Mahana School

School Context

Mahana School is a Years 1-8 rural school with 82 children.

The school’s vision is that Mahana children will be strong, positive, responsive, brilliant contributors to the world. Its valued outcomes for children are positive relationships in a safe and friendly environment, where cultural diversity is valued and children achieve well.

The 2017 school goals and targets are to improve writing achievement, especially for boys, and improve teaching and learning in science. A third target relates to promoting children’s wellbeing.

Since the 2013 ERO review, the school has experienced significant changes. Its roll has almost doubled and there are two new teachers. The school has joined the recently established Motueka Kāhui Ako | Community of Learning, and accessed Ministry of Education support to improve literacy learning.

The principal reports to the board, school-wide information about outcomes for students in the following areas:

• achievement against the National Standards

• progress against school targets

• outcomes of wellbeing surveys.

Evaluation Findings

1 Equity and excellence – valued outcomes for students

1.1 How well is the school achieving equitable and excellent outcomes for all its students?

The school has varied success in achieving equitable academic outcomes for its children. In other areas, such as providing equitable opportunities for children to participate fully in a wide range of experiences, and feel valued and supported holistically, the school is very successful.

At the end of 2016, 86% of the children achieved at or above the National Standards in reading. Half of these children were above the expected standard. In mathematics, 75% were at or above the standard, and in writing 63% achieved at or above the expected standard. Very good reading achievement has been sustained over time.

Boys’ achievement in writing was significantly lower, including for Māori boys. Boys’ reading was also lower.

Surveys about children’s safety and wellbeing show that, overall, children feel safe, supported and positive about their school. The school does not have information on how well other valued outcomes (such as its vision and values) are achieved.

1.2 How effectively does this school respond to those students whose learning and achievement need acceleration?

The school is increasingly effective in enabling children who are below expected levels in literacy to improve their performance. Appropriate targets to lift achievement are in place. However, reporting to the board on progress against these targets needs to be more frequent and more clearly show rates of progress.

Targets in 2016 to lift achievement in writing for boys had limited impact. However, end of Term 3 2017 information indicates that more boys made accelerated progress against the writing target and that disparity is reducing.

Teachers know the children very well as individuals and as learners. They effectively use a range of assessment information to inform their teaching. They carefully track and monitor the progress of their children in reading, writing and mathematics.

Teachers have benefitted from recent professional learning about effective literacy practices. This has led to more deliberate planning and teaching and better analysis of the impact of their teaching strategies on students’ learning. Increased rates of progress are evident, resulting in reduced disparity.

Children with additional needs are very well supported and included. Teachers work closely with parents and external experts to set useful individual-learning plans and regularly review children’s progress against these.

2 School conditions for equity and excellence

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

Mahana has a very positive, inclusive and respectful school culture. Core Māori values of manaakitanga (care/kindness), tuakana-teina (older/more confident children supporting other children), whanaungatanga (family-like relationships), kotahitanga (togetherness) are highly evident. Children’s wellbeing is the heart of what happens in the school.

Children benefit from a flexible curriculum that is responsive to their interests, strengths and capabilities. They are seen as capable and confident, with older students having many opportunities to take responsibility and develop leadership. Māori concepts, values and language are integrated in ways that are meaningful for children, especially in the senior classes.

The school is very collaborative. Staff work effectively as a team and take collective responsibility to best support Mahana children. Teachers’ strengths and interests are used well to build staff capability. The school works constructively with local schools to improve practices.

The principal and trustees have built a culture of strong relational trust in order to best support staff and children. Appraisal systems have been strengthened, with a greater focus on improving teaching and learning. Trustees put children at the centre of their decision making. They have a good understanding of their stewardship role and consult regularly with the school community.

Information about children’s achievement against the National Standards is clearly presented and well analysed. Trends and patterns and areas of concern are identified, enabling the board to set useful targets and resource wisely.

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

Aspects of internal evaluation need strengthening. In particular, there needs to be better cyclical review of how well each curriculum area and other important areas of teaching and learning are enacted.

Trustees and staff need to review the school’s curriculum guidelines to ensure that these adequately reflect all aspects of the New Zealand Curriculum framework. The school’s commitment to valuing Māori culture is not evident in the present guidelines. This review needs to be in consultation with parents and whānau to ensure that the guidelines reflect their aspirations for their children’s learning, wellbeing and achievement.

The school’s charter needs to be reviewed. Strategic and annual goals need to be reduced and refined to better reflect key school priorities for the future. School targets need to be extended to include all children at risk in the target area.

The school has identified, and ERO agrees, that other priorities are to:

• embed recent improvements in literacy teaching and learning

• continue to strengthen the appraisal process for all staff, including mentoring and teaching as inquiry

• strengthen partnerships with parents about how to best support their children’s learning.

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 its:

• positive, inclusive school culture and focus on children’s holistic wellbeing and development

• prominence given to Māori values, concepts and language

• collaborative staff, who take collective responsibility for Mahana School children

• the experience and knowledge of its trustees.

Next steps

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

• strengthening internal evaluation to enable better identification of what is going well, what is not, and what changes are needed

• reviewing and improving the school’s curriculum guidelines and strategic and annual plans so that these provide better direction for trustees and staff

• ensuring more regular reporting on the sufficiency of children’s progress (especially for target children) so that trustees and leaders can make timely and well-informed decisions

• embedding and extending improvements in literacy teaching and staff appraisal so that recent improvements are sustained and built on.

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 Southern

Te Waipounamu - Southern Region

26 January 2018

About the school