Maheno School

School Context

Maheno School is a rural school located in the small settlement of Maheno, North Otago. It provides education for students from Years 1 to 8. There are 51 students on the roll, six of whom identify as Māori. Students learn in three multilevel classes.

The vision for Maheno School is ‘Achieving Excellence Together’ and is underpinned by the values of ‘respect, integrity, confidence and endeavour’. To support these values, the school’s current strategic goals and priorities include improving student outcomes and engagement, effective transitions, and building professional capability through effective internal evaluation.

The principal regularly reports to the board, schoolwide information about outcomes for students in the following areas:

• school-wide achievement in reading, writing and mathematics

• student wellbeing

• achievement in relation to school targets.

Maheno School is a member of the Whitestone Kāhui Ako|Community of Learning (CoL).

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?

Maheno School is working towards achieving equitable and excellent outcomes for all of its students.

School information shows that the majority of students are achieving at or above expected curriculum levels in writing, reading and mathematics. More specifically between 2016 and 2018:

• over three quarters of students have achieved at or above the school’s expectations in reading
• approximately two thirds of students have achieved at these levels in writing and mathematics.

There is significant disparity for boys in all areas.

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

Maheno School is accelerating the learning for some identified students, including some Māori students, who are included in school-wide targets of learners who need additional support. This has included a small number of identified students whose progress was accelerated in writing.

The principal and teachers use learner information to identify which students need support, and develop interventions to meet their needs.

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?

Students learn in a supportive learning environment. This is managed in ways that support participation, student engagement and agency. Students are motivated to learn and participate with enthusiasm in various projects and community events. The learners that ERO spoke with felt safe to take risks and they understood that making errors is part of learning.

Students have a strong sense of belonging to their school. They have a clear understanding of their place in the community both historically and its current context. Parents, whānau and the community are respected as partners with the school in their child’s learning.

Maheno School has a broad and responsive curriculum. It makes strong connections to students’ lives, prior understandings, out-of-school experiences and real-world contexts. These opportunities are made possible by a principal and teachers who proactively identify and draw on community resources and expertise to increase learning opportunities. Teachers know their students well and respond by adapting programmes to cater to learners’ strengths, interests, needs and wellbeing.

The principal ensures an orderly and supportive environment that is conducive to student learning and wellbeing. This is fostered by relational trust and collaboration at every level of the school and community. The principal and teachers recognise the importance of student and community voice and continually use it as a key resource when deciding priorities for inquiry and improvement.

Trustees have a shared understanding of their roles and responsibilities. The board has strengthened the alignment between strategic and annual plans with school systems, processes and practices, including teaching as inquiry, appraisal goals and programme delivery.

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

Raising achievement, including reducing disparity for boys, is an important ongoing priority for the school. Strengthening the school’s internal evaluation will help to identify where school resources are best placed to support this.

The school has identified, and ERO’s evaluation confirms, that to raise achievement and address disparity, trustees, leaders and teachers need to:

• increase the rigour of internal evaluation by strengthening the analysis of school-wide data

• use analysed data to better know the impact of learning programmes and targeted actions to raise achievement

• extend reporting to include the rates of progress learners are making in all target groups.

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 ERO’s Overall Judgement

On the basis of the findings of this review, ERO’s overall evaluation judgement of Maheno School’s performance in achieving valued outcomes for its students is: Well placed.

ERO’s Framework: Overall School Performance is available on ERO’s website.

5 Going forward

Key strengths of the school

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

• a responsive curriculum that aims to meet students’ interests, strengths, needs and wellbeing
• very strong connections with parents, whānau and the community that support students’ learning
• collaborative partnerships and connections with neighbouring schools, local businesses and external agencies that enhance students’ learning opportunities.

Next steps

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

• raising overall student achievement
• increasing the rigour of internal evaluation by strengthening the analysis of school-wide data
• using analysed data to better know the impact of learning programmes and targeted actions to raise achievement
• extending reporting to include evaluation of the sufficiency of progress learners are making in all target groups.

Alan Wynyard

Director Review and Improvement Services Southern

Southern Region

14 May 2019

About the school

Location	Maheno
Ministry of Education profile number	3765
School type	Full primary (Years 1 to 8)
School roll	51
Gender composition	Boys 27, Girls 24
Ethnic composition	Māori 6 NZ European/Pākehā 42 Other ethnicities 3
Students with Ongoing Resourcing Funding (ORS)	No
Provision of Māori medium education	No
Review team on site	March 2019
Date of this report	14 May 2019
Most recent ERO reports	Education Review October 2015 Education Review July 2012 Education Review March 2009

Findings

Students have a strong sense of identity and belonging to their school and community. They can talk knowledgeably about their learning, their goals and what they have to do to improve. Teachers challenge the students to follow their interests and extend themselves. The principal and teachers show respect for students and families. The principal provides very effective leadership to the school.

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

1 Context

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

Students at Maheno School have a strong sense of identity and belonging to their school and community. They benefit from learning within an inclusive and supportive school culture. ERO observed high levels of student engagement in their learning and students enjoying being physically active in the school environment. Students are friendly and welcoming. They enjoy positive relationships with each other and their teachers.

The school is in a rural location and provides education for students in Years 1 to 8. Since the last ERO review in 2012, a new principal and class teachers have been appointed. There has been a slight increase in the roll. The board is funding additional teaching hours to enable three classes to operate in the mornings.

Parents and members of the local community are supportive of the school and contribute actively to school and class events, and learning programmes. The principal and teachers show respect for students, families and each other.

The school’s vision is for children to achieve excellence together. The senior students are able to talk about the vision, give examples of it in practice and demonstrate it in the way they relate to each other.

Since the last ERO review, the school has made significant progress in the areas identified as requiring development. School buildings have been improved, the library relocated to a bigger area and a new administration area has been built. 

2 Learning

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

The school effectively uses achievement information to make positive changes to students’ learning.

Most students are achieving well in reading, writing and mathematics in relation to the National Standards.

Students can talk knowledgeably about their learning, their goals and what they have to do to improve. They are aware of the progress they are making in their learning.

Teachers use a variety of effective tools and methods to gather learning information throughout the year. The principal and teachers use this information to identify learning needs and to plan purposeful lessons and units of work. They adapt class programmes and their teaching approaches in response to this frequently updated information.

The principal regularly reports student achievement and some progress information to the board. He recognises that with deeper analysis of the information the board and teachers would know more about the amount and sufficiency of progress individual students are making. This increased knowledge should help the teachers, principal and trustees with their planning, resourcing and setting more purposeful targets.

3 Curriculum

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

The school’s curriculum is highly effective in promoting and supporting student learning.

Students benefit from a rich and interesting curriculum where their interests, passions and the community are the contexts for much of their learning. Students are challenged to follow their interests and extend themselves. For example, students have initiated and lead a choir group and a gardening club.

Students are enthusiastic about their school and their learning. The curriculum fosters the dispositions of curiosity, imaginative thinking and learning for life. This is achieved by supporting and allowing students to take ownership of their learning.

Meaningful contexts of study contribute significantly to engaging students in their learning. An example is recent studies of researching history specific to Maheno.

A significant feature of the curriculum is how teachers value the:

• students’ ideas as worthwhile
• prior knowledge the students bring to their current learning
• parents’ vital role in their children’s education.

Senior students are aware that their learning is more successful when they work in partnership with their teachers and parents. They are confident they will receive additional support with their learning if required.

A comprehensive oral language programme has been introduced to support junior students in their overall literacy development.

The principal and teachers are participating in professional development to enhance their science teaching. As a result of this development the science guidelines have been rewritten. These guidelines provide a useful model for other learning areas. The principal, teachers and board are aware of the need to review the school’s vision and how it relates to the values and key competencies in the New Zealand Curriculum.

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

Māori students experience aspects of their identity, language and culture in school life and learning. They are well supported with their learning, receiving additional assistance when required.

The school curriculum is relevant and responsive to Māori students and te ao Māori. Teachers include bicultural learning for all students through school practices and contexts for learning. Students learned their personal mihi when, as a group, the school was developing a crest for the school. Pōwhiri is the accepted way to welcome visitors to the school.

Some core Māori concepts are a natural part of the life of the school. These include: manaakitanga/caring, whanaungatanga/relationships, ako/student and teacher learning from each other, mahi tahi/working together and tuakana-teina/older students supporting younger students.

School leaders acknowledge their next step is to formally develop their vision for what success as Māori is for Maheno School. This should be developed in consultation with whānau Māori. This will help with curriculum and school-wide planning decisions to enable this vision to be met. The progress and achievement of the vision need to be evaluated and reported to whānau Māori and to the board.

4 Sustainable Performance

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

The school is well placed to maintain and improve its performance.

The principal provides very effective leadership of the school, including to the board of trustees. He has:

• established a stronger sense of identity for students in the school and community
• established a culture of genuine consultation with students, teachers, parents and the wider community about important matters
• a strategic approach to improvement
• increased the culture of inquiry, evaluation and knowledge building for improvement.

The principal and trustees have refined the strategic planning. The strategic plan would be even more useful and usable when the priorities are:

• limited to a manageable number
• aligned to the community’s vision and goals for the school.

The principal is aware of the need to report evaluatively against the vision and goals. This should allow the trustees to know how well the curriculum is supporting the achievement of the vision and desired student outcomes.

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.

Conclusion

Students have a strong sense of identity and belonging to their school and community. They can talk knowledgeably about their learning, their goals and what they have to do to improve. Teachers challenge the students to follow their interests and extend themselves. The principal and teachers show respect for students and families. The principal provides very effective leadership to the school.

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

Chris Rowe
Deputy Chief Review Officer Southern (Acting)

27 October 2015

About the School 

Location	Maheno
Ministry of Education profile number	3765
School type	Full Primary (Years 1 to 8)
School roll	50
Gender composition	Girls:  25 Boys:  25
Ethnic composition	Pākehā Māori Chinese	45   4   1
Review team on site	September 2015
Date of this report	27 October 2015
Most recent ERO report(s)	Education Review Education Review Education Review	July 2012 March 2009 December 2005