Tikipunga Primary School

1 Context

Tikipunga Primary School provides education for children from Years 1 to 6. The school is about to celebrate 50 years of education service to the community. Most of the children are Māori and whakapapa to Ngāpuhi Nui Tonu.

Since the 2013 ERO review, the board has successfully managed significant change with the short term help of a Ministry of Education intervention. The current principal was appointed at the start of 2015 and is the third principal since 2014. She has established a new senior leadership team with more collaborative and focused leadership practices to improve teaching and learning. The school is now in a stable position with a clear strategic direction and improved systems and planning in place.

2 Equity and excellence

The vision and valued outcomes defined by the school for all children are that they achieve their full potential, are confident, successful and culturally intelligent. Other valued outcomes for children include the ability to set goals and take action to achieve them, and to achieve educational success as Māori.

The school’s achievement information shows that results over time are variable. In 2015 achievement dipped to about 40 percent of students achieving at or above the National Standards in reading and writing. Achievement in mathematics is better, with about half of all students achieving at or above the National Standards. The school's data indicate that boys' achievement in reading and writing is lower than that of girls. Recent mid-year data shows that some children's progress is accelerated and that there has been very good improvement in relation to the National Standards. Processes that support teachers to make judgements about student achievement have improved. Since 2015, professional learning has helped leaders and teachers to bring about greater consistency in the use and analysis of assessments. These processes include a range of assessment tools, as well as team and school-wide discussions to ensure overall teacher judgements are reliable.

Since the last ERO evaluation the school has made good use of professional learning and development to improve teaching and learning. Teachers are using assessment information to help them plan for those children at risk of not achieving. Teachers have an increasing focus on using strategies that engage children more in the learning process.

3 Accelerating achievement

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

The school is developing good systems for responding to Māori children whose learning and achievement need acceleration. Documented plans focus on raising achievement and will underpin the board's charter and strategic plan for 2017 to 2019.

Senior leaders play a key role in accelerating children's learning progress. The principal has strategically sourced external facilitators to build leadership capability and improve teachers' use of assessment information. Leaders are well positioned to support teachers. They lead regular team discussions that help teachers share the progress of target groups of students so that they can better support them. This collaborative practice is building a collective responsibility for each child's progress.

Teachers use a good range of classroom-based and standardised assessments to identify, and teach in response to, individual children's learning needs. They then closely monitor the impact of targeted teaching on children's progress to ensure that they are receiving the appropriate support.

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

The strategies and processes used to identify and monitor the progress of Māori children whose learning and achievement need acceleration, are used with other children, including those with additional learning needs. Leaders use external agencies to provide additional support for those students who most need it.

The principal acknowledges the usefulness of strengthening school documentation for those children with additional learning needs and those with specific talents and abilities.

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 other organisational processes and practices are being reviewed and developed to progress goals and targets for equity and excellence.

The board and principal are improving communication processes within the school and with the community. They have recently consulted with staff and the community to review school values, which are based on Māori concepts and underpin the school's culture. The board, leaders and teachers are committed to supporting all learners to have a sense of belonging and wellbeing at school. They are responsive to individual children's learning needs. Children's emotional and social competence is well supported.

Trustees are committed to developing their own learning and that of the staff. The principal is making good use of her own learning to help the board focus strategic planning on improving equity and excellence for children. The principal is fostering a positive culture of professional learning.

Teachers' appraisal and their inquiry into the effectiveness of their practice have been strengthened. Leaders could include Tātaiako - Cultural Competencies for Teachers of Māori learners, in teacher appraisal to support the school's values-based culture.

A bicultural curriculum is well promoted and apparent in classroom programmes. Learning themes are based on Māori concepts. Children are fully involved and have leadership roles in practices such as school pōwhiri and daily karakia. Te reo me ōna tikanga Māori are a highly valued part of the school curriculum.

Parents who spoke to ERO commented that they are happy with the new direction of the school. They value the support and approachability of staff and feel welcome at school. Parent interviews with teachers enable them to discuss and contribute to their children's learning, progress and achievement. The school is developing worthwhile processes with local early childhood services and schools to support children and families as they move into and on from the school.

5 Going forward

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

Tikipunga School is well placed to achieve and sustain equitable and excellent outcomes for all children with continued development of the curriculum and teaching practices.

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.

The board and leaders have a purposeful and deliberate approach to improvement. The principal leads curriculum development well and is focused on raising children's achievement. Processes and systems are becoming stronger and more connected.

Leaders have identified relevant priorities for curriculum review and development. These include:

• improving the rigour of internal evaluation to strengthen reporting and support the board with resourcing decisions
• continuing to develop and consolidate teaching strategies to accelerate the progress of those students at most risk of not achieving
• developing approaches that give students a greater understanding of their own achievement and next learning steps
• building on consultation and communication strengths to improve learning partnerships with parents and whānau.

The board is exploring how they might use Hautū - Māori Cultural Responsiveness Self Review Tool for Boards of Trustees, to support ongoing improvement. This tool could help them measure their own effectiveness as a board.

ERO is likely to carry out the next review in three 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

ERO recommends that the school continues to use and strengthen internal evaluation to help it to achieve excellence and equity in outcomes for all children. 

Graham Randell

Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern

1 March 2017

About the school 

1 Context

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

Tēnā koutou te kura o Tikipunga. Tēnei rā te mihi ki te tumuaki, te poari, ngā kaiako, ngā kaimahi me ngā tamariki hoki. Tēnā hoki koutou e hāpai ana te mātauranga mō ō tātou tamariki, ki ngā teiteitanga o te ao Māori me te ao Pākehā. Ko te tūmanako, kia tū tangata ai rātou i roto i tēnei ao hurihuri mō āpōpō. Tēnā rā koutou katoa.

Tikipunga Primary School is situated in a residential suburb of Whangarei. The school provides education for students from Years 1 to 6. Mana whenua of Te Rerenga Paraoa, the school’s surrounding area, lies with two hapū, Te Kahu o Torongare and Te Parawhau. Most of the Māori students attending have Ngāpuhi-nui-tonu ancestry.

Two carved pou mark the entrance to the school. They represent Ngā Hau e Whā, the four winds incorporating all people, and Moemoea - the thoughts and dreams of students. The school has an attractive and welcoming environment. Students demonstrate pride in themselves and their school. They show confidence and take leadership roles in pōwhiri, kapahaka, classrooms, and in the playground.

Since the 2010 ERO report, a significant school development is the Kimihia class, which has ngā tikanga o Ngāpuhi nui tonu as the basis for its operation. The establishment of Kimihia is supporting teachers and students in all classes to provide a more culturally responsive learning environment. At the end of 2012, all classes were reorganised. Each tuakana class has a teina class next door so that tuakana/teina relationships and learning can be fostered with ease.

2 Learning

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

The school makes very good use of achievement information to make positive changes to the engagement, progress and achievement of Māori learners and all learners.

The principal and board are very aware that overall student achievement in the National Standards is well below government expectations. In 2012, 47% of Māori students were at or above National Standards in reading and mathematics and 43% in writing. The achievement of non-Māori students was higher.

Staff and trustees are focused on improving Māori students success in the Māori world and academically, especially in National Standards. School improvement teams have been established to implement this focus and are building a strong bicultural foundation for learning.

Students are making significant progress in understanding tikanga and fulfilling their roles in pōwhiri and as tuakana and teina in the daily life of the school. They are growing their te reo Māori through karakia, whaikōrero, waiata, haka, and through learning their pepeha. These learning achievements are increasing students’ engagement in their schooling and provide a firm foundation for Māori and non-Māori students to accelerate their learning and achievement of National Standards in reading, writing, and mathematics.

The principal and teachers are working together to ensure their judgements about student achievement of National Standards are more reliable. Whānau receive comprehensive reports about their children’s learning. These reports include practical ways that whānau can help progress their children’s learning.

The board of trustees, principal and staff make very good use of student achievement information to:

• access and provide support for students with special education needs
• review and plan learning programmes
• focus on supporting students who are underachieving
• review the success of their programmes in accelerating student learning.

The board’s annual targets and goals for student achievement will be strengthened once the board:

• ascertains, in consultation with the Māori community what is educational success for Māori, as Māori
• sets annual targets for Māori student success and for other groups of students at risk of underachieving.

3 Curriculum

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

The school’s curriculum effectively promotes and supports student learning through its:

• emphasis on ngā tikanga o Ngāpuhi nui tonu
• underpinning values of manaakitanga, mana, manawanui, mōhiotanga
• close alignment to The New Zealand Curriculum and the growing inclusion of te reo Māori.

Respectful, caring tuakana/teina relationships are very evident within classrooms and the playground. Children are increasingly leading their own learning and are enthusiastic about their progress and achievement.

Teachers are working together to design classroom programmes that are relevant to children’s strengths, interests and abilities. They are using sound educational theories to underpin their classroom programmes and teaching practice. As a result, students are happy, active learners who enjoy the positive, settled and orderly learning environment. Whanaungatanga and mutually respectful relationships characterise the school.

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

Seventy six percent of students are Māori. Therefore the findings throughout this report indicate the school’s effectiveness in promoting educational success for Māori, and as Māori.

4 Sustainable Performance

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

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

The school has a strong culture of self review for improvement. School improvement teams that include board and staff members plan to increase whānau engagement and cultural responsiveness in order to raise student achievement.

The school is very well led and managed. Teachers are encouraged and supported to be leaders and innovators to enhance student learning and achievement.

Students have attractive, well resourced classrooms and playgrounds. The health and safety of students is promoted through efficient and effective management.

The board of trustees, principal and staff have a shared vision of Tikipunga Primary School to be a truly bicultural school that supports Māori to succeed as Māori, for Māori and benefits the academic achievement and well-being of all students. The board of trustees anticipates reviewing its policies so that they align with the school’s vision and helps guide the school’s bicultural journey.

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.

When is ERO likely to review the school again?

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

Dale Bailey

National Manager Review Services Northern Region

11 December 2013

About the School