Kaitoke School (Wanganui)

School Context

Kaitoke School, approximately 5 kilometres from the centre of Whanganui, has students in Years 1 to 8. At the time of this review, of the 100 children on the roll, 34 are Māori.

The school’s motto is Underpinning this statement are the core values: ‘to‘rise up, climb high – kake mai, piki mai’.P.R.I.D.E; Positive, Resilience, Integrity, Diligence, Excellence’.

The strategic plan prioritises on-going improvement in student achievement across the curriculum. Goals for 2019 include: all learners to achieve or exceed age appropriate curriculum level expectations in reading, writing and mathematics; developing a collaborative future-focused responsive curriculum that identifies, accelerates and extends the learning capacity of all learners; developing an effective school culture that ensures a positive physical and emotional environment for all learners and embodies school values; and families and school working together as partners in the education and well-being of children.

Specific targets include: for Year 5 and Year 7, students who are at or above will maintain or improve achievement, and those below or well below in reading, will have made accelerated progress by the end of 2019.

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

• achievement in reading, writing and mathematics in relation to The New Zealand Curriculum expectations
• progress and achievement in relation to school targets in reading and writing
• attendance patterns that include the impact of interventions for students whose absence place their learning at risk.

The school has undergone significant personnel changes. A new board of trustees has been formed for 2019. They make use of external expertise and guidance when required. A first-time principal was appointed towards the end of 2018 and a new deputy principal at the start of 2019. The school has appointed several new teachers for 2019. The professional development focus has included Culture Counts.

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 working towards achieving equitable and excellent outcomes for all its students. The school’s achievement data showed, that at the end of 2018, most students achieved at or above The New Zealand Curriculum expectations in mathematics. The majority of students achieved to expectation in reading and writing.

Achievement outcomes for Māori are similar to their peers in reading, writing and mathematics. Girls achieve higher than boys in these areas.

School analysis of attendance data shows students have more regular attendance in 2019.

Year 8 outcomes show most students leave Kaitoke School achieving at or above expectation in relation to The New Zealand Curriculum in reading, writing and mathematics.

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

The school is strengthening its effectiveness in responding to those Māori and other children whose learning and achievement needs acceleration. Clear, well- defined systems and processes are in place to identify, respond and monitor progress of students with learning needs.

Mid-year 2019 data shows significant gains for nearly all students. Most children are achieving at or above in reading, writing and mathematics.

The 2019 targets identified specific cohorts for acceleration in literacy. Mid-year data shows most students have made progress and the majority accelerated their learning and are at or above expectation in reading and writing.

The trajectory of acceleration indicates most targeted students in reading and writing should be at or above expectation by the end of the 2019 year.

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?

Leadership is strongly focused on promoting student’s wellbeing, confidence in their identity, and engagement in learning. Needs and strengths of children are identified and responded to through relevant interventions and a range of internal and external supports. Students requiring additional learning assistance are well supported through individual planning, monitoring, consultation with whānau and family and well-considered teacher-aide provision.

Leaders’ and teachers’ collaborative inquiry and knowledge building aligns to the strategic direction of the school. It is strongly focused on improving student outcomes. Appraisal systems support teachers to identify effective changes in practice and learning programmes. Purposeful, professional development is responsive to needs, aligned to school goals and has impacted positively on learning for both teachers and students.

An appropriate range of tools and measures is used to gather assessment data. Systems and practices have been developed and implemented to build consistency across the school. Leaders and teachers participate in regular discussions focused on student outcomes.

Engagement in learning has improved as consistent systems and practices for monitoring student attendance have been implemented. Appropriate communication strategies and tools engage and support whānau and families in their child’s learning. There is a focus on promoting meaningful learning through the opportunities provided and the use of community, place and people.

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

Refining processes for target setting and reporting to specifically focus on accelerating the progress of students at risk of underachievement is needed. Measurements of success for these targets should be presented in such a way that this allows for a clearer evaluation of achievement, progress, and acceleration. This should enable leaders and trustees to better respond to the school’s goal of achieving equitable and excellent outcomes for all students.

The school should continue to develop its localised curriculum and delivery guidelines, to ensure the school’s vision for successful learning is enacted. Curriculum review should continue to focus on the role of the learner in relation to the vision, values and key competencies of The New Zealand Curriculum. A focus for teaching and learning improvement should include for students:

• development of their agency
• that they lead their learning
• their involvement in assessment for learning.

These developments should be underpinned by ongoing internal evaluation to systematically determine what is working well to promote valued and equitable student outcomes, what is not and what needs to change to support improvement.

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 Children’s Act 2014.

4 ERO’s Overall Judgement

On the basis of the findings of this review, ERO’s overall evaluation judgement of Kaitoke School (Wanganui)’s performance in achieving valued outcomes for its students is: Developing.

5 Going forward

Key strengths of the school

For sustained improvement and future learner success, the school can draw on existing strengths in:

• regular identification of individual learning needs and providing support that promote achievement of equitable outcomes
• building relationships and connections from community, resources and expertise that increase learning and teaching opportunities for all
• a strong focus on lifting collective capability through teacher inquiry and professional development that support raised levels of achievement.

Next steps

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

• internal evaluation processes and practices that use data from a range of sources to better identify what is working well for students learning and where improvements are needed
• promoting greater consistency in teaching and learning by documenting clear guidelines for effective teaching and opportunities for student-led learning.

Areas for improved compliance practice:

To improve current practice, the board of trustees should work towards offering students opportunities for learning second or subsequent languages (Years 7 to 10).

Phillip Cowie

Director Review and Improvement Services Central

Central Region

11 October 2019

About the school