Chertsey School

Chertsey School

School Evaluation Report

Tēnā koutou e mau manawa rahi ki te kaupapa e aro ake nei, ko te tamaiti te pūtake o te kaupapa. Mā wai rā e kawe, mā tātau katoa.

We acknowledge the collective effort, responsibility and commitment by all to ensure that the child remains at the heart of the matter.

Context 

Chertsey School is located in Mid Canterbury and provides education for learners in Years 1 to 6. The school’s vision is: ‘together we grow, learn and celebrate as Chertsey CHAMPs’ (Connected and Cooperative, Have an Open Mind, Aim High and Achieve, Motivated and Persevere).

There are two parts to this report.

Part A: An evaluative summary of learner success and school conditions to inform the school board’s future strategic direction, including any education in Rumaki/bilingual settings. 

Part B: The improvement actions prioritised for the school’s next evaluation cycle. 

Part A: Current State 

The following findings are to inform the school’s future priorities for improvement.

Learner Success and Wellbeing 

Outcomes for most learners are equitable and excellent.
  • Most learners achieve at or above curriculum levels in reading, writing and mathematics; learners with additional needs are closely monitored to make sure that they are making sufficient progress.
  • Learners have a strong sense of belonging and are well supported through inclusive practices that effectively address learning and wellbeing needs. 
  • A large majority of learners attend school regularly; the school has strategies in place to increase regular attendance and is actively working towards meeting the Ministry of Education’s national target.

Conditions to support learner success

Leaders effectively foster a culture of high-quality teaching and learning which improves outcomes for learners.
  • The board, leaders and teachers share a focus on learner wellbeing, progress and achievement; future goals are set, well-considered initiatives are resourced, and impact is monitored for ongoing improvement.
  • Leaders and teachers build collaborative relationships with educational providers that supports learners moving into, within and out of school and increases learning opportunities and success for all learners.
  • Professional learning for teachers is targeted to the school’s strategic goals and contributes to improved outcomes for learners.
The local curriculum increasingly reflects aspirations of the community, the local context and responds to learner needs.
  • Evidence-based programmes and effective teaching practices reduce barriers to learning and support curriculum access for all learners.
  • Teachers gather and use a useful range of assessment information to inform planning and to check how well they are meeting the needs of learners.
  • Teachers collaboratively plan and monitor the effectiveness of their teaching practices to improve the progress, achievement and wellbeing for all learners.
Effective systems and processes are used well to enact the school’s strategic direction and targets. 
  • The board effectively represents, supports and partners with the school’s community to develop strategic improvement priorities.
  • Leaders and teachers effectively collaborate with whānau and families to support their child’s learning and wellbeing.
  • Teachers engage in professional learning to strengthen teaching and assessment practices, to link with the New Zealand Curriculum changes, and to improve teaching confidence and capability in all aspects of te ao Māori.
  • Learners’ physical and emotional wellbeing is supported through an inclusive environment; this has a positive impact on developing respectful relationships between learners, teachers and support staff.

Part B: Where to next? 

The agreed next steps for the school are to: 

  • continue to develop the school’s local curriculum that links with the New Zealand Curriculum changes and has full coverage of all curriculum areas 
  • further improve the school transition processes, (when learners are moving into, within and out of school), through sharing information with whānau, teachers within school and other schools and developing a transition policy
  • strengthen school-wide assessment practices that link with the New Zealand Curriculum requirements to further improve and sustain progress and achievement for all learners
  • lift regular attendance rates.

The agreed actions for the next improvement cycle and timeframes are as follows. 

Within six months:

  • refine school-wide curriculum planning for all areas of learning to strengthen curriculum coverage and support teaching and learning.

Every six months:

  • review attendance strategies in place through regular communication with teachers, whānau and outside agencies
  • continue targeted professional learning to strengthen teaching, learning and assessment practices
  • gather and analyse learner and whānau feedback and identify needs to be addressed when learners are transitioning into, within and out of the school to inform policies and procedures.

Annually:

  • evaluate the impact of attendance strategies by gathering data and feedback from learners and whānau
  • refine school-wide assessment to make sure practices are consistent with the New Zealand Curriculum changes
  • implement a curriculum plan in all learning areas to further improve and sustain progress and achievement for learners
  • strengthen transition procedures for learners moving into, within and from the school to promote greater wellbeing for learners.

Actions taken against these next steps are expected to result in:

  • increased regular attendance meeting the Ministry of Education’s national target
  • strengthened assessment for learning practices that identify learner needs, inform teacher planning, improved progress and achievement for all learners
  • full curriculum coverage that ensures relevant learning opportunities for all learners and builds on their reading, writing and mathematics knowledge and skills
  • learners’ wellbeing enhanced through well supported procedures when moving into, within and from the school.

ERO’s role will be to support the school in its evaluation for improvement cycle to improve outcomes for all learners. The next public report on ERO’s website will be a School Evaluation Report and is due within three years.

Me mahi tahi tonu tātau, kia whai oranga a tātau tamariki
Let’s continue to work together for the greater good of all children

Shelley Booysen
Director of Schools

26 September 2024

About the School

The Education Counts website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement.  educationcounts.govt.nz/home

Chertsey School 

Board Assurance with Regulatory and Legislative Requirements Report 2024 to 2027

As of March 2024, the Chertsey School Board has attested to the following regulatory and legislative requirements:

Board Administration

Yes

Curriculum

Yes

Management of Health, Safety and Welfare

Yes

Personnel Management

Yes

Finance

Yes

Assets

Yes

Further Information

For further information please contact Chertsey School Board.

The next School Board assurance that it is meeting regulatory and legislative requirements will be reported, along with the Te Ara Huarau | School Evaluation Report, within three years.

Information on ERO’s role and process in this review can be found on the Education Review Office website.

Shelley Booysen
Director of Schools

26 September 2024

About the School 

The Education Counts website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement. educationcounts.govt.nz/home

Chertsey School - 13/03/2020

School Context

Chertsey School is a contributing primary school in Mid-Canterbury catering for students in Years 1 to 6. It has a roll of 28 students, three of whom identify as Māori.

The school’s vision is for students to be well-educated learners who reflect the school’s ‘CHAMP’ values. These are to be cooperative and connected, to have an open mind, to aim high and achieve, to be motivated, and to persevere. To support the school’s vision and values, the current strategic goals include increasing a sense of belonging and involvement in the school for the whole community, and ensuring a high quality and diverse learning and physical environment.

The school has a mixture of experienced and newly-elected trustees.

The school set specific annual targets for 2019 in relation to literacy and mathematics.

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

  • achievement and progress in reading, writing and mathematics
  • students with additional learning needs
  • student wellbeing for success.

The school is part of the Opuke 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 achieving equitable and excellent outcomes for the majority of its students.

School achievement information for 2017 to mid-year 2019 shows that the majority of students achieve at or above expected curriculum levels in reading, writing and mathematics. However, this shows a fluctuating picture of achievement between girls and boys during this time, particularly in writing and mathematics.

Wellbeing survey data for 2019 shows that almost all students feel they belong at the school and that students and teachers care about each other.

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

The school is accelerating learning for most students who need this. School information for 2017 to 2018 shows that most priority learners who needed additional support made accelerated progress in reading and writing, and the majority made accelerated progress 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?

Students benefit from responsive, inclusive and caring learning environments that effectively address their learning and wellbeing needs. Classrooms are well-resourced and inviting environments where student work is celebrated. There are increasing occasions for students to take ownership of their learning. Senior students have opportunities to demonstrate leadership and run whole school activities. Priority students are effectively identified, supported with interventions, and their ongoing progress is monitored and reported. Positive, strong and reciprocal learning relationships between teachers and students are clearly evident and uphold the school values.

The values are highly evident, understood and enacted at all levels of the school. Well-developed systems and processes support teaching and learning programmes. Students are given sufficient opportunities to work at their own pace and apply their learning to purposeful activities.

Leaders demonstrate reflective thinking and use self-review tools to provide the board with good quality information to support decision making. Trustees, leaders and teachers share a focus on student wellbeing and achievement. They work collaboratively to resource programmes to support positive student outcomes. Leaders support teacher engagement in individual inquiry topics and a range of professional learning opportunities. As a result, teachers are developing useful frameworks to reflect on their practice and increase their capability and capacity.

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

Internal evaluation needs to be strengthened. The use of internal evaluation at all levels of the school needs to identify what is working for students’ learning and prioritise where improvements are needed.

Differentiated approaches and themes within the curriculum enable students to engage in relevant topics. The school has identified, and ERO agrees, that they should further develop and review the curriculum. This is to ensure it reflects the local context, effective teaching and learning strategies, including moderation and bicultural practices.

Board members are developing a shared understanding of their roles as trustees.

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 Chertsey School’s performance in achieving valued outcomes for its students is: Developing

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:

  • reciprocal relationships that ensure teachers and leaders have an extensive knowledge of individual students
  • a values focused approach to all aspects of learning relationships
  • leadership practices with a focus on improving outcomes for learners and the community.

Next steps

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

  • the use of internal evaluation to know the effectiveness of teaching and learning programmes
  • developing a curriculum to reflect current and future-focused practice.

ERO recommends that the New Zealand School Trustees Association (NZSTA) consider providing support for the school in order to bring about improvement to:

  • strengthen knowledge for new trustees in governance systems and practices.

Dr Lesley Patterson

Director Review and Improvement Services Te Tai Tini

Southern Region

13 March 2020

About the school

Location

Ashburton

Ministry of Education profile number

3313

School type

Contributing primary (Years 1-6)

School roll

28

Gender composition

Female 16, Male 12

Ethnic composition

Māori 3
NZ European/Pākehā 24
Other Ethnicities 1

Students with Ongoing Resourcing Funding (ORS)

No

Provision of Māori medium education

No

Review team on site

November 2019

Date of this report

13 March 2020

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review August 2016
Education Review June 2012