- ERO evaluates and reports on the education and care of children and young people in early childhood services and schools.
ERO and the Ministry of Education have signed an agreed Evaluation Strategy that outlines the approaches that will be used to assess the impact of the Communities of Learning | Kāhui Ako policy over time.
The overarching evaluation question can be summarised as:
To what extent is the Kāhui Ako policy investment achieving its intended outcomes of strengthening educational leadership and teaching practice to improve progress, achievement and long-term outcomes for all learners?
Please note that these are the key evaluation questions and not an exhaustive list.
1.1 Is the design fit for purpose? Are the right mix of policy levers and supports in place for Kāhui Ako to achieve its desired outcomes?
1.2 Are the incentives and drivers to encourage sustained participation in Kāhui Ako appropriate and sufficient? What are the barriers and how can these be mitigated?
2.1 How effectively are Kāhui Ako developing? What aspects are working well and/or not working well and how can these be strengthened or addressed?
2.2 To what extent are early [implementation] outcomes being achieved? What factors appear to enable and/or inhibit successful implementation?
3.1 What is the evidence and the prevalence of Kāhui Ako taking collective responsibility and sharing accountability for learner outcomes?
3.2 To what extent are the Kāhui Ako activities contributing to:
3.3 To what extent are innovative practices and approaches emerging? For instance how and in what ways are Kāhui Ako leveraging economies of scale?
4.1 What is the evidence to show a trajectory of improvement and reduced disparities amongst learners within and across Kāhui Ako? Is this trajectory of improvement sustained through the learner pathway (0 – 18 years)?
4.2 What are the impacts on the education system and beyond?
5.1 What evidence exists to demonstrate efficiencies are being achieved through stronger stewardship and shared resources?
As part of this evaluation ERO is undertaking the following pieces of work:
ERO will be discussing with schools and early learning services, as part of their regular reviews, what they know about Kāhui Ako and, if they are in an approved Kāhui Ako, their experience in that community. The discussion will be focused around the stage of development each school or service is at:
Stage 1 – Not yet formed, or not in a Kāhui Ako.
Stage 2 – Approved Kāhui Ako, and perhaps working towards setting achievement challenges
Stage 3 – Have endorsed achievement challenges
Stage 4 – Working towards implementation.
The information we gain from these discussions is not an evaluation of either the Kāhui Ako you belong to, or your school’s contribution to that community. The information ERO gathers will contribute to a wider evaluation of the policy and answer some of the key evaluation questions in the agreed evaluation strategy.
The knowledge and the evidence base that we are building about how Kāhui Ako form and develop will be valuable for those schools and services that are part of newly formed Kāhui Ako and for schools and services considering forming or joining a Kāhui Ako.
The findings from the discussions will only be included in individual school or service reports if there are particular ways of working in your Kāhui Ako that are having a significant impact on the outcomes for your children and young people. You are welcome to discuss this with your review team
