1 Context
Durie Hill School primary school in Whanganui for students Years 1 to 6. The current roll is 256 of and 28% identify as Māori. Since the September 2013 ERO report, one deputy principal has retired and a new appointment yet to be made. The leadership team currently consists of the principal, a deputy principal and three team leaders.
Recent board elections have resulted in three new trustees. Re-elected trustees provide useful continuity for the board.
2 Equity and excellence
The vision and valued outcomes defined by the school for all children are to develop competencies for ongoing learning: to be effective communicators; and competent mathematicians, readers, writers, speakers and listeners. Through their learning and participation in school life, children will practise growing levels of self-management and positive social skills. This will enable them to confidently contribute in ways that will help the school to be a supportive learning community.
The school’s achievement information shows that, at the end of 2015, most students achieved at and above in relation to the National Standard in reading and mathematics. Writing is an area of focus for improving student achievement, particularly for boys.
There has been a steady improvement in the number of students achieving at and above expectation since 2013, particularly for Māori students in mathematics and writing.
School leaders and teachers are knowledgeable about student achievement, and who has made accelerated progress. There is a clear focus on accelerating the progress of Māori learners and boys who require support to do so. There has been good progress in increasing more equitable achievement.
Processes used for assessment lead to valid and reliable overall judgements about students' achievement in relation to the National Standards.
Since the last ERO evaluation the school has:
- engaged in professional learning and development in writing and in building a positive learning culture
- undertaken deliberate actions to strengthen relationships with parents and whānau
- developed how teachers inquire into the impact of their teaching with a focus on target students
- taken a planned approach to strengthening culturally responsive practices.
In 2016 the school is involved in professional learning and development in Accelerated Learners in Literacy (ALL) for writing and mathematics.
3 Accelerating achievement
How effectively does this school respond to Māori children whose learning and achievement need acceleration?
A clear focus on improving outcomes for Māori students has successfully resulted in:
- fewer Māori students below the National Standard in reading, writing and mathematics
- six out of the eight targeted Māori students making accelerated progress in writing in 2015
- a reduction of disparities in achievement for Māori learners
- Māori students are achieving better than Pākehā in mathematics.
These improvements are based on a well-considered plan, developed in 2014, to create a culture for learning which supports Māori learners. This plan emphasises:
- building staff capacity and professional practice
- strengthening relationships and engagement with whānau.
Leaders and teachers are well aware of the numbers, names and needs of those Māori learners whose achievement needs to be accelerated. In response they have:
- set appropriate targets in reading, writing and mathematics
- formulated individual student action plans related to the targets
- tracked and monitored the progress of individuals
- proactively engaged with whānau to promote learning partnerships.
Teachers closely monitor their target students. Evaluating the impact of specific teaching strategies on outcomes for students requires further development.
How effectively does this school respond to other children whose learning and achievement need acceleration?
The school has a clear focus on all students whose learning and achievement needs acceleration. Appropriate targets are set in reading, writing and mathematics. Actions plans are formed and progress is tracked and monitored by teachers and leaders.
Students with additional learning needs are clearly identified and appropriate programmes and initiatives are implemented. There are well developed systems and processes to track and monitor progress and achievement. The school works in collaboration with parents, whānau and external agencies to support students' participation and engagement in learning.
4 School conditions
How effectively do the school’s curriculum and other organisational processes and practices develop and enact the school’s vision, values, goals and targets for equity and excellence?
The curriculum successfully promotes the school's priorities and supports targets for increased equity and excellence.
The strengths of the curriculum are that:
- it is culturally responsive to Māori through using local contexts, iwi and community resources and weaving te reo me ngā tikanga Māori through daily practice
- teachers provide students with opportunities to learn in authentic, relevant contexts
- purposeful learning experiences, choices and increasing student ownership of learning lead to high levels of engagement
- the school environment features a positive tone, respectful interactions and students working collaboratively
- the key competencies of The New Zealand Curriculum are highly evident in practice.
ERO’s evaluation and the school agrees that it is timely to review the school's curriculum documentation to ensure that it reflects current best practice and response to 21st century learners.
Trustees are regularly informed about student achievement and the progress of target students, through well analysed information provided by school leaders. The board uses the information to prioritise resourcing to improve teaching and learning. The charter has been updated to reflect the views of the community.
School leaders focus on building leadership capability across the school. This fosters a collective responsibility and strong focus on student learning and wellbeing. The positive impact of this has particularly benefitted Māori learners.
Teachers have many opportunities to develop their professional practice. These are relevant and aligned to school priorities. The appraisal and endorsement of teaching certificates process should continue to be developed to ensure it is focused on:
- evidence based reflection and judgements based on the Practising Teacher Criteria
- robustly contributing to ongoing teacher improvement and better student outcomes.
Leaders and teachers competently track, monitor and reflect on their actions. Developing internal evaluation from reflection on what the school is doing, to how well they are doing it, is likely to assist teachers and leaders to better recognise what works best and for which students.
The school has strengthened relationships with local early learning services. Sharing of information supports students' transition to school.
5 Going forward
How well placed is the school to accelerate the achievement of all children who need it?
Leaders and teachers:
- know the children whose learning and achievement need to be accelerated
- respond effectively to the strengths, needs and interests of each child
- regularly evaluate how well teaching is working for these children
- act on what they know works well for each child
- build teacher capability effectively to achieve equitable outcomes for all children
- are well placed to achieve and sustain equitable and excellent outcomes for all children.
The school has a clear focus on those students whose learning and achievement needs acceleration. They have planned actions to respond to these students. Strengthening internal evaluation and appraisal are next steps.
ERO is likely to carry out the next review in three years.
6 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 the following:
- board administration
- curriculum
- management of health, safety and welfare
- personnel management
- 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
- processes for appointing staff
- stand down, suspensions, expulsions and exclusions
- attendance
- compliance with the provisions of the Vulnerable Children Act 2014
7 Recommendation
Trustees, leaders and teachers should strengthen their understanding and use of internal evaluation and appraisal to guide change and improvement.
Joyce Gebbie
Deputy Chief Review Officer Central
16 August 2016
About the school
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Location
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Whanganui
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Ministry of Education profile number
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2355
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School type
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Contributing (Years 1 to 6)
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School roll
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256
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Gender composition
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Male 49%, Female 51%
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Ethnic composition
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Māori
Pākehā
Other ethnic groups
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28%
68%
4%
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Review team on site
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June 2016
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Date of this report
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16 August 2016
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Most recent ERO report(s)
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Education Review
Education Review
Education Review
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September 2013
May 2009
June 2003
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