Motueka South School

Education institution number:

3206

School type:

Full Primary

School gender:

Co-Educational

Definition:

Not Applicable

Total roll:

199

Website:

http://www.motuekasouth.school.nz

Telephone:

03 528 7533

Address:

Courtney Street, Motueka

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Motueka South School - 09/03/2020

09 Mar 2020

School Context

Motueka South School caters for students in Years 1 to 8. At the time of this ERO review there are 264 students on the roll.

The school’s vision is ‘A School for Everyone – He Kura ma tatou’. Its mission is’ A respectful community striving for and celebrating success’. The Motueka South School learner tries their best to: ‘manage myself, show respect, strive to learn’.

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

achievement, including information for groups of students, in reading, writing and mathematics
attendance
positive behaviour for learning.

Professional learning and development (PLD) in 2019 has focused on science. Staff have also been participating in PLD about relationship-based learning, a focus for schools belonging to the Motueka Kāhui Ako.

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?

The school is achieving equitable outcomes for most of its students.

Most students are achieving at or above curriculum expectations in reading, writing and mathematics.

Achievement information from the end of 2019 shows that slightly more girls then boys achieve well in reading and writing, and slightly more boys than girls achieve well in mathematics.

Māori students are achieving at similar levels to Pākehā in reading and writing. Māori achievement in mathematics has increased over time.

Pacific students, as a group, are achieving at lower levels than their peers.

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

The school has accelerated learning for some of the students who need this.

In 2018, approximately one third of focus students involved in a writing initiative across two terms, made accelerated progress.

During 2019, one quarter of the children not achieving at their expected curriculum level in reading, made accelerated progress. Approximately one third of those not achieving expected levels in writing and around one fifth of those underachieving in mathematics, made accelerated 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?

Students are fully engaged in purposeful learning. Positive interactions are clearly evident across the school. Classrooms are calm, settled and well organised. Children are encouraged to support each other’s learning.

Many students can talk confidently about their learning and demonstrate knowledge of what is required to be successful at this school. Classroom displays provide well-presented prompts for learning and celebrate children’s success.

Leaders and teachers use clear, well-established processes to identify schoolwide achievement and for individual students who require additional support or extension. Teachers use a range of deliberate strategies to support students to make progress.

A recently introduced digital management system assists with the tracking of each student’s progress and achievement.

Students with additional needs, including English language learners, are well supported through appropriate interventions and learning programmes. External expertise also assists with this provision.

The vision and values are clearly enacted in the daily life of the school. Clear guidelines for teacher practice lead to consistent expectations of teaching, learning and behaviour across the school. Positive behaviour for learning strategies are having an impact on promoting successful conditions for learning.

The appraisal process is a useful system for supporting teachers to develop their practice. It includes a strong focus on improving learning and provides opportunities for teachers to reflect on the effectiveness of their teaching.

A deliberate, well-considered approach supports students effective transition in, through and out of school. Teachers are collaborating with local early learning services and secondary schools through the Kahui Ako.

Leaders and teachers use a range of strategies to communicate with families. Parents are well informed about their children’s learning and school events.

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 are currently reviewing and revising the curriculum. They have identified the need to:

know about and be more responsive to the diverse needs of students’ wellbeing, culture, language and identity
develop expectations for effective culturally responsive practice across all learning areas
more clearly articulate the localised curriculum
increase the effectiveness of accelerating learning for focus learners, especially Pacific focus learners.

Along with leaders and teachers building their cultural competencies, the school needs to more effectively gather Māori whanau and Pacific families voices to determine valued outcomes for their children. Analysis of this information is required to inform decision making to better meet the needs of students and their families and develop a shared vision of success for Māori learners and Pacific learners.

While leaders and teachers reflect on practice, further development of a shared understanding of effective, evidence-based evaluation is important to determine the quality and impact of initiatives and practices on outcomes for students. This should better inform planning for the future, including the development of strategic goals and targets.

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 Motueka South 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:

processes for identifying and tracking students’ achievement
clearly enacted school vision and values that lead to consistent expectations across the school
settled, purposeful classrooms that effectively support students’ learning.

Next steps

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

the continued review of the curriculum with emphasis on students’ wellbeing, culture, language and identity
internal evaluation to better inform decision making and strategic planning.

Dr Lesley Patterson

Director Review and Improvement Services Te Tai Tini

Southern Region

9 March 2020

About the school

Location	Motueka
Ministry of Education profile number	3206
School type	Full Primary (Years 1 to 8)
School roll	264
Gender composition	Girls 52%, Boys 48%
Ethnic composition	Māori 14% NZ European/Pākehā 74% Pacific 6% Other ethnic groups 6%
Students with Ongoing Resourcing Funding (ORS)	Yes
Provision of Māori medium education	No
Review team on site	December 2019
Date of this report	9 March 2020
Most recent ERO report(s)	Education Review September 2015 Education Review June 2011

Motueka South School - 22/09/2015

22 Sep 2015

Findings

Motueka South School effectively supports students’ learning and wellbeing through an inclusive and caring culture. The school’s curriculum provides students with a range of rich learning opportunities. Those with learning needs are well supported. School review is effective in supporting improvements in learning and teaching. Leadership at all levels is strong, well informed and focussed on improving outcomes for students.

ERO is likely to carry out the next review in four-to-five years.

1 Context

What are the important features of this school that have an impact on student learning?

Student learning, progress, achievement and wellbeing is a strong focus at all levels of the school. The school culture is inclusive of students from a wide range of backgrounds. Students are well supported by programmes that effectively help them to engage successfully in their learning.

The school hosts an RTLB (Resource Teachers of Learning and Behaviour) cluster and the local RTLit (Resource Teachers of Literacy) teachers.

2 Learning

How well does this school use achievement information to make positive changes to learners’ engagement, progress and achievement?

The school uses achievement information very effectively to make positive changes to learners’ engagement, progress and achievement.

Students’ learning levels and needs are clearly identified through sound assessment practices. Teachers:

use a good range of assessment tools for literacy and mathematics
work collaboratively to ensure their judgements about each student’s learning are consistent across the school
use quality assessment information to plan programmes for individuals and groups of students, at the appropriate level.

Achievement information reported to the board shows that most students achieve at or above the National Standards in reading, writing and mathematics. Māori students achieve at similar levels to other students at the school.

Students at risk of not achieving are well catered for within class programmes. The board’s achievement targets set realistic expectations for improved levels of achievement. Their progress is regularly recorded, monitored and evaluated. Teachers are supported to develop approaches that will accelerate achievement for targeted students. Additional teaching is also used to support students whose first language is not English.

School-wide achievement information is well monitored and reported. The principal has improved the recording and analysis of school-wide achievement information. Close and regular monitoring enables teachers to make changes to teaching approaches when there isn’t satisfactory progress. Parents and students receive detailed information through regular reporting of progress and achievement. The board receives detailed reports of analysed information about school-wide student achievement levels and students’ progress over time. This allows trustees to make informed decisions and allocate resources to meet the students' learning needs.

Ongoing school review has indicated the need to further develop opportunities for students to inquire into their own learning. Leaders have identified next steps that include:

extending ways of gathering achievement information about students’ inquiry into their own learning
continuing to refine the role of teachers and teacher aides for supporting the achievement levels of students at risk of not achieving
extending sharing teacher judgements about student learning with other schools.

3 Curriculum

How effectively does this school’s curriculum promote and support student learning?

The school’s curriculum effectively provides students with rich, varied and interesting learning experiences across the learning areas of the New Zealand Curriculum. Teaching in literacy and mathematics forms a strong foundation for the students' learning. Teacher strengths are effectively used to enhance learning in the arts, science and music. Students have access to a wide range of sporting opportunities through links with local sports clubs.

High expectations are set for student learning and teaching practices. This is clearly evident at governance, leadership and teacher levels. Leaders and teachers have developed very clear guidelines for high quality learning and teaching. The best example is the revision of the English curriculum that is based on current research, and enhanced by a well-planned professional development programme.

The school values are effectively embedded within students’ learning and in class programmes. Students have a good understanding of the values and can talk about how they use them in their relationships and in their learning. Students are respectful, caring and inclusive of others. Students with special needs are very well included in class programmes and the life of the school. Teachers consistently model these values in their relationships with each other, and with students.

Classroom learning environments foster high levels of engagement in learning. Students’ learning is clearly guided by the goals they set with the teacher and their parents. Goals are innovatively displayed and used by students to evaluate their learning and to set next learning steps. Students' work is valued and attractively displayed. Their work reflects authentic learning that is based around students’ interests, needs and goals. Some displays are interactive and allow students to revisit and extend their learning.

Students have many opportunities to learn about and extend their leadership skills through school council membership, and as buddies with junior students.

The school reviewed its curriculum in 2011. Since then, teachers have considerably extended and improved their teaching approaches. Leaders and teachers have identified it is timely to review the curriculum to ensure it accurately reflects current practices. This review should include ways bicultural aspects can be further integrated across the curriculum and students more involved in planning and evaluating their own learning.

The Board has recently completed work that will further develop the use of technologies to support student learning.

How effectively does the school promote educational success for Māori, as Māori?

Trustees, leaders and teachers have a strong commitment to ensuring Māori students succeed as Māori. The board develops an annual action plan that is comprehensive, regularly monitored and evaluated.

Students and teachers are extending their knowledge, skills and confidence with te reo and tikanga Māori. The board has employed a specialist kaiako to work with students in all classes, and to support teachers. Kapa haka is performed very competently. A large number of students belong to the group and they are enthusiastic and keen to extend their knowledge and performance.

Parents of Māori students are consulted about their aspirations and well informed about their children’s successes. Leaders and teachers should continue to provide opportunities for parents of Māori students to work in partnership to achieve the aspirations they have for their children.

4 Sustainable Performance

How well placed is the school to sustain and improve its performance?

The school is very well placed to sustain and improve its performance.

Trustees have a very good understanding of their roles and responsibilities. There is a wide range of skills across the board. Trustees work collaboratively with the principal and staff with a shared understanding and commitment. Student achievement information is used as the basis for decision making.

The school’s charter and strategic planning is well developed with a clear school vision and goals to guide school development. The charter was based on wide consultation when it was reviewed.

Regular reporting by the principal enables trustees to evaluate progress towards achieving strategic goals.

The school benefits from high quality leadership at all levels. The principal works closely with senior leaders and supports them to provide effective leadership to staff. Senior leaders have clear and specific job descriptions to guide their work. Teachers are given good opportunities to grow their leadership skills. The principal also provides strong professional leadership to the RTLB cluster. The principal uses effective and efficient management systems to manage the school.

Reflection and review systems are well embedded across the school. The principal works collaboratively with trustees and senior leaders to ensure review is rigorous and useful for improving learning and teaching. Curriculum review is regular and rigorously planned. Teachers effectively use class reviews and teaching as inquiry processes to evaluate and improve their teaching. Review recommendations for improvement are implemented and monitored.

The appraisal programme for teachers is well planned and implemented. Feedback from their appraisals helps teachers to make improvements to their teaching.

Parents have many opportunities to support their children’s learning and participate in school activities. The school has established useful links with the wider community that enable students to support the elderly, take advantage of community sporting facilities, and benefit through support from local business. Leaders and teachers are increasing the ways parents can be involved in the school. This includes enhancing and extending opportunities for them to be active partners in their children’s learning.

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.Click here to enter text.

Conclusion

ERO is likely to carry out the next review in four-to-five years.

Chris Rowe

Deputy Chief Review Officer Southern (Acting)

About the School

Location	Motueka
Ministry of Education profile number	3206
School type	Full Primary (Years 1 to 8)
School roll	253
Gender composition	Boys 55%; Girls 45%
Ethnic composition	Pākehā Māori Pacific Other ethnicities	75% 14% 4% 7%
Review team on site	August 2015
Date of this report	22 September 2015
Most recent ERO report(s)	Education Review Education Review Education Review	June 2011 June 2008 August 2005