Goldfields School (Cromwell)

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within 18 months of the Education Review Office and Goldfields School (Cromwell) 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 

Goldfields School is a contributing primary school located in the township of Cromwell in the Central Otago Lakes area. Its vision is ‘Learning and growing together’ and ‘Poipoia te kākano kia puāwai - Nurture the seed and it will blossom’.

Goldfields School (Cromwell)’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are to:

• embed Te Huarahi Tipuranga, the Goldfields’ learner profile and pathways, into everyday use for planning and assessment

• develop a consistent, coherent language of learning based on the Goldfields learner profile and pathways

• strengthen engagement with the school’s community through the development of a community engagement plan.

You can find a copy of the school’s strategic and annual plan on Goldfields School (Cromwell)’s website.

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate the integration of Te Huarahi Tipuranga into classroom practice.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is:

• Te Huarahi Tipuranga is the culmination of three years’ worth of work to identify what the Goldfields community wants for their tamariki by the time they leave the school

• the pathways take the elements of the school’s learners’ profiles and describes the learning at each stage of the school

• the pathways have been mapped to the New Zealand Curriculum Key Competencies, New Pedagogies for Deep Learning Global Competencies (21^st Century Skills) and Tātaiako Cultural Competencies.

The school expects to see the work integrated as the school’s local curriculum for planning, assessment, and reporting in the competencies. The pathways developed as Goldfield’s local curriculum will help staff with achievement of excellence, ensuring that their practice is culturally responsive and addressing the competencies.

Strengths

The school can draw from the following strengths to support the school in its goal to integrate Te Huarahi Tipuranga into classroom practice:

• strong leadership and teaching teams that work collaboratively for schoolwide improvement

• a clear and visible learning framework that sits at the heart of high-quality learning at Goldfields

• a highly effective cycle of evaluation that is embedded, aligned and informs the school’s strategic direction and priorities

• well considered professional development that empowers quality teaching and learning.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise:

• developing a consistent and coherent language of learning based on Te Huarahi Tipuranga building planning and assessment tools for use with the learner pathways

• extending the learner profile to include all ākonga (students and staff), so that a common language of learning is used throughout the school to promote whanaungatanga and mahi tahi.

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.

Dr Lesley Patterson
Director Review and Improvement Services (Southern)
Southern Region | Te Tai Tini

6 December 2022

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

Board Assurance with Regulatory and Legislative Requirements Report 2022 to 2025

As of May 2022, the Goldfields School (Cromwell) Board of Trustees 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 Goldfields School (Cromwell) Board of Trustees.

The next Board of Trustees 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.

Dr Lesley Patterson
Director Review and Improvement Services (Southern)
Southern Region | Te Tai Tini

6 December 2022 

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

Findings

Goldfields continues to be a high performing school with high levels of achievement. Trustees, leaders and teachers have a purposeful focus on improving outcomes for students. The curriculum is very highly responsive to community aspirations, student needs and interests. All students have many opportunities to learn about and experience Māori culture. Effective leadership and management ensure ongoing improvements.

ERO is likely to carry out the next review in four-to-five years.

1. Context

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

Goldfields continues to be a high-performing school for its students in Years 1 to 6. It is successfully meeting the challenges the continued roll growth brings. These include additional staffing and building more teaching spaces. Leaders and trustees are also sustaining the quality of the school curriculum with a focus on creating modern learning practices and environments.

Student achievement reports in relation to National Standards show very high levels of student achievement in reading and mathematics, and high student achievement in writing.

The school’s vision is to value individual excellence and diversity in a caring, safe and sustainable environment and for students to become self-managing learners. Trustees, school leaders and teachers have high expectations for, and are committed to, all students achieving well.

Students are positive about their experiences and learning at school and enjoy being at the school. There are supportive and positive relationships between adults, among students and between adults and students. All staff contribute to the positive outcomes for all students.

Since the last ERO review in 2010, the school has continued to build on its overall performance, including curriculum review and success for their Māori students.

2. Learning

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

The school uses achievement information very effectively to make positive changes to learners’ engagement, progress and achievement. The following areas of strength support this judgement.

Students, with their teachers, use achievement information very well to:

• know how well they are achieving and progressing against expectations
• set goals and to know what to work on next
• self manage their learning.

Teachers use learning information effectively to:

• guide their planning for explicit teaching to address identified learning needs
• identify students needing extra learning support or extension
• monitor and track the progress of students
• reflect on the impact of their teaching and programmes and adapt programmes where required.

School leaders investigate learning information to identify needs of students and teachers. They then:

• set targets and goals for specific curriculum areas and groups of students
• determine staffing needs, learning interventions, extensions and programmes
• monitor and confirm progress, evaluate the effectiveness of teaching programmes, including additional learning support, and make necessary adjustments to programmes.

Trustees have a strong focus on student achievement as part of their governance role. They receive well-analysed information and use it well to:

• review strategic and annual plans, and set future priorities
• make appropriate budget and resourcing decisions.

3. Curriculum

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

The school’s curriculum very effectively promotes and supports student learning. The following areas of strength support this judgement.

The curriculum is soundly based on the New Zealand Curriculum and the school vision. It is responsive to community aspirations, student needs and interests. Central to the curriculum is the emphasis placed on nurturing and developing the wellbeing of the whole child. Other significant features of the curriculum are the learning:

• in and beyond their community
• about sustainability of the environment
• about New Zealand’s bicultural heritage.

The school’s vision is very evident in practice throughout the school and the classrooms.

Students are actively involved in the life and learning of the school. They are able to make choices in many aspects of their learning. The school culture supports students to engage in purposeful learning. This includes:

• learning support programmes
• one-to-one support from trained teacher aides and community volunteers
• effective use of modern learning practices, including e-learning
• a wide range of relevant and interesting learning experiences.

Leaders have high expectations of teachers. There are clear guidelines for consistent practice and programme delivery. Leaders know what contributes to good teaching. They research to find best practice to help make ongoing improvements to teaching. Teachers use effective teaching strategies, including those to support students to become self-managing learners.

There are useful systems in place to support teachers to build their teaching practice, including effective curriculum review, robust appraisals, and comprehensive professional development and learning.

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

The school’s self review shows that Māori students and their whānau are increasingly engaging in aspects of their identity, language and culture at and beyond school.

Sixteen percent of the school’s students identify as Māori. Achievement reports show that these students are achieving very well in relation to the National Standards, especially in mathematics.

All students have many opportunities to hear and use te reo Māori and sing waiata. Many features of Māori culture are valued, celebrated and increasingly incorporated into the life and learning of the school. Students join in Māori performing arts, noho marae and pōwhiri.

The parent group, Whānau ō Goldfields, is providing leadership in this area. This group seeks and responds to student and whānau opinions. The principal champions biculturalism and success for Māori and ensures they are part of school plans.

The values of manaakitanga/caring, whanaungatanga/inclusion, rangatiratanga/respect and tuakana-teina are highly evident throughout the school. Work has begun to incorporate these into the school values. Trustees and leaders recognise the value of developing a shared understanding of what success as Māori means at Goldfields.

4. Sustainable Performance

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

The school is very well placed to sustain and improve its performance. There is a strong alignment between governance, leadership, management, teachers, the curriculum and student learning

School governance is based on a well-defined vision and achievement information. The vision is put into action through useful long and short-term planning and regular review.

The principal’s leadership style motivates staff. She has a thorough knowledge of what matters and how to effect change. Leaders at all levels are well supported to build their capability as leaders. There is a priority on building a learning culture as guided by school plans.

Effective management practices focus on ensuring quality outcomes for students. This is evident in the:

• rigorous self review leading to improvement and planning
• well-planned performance management practices clearly linked to targets and school goals
• school organisation and meetings to ensure the “Goldfields’ Way” is maintained.

Next steps

From self review findings the principal and trustees have identified key areas for continued development. These include strengthening partnerships with parents and whānau, and continuing to develop their work around success for Māori. ERO agrees with these initiatives.

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.

Conclusion

Goldfields continues to be a high performing school with high levels of achievement. Trustees, leaders and teachers have a purposeful focus on improving outcomes for students. The curriculum is very highly responsive to community aspirations, student needs and interests. All students have many opportunities to learn about and experience Māori culture. Effective leadership and management ensure ongoing improvements.

ERO is likely to carry out the next review in four-to-five years.

Graham Randell

Deputy Chief Review Officer Southern

8 May 20151

About the School