Mt Roskill Intermediate

School Context

Mt Roskill Intermediate caters for students in Years 7 and 8. In addition, Tennyson Centre, the special education unit, provides care and education for Intermediate aged students with additional and higher learning needs.

Many students and families in the multi-cultural community speak more than one language. The school celebrates these diverse backgrounds that students bring to their learning. It caters for students who require additional learning support and those who are English speakers of other languages.

The school forms part of a three campus development that includes Mt Roskill Primary and Mt Roskill Grammar Schools. Most students at the intermediate school transition from Mt Roskill Primary and onto Mt Roskill Grammar. An enrolment zone assists the school to manage roll growth.

The school’s overarching goal, for students to thrive, supports the vision of growing lifelong learners who – strive, seek and find. Values of Manaaki - care, Kōtua- respect and Tūtika –responsibility underpin the school wide approach to fostering positive behaviour for learning, and are well understood by students and teachers.

The strategic plan and school charter identify the school’s vision and goals to promote student learning. Detailed actions to accelerate progress and achieve targets are included.

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

• achievement in reading, writing and mathematics

• progress and achievement against charter targets

• outcomes for students with additional learning needs

• outcomes related to student wellbeing.

Since the 2013 ERO evaluation a new principal has been appointed and a new leadership structure has been developed. Leaders and teachers have participated in professional development focussed on accelerating children’s learning and progress.

Mt Roskill Intermediate School is a member of the Puketapapa Community of Learning|Kāhui Ako (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?

Mt Roskill Intermediate School is making progress in achieving equitable and excellent outcomes for students. Achievement information consistently shows that over the last four years the majority of students achieve at or above national expectations in reading, writing and mathematics. Approximately half of Māori and Pacific students achieve at expected levels in reading, writing and mathematics.

Achievement information indicates that a substantial group of students enter the school below expected curriculum levels in literacy and mathematics. By the time these students leave at the end of Year 8, this information shows that accelerated progress has occurred for most of these students.

There continues to be in-school disparity for Māori and Pacific students in comparison to other groups in the school. Recent school achievement data shows improvement for Māori students in reading, writing and mathematics and in reading and mathematics for Pacific students. There is evidence that this improvement trend has been maintained over time.

The school has strategic planning and acceleration strategies to address in-school disparity. Clear school wide targets and effective tracking and monitoring processes by leaders and teachers have contributed to improving outcomes for students.

Students achieve very well in relation to other school valued outcomes. Students:

• have strong relationships of care and respect with teachers and each other

• collaborate with, learn from and support the learning of others

• demonstrate the school values in everyday school life.

The school has a strategic focus on wellbeing and engagement. Its overarching goal for students is to ‘thrive’. Numerous strategies including staff professional learning, peer support and curriculum programmes support the school’s well considered focus on wellbeing and whānaungatanga.

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

The school responds well to those Māori and other students whose learning and achievement need accelerating. School achievement data show that a significant number of students from the 2016 intake has made accelerated progress by the end of 2017. School achievement information indicates that by the end of 2017, Year 8 boys and Māori students have made accelerated progress in writing and mathematics.

The rates of accelerated progress for Māori students in reading, writing and mathematics and for boys in writing, is currently greater than those for Pacific students. While some in school disparity in achievement is still evident, accelerated progress for all students who are at risk of not achieving is the school’s strategic priority and goal.

Leaders have developed specific plans to promote the wellbeing, engagement and acceleration of learning for Maōri and Pacific students. Strategies to foster effective relationships and productive educational partnerships with whānau, have been influential in accelerating progress for Māori students. Leaders now appropriately plan to build on the successes of the Māori mentoring and growth coaching model to further accelerate the progress of Pacific students.

An expanded leadership team structure and relevant professional learning for teachers is building leaders’ and teachers’ capabilities to work collaboratively to accelerate students’ progress.

Students with additional learning needs are very effectively supported to experience success through inclusive classroom programmes and the provision of specialist teaching programmes. A language framework that builds a common language for culturally and linguistically diverse learners is used successfully to support their acquisition of the English language.

Leaders respond sensitively and appropriately to students’ and their families’ needs. They engage translators to help parents whose home language is not English and facilitate discussions between families and external agencies.

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?

School leadership is very effective. The leadership team collaboratively enacts the schools’ vision, values and priorities for equity, excellence and acceleration.

Leaders prioritise the monitoring of the progress and achievement of students who need to make accelerated progress. The board receives detailed reports that enable trustees to make resourcing decisions to further support positive student learning outcomes.

Leaders and teachers are open to new learning and innovation. A new class organisation to better meet identified student learning needs is being trialled and evaluated. Variable classroom groupings, combined with a range of well-considered programmes and interventions, are used to provide students with equitable learning opportunities for success.

The board and leaders are committed to building teaching capability, and they promote coherent approaches to building professional practice. Professional learning, developing leadership, coaching and mentoring for teachers all contribute to a culture of improvement for equity and excellence.

Students benefit from respectful, collaborative relationships with teachers and their peers in a caring and inclusive learning environment. They experience a broad curriculum with a strong emphasis on literacy and mathematics. Digital learning is supported by information communication technologies that are used effectively as learning tools.

Specialisation, electives, extensive arts, sports and cultural programmes provide students with challenging learning opportunities. Students also learn additional languages. There is an ongoing focus to increase students’ ownership of their learning. The new Inquiry learning model could further support the development of student agency.

The school has strong learning relationships with parents, whānau and the community. These connections enhance student achievement and wellbeing. Families’ home languages are actively encouraged. Parents and whānau participate in curriculum workshops that enable them to constructively support their children’s learning at home.

Good internal evaluation processes are in place. Evaluation practices guide ongoing development, and the setting of relevant goals and targets to support acceleration. Trustees, leaders and teachers use achievement information well for improving student learning.

The school collaborates well with the Puketatapa CoL, and health and educational networks to support the diverse learning needs of students.

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

Trustees are managing a redevelopment of several learning areas designed to support collaborative learning opportunities for students.

The school’s planned development priorities include continuing to:

• develop and embed the new spiral of inquiry model to increase student agency and strengthen internal evaluation

• embed and review the new leadership and coaching models.

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.

Provision for international students

The school is a signatory to the Education (Pastoral Care of International Students) Code of Practice 2016 established under section 238F of the Education Act 1989. The school has attested that it complies with all aspects of the Code. The board and leaders could obtain greater assurance and certainty around recent changes to the code by checking their understanding/s regularly with the code administrator, the New Zealand Qualifications Authority.

Two international students were enrolled at the time of the ERO review.

The school provides international students with a very good standard of education, and pastoral care. Students benefit from the school’s inclusive culture and opportunities to participate in a wide range of school activities.

Areas for improved compliance practice

To improve current practice, the board of trustees should analyse and evaluate the school’s stand downs and attendance information.

4 Going forward

Key strengths of the school

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

• leadership that collaboratively enacts the school’s vision, values and priorities

• collaborative teaching practices that respond to students’ learning needs and wellbeing

• a coherent curriculum that provides students with challenge and support in their learning

Next steps

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

• the focus and evaluation of effective acceleration strategies for all students

• to increase opportunities for students to take more ownership of their learning.

ERO’s next external evaluation process and timing

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

Julie Foley

Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern (Acting)

Te Tai Raki - Northern Region

17 May 2018

About the school