Waihi Beach School

Summary

Waihi Beach School is a contributing primary (Years 1 to 6) located in the coastal settlement of Waihi Beach. The school roll is 228, including 56 Māori children. Currently, there are no children of Pacific origin enrolled. Board and school leadership has remained consistent since the last ERO report.

The school has joined the Waihi Community of Learning|Kāhui Ako, and recognises the potential advantage of increased sharing of professional knowledge and resources. It is also anticipated that the Kāhui Ako will contribute to greater confidence and consistency of teacher judgements about achievement in relation to National Standards, and well-supported transitions to secondary school, especially for at risk learners.

Overall achievement levels for children in relation to National Standards have remained consistently higher than regional and national averages. Boys continue to achieve at lower levels overall than girls in literacy. Māori children overall continue to achieve at lower levels than their non-Māori peers. A significant proportion of Māori children enter the school with te reo Māori as their first language. They are supported to achieve similar levels of achievement to their peers by the time they transition to secondary school.

How well is the school achieving equitable outcomes for all children?

The school is responding well to Māori and other children at risk of not achieving their potential.

The school has many processes that are effective in enabling achievement of equity and excellence. Children at the school benefit from a settled and caring environment where many school leaders and staff have served the community for a considerable number of years. Classrooms are very well-resourced and conducive to learning.

There are some school processes which need further strengthening to achieve equity and excellence. Effective monitoring of targets that include all children whose progress needs accelerating is an area for development.

At the time of this ERO review a high proportion of children were achieving at the appropriate National Standards in reading, writing and mathematics. The overall levels of Māori children’s achievement are significantly lower than non-Māori in all areas. The school is able to show that, as at the end of 2016 nearly all of the 10 Māori children in Year 6 were achieving at levels comparable to their non-Māori peers. Data also indicates that overall, boys achieve at lower levels than girls in reading and writing.

The school has capacity and capability to accelerate learning for all children. However, disparity in achievement for Māori and/or other children remains.

Leaders and teachers:

• know the children whose learning and achievement need to be accelerated

• need to improve the school conditions that support the acceleration of children’s learning and achievement.

The school agrees to:

• develop more targeted planning to accelerate learning for children

• monitor targeted planning, improved teaching, and children’s progress

• discuss the school’s progress with ERO.

ERO will provide an internal evaluation workshop to support the school to develop effective planning and monitoring processes to support equity and excellence for all children.

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

Equity and excellence

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

The school is responding well to Māori and other children at risk of not achieving their potential.

Trends in school data from 2014 to 2016 indicates that similar patterns of high overall achievement levels have continued for at least three years. The disparity between the achievement of Māori children and their non-Māori peers remains significant overall, but reduces considerably from Years 1 to 6. Girls continue to achieve at higher levels than boys in reading and writing.

Achievement targets are developed for children whose progress needs accelerating.

Teachers have a good level of shared understanding of moderation processes to guide overall teacher judgements (OTJs). These judgements have been strengthened through school-wide professional development. Teachers use multiple sources of evidence, and work in their syndicate groups to assign National Standard levels. A few times each year, all teachers meet together to discuss and agree on specific OTJs where the judgement is not so clear.

School conditions supporting equity and excellence

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

Trustees are committed to children’s educational success through active support of school leaders and staff. The school values were re-defined under the acronym CHAMPS through a recent community consultation process. Trustees are well-informed about children’s achievement and progress and provide quality resources to support learning and teaching for all students, especially those at risk on not achieving.

The principal and senior leaders have successfully built and sustained a culture of professional collaboration and mutual respect among staff. High expectations are shared with teachers who include at-risk children as a focus of their ‘teaching as inquiry’ reflections. School-wide professional development has focused on writing (2016) and mathematics (2017), in response to identified needs of children whose learning needs accelerating.

Highly effective teaching strategies were consistently evident in classrooms, and children are engaged in meaningful learning activities. Curriculum, planning and assessment are very thorough and include an appropriate emphasis on literacy and mathematics. Teachers deliberately plan for children at risk of not achieving, and share successful strategies in order to build school-wide capability.

Children benefit from a wide range of rich learning opportunities, within and beyond the classroom. Staff use a range of differentiated classroom activities and interventions to support and encourage children who have additional learning needs.

Strong and positive communications support productive relationships with parents, whānau and the wider community. Parents/whānau of children with additional needs are both informed and empowered to support learning at home. School leaders and staff have strengthened links with the local kohanga reo, and this has significant potential to assist children who start school with te reo Māori as their first language.

Sustainable development for equity and excellence

What further developments are needed in school processes to achieve equity and excellence?

There are some school processes which need further strengthening to achieve equity and excellence.

The board needs to develop and monitor targets for children in Years 1 and 2, especially for Māori, that are evidence-based and data informed. Current targets do not include at-risk learners in their early years.

Internal evaluation of programmes and interventions needs to be more evidence-based and outcomes focused. This situation is compromising the school ability to ascertain the quality and effectiveness of school programmes, especially for children whose progress needs accelerating to reach expected levels.

The board and school leaders need to strengthen culturally responsive governance and management processes. The principles of Ka Hikitia, Accelerating Māori Success, are not evident in many important documents or practices in the school. Achieving equity and excellence for all children at-risk, especially Māori, would be supported by more consistent bicultural practices in the school and classroom.

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

• 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 Code of Practice for the Pastoral Care of International Students (the Code) established under section 238F of the Education Act 1989. The school has attested that it complies with all aspects of the Code.

At the time of the review there was one international student attending the school, including no exchange students.

The school has sustained close and supportive communication for three years with the one international student who lives with her family. Effective English language support continues to be provided to ensure the student can access all the school academic programmes and take advantage of the many educational opportunities offered.

Going forward

How well placed is the school to accelerate the achievement of all children who need it?

The school has capacity and capability to accelerate learning for all children. However, disparity in achievement for Māori and/or other children remains.

Leaders and teachers:

• know the children whose learning and achievement need to be accelerated

• need to improve the school conditions that support the acceleration of children’s learning and achievement.

The school agrees to:

• develop more targeted planning to accelerate learning for children

• monitor targeted planning, improved teaching, and children’s progress

• discuss the school’s progress with ERO.

ERO will provide an internal evaluation workshop to support the school to develop effective planning and monitoring processes to support equity and excellence for all children

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

Lynda Pura-Watson

Deputy Chief Review Officer Waikato / Bay of Plenty

21 September 2017

About the school