Hoon Hay Te Kura Kōaka

Hoon Hay Te Kura Kōaka

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within 11 months of the Education Review Office and Hoon Hay Te Kura Kōaka working in Te Ara Huarau, an improvement evaluation approach used in most English Medium State and State Integrated Schools. For more information about Te Ara Huarau see ERO’s website. www.ero.govt.nz

Context 

Hoon Hay Te Kura Kōaka is a contributing primary school, located in Christchurch. It provides education for students in Years 1 to 6. The school’s values are whanaungatanga | we belong, ako | we learn, manaakitanga | we care, and manawanui | we persist.

Hoon Hay Te Kura Kōaka’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are to:

  • meet the passions, abilities, and needs of students through inclusive practices, and ensure that all students are valued and offered opportunities for success

  • celebrate every student’s identity and affirm their sense of belonging

  • ensure Māori will enjoy educational success as Māori

  • maximise student achievement as benchmarked to the New Zealand Curriculum.

You can find a copy of the school’s strategic and annual plan on Hoon Hay Te Kura Kōaka’s website.

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate the impact of a consistent school wide approach to the teaching of literacy on student engagement, progress and achievement.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is that the school:

  • has identified increasing numbers of students starting school with lower levels of literacy which need acceleration

  • is evaluating its new approach to literacy, introduced initially in Years 1 and 2, which has a stronger focus on phonological skills to support reading, writing, and spelling development.

The school expects to see:

  • accelerated progress in literacy for those students identified as needing it

  • improved achievement, engagement, and progress in reading, writing, and spelling across all year levels.

Strengths

The school can draw from the following strengths to support the school in its goal to evaluate the impact of a consistent schoolwide approach to the teaching of literacy on student engagement, progress and achievement.

  • there is sustained and equitable achievement in reading, writing, and maths which provides a platform for continued improvement

  • the school regularly engages with its community to gather their voice to inform decision making

  • consistency guidelines for teaching and assessment practices have been developed and implemented across the school

  • teachers plan collaboratively for individuals and cohorts, informed by comprehensive data analysis

  • support and teaching staff are engaged in targeted professional learning to support this evaluation goal.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise:

  • ongoing, targeted professional learning in literacy strategies for support staff and teachers

  • ensuring that approaches to the teaching of literacy are aligned with the school’s consistency guidelines

  • continued analysis of data to evaluate the impact of a more consistent approach to teaching literacy on improved outcomes for students.

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

Shelley Booysen
Director of Schools

13 November 2023 

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

Hoon Hay Te Kura Kōaka

Board Assurance with Regulatory and Legislative Requirements Report 2023 to 2026

As of June 2023, the Hoon Hay Te Kura Kōaka 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 Hoon Hay Te Kura Kōaka 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

13 November 2023

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

Hoon Hay School - 13/08/2019

School Context

Hoon Hay School, (Te Kura Kōaka), is a Year 1-6 state school with a roll of 442 children. The roll is increasingly culturally diverse. It includes 50 children who are English Language Learners (ELLs) and 67 children who identify as Māori.

The school’s vision is that students will: ‘become confident and effective communicators; relate well to others; and have the skills and attitudes to be active learners’. Its valued qualities are that children will be respectful/ kia whakamihia, responsible/kia tūtika, persistent/kia mahia and curious/kia whakapumau.

The school’s present strategic aims are to: continue to lift the achievement of children below expectations; review its curriculum to better reflect the local community and context; actively promote student and staff wellbeing; and effectively manage the building and upgrade of learning spaces.

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

  • achievement in reading, writing and mathematics
  • progress of charter target students in reading, writing and mathematics
  • progress of children with additional needs
  • wellbeing and engagement.

The school has a long serving and experienced leadership team. There has been little staff change over time. The school is a member of the South-West Cluster of schools in its local area. This is the fifth year of involvement in a Ministry of Education initiative to promote positive behaviour and engagement in learning. The staff have also been involved in schoolwide professional learning in restorative practices and behaviour management.

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 effective in achieving equitable and excellent outcomes for students.

School achievement data for 2018 shows that most students achieve at or above curriculum expectations in reading, writing and mathematics. This is particularly evident at the end of Year 6, where almost all students achieve at or above expected curriculum levels in reading and mathematics. These levels of school-wide achievement have been maintained over time.

End of 2018 data shows a disparity for Māori students in mathematics and for boys in writing. Levels of disparity reduce as students get older.

Students with additional learning needs are very well supported to participate, progress and achieve well in relation to their individual goals.

Most ELL students make very good progress in their acquisition of English.

Wellbeing information shows that students feel safe, included and valued. All Māori students surveyed believed that their teachers were interested in their culture, cared about them and expected them to achieve well.

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 those students who need this.

In 2018, acceleration of learning is evident for most priority Māori students in reading, about half in mathematics and less than half in writing.

More than half of targeted students in Year 2 made accelerated progress in reading.

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?

Children learn in a very caring, respectful and inclusive environment. Highly effective pastoral support systems help to develop students’ social and emotional competency and holistic wellbeing. Children with additional needs are very well supported. The school’s values are well enacted and complement a strong focus on skills, attributes and dispositions for lifelong learning.

There is a relentless focus on improving student achievement, wellbeing and success. Staff work collaboratively and show a commitment to the adaptation of teaching practices and initiatives to improve student outcomes.

School leaders are reflective and improvement focussed, and implement schoolwide systems that prioritise what works well for students. They understand and use a range of effective evaluative practices and provide strong pedagogical leadership. Leaders encourage innovation, actively build staff capability and ensure well-considered implementation of new, research-based initiatives.

Very effective learning-focussed partnerships are evident throughout the school. Deliberate steps are taken to inform and involve parents in their children’s learning. School leaders consult widely and are very responsive to stakeholder voice. Teachers and leaders work closely with external agencies and experts to support student learning and wellbeing.

Internal evaluation processes and practices are well developed. Careful analysis of student progress and achievement information supports evaluative thinking at all levels of the school, informing decision making and refinement of programmes to best meet children’s needs.

Effective and capable governance has prioritised student and staff wellbeing, student progress and achievement. The board makes well informed resourcing decisions, evaluate their own effectiveness and seek external expertise where appropriate. A strategic, schoolwide focus has resulted in a greater valuing of te ao Māori and provided a basis for further development of the school’s cultural context.

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

The school has identified, and ERO agrees, that it is timely to review the school’s curriculum. This could better reflect the local context, the increasingly diverse student population, the importance of te ao Maori and culturally responsive practices. The review should include how the school will assess learning areas beyond English and mathematics in meaningful ways.

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 Hoon Hay Schools, (Te Kura Kōaka), performance in achieving valued outcomes for its students is: Strong.

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:

  • a very caring, respectful and inclusive environment which supports students’ social and emotional competency and holistic wellbeing
  • leaders and staff who work collaboratively and show a commitment to the ongoing adaptation of teaching practices and initiatives to improve student outcomes
  • effective learning-focussed partnerships which inform and involve parents in their children’s learning.

Next steps

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

  • conducting a review of the school’s curriculum to better reflect the local context, the importance of te ao Maori and culturally responsive practices, and clarify how the school will assess learning areas other than English and mathematics.

Dr Lesley Patterson

Director Review and Improvement Services Te Tai Tini

Southern Region

13 August 2019

About the school

Location

Christchurch

Ministry of Education profile number

3379

School type

State contributing Years 1-6

School roll

442

Gender composition

Girls 48%, Boys 52%

Ethnic composition

NZ Māori 15%

NZ European/Pākehā 64%

Pacific 4%

Other ethnicities 17%

Students with Ongoing Resourcing Funding (ORS)

Yes

Provision of Māori medium education

No

Review team on site

June 2019

Date of this report

13 August 2019

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review September 2014

Education Review October 2009