Gonville School

Education institution number:
2361
School type:
Contributing
School gender:
Co-Educational
Definition:
Not Applicable
Total roll:
172
Telephone:
Address:

Gonville Avenue, Gonville, Whanganui

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Gonville School

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within 14 months of the Education Review Office and Gonville School working in Te Ara Huarau, an improvement evaluation approach used in most English Medium State and State Integrated Schools. For more information about Te Ara Huarau see ERO’s website. www.ero.govt.nz

Context 

Gonville School, located in Whanganui, caters for students in Years 1 to 6. The school elected a new presiding member for the board of trustees in 2021.

Gonville School’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are:

  • whakawhanaungatanga: Building positive relationships and connections between students, teachers, whānau and community

  • turangawaewaetanga: promoting identity, confidence and self-belief that comes from students knowing themselves and where they are from as individuals, as Māori, as iwi, as Whanganui, as Gonville, as Aotearoa

  • mana motuhake: promoting agency with learners capable of directing their own passion and strengths-based learning.

You can find a copy of the school’s strategic and annual plan on Gonville School’s website.

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate: How effectively leaders build the professional capability and practice of leaders and teachers to strengthen the engagement, progress and achievement of learners.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is:

  • In 2021, the school reported a positive trajectory in reading writing and mathematics after several years of decline. Continuing to strengthen the collective capability and practice of teachers is identified as a priority to raise achievement and build equitable and excellent outcomes for learners.

The school expects to see:

  • equity and excellence for students

  • a continued trajectory of improved outcomes for learners in relation to their achievement, wellbeing and engagement

  • improved capability and practice of staff that reflects agreed school expectations for effective teaching and learning.

Strengths

The school can draw from the following strengths to support the school in its goal to build professional capability and practice to raise achievement and build equitable and excellent outcomes for learners:

  • the school has reported improved student progress and achievement in literacy in 2021

  • school leaders have introduced a range of assessment tools and practices to strengthen the reliability and accuracy of reporting student progress and achievement in reading, writing and mathematics

  • participation of leaders in professional learning and development to support their collaborative capability to build a cohesive and effective team.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise:

  • strengthening professional capability and practice of teachers to better meet the needs of learners

  • embedding changes to assessment practice that comprehensively informs teacher planning, aligned to the specific needs of learners  

  • revising and reviewing the school’s curriculum to document shared expectations for teaching, learning and curriculum delivery.

ERO’s role will be to support the school in its evaluation for improvement cycle to improve outcomes for all learners. ERO will support the school in reporting their progress to the community. The next public report on ERO’s website will be a Te Ara Huarau | School Evaluation Report and is due within three years.

Phil Cowie
Director Review and Improvement Services (Central)
Central Region | Te Tai Pūtahi Nui

2 February 2023 

About the School

The Education Counts website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement.  educationcounts.govt.nz/home

Gonville School

Board Assurance with Regulatory and Legislative Requirements Report 2022 to 2025

As of April 2022, the Gonville School Board of Trustees has attested to the following regulatory and legislative requirements:

Board Administration

Yes

Curriculum

Yes

Management of Health, Safety and Welfare

Yes

Personnel Management

Yes

Finance

Yes

Assets

Yes

Further Information

For further information please contact Gonville School Board of Trustees.

The next Board of Trustees assurance that it is meeting regulatory and legislative requirements will be reported, along with the Te Ara Huarau | School Evaluation Report, within three years.

Information on ERO’s role and process in this review can be found on the Education Review Office website.

Phil Cowie
Director Review and Improvement Services (Central)
Central Region | Te Tai Pūtahi Nui

2 February 2023 

About the School

The Education Counts website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement. educationcounts.govt.nz/home

Gonville School - 10/07/2017

Summary

Gonville School, Whanganui, caters for 162 students in Years 1 to 6. Of the students enrolled, seventy seven identify as Māori and nine have Pacific heritage. The school has experienced considerable roll growth in the junior area since 2016.

Gonville School has experienced significant changes in leadership and staff since the June 2014 ERO report. This has had an impact on embedding schoolwide practices. The principal, previously the school’s deputy principal, has been in the role for two years. Experienced and newly elected members make up the board of trustees.

Since 2015, the school has participated in literacy and numeracy professional development that continues for 2017. Improved outcomes in reading and writing were noted in 2016.

How well is the school achieving equitable outcomes for all children?

The school is working to improve its response to Māori and other students whose learning and achievement need acceleration. Achievement information, over time, indicates variable outcomes and disparities for different groups.

Data for 2016, indicates that many students achieve at and above in relation to the National Standards in reading, writing and mathematics. However, a significant number of children do not achieve at expectations.

Teachers and leaders have participated in professional development to strengthen leadership and improve student outcomes. A clear focus on positive behaviour has been developed to promote a supportive learning environment.

The school has some sound processes in place for targeting and monitoring student achievement. Trustees and leaders recognise the need to sharpen the focus on accelerating students’ progress. Strengthening the alignment of school processes to targeted student outcomes is a next step. This alignment should support the board and leaders to evaluate the impact of actions on student outcomes.

The school has capacity and capability to accelerate learning for all children. However, disparity in achievement for Māori and other children remains.  

The school agrees to:

  • develop more targeted planning to accelerate learning for children
  • monitor targeted planning, improved teaching, and children’s progress
  • discuss the school’s progress with ERO.

ERO will provide an internal evaluation workshop to support the school to develop effective planning and monitoring processes to support equity and excellence for all children.

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

Equity and excellence

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

The school is working to improve its response to Māori and other students whose learning and achievement need acceleration. Achievement data for 2016 indicates that many students achieve at or above in relation to the National Standards in reading, writing and mathematics. Boys are not achieving as well as girls in reading and writing.

There is variable achievement for Māori students. Although many achieve the National Standards in writing, the proportion of Māori students achieving National Standards in mathematics and reading is lower than that of Pākehā. Further strengthening of school processes is required to address
in-school disparity for Māori and boys in literacy.

Teachers know students well and use a range of assessment tools to identify and plan for individual learning needs. Systems for monitoring and reviewing their progress are in place. Learners requiring additional support are catered for through well-considered programmes and use of external expertise.

The school recognises the need to improve moderation practices to ensure judgements, made about student achievement in relation to the National Standards, are consistent and dependable.

School conditions supporting equity and excellence

What school processes are effective in enabling achievement of equity and excellence?

The school is beginning to develop effective systems and process to enable achievement of equity and excellence.

A deliberate focus by the board, leadership and staff on responsiveness to all children, is in place. This is supported by a number of initiatives within the school such as Positive Behaviour for Learning (PB4L) and restorative practice. The school values, ‘Courage, Courtesy, Caring and Co-operation,’ are purposefully promoted and modelled, and underpin expectations for teaching and learning across the school.

Leaders and teachers have participated in needed professional learning opportunities to build capability. This is supporting a shared understanding of effective leadership and teaching practice. There is an appropriate focus on developing teachers’ skills in teaching literacy and numeracy.

Emphasis is placed on teachers working collaboratively to address the needs of students at risk of poor educational outcomes. Effective practices are in place to support children’s transitions to and through school including those with additional needs.

Gonville School uses a range of strategies to engage with its community. Leaders and teachers continue to build learning-focused partnerships with parents.

Sustainable development for equity and excellence

What further developments are needed in school processes to achieve equity and excellence?

Focusing school practices and processes more deliberately on equity of outcomes for all students is a key next step.

School leaders, trustees and teachers have yet to fully evaluate the effectiveness of current processes, systems and practices to determine how these are implemented across the school to improve outcomes for students.

Findings from the school’s internal evaluation have identified the need to:

  • strengthen moderation practices
  • continue to grow the capability of leaders and trustees
  • enhance educationally powerful partnerships with whānau
  • strengthen appraisal and teaching as inquiry to better align with student needs
  • ensure agreed practice is embedded and sustained.

ERO’s evaluation affirms these developments. In addition, leaders and teachers should:

  • review the school’s curriculum to promote culturally responsive practices and support for student-led learning. The review should include consultation with Māori and Pacific families to ensure their identities, languages and cultures are acknowledged
  • identify and monitor achievement targets which focus specifically on Māori and other children who are underachieving
  • provide reports to the board that clearly identify the progress and achievement of learners at risk of not achieving.

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
  • 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.

Going forward

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

The school has capacity and capability to accelerate learning for all children. However, disparity in achievement for Māori and other children remains. 

Leaders and teachers:

  • know the children whose learning and achievement need to be accelerated

and now need to:

  • develop and implement approaches that effectively meet the needs of each child
  • improve the conditions that support the acceleration of children’s learning and achievement
  • build teacher capability to accelerate children’s learning and achievement.

The school agrees to:

  • develop more targeted planning to accelerate learning for children
  • monitor targeted planning, improved teaching, and children’s progress
  • discuss the school’s progress with ERO.

ERO will:

  • provide an internal evaluation workshop to support the school to develop effective planning and monitoring processes to support equity and excellence for all children.

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

Alan Wynyard
Deputy Chief Review Officer Central (Acting)

10 July 2017

About the school

Location

Whanganui

Ministry of Education profile number

2361

School type

Contributing primary (Years 1-6)

School roll

162

Gender composition

Male 48%, Female 52%

Ethnic composition

Māori                                        48%

Pākehā                                     44%

Pacific                                          6%

Other ethnic groups              2%

Review team on site

June 2017

Date of this report

10 July 2017

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review                  June 2014

Education Review                  June 2011

Education Review                  October 2007

Gonville School - 20/06/2014

1 Context

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

Gonville School in Whanganui provides education for students from Years 1 to 6. Just over half of the students are Māori. There have been few changes of staff since the June 2011 ERO report.

Recent property developments include a covered area for learning and break times. The wellconsidered outdoor area includes bush walking tracks, school pets and an edible garden. A specialist unit provides technology education for students in Years 7 and 8 from surrounding schools.

The previous ERO report identified a welcoming, positive and respectful school culture and a school values programme which promoted affirming relationships for learning. These positive features are well embedded and continue to contribute to the school’s learning-focused environment.

2 Learning

How well does this school use achievement information to make positive changes to learners’ engagement, progress and achievement?

Gonville School uses student assessment information very well to promote student learning.

The 2011 ERO report identified that there was significant underachievement across the school. However, according to the school’s current achievement information the numbers of students achieving in relation to the National Standards have increased. This data now shows that most students, including Māori and Pacific, achieve at or above the standards in reading writing and mathematics. This pattern of progress is also seen in other assessment information collected by the school. Information also indicates that there is further work needed to ensure equity of achievement for Māori students with their peers in the school.

School assessment processes that help to improve student achievement include:

  • very good collation of assessment information and tracking of students’ progress, particularly in literacy
  • achievement self review and analysis to identify achievement patterns, trends and areas of need
  • well-developed systems and planning processes for supporting students with special needs.

Overall, teachers use assessment data well to inform their teaching. Leaders are aware of the need to strengthen processes so that teachers consistently identify and respond to the specific needs, next learning steps, strengths, cultures and interests of students.

Parents and whānau are well informed about the progress and achievement of their children, particularly in relation to literacy and mathematics, the school’s values and key competencies. Leaders and teachers have identified the need to continue to strengthen processes for making robust judgements about National Standards.

Teachers are developing strategies to support student ownership of their learning. ERO’s evaluation supports this direction. If students are clear about their learning and specific next steps their engagement and achievement is likely to improve.

3 Curriculum

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

Since the previous ERO review there has been significant and well-considered development of the school’s curriculum, vision, values and strategic direction. The localised curriculum is well aligned to the principles, values and key competencies of The New Zealand Curriculum. It is well informed by research, current best practice and community consultation. It appropriately emphasises reading, writing and mathematics.

The school promotes student wellbeing effectively. A range of programmes and strategies has contributed to the development of a school culture which gives priority to positive relationships amongst all. Caring values underpin all teaching, learning, leadership and governance. There is a strong focus on building effective partnerships for learning with parents and whānau. ERO observed respectful and positive interactions in classrooms and in the playground.

Teachers use a range of appropriate teaching strategies to engage students. Students’ success is celebrated and the environment promotes learning.

Through self review, leaders and teachers have appropriately identified areas of the curriculum that need to be further developed. These include science, inquiry learning, digital learning and the reflection of te ao Māori. ERO agrees. Further development in these areas is likely to assist the curriculum to be more responsive to the specific interests, learning preferences and cultural contexts of students and as a result enhance student engagement and success.

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

Positive developments for Māori learners, since the 2011 ERO review, include:

  • improved achievement in literacy and mathematics
  • the establishment of a successful kapa haka programme
  • regular consultation and strong relationships with whānau.

Key next steps are to develop:

  • high quality and progressive Māori language teaching
  • teachers’ confidence and skill in Māori language and culture
  • the reflection of te ao Māori in the curriculum.

Effective planning, implementation and self review of the above should enable the school to uphold and enhance the language, culture identity and success of Māori students.

4 Sustainable Performance

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

Gonville School is very well placed to continue to improve and sustain its performance. The board is made up of new and experienced trustees who demonstrate good understanding of their roles and responsibilities. They are kept well informed and make carefully considered governance decisions for the ongoing improvement of the school.

The principal has led and managed change effectively. This includes the development of a shared vision for school improvement. Clear and cohesive guiding documents communicate high expectations and provide strong strategic direction. Well-established self-review processes lead to improvement. Leaders and trustees regularly seek the views of the school community to inform review and planning.

The performance management system for staff has been developed over the past three years and is focused on developing high-quality practice. Leaders and ERO agree that it should be further strengthened with more regular, formal observations of practice and an increased, consistent focus on student outcomes within teachers’ inquiry processes.

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.

When is ERO likely to review the school again?

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

Joyce Gebbie

National Manager Review Services Central Region

20 June 2014

About the School

Location

Whanganui

Ministry of Education profile number

2361

School type

Contributing (Years 1 to 6)

School roll

133

Gender composition

Girls 52%, Boys 48%

Ethnic composition

Māori

NZ European/Pākehā

Samoan

53%

46%

1%

Special Features

Attached Technology Centre

Review team on site

April 2014

Date of this report

20 June 2014

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review

Supplementary Review

Education Review

June 2011

October 2007

October 2006