Opotiki College

Opotiki College - 16/08/2019

Findings

On the basis of the findings of this review, ERO ‘s overall evaluation judgement of Ōpōtiki College’s performance in achieving valued outcomes for its students is: Developing.

1 Background and Context

What is the background and context for this school’s review?

Ōpōtiki College is a coeducational secondary school catering for students in Years 9 to 15 from Ōpōtiki and surrounding areas. There are 353 students on the roll of whom 86% are Māori, the majority of these learners whakapapa to Te Whakatōhea.

A strong partnership exists with Te Whakatōhea. Clear strategic goals outline the college’s and iwi plans to support improving progress and achievement, wellbeing, engagement and participation of students. This positive partnership with Whakatōhea is also supporting the revitalisation of Maurua, the Māori immersion programmes, at the college.   

Trustees and leaders have remained in their roles since the 2017 ERO review. A Maurua representative has been co-opted onto the board to be a direct representative for the whānau. There has continued to be changes in teaching and administrative staff.

The school’s vision empowers students to be connected students and confident citizens. The charter outlines aims for students to achieve National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) Level 2, or equivalent and have a pathway upon leaving the school, raise the levels of attendance and for Māori students to enjoy and achieve success as Māori.

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

  • achievement and progress schoolwide

  • student engagement

  • wellbeing of staff and students

  • community partnerships extending learners’ cultures, languages, identities and meaningful pathways

  • participation in initiatives and programmes responding to student strengths, needs and interests.

The school is an active member of the Ōpōtiki Community of Learning|Kāhui Ako.

2 Review and Development

How effectively is the school addressing its priorities for review and development?

Priorities identified for review and development
  • continuing to establish a coherent and authentic curriculum

  • building leaders’ and teachers’ understanding of the effective use of data to accelerate students’ progress and achievement

  • extending leadership capability across the school

  • school-wide understanding of effective internal evaluation.

Progress
Continuing to establish a coherent and authentic curriculum is required.

The college’s education leadership team works collaboratively with the senior leadership team to localise the school’s curriculum, raise student achievement and enhance students’ wellbeing. This is leading to:

  • improved engagement of learners in meaningful programmes for learning, especially the availability of purposeful pathways for learners in the senior school

  • the identification and prioritisation of improvements for consistency and quality of teaching practice

  • extending teachers’ knowledge and use of effective planning for appropriate programmes to engage and motivate learners

  • ongoing observations and professional conversations to monitor how well new expectations are implemented and where further support is needed.

Leaders’ and teachers’ knowing and understanding culturally responsive and relational pedagogy has contributed to positive shifts in teaching practice. The environment and programmes for learners that reflects tangata whenua and the dual heritage of Aotearoa schoolwide, has significantly improved. Supportive transition processes and programmes for students entering and leaving the school, alongside Whakatōhea, are promoting positive learning behaviours, increasing students’ pride in the school and their better understanding of the school values. Connections with whānau and the community are deepening.

A more collegial and collaborative leadership and teaching team, focused on improving practice to better meet the needs of learners, is contributing to an improving school culture. The ongoing strengthening of processes that promote student wellbeing is supporting engagement and participation in learning programmes. Celebrating success schoolwide and acknowledging achievement continues to enhance learners’ confidence and enjoyment of learning.

Strategically managed professional development is improving the way teachers use achievement information, to plan for and assess student learning. Implementation of a clear framework and vision is providing a strong foundation for the localised and meaningful curriculum for Years 9 to 13.

Building leaders’ and teachers’ understanding of the effective use of data to accelerate students’ progress and achievement.

Most students achieve National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) Level 2. These rates, alongside University Entrance (UE) have improved since 2017, especially for Māori learners. Māori and New Zealand European/Pākehā achieve at comparable rates for UE. The disparity has narrowed for Māori learners in NCEA Level 1, 3 and in UE, but is widening at NCEA Level 2. Significant disparity between males and females achievement still remains. The number of students leaving school in Year 11 and 12 has decreased, and more students are leaving having achieved NCEA Level 2.

Strategies and interventions used to accelerate the progress and achievement for learners in Years 9 and 10 have been effective in reading. They have also been effective for Year 10 students in science.

Robust processes for tracking, monitoring and mentoring of senior students have increased learner engagement and participation. More comprehensive achievement information is being gathered and analysed for students in Years 9 and 10 to show progress and achievement across these years.

Staff are more openly sharing practice. They are becoming more skilled and focused at inquiring into their practice to deepen their understanding of the impact of their teaching on targeted learners. They are regularly discussing professional learning and are working together to improve their response to at-risk learners.

Extending leadership capability across the school.

Strong and purposeful leadership is raising expectations for teaching and learning. The principal successfully prioritised changes and persevered with actions to bring about improvements for students. Decisions are now proactive and centre on improving outcomes for every student.

The school’s operating model has been reviewed and restructured to distribute leadership more productively, encourage diversity, increased transparency and enable more teacher involvement in leading and decision making. Roles and responsibilities of leadership have been clearly defined, which is strengthening lines of communication and accountability across the school.

School-wide understanding of effective internal evaluation.

Trustees are confident in their roles and responsibilities, and are focused on supporting and raising outcomes for students. The principal keeps them well informed about students’ progress, achievement, participation and information of developments towards strategic goals.

Leaders effectively combine findings from internal and external evaluation to drive improvements. The school has been highly responsive to an external review of the Year 9 and 10 curriculum. This clearly identified significant planning and teaching issues contributing to poor student engagement.

Considerable informal evaluation has occurred during the development of new systems and processes. Ongoing teaching observations, self and colleague reflections contribute to a rigorous teacher appraisal system. Carefully timed professional development is aligned with the introduction of new appraisal expectations and processes.

Problem solving and inquiry is deepening knowledge of what is working and why. Evidence of effective evaluation is increasing schoolwide. Information from evaluation is now appropriately informing change and improvement.

Key next steps

For ongoing improvement, leaders have prioritised to continue to:

  • rigorously implement and monitor the quality of teaching and learning to improve consistence, accountability and student participation

  • accelerate students’ progress through:

    • supporting teachers to enable students to understand their learning, achievement and next steps

    • extending teachers’ knowledge and understanding of curriculum levels to deepen acceleration of progress and achievement.

  • develop understanding of the effective use of data to know and show the impact strategies and initiatives have on accelerating progress and achievement for individuals and groups of learners at risk

  • identify indicators of success for systems, processes and initiatives to strengthen effective internal evaluation.

3 Sustainable performance and self review

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

Ōpōtiki College continues to develop and sustain its performance. Factors contributing to sustainability are:

  • professional leadership which provides a well-considered approach to change and improvement that has grown a positive school culture

  • meaningful connections with iwi and community stakeholders that are enriching opportunities for students to be confident, connected and actively involved with their local environment

  • processes that support student wellbeing that actively respond to their needs and promote high expectations for all

  • a capable and responsive board that is supporting equitable outcomes for all learners

  • strong leadership across the school that is growing capability and capacity to improve practice.

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
  • school policies in relation to meeting the requirements of the Vulnerable Children Act 2014.

Conclusion

On the basis of the findings of this review, ERO ‘s overall evaluation judgement of Ōpōtiki College’s performance in achieving valued outcomes for its students is: Developing.

ERO’s Framework: Overall School Performance is available on ERO’s website.

Phil Cowie

Director Review and Improvement Services Central

Central Region

16 August 2019

About the School

Location

Ōpōtiki

Ministry of Education profile number

148

School type

Secondary (Years 9 to 13)

School roll

353

Gender composition

Female 53% Male 47%

Ethnic composition

Māori
NZ European/Pākehā
Other

86%
10%
4%

Special Features

Bilingual immersion classes (Years 9 - 13)

Review team on site

May 2019

Date of this report

16 August 2019

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review
Education Review
Education Review

January 2018
October 2014
June 2010

Opotiki College - 19/02/2018

School Context

Ōpotiki College is a coeducational secondary school catering for students in Years 9 to 15 from Ōpotiki and surrounding areas. Most of the 350 students attending the school are of Māori descent.

A strong relationship exists with Te Whakatōhea. This is being extended to best meet the wellbeing of students at Ōpotiki College.

Since the 2014 ERO review the College has had:

  • significant changes to membership of the board of trustees, including the chairperson
  • Ministry of Education support for the board in personnel and financial responsibilities by a Limited Statutory Manager (LSM)
  • several changes in leadership
  • a principal’s recruitment allowance (PRA) to employ a high quality and experienced principal
  • a new principal appointed in 2016
  • a decline in the roll.

National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) Level 2, to raise the levels of attendance and Māori students will enjoy and achieve success as Māori.The school’s vision empowers students to be connected students and confident citizens. The charter outlines aims are for students to achieve

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

  • achievement and progress in NCEA

  • beginning and end of year data for Years 9 and 10 students using externally referenced assessment tools in numeracy, literacy and science.

The college has been involved in a range of professional learning and development initiatives including Kia Eke Panuku, Positive Behaviour for Learning (PB4L), Science: Thinking with Evidence, Teaching as Inquiry, and E Tū Whānau.

The school is a member of the Ōpotiki Community of Learning|Kāhui Ako.

Evaluation Findings

1 Equity and excellence – valued outcomes for students

1.1 How well is the school achieving equitable and excellent outcomes for all its students?

The school is making some progress towards achieving equitable and excellent outcomes for students in Years 11 to 13.

Achievement at all levels of NCEA and University Entrance (UE) has steadily and significantly improved since 2014. In 2016, a large majority of students gained NCEA Level 2, results for NCEA Levels 1 and 3 were lower, and few students gained UE. A significant disparity remains for Māori students compared to non-Māori.

The retention data shows that a higher proportion of Māori students are staying at school longer. A positive trend is the increased number of Māori students leaving school with NCEA Level 2.

Male students across all levels of NCEA achieve below that of females. This disparity is most significant at Level 3. At NCEA Levels 1 and 2 the gender disparity is reducing overtime.

The school has gathered beginning of year data for Year 9 students. This data indicates a high majority of students beginning at Ōpōtiki College are well below curriculum expectations for their year level. The school is yet to analyse achievement information to show progress at Year 9 and 10. Professional learning and development has been accessed to support this in 2018.

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

Raising equitable and excellent outcomes for Māori and other students whose learning and achievement need acceleration remains an urgent priority for the school.

School-wide data is not used well to show progress or rates of acceleration of Years 9 and 10. A literacy support programme for a small group of students does show that through an intervention, there has been a significant impact on accelerating their progress in reading.

In 2017 tracking data for NCEA Levels 1 to 3 is indicating significant acceleration for most students.

2 School conditions for equity and excellence

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

Strong and purposeful leadership is raising expectations for teaching and learning. The principal has driven change and improvement through a well-considered approach. As a result the following processes and practices are supporting improvements in equity and excellence:

The intensified tracking, monitoring and mentoring of senior students has seen significant improvements in achievement across all levels of NCEA. Through this approach the senior curriculum has been enhanced to provide more authentic and personalised learning pathways for Year 11-13 students.

Responding to and strengthening processes for student wellbeing is supporting engagement and participation in learning programmes. Identifying and celebrating student aspirations is enhancing teaching programmes through a better response to students’ strengths, interests and needs.

Positive and respectful relationships between leaders, teachers and students are contributing to an improving school culture. Celebrating success schoolwide and acknowledging achievement has strengthened the foundation for change. Improved communication and increased approachability with leaders and teachers is increasing whānau engagement in learning.

Trustees are growing in confidence in their roles and responsibilities and are focused on supporting and raising outcomes for students.

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

In-school processes and practices need to be further developed and refined to achieve equitable and excellent outcomes for students.

Continuing to establish a coherent and authentic curriculum is required. This should include clearly outlining the expectations for high quality teaching and learning and localise course content to more effectively respond to students.

Building leaders and teachers understanding of the effective use of data to accelerate students’ progress and achievement is needed. Teachers need to make better use of achievement information to inquire into their practice and prioritise the identification of strategies to best meet the needs of students.

Extending leadership capability across the school is a key next step to continue the trajectory of improvement. Priority should be given to clarifying and embedding the roles and responsibilities of middle leaders to better support mentoring of at risk students.

School-wide understanding of effective internal evaluation needs strengthening to identify the impact change is having on raising outcomes for all students and to inform ongoing improvements and innovation.

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.

Appraisal audit

Implementing a robust performance management process that supports improving teacher practice is required to inform the appropriate endorsement of teachers for practicing certificates. This should include building teachers’ understanding of sufficiency and quality of evidence in relation to the practicing teacher criteria.

Actions for compliance

ERO identified non-compliance in relation to:

  • policies and procedures that guide the operation of the school
  • implement a robust performance management process that appropriately supports endorsement of teachers practising certificates
  • undertake a health curriculum consultation every two years.

In order to address this, the board of trustees must:

  1. Continue to develop and implement policies and procedures that inform expected processes and practices school wide. Of urgency are those procedures that relate to health and safety, physical restraint for students and staff wellbeing; appraisal, and endorsement of teacher practising certificates.
    [NAG 5; Sections 139AB to 139AE Education Act 1989; Health and Safety at Work Act 2015]

  1. Implement a robust performance management programme for appraisal of staff.
    [77c State Service Sector Act 1988]

  1. Ensure appropriate endorsement for issuing and renewal of teacher’s practising certificates are undertaken and that these meet the requirements of the Education Council.
    [Part 31 Education Act 1989 Standards of the Teaching Profession]

  1. Undertake the health curriculum consultation every two years.
    [Section 60B Education Act 1989].

4 Going forward

Key strengths of the school

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

the professional leadership that provides well-considered approach to change and improvement that is growing a positive school culture

meaningful connections with iwi and community stakeholders that are enriching opportunities for students to be confident, connected and actively involved with their local environment

  • student well-being processes that actively responds to student’ needs and promotes high expectations for all students.

Next steps

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

  • continuing to develop a coherent and authentic curriculum to guide effective teaching and learning

  • building understanding for the effective use of data to inform appropriate decision making at all levels

  • extending capability of middle leaders to build high-quality practice school-wide

  • strengthening internal evaluation practices to prioritise what is working well for students and where further improvements are needed.

ERO’s next external evaluation process and timing

ERO intends to carry out a process of ongoing external evaluation to support development over the course of one-to-two years.

Lynda Pura-Watson

Deputy Chief Review Officer

Te Tai Miringa - Waikato / Bay of Plenty Region

19 February 2018

About the school

Location

Ōpotiki

Ministry of Education profile number

148

School type

Secondary (Years 9 to 15)

School roll

350

Gender composition

Girls 52% Boys 48%

Ethnic composition

Māori 82%
Pākehā 14%
Other 4%

Provision of Māori medium education

No

Review team on site

November 2017

Date of this report

19 February 2018

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review October 2014
Education Review June 2010
Education Review June 2007