Hokitika Primary School

Findings

Hokitika Primary School has been effectively addressing many of the priorities identified for improvement. Many of these are at an early stage of development. The trustees, principal and teachers are working collaboratively to ensure positive outcomes for students. Key school practices are more successfully supporting an improvement focus. The school is establishing a foundation of sound leadership, relationships and school practices that promote ongoing improvements to student progress and achievement. The priorities for further development or ongoing improvement identified in this report must now be addressed to ensure sustainability of improvements over time.

On the basis of the findings of this review, ERO ‘s overall evaluation judgement of Hokitika School’s performance in achieving valued outcomes for its students is: Developing.

1 Background and Context

What is the background and context for this school’s review?

This report identifies Hokitika Primary School’s progress in addressing the areas for review and development that were identified in ERO’s 2017 Education Review report. These include the need to improve achievement and acceleration of progress across the school. To address that, teachers, leaders and trustees needed to develop assessment and moderation systems, build capability to use student achievement data, strengthen the evaluation processes within the school, and build relational trust across the school community.

Since ERO’s 2017 review there have been a number of staffing changes, including the appointment of a new principal.

Membership of the Westland Kāhui Ako has enabled the school to proactively build and utilise useful links with other schools, and to access educational resources.

This ERO review found that the trustees, principal and teachers have made significant progress in a number of areas that had previously been identified for improvement.

2 Review and Development

How effectively is the school addressing its priorities for review and development?

Priorities identified for review and development

The priorities identified for review and development were for trustees, the principal and teachers to improve systems and practices related to:

• governance and leadership (strategic and annual planning; managing change; consultation with whānau; relationships and staff turnover)
• ongoing low levels of achievement in reading and writing, including a limited ability to accelerate the progress of students with specific learning needs
• curriculum responsiveness
• internal evaluation across the school’s operations.

Progress

Improved governance and leadership of the school is enabling students to learn within an improved school culture. Since 2017, relational trust within the school community has become more positive. Children and their whānau/families have a greater sense of belonging. Communication structures and consultation are enabling all groups to have a greater sense of connection with, and knowledge about, school activities. The ideas and opinions of whānau and parents are increasingly sought, welcomed and valued by the school.

There is continued representation of local iwi on the board of trustees. The school is strengthening relationships with the local marae.

Trustees and the principal have high expectations for teachers and children. The principal has effectively introduced good systems for learning, teaching and behaviour.

The board has an increased awareness of its roles and responsibilities. Trustees used 2018 achievement data well to inform the planning for 2019. This has included funding extra teaching hours to improve teacher-student ratios. The board’s main focus is now on lifting student achievement across the school.

There is coherent alignment from the school’s strategic goals to professional learning and development, appraisal, and classroom programmes.

Integration of the New Zealand Curriculum and Te Marautanga o Aotearoa has been successfully achieved. Curriculum values and key competencies are being strengthened by the explicit teaching of positive behaviours for learning. The school is extending and strengthening the assessment practices and approaches in the bilingual unit. Teachers are gathering and using more reliable learning information from the improved school moderation practices. These areas of improvement now need to be sustained and progress monitored over time.

School leaders carefully choose and implement targeted interventions in response to the particular needs of students whose learning is at risk. The planning for these interventions clearly identifies their learning steps and the teaching strategies to be used.

Leaders and teachers engage in a range of reflection and review processes. The school’s challenge now is to implement a robust process for internal evaluation to ensure that progress and improvements are sustained. This will also enable leaders and teachers to identify the impact of initiatives on children’s learning, and continue to build on those practices that are best contributing to their learning progress and achievement.

The key next steps are for:

• trustees and leaders to link student achievement targets more clearly to priorities for accelerated progress and learning
• leaders and teachers to clearly report achievement and the amount of progress made by all students and those in target groups
• trustees, leaders and teachers to have targets set for the beginning of the year, and to monitor and report to the board progress against these targets over time
• ensuring the development of a coherent and effective internal evaluation process and related practices.

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 well placed to sustain and continue to improve and review its performance.

The principal is leading improvements by developing systematic and cohesive schoolwide practices. A strategic and coherent approach to appraisal is increasing teachers’ collective capacity to use inquiry and build their professional knowledge.

The school is now better placed to evaluate the impact of programmes and interventions and to identify common learning areas for improvement across the school. This is as a result of ongoing improvements to assessment practices, developing more reliable student achievement data and ensuring there are schoolwide expectations for teaching practice.

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 the Ministry of Education support the board, principal and teachers to continue to build capability across the school in:

• raising student achievement, and data analysis and use
• internal evaluation.

Conclusion

Hokitika Primary School has been effectively addressing many of the priorities identified for improvement. Many of these are at an early stage of development. The trustees, principal and teachers are working collaboratively to ensure positive outcomes for students. Key school practices are more successfully supporting an improvement focus. The school is establishing a foundation of sound leadership, relationships and school practices that promote ongoing improvements to student progress and achievement. The priorities for further development or ongoing improvement identified in this report must now be addressed to ensure sustainability of improvements over time.

On the basis of the findings of this review, ERO ‘s overall evaluation judgement of Hokitika School’s performance in achieving valued outcomes for its students is: Developing.

ERO’s Framework: Overall School Performance is available on ERO’s website.

Dr Lesley Patterson

Director Review and Improvement Services Te Tai Tini

Southern Region

13 August 2019

About the School