School Context
Terrace End School is located at the northern end of Palmerston North city. Student enrolments continue to increase. Of the 172 children on the current roll, 49% are Māori and 26% are English language learners, new to New Zealand. A small group are of Pacific heritage.
The school vision is to ‘promote a caring and supportive environment where children are encouraged to learn at a high level, take responsibility and strive for success’. Valued outcomes for learners are that they have a strong sense of belonging and are supported to participate fully in learning opportunities.
Achievement targets relate to strategically lifting achievement through oral language, to set students up for early success in literacy.
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 and progress of targeted students.
Staffing and leadership is stable. Most trustees were new to the board at the previous election.
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 majority of children achieve at curriculum expectations in mathematics and writing. The school recognizes that reading continues to be an area for greatest improvement as just over half of students achieve expectations.
Achievement of Māori children is similar to that of their peers in the school and a good majority are at expected levels for writing. Boys achieve less well than girls in literacy, although their writing results are improving.
1.2 How well is the school accelerating learning for those Māori and other students who need this?
There is evidence of accelerated learning for some Māori and other students who need this.
Teachers and leaders focus on students at risk and provide support for their additional needs. Useful systems and practices help them to identify students for extra support and monitor their engagement and achievement.
A next step is to continue to build processes and systems to more clearly identify, measure and report rates of progress and acceleration of learning.
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?
Teachers regularly discuss approaches used to engage students and improve their learning. Their focus on target students is well monitored. They usefully review and report on successful strategies and outcomes for identified students. Teachers emphasise working with the families of targeted students. Staff work successfully with a wide range of external agencies and organisations to provide responsive support for students and families who require it.
The school is highly engaged in supporting the wellbeing of students and their families through a wide range of initiatives. The established TEAM values of Trust, Excellence, Action and Manaakitanga are promoted to foster students’ positive engagement in school life. The Positive Behaviour for Learning (PB4L) schoolwide framework supports the culture of behaviour and learning in the school. A range of sporting and cultural events foster students’ participation and confidence.
Leaders work collaboratively to positively engage students in school life and to be successful. They review and monitor the engagement and progress of students and strategies that are effective. They provide a wide range of information about school initiatives and student achievement to the board.
School leaders value their staff and support them to develop their strengths. They provide opportunities to build their leadership capacity through appropriate professional learning and development. The appraisal process has been reviewed to better promote teachers’ reflection on practice and support their development as professionals.
Children demonstrate a sense of belonging. They are encouraged to engage positively in classroom programmes and to develop productive relationships. Teachers promote their wellbeing, engagement and participation in learning. Children understand expectations for behaviour and routines. They engage in a range of learning opportunities that build their confidence and participation. Transitions in and out of school are well supported.
2.2 What further developments are needed in school processes and practices for achievement of equity and excellence, and acceleration of learning?
Trustees value and support the school leaders and staff. They are actively involved in school life and work to build understanding of school practices. An important next step is for trustees to continue to develop a shared understanding of the board’s stewardship role to assist them to scrutinise the school’s performance, especially in relation to achievement of equity and excellence.
The school continues to develop stronger partnerships with the culturally diverse school community. It recognises that planned engagement, especially with whānau Māori and the Māori community, will better guide school direction, curriculum development and strategic planning for improvement.
Curriculum development and review is ongoing. A focus on developing the science curriculum through participation in science leadership professional development is evident. Strengthening the curriculum to reflect te ao Māori, especially in the local area and with the community, to define and enact a shared vision for Māori children, is an important next step.
Strengthening internal evaluation should support the school’s focus on raising achievement. This should enable trustees, leaders and teachers to better identify what is working well and which areas require improvement to further promote equity and excellence.
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:
- clear expectations for children’s positive engagement in learning that builds their confidence and participation
- a schoolwide focus on students at risk that supports their wellbeing and engagement in learning
- leadership that recognises and develops the strengths of staff and contributes to a collaborative environment.
Next steps
For sustained improvement and future learner success, priorities for further development are in:
-
strengthening the reflection of te ao Māori in the school to better reflect Te Tiriti o Waitangi and support success as Māori
-
enriching partnerships with families and whānau Māori to guide curriculum, strategic development and improvement
- a shared understanding their stewardship role by trustees to assist the board to scrutinise the performance of the school
-
internal evaluation processes and practices to better focus on equity and school priorities for improvement.
[At the school’s request, ERO will 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
30 May 2018
About the school
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Location
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Palmerston North
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Ministry of Education profile number
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2466
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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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172
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Gender composition
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Male 54%, Female 46%
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Ethnic composition
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Māori 49%
Pākehā 20%
Asian 20%
Pacific 5%
Middle Eastern 5%
Other ethnic groups 1%
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Provision of Māori medium education
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No
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Review team on site
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April 2018
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Date of this report
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30 May 2018
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Most recent ERO report(s)
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Education Review April 2015
Education Review November 2011
Education Review November 2008
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