are able to access a range of courses that suit their interests and needs, including those provided by outside providers. Suitable course guidance has been prioritised. National Certificates of Educational Achievement (NCEA) results have shown some improvement. A drop in the 2020 results has been analysed by the school and initiatives to address this are in place and being monitored.
The school is responsive to the specific needs of students who find learning challenging, using data and other information to create tailored and innovative courses to meet these needs. Evaluation of these approaches shows improvements in engagement, confidence and skills of some of the most challenged learners.
Teachers are beginning to develop a cohesive approach to improving outcomes for all students across Years 7 to 10 and this needs to be further embedded across all subjects. The school has put in place some improved systems to assess progress and to respond to junior students’ learning needs. A schoolwide approach to literacy is in its initial stages.
Attendance procedures are clear and embedded in school practices. Close monitoring and analysis are in place. A recent drop in attendance rates has been analysed and leaders are working closely with staff and with the Kāhui Ako to address this, using a range of targeted approaches.
Success and pathways for Māori students, however, need to be meaningful and culturally appropriate. In particular, the school needs to ensure that the bilingual unit is seen as an integral part of the school in terms of resourcing and status. All teachers across the school should integrate bicultural contexts and practices as a matter of course into their planning and approaches. Teachers also need to better understand the needs of Māori students moving from the bilingual unit into mainstream classes. A greater understanding of bilingual education, te reo Māori and te ao Māori by staff is necessary for Māori students to experience success as Māori and for all students to understand what it is to live in a bicultural country.
Teaching effectiveness and responsive curriculum
The school recognised some time ago that there was an urgent need to develop a culturally responsive curriculum and approach to teaching and learning to improve student engagement and outcomes. Heads of learning areas have been involved in externally provided professional learning to develop their own leadership, a more culturally responsive and suitable curriculum and to improve teacher practices.
After a period of considerable staff changes there is an increased sense of cohesiveness and collaboration. Teachers have begun to work together to create courses and develop consistent, schoolwide approaches to engage students and improve learning outcomes.
Student voice is beginning to be used to inform programmes of learning. A focus on progressively building students’ understanding of their own learning should be a priority. The new school curriculum framework needs to be fully developed to reflect and encompass the language, culture, identity and strengths of all students.
The establishment of annual departmental reviews has encouraged the examination of practices to ascertain what is working and what is not for students. These practices need to continue to develop with a particular focus on Success and pathways for Māori.
Professional leadership and stewardship for school improvement
The principal at the time of this review provided focused leadership for improving learner outcomes through a calm, professional approach. The senior leadership team has a useful balance of skills and an understanding of the school and its community. Building staff capability and capacity, and in particular middle leadership, has been a deliberate strategy. Although this is in the relatively early stages of implementation, it has made a significant difference to the school. Staff have a greater say in decisions and the direction of the school, and responsibilities are distributed across the staff.
The board of trustees has had capable leadership and stable membership since 2019. Trustees have engaged in professional learning about their role. The board regularly monitors progress against its strategic goals. Initial attempts have been made to connect with the local iwi, both of which are represented on the board.
3 Sustainable performance and self review
How well placed is the school to sustain and continue to improve and review its performance?
The school has significantly increased its capacity to sustain improvements and review its performance.
School leadership has begun to establish an understanding of the importance of an ongoing focus on improvement at all levels. Departmental reviews have established a pattern of reflection and improvement and staff are increasingly aware of not only how to gather relevant data, but also how to make sense of it to best meet student needs and improve outcomes.
While there have been examples of increased capacity to evaluate specific interventions and processes, there is a need now to look more critically at schoolwide practices and procedures and the assumptions that underlie them.
Key Next Steps
For continuous improvement, the school should:
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ensure equity of learning opportunities and experiences for all students, including Māori
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ensure a fully developed and embedded, biculturally centred, student focussed curriculum, including the enactment of the school’s Te Tiriti o Waitangi obligations
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addressing the bilingual pathway and provision of te reo Māori to respond to learners and The Education and Training Act 2020
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ensure teaching practice across the school is aligned with the expectations of the new school curriculum.
Provision for International Students
The Education Review Office reviews schools that are signatories to the Education (Pastoral Care of International Students) Code of Practice 2016 established under section 534 of the Education and Training Act 2020.
Westland High School has annually reviewed its documentation and has attested that it complies with all aspects of the Code of Practice.
At the time of the review, five long-term and six short-term international students were enrolled. The school has sound systems and processes for review, monitoring, communication and planning to ensure international students receive quality care and educational experiences.
4 Board assurance on legal requirements
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:
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board administration
-
curriculum
-
management of health, safety and welfare
-
personnel management
-
financial management
-
asset management.
During the review, ERO checked the following items because they have a potentially high impact on student achievement:
-
emotional safety of students (including prevention of bullying and sexual harassment)
-
physical safety of students
-
teacher registration
-
processes for appointing staff
-
stand-downs, suspensions, expulsions and exclusions
-
attendance
-
school policies in relation to meeting the requirements of the Children’s Act 2014.
ERO identified the following was an area of non-compliance:
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creation of a culturally inclusive environment
[Education and Training Act 2022 Section 127(1) (d)].
To improve current practices, ERO has identified the following areas for improvement for the board and school leaders to address:
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ensure the school has bilingual policy and procedure to guide operations in this key area
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develop a school lockdown procedure and trial its use
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enact robust education outside the classroom systems, procedures and practices, including understanding their role in signing off overnight and higher risk activities
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implement a process for the administration and recording of medicines.
The school has focused on addressing these areas since they were identified.
5 Recommendations
ERO recommends that the school board and leaders access ongoing professional support for building relationships with the school’s iwi in order to develop and enact a culturally responsive school curriculum. This should assist with improving equity in Māori learning opportunities and outcomes.
Conclusion
On the basis of the findings of this review, ERO’s overall evaluation judgement is that the school has made suitable progress in relation to many of the key priorities identified for improvement. The school will now transition to Te Ara Huarau, ERO’s school evaluation for improvement approach.
Shelley Booysen
Director of Schools
27 October 2023
About the School
Westland High School - 04/11/2019
Findings
On the basis of the findings of this review, ERO ‘s overall evaluation judgement of Westland High School’s performance in achieving valued outcomes for its students is: Developing.
ERO will maintain an ongoing relationship with the school to build capacity and evaluate progress.
1 Background and Context
What is the background and context for this school’s review?
Westland High School is a co-educational, Years 7-13 secondary school in Hokitika. It has a roll of 300, 28% of whom are Māori. The school is a member of the Westland Kāhui Ako|Community of Learning.
Prior to the June 2017 ERO review, the Board requested the support of a Limited Statutory Manager (LSM) to take responsibility for the financial and personnel aspects of the work of the board. The Ministry of Education appointed an LSM for this purpose.
In July 2017, the principal resigned. Over the following year there were three acting principals. In April 2018, the current principal was appointed using the Principal Recruitment Allowance (PRA) process.
This report identifies Westland High School’s progress in addressing the areas for review and development that were identified in ERO’s June 2017 Education Review report and in the mid-point progress visit report in April 2019.
2 Review and Development
How effectively is the school addressing its priorities for review and development?
Priorities identified for review and development
- the quality of teaching and learning
- pastoral care
- student achievement, and analysis and use of achievement data and other information
- relationships and school culture
- school governance and leadership (section 3 of this report)
- internal evaluation, including curriculum review (section 3 of this report).
Although the school has made good progress these priorities have remained since the 2017 ERO report.
Progress
The quality of teaching and learning, including reporting to parents
Generally good levels of participation in learning were observed in settled learning environments. Interactions were positive and respectful, with good relationships evident. Students knew the learning routines and behaviour expectations. The majority of students reported that their teachers cared about their learning.
Good quality classroom resources that promote learning and engagement were evident in some classrooms.
Pastoral care
The consolidation of pastoral leadership has strengthened academic and wellbeing support for students. School information shows positive improvements in student behaviour.
Leaders are developing effective, inclusive and culturally responsive practices with the wider school community. Within the school, pastoral leadership groups are continuing to develop by sharing and building knowledge about student learning and wellbeing needs.
Student achievement, and analysis and use of achievement data and other information
The board recognises that improving student achievement is a high priority and it receives regular reporting on NCEA progress and achievement. Access to the depth and breadth of the curriculum has been improved with changes in the subject options available to students. Changes to the school timetable in 2019, particularly for Years 7-10, are ensuring student access to learning opportunities for improvement in literacy and numeracy.
Attendance data for the first half of 2019 has been analysed and patterns identified. Positive shifts are evident, with improved student attendance.
A useful student graduate profile has been developed for Māori and other students in the bilingual unit that identifies appropriate, valued competencies and skills.
Relationships and school culture
There has been significant strengthening of relationships with the school community, including parents/whānau, education agencies and support services, and other community organisations. At governance level, community representation and an acknowledgment of the importance of the Treaty of Waitangi partnership have been recognised with Manawhenua representation on the board.
Within the school community there has been a shift towards a positive culture built on strengthening respectful relationships. Stakeholder involvement in key aspects of the school is encouraged and survey information is gathered. There have been opportunities for professional collaboration within and beyond the school.
Key next steps
Student achievement, and analysis and use of achievement data and other information
In order to improve student achievement, the school needs to:
- develop clear and consistent processes for collecting, analysing and reporting achievement information at all levels of the school to support student progress
- take deliberate, well informed actions to address disparity for Māori and other priority students
- ensure there is a clear schoolwide understanding of acceleration of learning and sufficiency of progress for those targeted and other students who need this
- establish explicit, documented targets for Years 7-10 Māori and other students that promote opportunities for them to make progress.
The quality of teaching and learning
A high priority for leaders and teachers is to complete the school’s curriculum framework to strengthen how it responds to learning needs, engagement and progress to achieve valued outcomes for its students.
Developing consistently effective teaching practices should be part of curriculum development. Providing targeted PLD that includes a focus on understanding and using effective teaching inquiries, to reflect on and build professional capability, will support progress for students. Strengthening the quality of planning, developing clear expectations for teaching and learning, and ensuring consistent understanding and implementation of assessment practices will improve schoolwide systems and practices to meet the school’s vision.
The school needs to ensure that bicultural practices underpin schoolwide teaching, learning and reporting.
An appraisal process needs to be fully implemented to meet Teaching Council expectations.
3 Sustainable performance and self review
How well placed is the school to sustain and continue to improve and review its performance?
The school is becoming better placed to sustain and continue to improve and review its performance.
The board is fully supportive of the new principal and is prioritising actions and resourcing to support student outcomes.
Improvements in the organisation of pastoral systems to support student learning, wellbeing and inclusive practices have led to an improved school culture and respectful relationships. These could be a model of practice for other organisational changes within the school.
Significant improvements in a number of structural, operational and relationship areas are helping to re-build the conditions that best promote positive learning and achievement outcomes for all students.
Key Next Steps
It would be timely for the board to have further training to build its capability. This should support sustainable stewardship over time. Strengthened effectiveness should ensure a focused and efficient approach to the development, management and monitoring of strategic and annual planning, and improve outcomes for students. Planning needs to prioritise identified actions for improvement.
To increase successful outcomes for all learners, senior and middle leaders need to collaboratively identify priorities and actions for high quality curriculum leadership, teaching and learning, and assessment and reporting.
More effective communication between middle and senior leaders, and increased opportunities for middle leaders to build their capability, would help to strengthen middle and whole school strategic leadership.
The school should develop a school wide internal evaluation/review plan. This will help to develop a deeper understanding of what internal evaluation is, how to apply it, and how to inform an effective strategic action plan to promote and sustain school improvements.
ERO recognises the positive progress the school has been making and strongly recommends that the school continue to build the collective capacity necessary to meet its strategic goal of raising achievement for every learner through innovation, student engagement, technology, and high quality teaching and learning in every classroom.
Board assurance on legal requirements
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:
- board administration
- curriculum
- management of health, safety and welfare
- personnel management
- financial management
- asset management.
During the review, ERO checked the following items because they have a potentially high impact on student achievement:
- emotional safety of students (including prevention of bullying and sexual harassment)
- physical safety of students
- teacher registration
- processes for appointing staff
- stand-downs, suspensions, expulsions and exclusions
- attendance
- school policies in relation to meeting the requirements of the Children’s Act 2014.
4 Recommendations
Recommendations, including any to other agencies for ongoing or additional support.
ERO recommends that Ministry of Education continues to support the school in order to bring about the following improvements to:
- student achievement and acceleration of learning
- curriculum programmes and schoolwide teaching practices
- bicultural practices to meet Treaty of Waitangi obligations
- internal evaluation to meet schoolwide valued outcomes
- middle leadership.
ERO recommends that the New Zealand School Trustees Association further support the board with trustee training and the development of internal evaluation processes.
Conclusion
On the basis of the findings of this review, ERO ‘s overall evaluation judgement of Westland High School’s performance in achieving valued outcomes for its students is: Developing.
ERO will maintain an ongoing relationship with the school to build capacity and evaluate progress.
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.
Dr Lesley Patterson
Director Review and Improvement Services Te Tai Tini
Southern Region
4 November 2019
About the School
Location |
Hokitika |
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
305 |
|
School type |
Secondary (Years 7-13) |
|
School roll |
300 |
|
Number of international students |
2 |
|
Gender composition |
Male 51%, Female 49% |
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori NZ European/Pākehā Pacific Other ethnicities |
28% 68% 2% 2% |
Special features |
Bilingual class, Levels 1 and 2 |
|
Review team on site |
August 2019 |
|
Date of this report |
4 November 2019 |
|
Most recent ERO reports |
Education Review Education Review |
June 2017 July 2013 |
Westland High School - 29/06/2017
Findings
This report identifies a number of serious issues at the school that require immediate attention. Leadership at every level must effectively promote student learning and prioritise improving student achievement. Significant external support is required to address this.
ERO intends to carry out another review over the course of one-to-two years.
1 Context
What are the important features of this school that have an impact on student learning?
Westland High School is a co-educational secondary school located in Hokitika. The school’s 357 students are drawn from the town and the surrounding Westland District. A number of families and trustees have inter-generational links with the school.
The board has a number of new trustees who bring a range of experience to their role. Trustees maintain strong links with the school, local businesses and the wider community.
The school is part of the Westland Kāhui Ako (Community of Learning).
A rebuilding plan is in place following the 2016 fire which destroyed the school hall, staffroom and administration block.
In response to a request by the board in February 2017, the Ministry of Education (MoE) appointed a Limited Statutory Manager (LSM) to the school to take responsibility for the financial and personnel aspects of the work of the board.
During this current review, ERO found many issues of serious concern at governance, professional leadership and compliance levels that need urgent attention.
2 Learning
How well does this school use achievement information to make positive changes to learners’ engagement, progress and achievement?
School governance, leadership and teachers are not effective in their use of achievement information to make changes to learners’ engagement, progress and achievement.
Overall student achievement is poor. Since 2014, Level 1 and Level 3 National Certificate in Educational Achievement (NCEA) and University Entrance results have been tracking downwards. There are some positive trends in National Standards and Level 2 NCEA.
There is no school-wide documented evaluation of student achievement to understand and measure progress and seek ways to improve outcomes for students. Use of achievement information amongst teachers is variable. Stronger leadership is required to ensure that all teachers regularly track and monitor student progress and modify their practices to improve achievement.
Students require greater access to their own achievement information to set meaningful learning goals and measure progress against them.
The board, school leaders and teachers must develop effective ways of working collaboratively to improve overall student achievement. A coherent, school-wide approach to the use of achievement information is urgently required across all levels of the school.
The board must ensure that:
- requirements for the reporting of student progress and achievement over time are consistently met by the principal and senior leaders
- achievement information is well analysed and identifies progress over time, especially of students whose learning is at risk.
The principal and senior leaders must:
- develop and implement robust guidelines and expectations for data collection, use and reporting across the school
- ensure that high quality processes are in place for all assessment and moderation processes
- identify in their reports to the board what is having the greatest impact on positive outcomes for student learning.
How effectively does the school promote educational success for Māori, as Māori?
The school needs to significantly strengthen the way it promotes educational success for Māori, as Māori.
Many Māori students are well supported by Māori staff and other key teachers who know them well as individuals and as learners. Māori learners feel confident to learn and succeed as Māori when their learning is based in the whare. Māori staff support learners and their whānau well in the Māori-immersion learning experience in Years 7 and 8, and in te reo and tikanga Māori learning in Years 9 to 13.
In their overall learning, Māori students in 2016 achieved well at NCEA Level 2, continuing a trend of steady improvement over three years. However, overall achievement by Māori learners at other levels of the school is low.
Māori learners who spoke to ERO were confidently able to talk about what works well for their learning and what needs to be improved. Their opinions and ideas need to be gathered regularly by the school and responded to effectively.
The school has a stated intention to prioritise success for Māori learners. This intention is not supported with action planning by leaders and teachers to cohesively support Māori learners to achieve success. The school has engaged an external expert to identify what is working and what needs to be improved for Māori learners and their whānau. Trustees and leaders need to work collaboratively with Māori learners, whānau, the Māori community and school staff to respond in a culturally appropriate way to make the changes urgently needed in the school.
The next steps to improve the way the school promotes success for Māori learners, as Māori, are to:
- ensure there is clear alignment from the strategic goal for Māori success to all aspects of school operations to achieve this goal
- spread the current good practice Māori learners experience in the whare so that all of their learning is culturally responsive and engaging
- rigorously evaluate the impact of actions taken by the school to promote success for Māori learners.
3 Curriculum
How effectively does this school’s curriculum promote and support student learning?
There are some aspects of the school’s curriculum that effectively promote and support student learning. Other areas, such as professional leadership and monitoring of curriculum implementation, need strengthening.
Some aspects of the curriculum are responsive to students’ needs and abilities. Pathways through the school and networks with the local community and tertiary organisations are providing senior students with a range of ways to learn and succeed. The curriculum promotes a level of choice for students to foster greater engagement in their learning.
Students value education-outside-the-classroom (EOTC) opportunities. These make use of the rich local environment to further develop ways to learn and succeed.
The school’s pastoral care system needs to be strengthened to better support students’ wellbeing and promote positive educational outcomes. Some useful initiatives, such as a behaviour management system, have been discontinued. The limited capacity of senior leaders to work constructively with staff to maintain systems and deliver consistent messages has destabilised school management systems.
Low levels of staff morale are evident and there is a high turnover of staff. This is having a negative impact on the breadth of curriculum offered at the school. Teachers are doing the best they can to make learning work well for students under difficult circumstances.
Students would benefit from greater opportunities to give feedback on the quality of teaching and the impact of this on their learning.
Professional development is not well planned and does not align with the school’s strategic direction. More deliberate and effective leadership of teaching and learning is required.
In consultation with the board and community, school leaders should implement a cycle of regular and robust curriculum review. They need to ensure that the curriculum is designed to:
- be flexible and responsive to the interests, needs and aspirations of students, their families and the local community
- integrate te ao Māori across all programmes and practices
- provide all students with equitable opportunities to experience success and achieve individual excellence
- promote high levels of student engagement through responding to student voice and building student agency and ownership of their own learning.
4 Sustainable Performance
How well placed is the school to sustain and improve its performance?
The school is not well placed to sustain and improve its performance.
There are significant shortcomings in the leadership, management and governance of the school. Trustees recognised that they needed support and have been working closely with the MoE and the New Zealand School Trustees Association (NZSTA). This resulted in the appointment of an LSM early in 2017 with responsibility for personnel and finance.
The board is aware that there needs to be alignment from its strategic goals to the principal's and teachers' performance agreements, through to targeted classroom teaching and learning. Trustees need to make clear their expectations for ongoing monitoring of their strategic goals. This should include high quality reporting of student progress and achievement throughout the year.
ERO has serious concerns about the leadership and management of the school. There has been a breakdown in working relationships between the board and senior leaders, and senior leaders and staff. A lack of effective communication between the principal, senior leaders and staff is affecting staff relationships. Major decisions affecting teaching and learning have been made with little consultation. This has led to a lack of collaboration and low morale amongst staff. This is having an impact on the quality of teaching, and outcomes for students. There is an urgent need to address these matters.
ERO recommends timely training for the newly co-opted trustees, and close monitoring by NZSTA and the MoE in order to provide a greater level of support if this becomes necessary.
The board, principal and senior leaders must:
- significantly strengthen the professional leadership of the school
- rebuild relationships and improve communication and collaboration at all levels of the school.
The board, principal and senior leaders need to develop and implement a robust framework, systems and practices for internal evaluation across the school. This should include the regular evaluation and reporting of the effectiveness of leadership and governance at the school.
Provision for international students
The school is a signatory to the Education (Pastoral Care of International Students) Code of Practice 2016 (the Code) established under section 238F of the Education Act 1989. The school has not attested that it complies with all aspects of the Code. The school is working with a national body to revise its contracts to ensure they meet all requirements of the Code of Practice (2016).
At the time of this review there were 10 international students attending the school.
Processes for orientation to the school provide students and their families with detailed information. The school has effective systems for identifying and responding to student’s individual needs and interests. Students are well integrated into the life of the school.
Board assurance on legal requirements
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:
- board administration
- curriculum
- management of health, safety and welfare
- personnel management
- financial management
- asset management.
During the review, ERO checked the following items because they have a potentially high impact on student achievement:
- emotional safety of students (including prevention of bullying and sexual harassment)
- physical safety of students
- teacher registration
- processes for appointing staff
- stand-downs, suspensions, expulsions and exclusions
- attendance.
At the time of the review, the school was facing significant issues to do with managing staffing and responding to complaints. Systems to carry out a programme of self review, manage the performance of staff, and regularly report to the board about meeting legal requirements, including the implementation of health and safety practices, had not been sustained.
Action required
To meet legal requirements, the board must:
- maintain an ongoing programme of self review in relation to the school’s policies, plans and programmes, including evaluation of information on student achievement
[ NAG 2b] - adopt a statement on the delivery of the health curriculum, at least once every two years, after consultation with the community.
[Education Act 1989 S 60B]
To improve current practice, the board and LSM must ensure that:
- the school’s personnel policies promote high levels of staff performance
[NAG 3] - the school’s appraisal process for teachers meets the requirements of the New Zealand Education Council
[Education Act 1989, S 31] - the requirements for safety checking of staff, including police vetting, have been carried out
[Vulnerable Children Act 2014] - regular reporting gives the board assurance that health and safety practices follow the school’s policy and procedures, including for EOTC activities, to provide a safe physical and emotional environment for students
[NAG 5 (i)] - the school provides appropriate career education and guidance for all students in Year 7 and above
[NAG 1 (f)] - the effectiveness of the school’s complaints process is regularly reviewed
[NAG 2b] - surveys of students and staff are carried out regularly and responded to effectively.
Conclusion
This report identifies a number of serious issues at the school that require immediate attention. Leadership at every level must effectively promote student learning and prioritise improving student achievement. Significant external support is required to address this.
ERO intends to carry out another review over the course of one-to-two years.
Dr Lesley Patterson Deputy
Chief Review Officer Southern (Te Waipounamu)
29 June 2017
About the School
Location |
Hokitika |
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
305 |
|
School type |
Secondary (Years 7 to 14) |
|
School roll |
357 |
|
Number of international students |
10 |
|
Gender composition |
Male: 46% Female: 54% |
|
Ethnic composition |
Pākehā |
74% |
Special Features |
Two bilingual classes |
|
Review team on site |
May 2017 |
|
Date of this report |
29 June 2017 |
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review Supplementary Review Education Review |
July 2013 |