School Context
Monrad Intermediate in Palmerston North caters for students in Years 7 and 8. Of the 276 students enrolled, 53% are Māori and 8% are Pacific.
Valued outcomes of the school includedeveloping confident, respectful students, supportive of their peers, who are proud of their school, themselves and their culture. Following a recent review, the values of creativity, excellence, mana, commitment and resilience were adopted.
Leaders and teachers regularly report to the board, schoolwide information about outcomes for students in the following areas:
- achievement in reading, writing and mathematics
- achievement in pānui, tuhituhi and pāngarau
- valued outcomes in relation to student engagement, wellbeing and behaviour.
Since the January 2015 ERO report, there have been changes to the governance board, and a new principal started in Term 2, 2017.
The school has three classes in the Tahuna-ā-rua unit offering Level 1 Māori Medium Education. Specialist teachers deliver programmes in the technology and arts curriculum areas.
In 2014, a change and improvement plan was developed, in conjunction with support from a Ministry of Education Student Achievement Function (SAF) practitioner. This support concluded in 2016.Professional development has focused on building teachers’ cultural competence and capability in te reo Māori and effective teaching in literacy.
The school is a member of the Palmerston North City and Rural Two Community of Learning|Kāhui Ako.
Evaluation Findings
1 Equity and excellence – valued outcomes for students
1.1 How well is the school achieving equitable and excellent outcomes for all its students?
The school is working towards developing effective practices and processes to improve student achievement and address in school disparity for boys, Māori and Pacific learners when compared with girls and Pākehā. Overall, significantly higher levels of achievement are needed.
Reported achievement at the end of 2016 showed that the small majority of students achieved at or above in relation to national expectations in writing and mathematics. Slightly more achieve well in reading. This has been the pattern of achievement over the past three years.
For students in Māori medium, the school reports significantly lower achievement overall in pānui, tuhituhi and pāngarau. There are however, some students who have attained the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) Level 1 credits in te Reo Māori.
1.2 How effectively does this school respond to those Māori and other students whose learning and achievement need acceleration?
The school is developing and strengthening its response to those Māori and other students whose learning and achievement need acceleration.
Mid-year 2017 achievement information indicates for expected end of year achievement, likely acceleration of learning for some Māori and Pacific students and boys in reading, writing and mathematics.
Other available information indicates that some students make accelerated progress, including as part of a group supported in tuhituihi (writing) in Tahuna-ā-rua, and a group assisted in their reading learning. However, precise measures of acceleration are not evident.
2 School conditions for equity and excellence
2.1 What school processes and practices are effective in enabling achievement of equity and excellence?
Considerable progress has been made in curriculum responsiveness that reflects te ao Māori, local contexts and interests to better engage students in their learning. There has been a deliberate focus on developing teachers’ cultural responsiveness that has enabled Māori and Pacific students to develop a sense of belonging.
Leaders are working collaboratively with teachers, fanau to identify school priorities and establish the school’s future direction. They seek and value their views and those of students. These views are well considered when making decisions about change and improvement and strengthening learning partnerships with students.parents, whānau, and
Staff work collaboratively for learners with additional needs who are well supported to participate in all aspects of school life.
School leaders are establishing a coherent approach to developing teachers’ leadership skills, expectations of practice, and provision of support for staff professional growth.
2.2 What further developments are needed in school processes and practices for achievement of equity and excellence?
Strengthening internal evaluation, processes to support dependability of teacher assessment judgements, and trustees’ understanding of their roles and responsibilities should further promote achievement of equity and excellence.
Leaders acknowledge there is a need to further develop systems to strengthen the robustness of assessment judgements in relation to student achievement information.
Building student ownership of learning and how teachers plan to respond to Pacific learners and boys to raise levels of achievement is an identified priority.
Leaders are reflective and improvement focused. They recognise the value and use of evidence to inform decision making and improvement. Further developing a shared understanding of the purpose and use of internal evaluation to support improved student outcomes is a next step.
School leaders acknowledge the need to continue to improve systems that specifically focus on those students whose learning needs acceleration. Reporting to the board to show how many students make expected progress, more than expected progress or less than expected progress should assist with decision making. This should also aid trustees to set targets, monitor progress and achievement and inform decision making to improve outcomes for students.
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 Going forward
Key strengths of the school
For sustained improvement and future learner success, the school can draw on existing strengths in:
- partnership with students, parents and community and culturally responsive practices to promote students sense of belonging and improve outcomes
- collaborative practices by leaders that sets high expectations for teaching and learning through building teachers’ professional capability.
Next steps
For sustained improvement and future learner success, development priorities are in:
- targeted planning to accelerate learning to improve outcomes for students, to achieve equity for all groups in the school and raise levels of achievement overall
[ERO will monitor and discuss progress with the school.] - strengthening assessment and monitoring of student progress and achievement to provide the board with a clearer picture of progress of known targets to inform decision making
- internal evaluation processes and practices.
[ERO will provide an internal evaluation workshop for trustees and senior leaders.]
ERO’s next external evaluation process and timing
ERO is likely to carry out the next external evaluation in three years.
Patricia Davey
Deputy Chief Review Officer Central (Acting)
Te Tai Pokapū - Central Region
12 January 2018
About the school
| Location | Palmerston North |
| Ministry of Education profile number | 2402 |
| School type | Intermediate, Years 7 and 8 |
| School roll | 276 |
| Gender composition | Boys 51%, Girls 49% |
| Ethnic composition | Māori 53%
Pākehā 36%
Pacific 8%
Asian 3% |
| Provision of Māori medium education | Yes |
| Number of Māori medium classes | 3 |
| Total number of students in Māori medium (MME) | 61 |
| Total number of students in Māori language in English medium (MLE) | 92 |
| Number of students in Level 1 MME | 61 |
| Review team on site | October 2017 |
| Date of this report | 12 January 2018 |
| Most recent ERO report(s) | Education Review January 2015
Education Review December 2011
Education Review December 2008 |