Findings
St Canice’s School has made sufficient progress in relation to the key next steps identified in ERO’s June 2020 report. The school will transition into ERO’s Evaluation for Improvement approach.
1 Background and Context
What is the background and context for this school’s review?
St Canice’s School is a Catholic integrated, full primary school in Westport, Buller. It serves the local town and rural areas, and has a roll of 145 students, about 12% of whom identify as Māori. Since 2020, the school has received support from a Ministry of Education (MOE) Student Achievement Function practitioner (SAF).
The teaching staff has remained stable since the June 2020 ERO review. A new assistant principal/director of religious studies (DRS) was appointed in 2021.
The school’s vision and mission are to ‘Weave our futures together’ with a ‘love for learning, our faith and a strong sense of belonging’. The key values for realising the vision and mission are: Wairuatanga (Faith and Spirituality), Manaakitanga (Care and Respect), Whanaungatanga (Community) and Rangatiratanga (Leadership and Success).
The board of trustees has set strategic priorities focused on achievement in literacy and numeracy, an inclusive future-focused curriculum, and a collaborative, professional learning culture.
2 Review and Development
How effectively is the school addressing its priorities for review and development?
Priorities identified for review and development
The June 2020 ERO report identified that improvements were required in:
- building leadership capability
- strengthening systems that promote the use of evaluation, inquiry and knowledge-building
- developing the curriculum, including all essential learning areas
- developing a robust appraisal system.
The June 2020 ERO report also identified some matters of non-compliance in relation to board administration, health and safety, and curriculum.
Progress
Coherent strategic planning practices, targeted professional learning and development (PLD) and within-school opportunities for teachers have led to more cohesive and sustainable leadership across the school. Leaders have made comprehensive use of external expertise to develop a shared understanding of what effective leadership looks like. A collaborative, professionally open environment promotes conditions to achieve valued student outcomes.
The board has developed systems to strengthen its schoolwide review and to scrutinise how well it is fulfilling its stewardship role. This includes processes for monitoring strategic goals and prioritising the special character values of the school. Trustees are focused on student achievement and progress, and targets that support the enactment of a local curriculum that meets family aspirations and the needs and interests of learners.
A curriculum framework that explicitly identifies key expectations for teaching and learning has been developed and implemented. An authentic, integrated and inclusive local curriculum is aligned with the school’s vision, values and cultural narratives, and all learning areas of the New Zealand Curriculum. The school has strengthened connections with local iwi. Teachers’ capabilities to engage with te reo Māori me ngā tikanga Māori are improving. Students have opportunities to identify, manage and inquire into aspects of their learning, and assess their progress. Schoolwide assessment practices are increasingly robust and fit for purpose. They provide meaningful evidence of student achievement and progress, to set next step learning goals.
Leaders and teachers have increased their understanding and use of internal evaluation for school improvement. School-wide collaborative inquiry informs teaching and learning practices, clarifies programme planning, and facilitates increased student agency in learning. Senior and middle leaders undertake strategic internal evaluations to report new knowledge and make recommendations to the board. Leadership groups are increasingly using an evidence-based approach to evaluate the effectiveness of programmes and practices, and to establish priorities that promote student success.
School leaders and teachers have developed an appropriate schoolwide professional growth cycle that provides multiple sources of evidence and feedback about teacher effectiveness. Professional learning opportunities and team meetings encourage teachers to take responsibility for their own professional learning to improve outcomes for students.
All actions for compliance have been addressed.
Key next steps
Trustees, leaders and teachers should continue to:
- develop their collective capacity to do and use evaluation and inquiry at all levels of the school to sustain school innovation for improvement
- embed the local curriculum to support students to be leaders of their own learning and confident in their culture, language and identity as they relate to the school’s special character
- prioritise the building of teachers’ collective professional capability to achieve valued school outcomes for students.
3 Sustainable performance and self review
How well placed is the school to sustain and continue to improve and review its performance?
The school is well placed to sustain and continue to improve and review its performance.
Effective leadership at different levels in the school promotes collaborative practices and the conditions to improve outcomes for students. Schoolwide systems that focus on strategic priorities for student success and the school’s special character have been strengthened. An authentic curriculum framework and local curriculum have been developed and implemented to meet family/whānau aspirations for their children’s learning.
Students report they enjoy a sense of belonging and connection to the school and maintain positive relationships with each other and their teachers. Increased schoolwide understanding and use of internal evaluation are enabling teachers and leaders to assess how effectively programmes achieve valued outcomes. Professional inquiry and support processes are encouraging teachers to take collective and individual responsibility for learners’ achievement and progress.
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
- school policies in relation to meeting the requirements of the Children’s Act 2014.
Conclusion
St Canice’s School has made sufficient progress in relation to the key next steps identified in ERO’s June 2020 report. The school will transition into ERO’s Evaluation for Improvement approach.
Dr Lesley Patterson
Director Review and Improvement Services (Southern)
Southern Region - Te Tai Tini
11 February 2022
About the school
The Education Counts website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement.