Fox Glacier School

School Context

Fox Glacier School is a full primary with a roll of 9 children from Years 1 to 8. The school is located in the small West Coast township of Fox Glacier. It caters for a diverse, transient community.

The school’s overarching vision is to be a community of caring, confident, successful learners who respect themselves, others and the environment. The valued outcomes are for children to:

• enjoy learning and develop strategies to be life-long learners
• succeed, develop knowledge and acquire skills
• be able to relate well to others.

The board and teachers’ key aims and goals are to improve children’s achievement in literacy and mathematics. They want children to enjoy learning and be able to transition confidently between school and the wider community.

The school’s 2018 targets are to improve the standard of reading, and provide opportunities for senior students to participate in programmes beyond the school, including online learning networks.

Leaders and teachers regularly report to the board, schoolwide information about outcomes for students in the following areas:

• strategic and annual goals and targets
• children’s learning and progress in all areas of learning, particularly literacy and mathematics
• the impact of teaching practices to support children’s learning, achievement and progress
• broader curriculum within and beyond the school.

Since the 2015 ERO review, there have been a number of changes in staffing, including a new principal. There have also been changes in numbers of children enrolled.

The school is a member of the Westland Kāhui Ako|Commuity of Learning.

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 school is being more effective in achieving equitable and excellent outcomes for children. Achievement information over time shows that the majority of children achieve well.

Most children achieve best in mathematics and writing. There were overall significant increases in the achievement of writing and mathematics for all children in 2017. Achievement in reading has remained at similar levels to 2016 achievement data. The school has identified that some children achieve less well in reading and this is an area of focus for 2018.

The small number of children at the school enables a strong focus on individual needs, progress, achievement and wellbeing.

1.2 How well is the school accelerating learning for those students who need this?

The school has made some good progress in accelerating the learning for those children who need it. There are some children with additional needs that have not yet made expected levels of progress. These children’s needs are clearly identified and plans are in place to support them to achieve and make sufficient progress.

Children are provided with high levels of student-to-trained staff ratios. Individual student achievement information shows that some children have made good progress as a result of intentional one-on-one teaching practices and this is helping to ensure and sustain their learning success.

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?

The school’s values are well known and enacted. There is a warm, welcoming and inclusive culture. Older children are highly supportive of younger children and are given specific leadership opportunities. The small class size ensures that all children are very well supported and teachers proactively respond to their individual learning needs and interests.

The local community and unique environment are highly influential in the school programme. Children are provided with a wide range of broad and meaningful learning opportunities that offer rich experiences within and beyond the school. Teachers deliberately plan for children to engage and socialise with others beyond the school to extend their learning.

There is a strong focus on improvement and provision for quality teaching and learning. Clearly defined priorities and expectations for teaching and learning have been developed. Teachers use well considered, targeted and deliberate teaching strategies to support and extend children’s learning and progress.

The experienced board and teaching staff work collaboratively. The board is highly supportive and ensures that teaching staff are able to access relevant professional learning. Trustees are kept well informed about children’s achievement and learning within and beyond the school. The school has been responsive to the findings of the previous review. This includes improved strategic planning, newly-introduced policy and procedures and better reporting of progress to the board and parents.

The school has strong links to its local community and has a combined approach to supporting children’s learning and wellbeing. Good use is made of local expertise within the local and wider community. There are also close links with other schools and education providers that provide teachers and children with other views and ways of working.

2.2 What further developments are needed in school processes and practices for achievement of equity and excellence, and acceleration of learning?

The board and principal need to develop a shared understanding and planned process for internal evaluation. An effective internal evaluation process will enable them to be better informed about the impact of initiatives and how well teaching and learning is supporting children to achieve the valued outcomes for learning.

Aspects of the school’s strategic plan could be further strengthened by defining priorities over time. In addition to this, student achievement targets should be more specific and focused on those children who are not progressing as expected.

The principal has identified, and ERO confirms, that the documentation of the localised curriculum needs to be completed. This includes:

• clearly documenting all learning areas
• reflecting the localised context
• representing children’s language, culture and identity.

The school’s appraisal process needs to consistently align to the 2017 Education Council Code of Standards. This includes ensuring that all teaching staff set clear annual goals and are provided with useful feedback.

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:

• the responsive approach to individual learning needs and interests that support one-on-one learning at appropriate levels
• the strong collaborative community links that provide children with rich and meaningful learning opportunities that reflect their local context
• clear expectations and provision for quality teaching and learning, through connections with other educational providers and appropriate professional learning opportunities for teachers.

Next steps

For sustained improvement and future learner success, priorities for further development are in:

• developing an increased and shared understanding of internal evaluation to support board decision making and provide clarity about how well the school’s valued outcomes are being achieved
• further strengthening and embedding bicultural practices within the localised curriculum so that all children learn about New Zealand’s bicultural heritage.

ERO’s next external evaluation process and timing

ERO is likely to carry out the next external evaluation in three years.

Dr Lesley Patterson Deputy Chief Review Officer

Te Waipounamu - Southern Region

12 June 2018

About the school