Karoro School

Karoro School

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within 12 months of the Education Review Office and Karoro 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 

Karoro School is situated on an elevated site overlooking the Tasman Sea in a southern suburb of Greymouth. It is a full primary school, catering for students from Years 1 to 8. The school has an enrolment scheme. The roll is capped at 175 students.

Karoro School works alongside other local schools as a member if the Māwhera Kahui Ako and as a member of the Toki Pounamu cluster. The latter is part of the Manaiakalani outreach programme which effectively supports digital learning and promotes equity of access to digital learning resources. Karoro School’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are to:

  • promote equity of opportunity in learning by raising student achievement in literacy

  • ensure all students are achieving at their potential, with a focus on extending students who are identified as being capable of achieving beyond curriculum expectations, and those learners who need extra support to access the curriculum at emergent levels

  • support students to feel safe and happy at school through enjoying positive relationships with their peers.

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

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate and inquire into how effective the school’s processes and practices are in enabling equitable outcomes for all learners in literacy.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is that Karoro School has:

  • high expectations for student achievement, data indicates that some groups of students need extra support in literacy

  • a strong commitment to equity and is committed to ensuring all students are achieving their potential.

The school expects to see:

  • in literacy how culturally responsive programmes are strengthening connections between learners’ interests and experiences

  • higher percentages of students in identified groups achieving within or beyond New Zealand Curriculum expectations

  • an increase in the number of students achieving beyond the expectations of the New Zealand Curriculum

  • students engaging and participating meaningfully in school life and enjoying positive relationships with their peers.

The school can draw from the following strengths to support the school in its goal to promote equity and excellence and a positive learning environment:

  • teacher commitment to supporting high expectations for student achievement

  • having experienced and stable staffing with strong leadership across the school, a supportive community and Board of Trustees.

  • the school is particularly mindful of its obligations in relation to Tiriti o Waitangi and ensures Tikanga and Te Reo Māori are naturally integrated into school wide programmes of work

  • the provision of timely and collaborative professional learning and development for all staff

  • a whole school approach to problem-solving and inquiry into teaching practice.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise:

  • enhancing the use of Assessment for Learning to provide equitable outcomes for all learners. Senior leaders and teachers see this as being an effective pedagogical approach to support the strategic goals outlined above.

  • developing a consistent approach in the use of restorative practices across the school to ensure students are engaging and participating meaningfully in school life and enjoying positive relationships with their peers.

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.

Dr Lesley Patterson
Director Review and Improvement Services (Southern)
Southern Region | Te Tai Tini

28 September 2022 

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

Karoro School

Board Assurance with Regulatory and Legislative Requirements Report 2022 to 2025

As of June 2022, the Karoro 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 Karoro 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.

Dr Lesley Patterson
Director Review and Improvement Services (Southern)
Southern Region | Te Tai Tini

28 September 2022 

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

Karoro School - 19/09/2016

1 Context

Karoro School continues to be a high performing school. The stable roll and the stability of the board and staff are contributing factors to this situation. Students learn in a positive and inclusive environment. The board and staff are actively involved in the Māwhera Community of Learners. They are committed to providing all students with opportunities to learn and experience success.

2 Equity and excellence

The school’s achievement information shows that children have a strong foundation in literacy and numeracy. The school's values of respect, responsibility, community participation and innovation are well promoted and are clearly evident among children, staff and the board. Children are supported to have a love of learning and be effective lifelong learners who can make a positive contribution now and in the future.

In 2015, Māori student achievement was at similar levels to their non-Māori peers in reading but lower in writing and mathematics. Achievement information shows good rates of accelerated progress for Māori children over time in mathematics. Teachers have made effective use of their involvement in professional learning and development to support children at risk of not achieving in mathematics and reading. In 2015, approximately 80% of students were at or above the National Standards in reading and mathematics. Writing achievement was 70%, and is a key improvement focus for the school in 2016.

Since the 2011 ERO review, teachers have strengthened their assessment practices and now use robust moderation processes within and beyond the school. They have trialled a Ministry of Education moderation tool in senior classes to make sure that all children benefit from its use.

3 Accelerating achievement

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

Karoro School responds very effectively to Māori children whose learning and achievement need acceleration. The principal and teachers regularly monitor the progress of all children and identify and share the practices that lift children's achievement levels. Teachers recognise the children's individual interests and strengths, and use these to support engagement and ongoing learning.

Teachers, parents and whānau work collaboratively to support the continuity of learning between school and home. Children's successes are shared at whānau hui to build foundations for ongoing learning. Teachers include te reo and tikanga Māori as part of their classroom programme and support Māori children to celebrate their language, identity and culture. An extension programme provides opportunities for children to extend their knowledge and use of te reo and tikanga Māori. Staff and children are able to visit the local marae to learn in an authentic context.

The board, principal and staff have developed different ways to successfully build ongoing learning-focused partnerships with parents and whānau. One initiative requires teachers to model effective practices and share ideas and resources with parents to increase consistency of information for children between home and school. Teachers in senior classes have developed digital classrooms to increase the children's use of digital devices as a learning tool. The board provides a range of resources to support the different innovations that are in place.

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

Karoro School very effectively responds to other children whose learning and achievement need acceleration. Many of the strategies above are in place for all students. Teachers know their learners well and identify children whose learning needs extra support. Experienced learning support staff work alongside teachers to meet the needs of these children. The learning support programme is well managed and children's progress is effectively tracked and monitored by the senior leaders.

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?

The school's curriculum and organisational processes very effectively support the enactment of its vision, values, goals and priorities. There is a close alignment from the school vision through the strategic goals to the annual planning, targeted professional development, appraisal and classroom teaching and learning.

Trustees are actively involved with the school. They provide a range of resources to support school programmes that are designed to accelerate the progress of children who are not achieving at the National Standards. The board and staff demonstrate a strong commitment to the Māori concepts of manaakitanga (caring and respectful relationships), whanaungatanga (positive relationships), mahi tahi (collaborative relationships) and ako (teaching and learning relationships). These are highly visible in the interactions between children, teachers, board, parents and whānau.

The school is very well led by the principal who, with the staff, accepts shared responsibility for supporting each child's learning and development. Teachers continually build on their learning partnership with parents and families, share resources and model practices that parents can use to help children with their learning at home. Parents are well informed of their children's progress towards the National Standards.

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 effectively to the strengths, needs and interests of each child
  • regularly evaluate how well teaching is working for these children
  • act on what they know works well for each child
  • build teacher capability effectively to achieve equitable outcomes for all children
  • are well placed to achieve and sustain equitable and excellent outcomes for all children.

Senior leaders and teachers make good use of achievement data to make decisions about learning programmes and resources to support these. There is a culture of ongoing improvement at the class, school and board level. Teachers use inquiry to evaluate the effectiveness of their teaching practices on outcomes for children. Senior leaders make sure ongoing evaluation of the curriculum and school processes benefit outcomes for children. The board diligently reflects on the usefulness of their resourcing in meeting the needs of children and staff.

Senior leaders and teachers should continue to build children's awareness of their role in the learning process and in their leadership responsibilities.

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

The board and school leaders should continue to ensure that internal evaluation is leading to improvements that benefit the learning and wellbeing of all students. 

Lesley Patterson

Deputy Chief Review Officer Southern

19 September 2016

About the school

Location

Greymouth

Ministry of Education profile number

3394

School type

Full Primary (Years 1 to 8)

School roll

170

Gender composition

Boys 53%; Girls 47%

Ethnic composition

Pākehā

Māori

88%

12%

Review team on site

July 2016

Date of this report

19 September 2016

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review

Education Review

Education Review

June 2011

September 2008

May 2005