Balaclava School

1 Context

Balaclava School is a contributing school in Dunedin. It provides education for children between Years 1 to 6.

The school has had a number of recent changes of staff and a newly elected board. The new principal and deputy principal were appointed in 2015. The principal has been part of the first-time principal programme.

Staff have taken part in a recent Ministry of Education contract to strengthen the integration of digital technology.

2 Equity and excellence

The vision and valued outcomes defined by the school for all children are to provide each child with equal learning opportunities, challenging them to reach their potential within a safe, stimulating and creative environment.

The well-known BVA values (Building Values and Achievement) of Respect, Honesty, Caring and Sharing, and Cooperation are visible throughout the school.

The school’s achievement information shows that most Māori students and other students achieve at or above the National Standards in reading, writing and mathematics.

Teachers are using a variety of appropriate tools and practices to inform them of children’s progress and achievement in reading, writing and mathematics.

Since the last ERO evaluation the school has made good progress in:

• valuing Māori language, culture and identity across the school and in continuing this area for ongoing development
• strengthening appraisal processes
• implementing ways of monitoring individual students' progress
• increasing communication with parents.

3 Accelerating achievement

How effectively does this school respond to Māori and all children whose learning and achievement need acceleration?

The school is effective in responding to Māori and all children whose learning and achievement needs accelerating.

Māori language, culture and identity are valued, celebrated and used to support children's engagement and success in learning. The school values the knowledge and skills of its Māori whānau and encourages their active involvement.

Māori and all other children have a number of opportunities to hear and see Māori language and culture within the school environment and learning programmes. They are well supported by a teacher with skills in te reo and tikanga Māori. Teachers are beginning to integrate Māori culture into the curriculum in meaningful ways.

Leaders have well-established systems for quickly identifying, planning for and closely monitoring Māori and other groups of children who need additional support to accelerate their progress. They are developing effective practices for involving families and whānau in their children’s learning. This is helping to accelerate learning for children in need of additional support.

There is a strong focus on early intervention, particularly for literacy and mathematics development. Teachers use many targeted strategies and programmes so children can make increased progress in their learning. Children at risk of not achieving are quickly identified. The ongoing and targeted professional development for teachers is having a positive impact on children’s learning.

Senior leaders and the teacher in charge of overseeing the learning interventions, effectively use external agencies and local personnel to support individual and groups of children with their learning.

The board provides a significant amount of additional resources including a number of specialist teachers and teacher aides. The experienced teacher aides are very well supported by classroom teachers and are used in flexible ways to better meet children's learning needs.

The principal and senior teachers agree that leaders and teachers need to improve their analysis of rates of student progress to include:

• refining analysis of the impact of intervention over time
• rates of progress over time so the impact of interventions can be measured
• teachers inquiring more deeply into their practices to show what they are doing differently and what caused or didn’t cause acceleration for students.

4 School conditions

How effectively do the school’s curriculum and other organisational processes and practices develop and enact the school’s vision, values, goals and targets for equity and excellence?

Many aspects of the school’s curriculum and other organisational process and practices effectively develop and enact the school’s vision, values, goals and priorities for equity and excellence.

School values are highly evident. Children learn in a caring and supportive environment that promotes their sense of belonging and wellbeing and helps them focus on their learning. Positive relationships are promoted among children, and between children and staff.

Teachers provide a broad range of learning opportunities with a strong emphasis on numeracy and literacy learning. They are developing a number of practices to use digital technology to enhance learning.

Teachers effectively engage children in learning and make it enjoyable. Children are encouraged to think deeply about and extend their learning.

Teachers are reflective and responsive to identified areas of need in teaching and learning. They are inclusive and very responsive to individual children's emotional and wellbeing needs. They know children well.

There is a positive culture of continuous improvement amongst all staff that is focused on improving student achievement and their own practice.

The principal is managing change in a careful and considered manner. Senior managers support the staff well. They are highly engaged, focused on raising student achievement and lead targeted professional practice and learning.

The school has identified, and ERO agrees, that they now need:

• to review their school curriculum
• strengthen the school’s charter, strategic and annual planning process
• develop a clear framework and procedures for internal evaluation.

5 Going forward

How well placed is the school to accelerate the achievement of all children who need it?

Leaders and teachers:

• know the children whose learning and achievement need to be accelerated
• respond to the strengths, needs and interests of each child
• regularly evaluate how teaching is working for these children
• need to systematically act on what they know works for each child
• need to have a plan in place to build teacher capability to accelerate the achievement of all children who need it.

Action: The board, principal and teachers should use the findings of this evaluation, the Effective School Evaluation resource, the Internal Evaluation: Good Practice exemplars and the School Evaluation Indicators to develop more targeted planning to accelerate student achievement. Planning should show how processes and practices will respond effectively to the strengths and needs of children whose learning and achievement need to be accelerated.

As part of this review, ERO will continue to monitor the school’s planning and the progress the school makes. ERO is likely to carry out the next full review in three years.

6 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 the following:

• board administration

• curriculum

• management of health, safety and welfare

• personnel management

• 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

• processes for appointing staff

• stand down, suspensions, expulsions and exclusions

• attendance

• compliance with the provisions of the Vulnerable Children Act 2014.

7 Recommendations

The school has identified, and ERO agrees, that it now needs to:

• review the school curriculum
• strengthen the school’s charter, strategic and annual planning process
• develop a clear framework and procedures for internal evaluation.

Lesley Patterson

Deputy Chief Review Officer Southern

22 September 2016

About the school

Location	Dunedin
Ministry of Education profile number	3709
School type	Contributing (Years 1 to 6)
School roll	243
Gender composition	Girls 51%; Boys 49%
Ethnic composition	Pākehā Māori Cook Island Samoan Other Pacific Asian Other ethnicities	195 25 3 3 2 10 5
Review team on site	July 2016
Date of this report	22 September 2016
Most recent ERO reports	Education Review Education Review Education Review	September 2012 July 2009 October 2006

1 Context

What are the important features of this school that have an impact on student learning?

Balaclava School is situated in Dunedin city and provides education for students in Years 1 to 6. The school has had significant roll growth over recent years and as a result has an enrolment scheme in place to ensure that space is kept manageable. There is an emphasis on keeping numbers low in the junior classes to maximise learning. Classrooms have been refurbished and the school is well resourced with information and communication technologies to provide a modern learning environment. Students’ learning benefits from stable staffing.

The positive school culture is evident through:

• collegial, collaborative staff with a shared direction for teaching and learning
• positive, inclusive relationships between students and staff and amongst students
• highly reflective staff who strive to improve practices and outcomes for their students
• the high expectations for students’ learning and behaviour.

Students learn and play in a well cared for and stimulating environment.

2 Learning

How well are students learning – engaging, progressing and achieving?

The school’s achievement information at the end of 2011 shows that most students are achieving at or above the National Standards in reading, writing and mathematics. Mid-year information for 2012 shows that most students are on track to achieve at or above the National Standards by the end of the year. Reports to parents clearly show how well their child is achieving in relation to the National Standards.

Areas of strength

Student engagement. Students are switched on to learning. ERO noted that students:

• have high levels of interest and motivation in their learning
• are involved in goal setting and identifying their next learning steps
• know about their learning and why it is important
• are taking an increasing level of responsibility for their own learning.

Teaching practice. All students benefit from high-quality teaching practices. Teachers:

• establish and share with students their high expectations for learning and achievement
• use evidence from research and colleagues to reflect on and improve their teaching
• effectively use their knowledge of individual students and their achievement results to decide on the teaching content and approach that will motivate and challenge students
• have a sense of urgency, particularly in the junior and middle school, for students to build a sound basis for reading, writing and numeracy
• provide students with specific feedback and next steps for learning.

Priority learners. Students who need extra help to succeed in their learning are well supported. They are identified early, receive specialised programmes and are closely monitored to ensure that they are making accelerated rates of progress. Since the last review, the teacher in charge of students with special needs has developed effective systems to ensure that students receive the programmes that most suit their needs. The board provides extra funding for resources and to employ skilled teacher aides to deliver these programmes and support the students.

Area for review and development

The principal and teachers could continue to explore ways of showing individual students’ progress and achievement in relation to the National Standards more clearly in cumulative records.

3 Curriculum

How effectively does this school’s curriculum promote and support student learning?

The school curriculum is successfully promoting and supporting student learning. There are detailed expectations and guidelines for effective teaching and learning. The school’s curriculum is designed to encourage a love of learning, for students to become independent learners and for students to be caring, respectful citizens.

Area of strength

Context for learning. Students learn through a broad range of experiences and activities, including sporting, academic, cultural and leadership opportunities. The Balaclava School’s special characteristics for learning (BVAs) are illustrated through Building, Values and Achievements. ERO noted that these characteristics are highly evident in the curriculum and learning programmes. The school curriculum is responsive to the community’s priorities, students’ needs and current events. Teachers have the flexibility to adapt their programmes and make the most of the teaching moment. Area for review and development

BVAs. Although students know about the ‘values’ there is room for them to have a greater understanding of what ‘building’ and ‘achievements’ will look like in practice in the school.

How effectively does the school promote educational success for Māori, as Māori?

The school is effectively promoting the educational success of its Māori students. Māori students are well engaged in their learning. They know what they are learning, why they are learning and their next steps for learning and what they have to do to be successful. Māori students identified as needing extra help to succeed receive well-targeted support and are on track to reach the National Standards by the end of the year.

The school recognises the importance of Māori students succeeding as Māori. The school has consulted with whānau about the aspirations they have for their children’s learning and development. The board and teachers have identified what success for Māori students looks like in their school. Teachers have undertaken professional learning and development to increase their knowledge of te reo and tikanga Māori. Māori language and culture are included in classroom programmes. One Māori student stated that kapahaka gave him a sense of pride and success and has motivated him to learn. Area for review and development

The principal and teachers acknowledge that they need to increase their competence in te reo and tikanga Māori. There is room to more visibly reflect New Zealand’s bicultural heritage in the environment.

4 Sustainable Performance

How well placed is the school to sustain and improve its performance?

Areas of strength

Governance. There are effective systems and processes in place that are leading to sustainable practices. There is close alignment between the charter, strategic and annual plan, curriculum delivery plans, professional learning and development and teachers’ appraisal.

The school regularly undertakes review of all aspects of school operations. These reviews identify what is going well, the challenges the school faces and make recommendations for the future.

The board is governing the school well. It is well informed about student achievement and teaching and learning programmes. The board uses this information to set direction and ensure that priority areas are resourced so that the expected outcomes are achieved. Trustees are knowledgeable about their roles and responsibilities. They are focused on learning and raising student achievement.

Leadership. The principal is effectively managing and leading the school. She values, recognises and makes good use of the strengths and interests of all teachers. She keeps up-to-date with current research and practices and leads professional learning and development with staff. This approach to leadership is building consistently high-quality practices.

Area for review and development

Currently the strategic and annual plans contain aspects of business as usual, as well as specific strategic priorities. In discussion with ERO, the board and principal agree that these could be refined to ensure a greater focus on strategic direction.

Provision for international students

The school is a signatory to the Code of Practice for the Pastoral Care of International Students established under section 238F of the Education Act 1989. No international students were enrolled at the time of the ERO review.

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
• stand-downs, suspensions, expulsions and exclusions
• attendance.

When is ERO likely to review the school again?

ERO is likely to carry out the next review in four-to-five years.

Graham Randell National Manager Review Services Southern Region

17 September 2012

About the School

Location	Dunedin
Ministry of Education profile number	3709
School type	Contributing (Years 1 to 6)
Decile	8
School roll	215
Gender composition	Boys 57% Girls 43%
Ethnic composition	NZ European/Pākehā Māori Other	83% 10% 7%
Review team on site	August 2012
Date of this report	17 September 2012
Most recent ERO report(s)	Education Review Education Review Education Review	July 2009 October 2006 May 2003