Jean Batten School

Summary

Jean Batten School has a roll of 449 children, 14 percent identify as Māori, 31 percent Samoan, 19 percent Tongan, 13 percent Cook Islands Māori and 12 percent Fijian. The diversity of the school roll has increased over the last three years, and many children have home languages other than English.

Since ERO’s 2014 review, the school has experienced significant staffing changes. The board appointed a new principal in 2017 and a deputy principal in 2016. New trustees have joined the board and a new board chair was elected in 2016. There is a large number of recently appointed staff in the school, including a number of beginning teachers.

Children benefit from a settled and positive school environment. The school's active promotion of and support for children and their families’ wellbeing impacts positively on their engagement.

The school’s 2016 public achievement information shows that approximately 60 percent of all children are achieving the National Standards in reading, writing and mathematics. This is a 10 percent decline compared with the school’s 2015 achievement data.

The board has goals and plans to promote children’s learning. Recent initiatives, including significant teacher development, have yet to provide evidence of a positive impact on student learning.

Jean Batten School is one of 11 schools in the Mangere North Community of Learning|Kāhui Ako (CoL). The CoL is at the early stage of setting achievement targets.

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

Jean Batten School is becoming effective in achieving equitable outcomes for all children.

The school is developing approaches to better respond to Māori children and others whose learning and achievement need acceleration. School leaders and teachers place children who need to make accelerated progress at the forefront of their interventions for equity and excellence.

Initiatives which are beginning to contribute to achieving equity and excellence for all children include the:

• Mutukaroa programme which promotes successful transitions into the school for new entrants and their families and whānau
• improvement of teacher appraisal systems and processes
• well-resourced learning support programme and networks with external agencies.

At the time of this review the new principal has identified that a more urgent and relentless focus on improving the achievement and progress of all learners is a key priority. The school has the capacity and capability to accelerate learning for all children and address the disparity in achievement between Māori and Pacific learners.

Agreed next steps include:

• developing and documenting a more connected, thinking curriculum for the Jean Batten learner

• strengthening the educational leadership roles of senior and middle leaders to build teacher capability to accelerate children’s progress

• increasing children’s role in managing their own learning

• improving the use of internal evaluation to guide and affirm the school’s direction.

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?

Jean Batten School is partially effective in responding to Māori and other children whose learning and achievement need acceleration. The board of trustees, senior leaders and staff prioritise and resource individual children who are at risk of not achieving.

The school’s 2016 achievement information shows that approximately 60 percent of all children are achieving the National Standards in reading, writing and mathematics. This is a ten percent decline compared to the school’s 2015 achievement data.

Of concern are the declining levels of achievement for Māori children and the resulting disparity evident between Māori and Pacific children’s achievement. Approximately half of all Māori children in 2016 did not achieve the National Standard in reading, writing and mathematics. Pacific children’s achievement also declined in 2016, by approximately ten percent in reading and writing.

Children who need to make accelerated progress participate in a range of additional, well-resourced programmes to support their learning. School leaders need to evaluate the effectiveness of these programmes and the impact they have on improving outcomes for these learners.

The National Standards achievement information shows the need to develop improvement plans with specific targets, goals and actions to accelerate children’s progress. School leaders and teachers need to develop a shared understanding of accelerated progress and introduce effective teaching practices that result in accelerated learning to enable all children to achieve equitable outcomes.

The school’s assessment and moderation processes are developing. To increase the reliability of teacher judgements, senior leaders should seek the support of a Ministry of Education Student Achievement Function Practitioner (SAF).

School conditions supporting equity and excellence

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

The school has some goodsystems, processes and practices in place that support equity and excellence for learners. The principal is an experienced curriculum leader. She demonstrates capability to lead change in teaching and learning to improve outcomes for children.

Children experience a range of learning opportunities that draw on their strengths and interests. They participate enthusiastically in cultural and performing arts activities. Older children have good opportunities for leadership.

Teachers place a high value on knowing their learners well. This has led to increased learning-focused relationships with children and their families and whānau. Children experience positive, caring relationships with teachers.

Parents appreciate the welcoming approach of the school and their experience through the Mutukaroa initiative. They value the learning opportunities to be more informed about how they can take a shared role to improve their children’s achievement.

School leaders have improved performance management systems. Appraisal processes encourage teachers to inquire into the impact of their teaching. Increasingly, they are reflecting on how they can improve outcomes for children and share effective practices with other teachers.

The principal and trustees are undertaking a significant internal evaluation of the school’s vision and values. In consultation with students, staff and the school community they plan to set a future direction for school improvement. The principal clearly understands that a well-understood commitment and approach to accelerating children’s learning is needed.

Sustainable development for equity and excellence

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

Trustees and school leaders have identified the need to develop their collective capacity to use internal evaluation to develop and sustain school improvements. They agree that next steps for school development include:

• developing and documenting a more connected, thinking curriculum for the Jean Batten learner

• strengthening the educational leadership roles of senior and middle leaders to build teacher capability to accelerate children’s progress

• increasing children’s role in managing their own learning

• improving the use of internal evaluation to guide and affirm the school’s direction.

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. 

ERO identified non-compliance in relation to health and safety. In order to address this the board must:

• consult at least once in every 2 years with the school community and adopt a statement on the delivery of its health curriculum
  Section 60B of the Education Act, 1989.

To improve current practice, the board of trustees should:

• ensure that police vetting of all non-teaching staff is carried out every 3 years
• develop an annual performance agreement with the principal
• document and implement an induction programme for all new teachers.

Going forward

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

The school is now better placed to accelerate the achievement of children who need it.

Leaders and teachers are capable of developing the capacity to accelerate learning for all children, particularly that of Māori children whose achievement is below that of other groups.

The principal has identified the need to develop a cohesive direction for improvement through a learner -focused plan targeted to strengthen teaching and leadership practices and improve outcomes for children.

Leaders and teachers:

• know the children whose learning and achievement need to be accelerated
• need to develop and implement approaches that effectively meet the needs of each child
• need to improve the school conditions that support the acceleration of children’s learning and achievement.
• need to build teacher capability to accelerate 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.

Recommendations

ERO recommends that the Ministry of Education consider providing a Student Achievement Function Practitioner (SAF) to support for the school in order to bring about improvements in assessment systems and processes and strengthen teachers’ and leaders’ assessment capability.

Violet Tu’uga Stevenson

Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern (Acting)

14 July 2017

About the school