Pareawa Banks Avenue School

School Context

Banks Avenue School is a Year 1-6 contributing school situated in east Christchurch. The roll is 398 students, 22% of whom identify as Māori. Since the 2016 ERO report there have been very few changes at senior leadership or governance level. The school is in the planning stages of a major property redevelopment, including moving to a new school site.

The school’s vision of ‘Living and Learning with HEART’ links directly to the values of Hauora, Excellence, Aroha, Respect and Togetherness. The values are incorporated in the areas for the strategic goals, which are:

• Active Learners at HEART – teaching, learning and curriculum
• Living HEART – wellbeing and support
• Connecting to the HEART of the community – cultural responsiveness, community, Kāhui Ako.

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, and other curriculum areas
• progress of target groups
• student wellbeing.

Leaders and staff have undergone whole school professional learning in areas identified in the strategic goals. The school is an active participant in the Ōtākaro Kāhui Ako (Community of Learning).

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 making steady progress towards achieving equity and excellence for all its students. There has been an improvement over time in achievement in reading, writing and mathematics, with the most significant improvement being in writing, particularly for boys. School data for 2016 – 2108 show most students achieved at or above their expected curriculum level. Māori students consistently achieve well.

The achievement of Pacific students has shown considerable improvement over time. Most students are now achieving at or above curriculum expectations in reading, and the majority are achieving at or above curriculum expectations in mathematics.

The school has identified, and is currently addressing, issues with its student management system regarding the validity of its 2019 midyear data.

The school monitors, assesses and reports individual students’ progress in developing key competencies and displaying the HEART values.

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 the small number of students whose learning is targeted for increased improvement. Accelerated progress was achieved by a small majority of target students in writing, a large majority in reading and a quarter of students in mathematics.

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?

Across the school there is a strong and effective commitment to a holistic approach to students’ wellbeing and learning. The centrality and enactment of the vision and values provide a shared sense of purpose. This is reflected in the collective responsibility for all students that is evident across staff, the strong community connections and outside expertise. A systematic approach to identifying, responding to and monitoring individual student learning and progress ensures that all students are known and supported well, within their school and whānau contexts. Positive, reciprocal relationships are fostered with families and whānau. The school is very proactive in seeking a wide range of appropriate support and programmes to build children’s readiness to learn and positive sense of self.

Effective school leadership provides an unrelenting focus on improving outcomes for children. A respectful, productive relationship is evident between the board, principal and senior leaders. The senior leadership team models and promotes a collaborative approach to practice and a culture of reflection. High expectations are clearly communicated and supported by well-developed systems and practices. A planned approach to growing leadership capability across the school has resulted in a cohesive, empowered middle leadership team, and other staff having opportunities for leading in areas of strength. A shared sense of responsibility for ongoing school improvement is fostered through all staff being involved in strategic priority groups.

The school’s curriculum reflects the breadth and depth of the New Zealand Curriculum and is strongly underpinned by its vision and values, which are embedded in planning and programmes. Students are engaged, confident and comfortable in their learning environment. They are provided with equitable opportunities which are responsive to their interests, capabilities and cultures. Rich, authentic learning contexts and meaningful links to the community, such as the Red Zone project, further enhance their learning and sense of connection to the world around them.

Students’ views on their learning and wider school issues are sought, valued and used. Achievement data is used to inform programme planning. Students with additional needs are well supported within an inclusive environment to succeed in their learning.

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

The school should build on its culture of reflection and review to develop a stronger understanding and use of evaluative planning and practices. This will better support the school to identify and respond to the impact of initiatives and innovations on outcomes for children.

Leaders and staff are growing their knowledge of te ao Māori and beginning to reflect bicultural practices. They should continue this development to ensure that the bicultural nature of Aotearoa New Zealand is meaningfully integrated into planning and practices at all levels of the school.

The achievement of target students is closely monitored and reported. These students, however, are a small percentage of the students whose progress needs to be accelerated. Classroom teachers have data on other students whose progress is insufficient. Leaders now need to gather, analyse and report to the board progress for all students whose learning requires acceleration.

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 Banks Avenue 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:

• a strongly shared commitment to the equitable learning and wellbeing of students
• effective leadership that ensures a sense of purpose, clarity of expectations and processes, and builds leadership capacity across the school
• a rich and responsive curriculum providing authentic contexts and centred on the school values and vision.

Next steps

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

• strengthening evaluative practice to better understand the impact of innovation and initiatives on outcomes for students and staff
• continuing to develop and embed te ao Māori in planning and practice and give prominence to bicultural practice
• ensuring that sufficiency of progress for all students is monitored, analysed and reported.

Dr Lesley Patterson Director

Review and Improvement Services Te Tai Tini

Southern Region

18 June 2020

About the school