Wanaka Primary School

1 Context

This school is continuing to grow in strength and roll size. The 600 students’ learning and wellbeing needs are well provided for in an attractive inclusive learning environment. Although the school is large, the individual pods provide a smaller family-like atmosphere. The number of English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) students has increased in the last few years.

The school has a strong reporting history. However, there has been a commissioner and a new board elected since the last review. The new board is working hard to improve and sustain positive relationships with the community. This is one of the school’s strategic aims.

2 Equity and excellence

The vision as defined by the school for all children is "Empowering a Community of Learners".

The school's valued outcomes are responsibility, respect and honesty, self-motivation, teamwork, creativity, critical thinking, self-management, perseverance, resilience, empathy, and environmental awareness.

The school’s achievement information for National Standards shows that reading has been a strength in the school, with about 90% of students at or above the expected levels over the past four years. About 80% of students are achieving at or above the level in mathematics. Writing is now a key priority for the school, with almost 30% of students working below their expected level. Māori students achieve at similar rates to other students.

Since the last ERO evaluation in 2011, the school has had a major focus on science and mathematics. Students have regular and useful opportunities to engage with scientific ideas and skills that are woven naturally into their programme.

Teachers use a wide variety of assessment practices, and continue to work on refining and developing these. The recent focus on writing is an example of how a whole school focus on using a variety of assessments has resulted in changes to the way writing has been taught and assessed.

3 Accelerating achievement

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

The school is very effective in responding to the Māori children whose learning needs to be accelerated.

Teachers use many processes and tools to identify students at risk of not achieving. This begins prior to school for those who attend local preschools. These four year olds come into the school for a special programme and become known to the teachers. Teachers are skilled at identifying the needs of the whole child. They recognise that a child’s wellbeing, learning dispositions, and attendance are all important in providing the best environment for children’s learning.

The school responds to Māori children who need support with their learning in a range of ways that address each child’s specific learning needs. Learning goals are set and regularly monitored by teachers and leaders. Parents are involved in discussions with teachers and provided with ideas on how to support their child’s learning at home. Senior leaders are actively involved in assessing and teaching these students.

The school’s 2015 achievement data shows that more than half of the small target group of students accelerated their learning in one of the focus areas.

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

The school is very effective in responding to other children whose learning needs to be accelerated.

The strategies for identifying and responding to learning needs described above are in place for all students.

In 2015, 80% of those who needed to accelerate their achievement in reading did so, along with 70% in mathematics. Over half of the target group for writing also accelerated their progress to move from below to at the expected level. 

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 priorities for equity and excellence?

The school is very effective in enacting its vision, values, goals and priorities.

The board has undertaken a comprehensive process, including community consultation, to develop a charter that reflects the community’s unique context, needs and aspirations. There is a strong alignment from the vision through the strategic goals to strategic and annual planning, targeted professional development, appraisal and effective teaching and learning.

Trustees have undertaken relevant training and worked on strengthening relationships between the school and the community. They are actively involved with the school, and seek reports that provide them with progress towards their goals and priorities. The revised format for the principal’s report goes some way to achieving this.

The school has put in place useful processes to listen to parents and learn from them about their children’s needs and interests. There is frequent communication with parents about their children’s learning. Teachers and leaders take a shared responsibility to support each student’s learning and development.

Students learn and achieve across the breadth and depth of the curriculum. They participate and learn in caring, collaborative learning communities. The values of responsibility, respect and honesty are evident in the way students and teachers behave towards each other. Teachers plan and deliberately include activities to support students to develop self-management and resilience skills. Students have opportunities to learn in environments that reflect the principles of innovative learning practices.

The focus on biculturalism supports all students, and particularly Māori students. Teachers share responsibility for this. They are involved in improving their own understandings, and teaching te reo and tikanga Māori in ways that support the work of the visiting expert.

The shared approach to leadership has built a strong collaborative and collegial culture. All teachers are leaders in some aspect of the life of the school. The roles and responsibilities of senior leaders are well defined and clearly understood. Teachers reflect deeply on their practice and are committed to each child being the best they can be. There is a culture of continuous improvement.

The next step is for leaders to use a range of information to evaluate the impact of key goals, priorities and innovations, and report these evaluation findings to the board. This will enable the board to have a better understanding of how well the implementation of key programmes has impacted on the learning and wellbeing of students.

5 Going forward

How well placed is the school to achieve and sustain equitable and excellent outcomes for all children?

Leaders and teachers:

• know the children who need their 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.

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.

Chris Rowe

Deputy Chief Review Officer Southern (Acting)

19 May 2016

About the school