Darfield School

School Context

Darfield School is a semi-rural school in Canterbury. It provides education for children in Years 1 to 6. The school has a roll of 211 students, 18% of whom identify as Māori.

The school’s vision is to have its students: ‘Standing tall: reaching their potential/Kia ekea ngā taumata’. Supporting this vision are the ‘Darfield High 5s’ that include the dispositions of being a: team player, caring citizen, power thinker, self manager and self believer.

To support these valued outcomes the school’s strategic priorities are: striving for higher standards, enhancing a sense of community, creating a supportive learning environment, fostering the unique potential of each child and stewardship.

To know about the school’s performance against these goals, leaders and teachers regularly report to the board, schoolwide information about outcomes for students in the following areas:

• student wellbeing

• ‘Darfield High 5’ dispositions

• achievement in reading, writing and mathematics

• progress towards and achievement in relation to school targets.

Since the school’s 2015 ERO review there have been staffing changes, including the appointment of a new principal and deputy principal. Staff have participated in sustained professional development in the areas of collaborative teaching practices, the digital technology curriculum, and oral language and literacy curriculum development. The school has undergone extensive building refurbishments to create innovative learning environments.

The school is a member of the Malvern Kāhui Ako|Community of Learning (CoL).

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 effectively supporting most students to achieve well against its valued outcomes and in reading, writing and mathematics.

School information shows:

• in 2018 almost all students followed the school’s expectations of ‘Darfield High 5’ and felt their wellbeing needs were being met

• over the past three years most students achieved at or above the expected levels in reading, writing and mathematics

• there has been an upward trend in the proportion of students achieving at or above expected levels in reading, writing and mathematics

• over the past three years Māori students have achieved at similar levels to their non-Māori peers.

The school has identified the need to increase the proportion of boys writing at expected levels. Relevant targets have been set and planned actions have been put in place to support this. Teachers and leaders are working closely with their Kāhui Ako in this area.

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

In 2018, more specific targets and actions led to significantly improved numbers of students making accelerated progress in identified areas of need.

Data for 2018 shows that:

• most targeted students accelerated their progress in reading

• less than half the targeted students did so in writing.

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?

Student wellbeing for learning is greatly enhanced by the Darfield High 5 (DH5) expectations. Teachers, leaders and trustees have a strong commitment to the DH5 and have made them pivotal to the school’s curriculum. Students participate in deliberate lessons about the dispositions and teachers track the individual and school-wide development of DH5. Also contributing to students’ wellbeing is class organisation and careful placement of teachers. Leaders have high expectations that teachers:

• know their students as learners

• establish positive relationships with their students and whānau.

Students are well placed to learn in the positive and caring learning environment.

The school’s curriculum is very responsive to students’ needs, interests and strengths, and to the aspirations of the community. Skilful data analysis by teachers informs their precision teaching and choice of deliberate teaching strategies to address the specific learning needs of students. Leaders determine appropriate interventions to give additional support to individual students and groups of students. The responsiveness of the curriculum is providing students with equitable opportunities to learn.

Senior leaders have established robust practices and processes to guide school-wide teaching and learning programmes. Professional development has been effective, leading to teachers establishing shared understandings and ownership of teaching practices within their collaborative learning environments. Teachers have a shared responsibility for the students who need extra support in their team.

Appraisal and the inquiries that teachers undertake to investigate the effectiveness of their teaching are consistently based on improving their practice for better student outcomes. Teachers and leaders carry out timely and effective evaluation for the purpose of finding areas that can be improved. Sound relational trust within the school community supports school-wide practices. Consistent and cohesive practices are key contributors to effective teaching and learning.

Trustees are highly focused on improving student outcomes. Their scrutiny of learning data leads to purposeful planning and resourcing. School planning is well aligned and sufficient to support the board’s strategic goals and targets. The board works with school leaders and teachers meaningfully to realise the school’s vision and valued outcomes.

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

Trustees and leaders now need to focus their targets on all students who need to make accelerated progress.

Leaders’ and teachers’ scrutiny of data needs to include evaluating whether each student has made sufficient progress to improve or sustain their levels of achievement.

Another next step is for leaders and teachers to explore ways to further involve parents and whānau in learning-centred partnerships, especially for those students who need their achievement accelerated.

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 Vulnerable Children Act 2014.

4 ERO’s Overall Judgement

On the basis of the findings of this review, ERO ‘s overall evaluation judgement of Darfield Primary School performance in achieving valued outcomes for its students is: Well placed.

ERO’s Framework: Overall School Performance 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:

• their concerted focus on students reaching their potential

• strong relational trust within the school community

• collection and analysis of student learning information

• effective evaluation practices for improvement.

Next steps

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

• establishing targets that focus on all students who need to make accelerated progress

• using the data already within the school to know about the sufficiency of progress of all students

• exploring ways to further involve parents and whānau in reciprocal learning-centred partnerships, especially for those students who are at risk of underachievement.

Alan Wynyard

Director Review and Improvement Services Southern

Southern Region

11 April 2019

About the school

Findings

The school provides a positive and settled environment that supports student learning and wellbeing. Substantial building redevelopments will occur in 2015. Students achieve well in literacy and mathematics. The new principal and board are successfully managing changes to many aspects of school operations including curriculum development, and the analysis and reporting of student achievement information.

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

1 Context

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

The board of trustees recently appointed a new principal. The board and principal have worked with staff and the community to establish a new direction for the school. Trustees are managing some significant property developments. These will result in the upgrading of classroom facilities which will have positive implications for students' learning in the future.

The school has close links with the Malvern Cluster of Schools. It hosts the resource teacher of learning and behaviour (RTLB) and the resource teacher of literacy (RTLit). Some school facilities are shared with the community. The school has made progress towards addressing the areas for development identified in the 2011 ERO report.

2 Learning

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

Teachers use achievement information well to support students’ learning. They provide feedback to students about their learning progress that helps them to identify their next learning steps. Students who need further support in their learning are identified and appropriate assistance is provided.

Achievement against the National Standards at the end of 2013 shows most students are achieving at or above expectations in reading, writing and mathematics.

The improved sharing and analysis of literacy and mathematics achievement information is helping teachers and leaders to make more effective school-wide decisions about learning and teaching.

Students have opportunities to share their learning with their parents so they can be better involved in a learning partnership with their children.

Teachers have a strong focus on making sure their decisions about students’ learning are accurate and consistent. They use a good range of assessment tasks to gather achievement data for literacy and mathematics. Teachers also gather information for other curriculum areas. Students are given information that helps them understand their achievement levels and what they need to do to improve their achievement levels.

Area for review and development

The principal and teachers have identified, and ERO agrees, the need to continue building team capacity to collaboratively analyse achievement information to identify progress and achievement, and to better inform school targets.

3 Curriculum

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

The school’s curriculum increasingly promotes and supports students to engage and progress in their learning. Students have many opportunities to extend and enjoy their learning within and beyond the classroom.

Students are helped to develop positive learning attitudes and skills that underpin successful learning across the curriculum. Evidence is gathered to help evaluate this progress. Teachers foster respectful relationships with and among students. Many students can talk confidently about their learning and what they are focusing on. There has been an increase in the ways student successes are celebrated.

Teachers use a range of appropriate strategies to make the purpose of learning meaningful to students. They set a clear purpose for learning in class lessons. Students are well supported to learn at their appropriate levels. They are helped to set individual goals for their learning. Teachers provide feedback against these goals so students can evaluate their progress and plan next learning steps. Teachers closely monitor student progress.

There is a strong focus on literacy and mathematics within the school’s curriculum that reflects the expectations of parents. Teachers are improving the ways they integrate literacy across the curriculum to support students’ learning and independence. Aspects of the school’s curriculum document are regularly revised and updated.

Areas for review and development

As a result of the review of the charter, the principal has identified the need to review the curriculum to appropriately reflect the school’s vision and future direction for learning.

The board and ERO have agreed the next steps to improve curriculum review and development are to:

• ensure that the professional development programme fully addresses the needs of teachers so they are well prepared to implement new changes
• develop a rationale and planning for gifted and talented student.

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

Teachers have engaged in professional development using a Ministry of Education resource that helps teachers to understand learning for Māori students. The board has allocated funding to strengthen leadership for Māori programmes across the school. Students have opportunities to be involved in cultural activities. These include kapa haka and visits to the marae. Some teachers are using te reo Māori in classroom programmes on a regular basis.

The next steps to better support Māori students and their families, are for leaders and teachers to:

• work with whānau to develop plans that will give direction for the future
• identify priorities for initiatives that will support Māori to succeed as Māori
• extend bicultural perspectives across the curriculum.

4 Sustainable Performance

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

Trustees bring a good range of skills to their governance roles. Improvements to parent surveying and principal reports to the board are enabling trustees to make appropriate decisions about strategic goals, staffing and significant building developments.

The board provides parents with good opportunities to contribute their feedback about school developments and direction. The Parent Teacher Association is active and supportive of students and their learning.

The board and principal are focused on school improvement that includes the development of the school’s curriculum and resources needed to better foster and support teaching in a modern learning environment. The board is in the early stages of putting in place strategies and plans aimed at strengthening and improving the school’s performance.

Staff have experienced considerable change over the last year. A number of new developments have recently taken place including review of the charter and board planning.

Teachers are increasingly reflective in their practices and effectively evaluate many aspects of their work. They evaluate the success of specific strategies and programmes that are likely to raise student achievement and meet school goals.

Areas for review and development

The board and principal have identified a number of areas they need to prioritise and plan for to ensure practices effectively support the school’s ongoing development. These include:

• seeking further training for trustees for governance roles and responsibilities
• managing change through the development of action plans that reflect shared understandings about outcomes
• reviewing procedures relating to personnel communication, consultation and management structures.

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.

When is ERO likely to review the school again?

The school provides a positive and settled environment that supports student learning and wellbeing. Substantial building redevelopments will occur in 2015. Students achieve well in literacy and mathematics. The new principal and board are successfully managing changes to many aspects of school operations including curriculum development, and the analysis and reporting of student achievement information.

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

Graham Randell

Deputy Chief Review Officer Southern

24 June 2015

About the School