St Joseph's School (Opunake)

Education institution number:
2237
School type:
Full Primary
School gender:
Co-Educational
Definition:
Not Applicable
Total roll:
95
Telephone:
Address:

59 Allison Street, Opunake

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St Joseph's School (Opunake) - 26/06/2020

School Context

St Joseph’s is a Years 1 to 8 Catholic School in Opunake, Taranaki. At the time of this report there were 80 students on the roll, 19 are Māori and 14 are Filipino. The school’s roll has declined in the past four years.

There have been some changes to teaching staff and the board of trustees since ERO’s previous evaluation. Some trustees are new to the role of stewardship.

The school’s vision; ‘Faith, Values and Skills’ are underpinned by the gospel values of ‘humility, excellence, faith, respect and integrity’. The school’s localised curriculum seeks to; ‘Hapaitia te ara tika kia pumau ai te rangatiratanga mo ngā uri whakatipu – Foster the pathways of knowledge to strength, independence and growth for future generations’.

The school’s strategic aims include, all students having equal and equitable opportunities to excel as evidenced by their achievement in relation to The New Zealand Curriculum levels. Student achievement targets for 2020 include, 90% of students will be working within their curriculum level in reading and mathematics. A target for 85% of students is set in writing. Accompanying these, targets are in place for all students who are achieving below the expected curriculum level, to make accelerated progress and be achieving at or beyond the level by the end of the year.

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

  • progress and achievement in reading, writing and mathematics
  • religious education
  • wellbeing.

Since ERO’s previous evaluation leaders and teachers have participated in the Ministry of Education initiatives Positive Behaviours for Learning (PB4L) and Digital Learning/Fluency.

ERO’s previous evaluation recommended the school develop a raising student achievement plan to respond better to those learners who required accelerated progress and achievement to achieve equitable and excellent educational outcomes. The school responded positively to this and very good progress has been made.

Evaluation Findings

1 Equity and excellence – achievement of valued outcomes for students

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

Student achievement trends from 2017 to 2019 show the school’s processes and practices purposefully promote equity and excellence for students.

Since the previous ERO review the school has maintained very good outcomes for most students in reading, writing and mathematics. The end-of-2019 data, shows excellent outcomes were achieved with over a third of students achieving above expectation in mathematics and close to half in reading.

Mathematics achievement shows a consistent trajectory of progress for nearly all groups over time. At the end of 2019, Māori boys’, and boys’ overall achievement, was very positive.

Nearly all the Year 8 leavers, at the end of 2019, achieved at or above curriculum expectation in reading and mathematics.

The school identifies slight disparities for some groups. This is more evident in writing. Leaders have set relevant targets to promote accelerated progress and achievement of individual students.

1.2 How well is the school accelerating learning for those Māori and other students who need this?

The school demonstrates a purposeful response to those Māori and other students requiring their learning and progress accelerated. Many students targeted in reading and mathematics in 2019 accelerated their learning and progress.

Improving practices in writing has been prioritised and plans are in place to accelerate the learning and progress of targeted students in 2020.

2 School conditions for equity and excellence – processes and practices

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

Students have many opportunities to participate in a range of well-considered learning experiences within the school and local community. These experiences align with the evolving localised curriculum and are inclusive of the school’s faith principles. Children are well supported to develop positive attitudes, attributes and skills conducive to self-led learning across the breath of the curriculum.

Students’ wellbeing and sense of belonging are nurtured. Classroom conditions are positive, encouraging learner success. Children’s creative expression, academic efforts and other successes are shared and celebrated.

The significant collaborative inquiry undertaken by leaders and teachers during 2019, to meaningfully include te reo Māori and te ao Māori as an integral part of teaching and learning, was successful. This contributed positively to the provision of culturally responsive education for Māori learners.

Comprehensive practices are in place to ensure students with complex or high learning needs can fully participate in the school’s curriculum. Systems that enable parents and whānau to be involved in their child’s learning and holistic development are robust. Staff and parents work in partnership with external agencies, when appropriate, to ensure timely support. Significant resourcing by trustees, including the allocation of additional personnel, impacts positively on student outcomes.

Leaders and teachers, in consultation with the school’s community, have reaffirmed the school’s strategic vision and values. Curriculum guiding documents encourage teaching practices and learning experiences that are culturally responsive and future focused.

Trustees and staff have high expectations for learner success. A range of successful strategies encourages parents and whānau participation in the life the school. Strategic and annual plans suitably reflect relevant priorities and guide developments that contribute to improved outcomes for students.

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

Leaders and teachers implement a variety of innovations to strengthen curriculum delivery, build teacher capability and meaningfully include culturally responsive practice. As these actions progress, teachers should use the effective inquiry processes in place, to evaluate how efficiently these initiatives, including the learning through play, contribute to improved outcomes for learners, especially those identified in the school’s achievement targets.

The 2020 writing improvement plan, appropriately includes developing and using writing progressions to inform next steps for teaching and learning and to support student agency through student-led learning. Leaders should consider how these progressions could be used more comprehensively to plan for and monitor, the accelerated learning for all students in the achievement targets.

Trustees are becoming familiar with their roles and responsibilities. Ongoing learning about their governance role in relation to school stewardship requires further development. Trustees should build their collective understanding and use of effective evaluation practice to determine how their stewardship contributes to effective school governance and equitable and excellent outcomes for all students.

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 Children’s Act 2014.

4 ERO’s Overall Judgement

On the basis of the findings of this review, ERO’s overall evaluation judgement of St Joseph’s School (Opunake)’s performance in achieving valued outcomes for its students is: Well placed.

ERO’s Framework: Overall Findings and Judgement Tool derived from School Evaluation Indicators: Effective Practice for Improvement and Learner Success is available on ERO’s website.

5 Going forward

Key strengths of the school

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

  • the localised curriculum that is aligned to the principles of The New Zealand Curriculum, and the school’s faith principles
  • school practices that enable students with complex needs to fully participate and learn in an inclusive and conducive environment
  • building individual teachers’ capability and the school’s capacity that improve outcomes for learners.

Next steps

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

  • teachers using learning progressions more comprehensively when planning for accelerated learning for students who require this
  • building trustees’ understanding and use of effective evaluation practices to know how well their stewardship contributes to equitable and excellent outcomes for all students.

Actions for compliance

ERO identified non-compliance in relation to health, safety and welfare.

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

  • review policies, procedures and school practices for managing challenging behaviour and using physical restraint and ensure parents, students, school staff and the community know about these.
    [ Sections 139AB to 139AE Education Act 1989]

Areas for improved compliance practice

To improve current practice, the board of trustees should:

  • review personnel management practices, and policies and procedures related to the health and safety of students to be assured these are fit for purpose and trustees meet all legislative responsibilities.

Darcy Te Hau

Acting Director Review and Improvement Services (Central)

Central Region - Te Tai Pūtahi Nui

26 June 2020

About the school

The Education Counts website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement.

St Joseph's School (Opunake) - 10/08/2016

1 Context

St Joseph’s is a Years 1 to 8 Catholic School in Opunake, Taranaki. At the time of this report there were 106 students on the roll, of whom 28% identify as Māori, and 13% originate from the Philippines.

A new principal has been appointed since the June 2012 ERO review. Teachers have been involved in a range of externally supported professional development. In 2014, the focus was on building their capability in inquiring into the effectiveness of their practice. Professional learning programmes provided by the Ministry of Education (Ministry) have been: Accelerated Learning in Mathematics (ALiM), Accelerated Learning in Literacy (ALL), and Accelerated English Language Learning (ACELL). These are focused on supporting the school to improve outcomes for priority learners.

Structural strengthening and modernisation of most of the buildings took place in 2015.

2 Equity and excellence

The vision and valued outcomes defined by the school for all children are that they will experience quality teaching in core curriculum areas through the engagement of challenging, personalised learning programmes. There is a focus on accelerating student achievement for priority learners.

The school’s achievement information shows that, in 2015, most students were achieving at or above the National Standards in reading, writing and mathematics. The reported data shows similar achievement for 2014. There has been an improvement in equity for boys in reading and mathematics as the gap between the genders has almost closed. However, there continues to be a disparity between Māori student achievement and that of their New Zealand European peers. Māori students feature more often in the at risk groups, particularly in writing. Children who are English language learners achieve at lower levels than their peers.

A suitable range of assessment tools provides reliable data that gives a clear picture of student achievement. Students who are identified as underachieving are targeted for additional support and planned interventions. Teachers and leaders are successfully using data to track and monitor student progress and accelerated progress. Collated data is analysed to identify areas for improvement and plan actions to raise student achievement.

Strategic planning is focused on improving student outcomes and strengthening school culture. Annual targets are clearly aimed at accelerating the progress of students at risk of not achieving National Standards.

Teachers are making sound overall teacher judgements about children's progress and achievement in relation to the National Standards. They work in collaboration with other schools to improve the rigour and consistency of their assessment decisions.

Since the previous ERO evaluation, the school has reviewed and developed aspects of its practice in order to improve provision for students and be more responsive to their needs. Teachers have focused on improving their use of achievement data to identify areas for improvement in their teaching of students whose progress requires acceleration.

3 Accelerating achievement

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

Māori students whose progress requires acceleration are suitably identified and monitored at class level. Teachers share strategies to promote better learning outcomes. Achievement data shows that a positive difference is being made for some of these students.

Leaders recognise that there are other Māori students at risk of underachievement whose progress has not yet been sufficiently accelerated in reading, writing or mathematics. They agree that knowing more about what makes the biggest difference to learning will support teachers to better respond to individual learning needs and better promote equity of outcomes.

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

Students who have additional learning needs are well supported by the school. Many of those students are new residents to New Zealand and need specific support to improve language and literacy. This often results in good progress and in some cases accelerated progress towards achieving outcomes, in line with their New Zealand peers.

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?

St Joseph’s has a broad and balanced curriculum that supports students to learn within the context of The New Zealand Curriculum. Its special character vision and values are clearly enacted and underpin all aspects of school life.

Students learn in a positive and highly supportive school culture that is inclusive and welcoming. The holistic wellbeing of each student is valued. Good relationships are evident across the school. Children work collaboratively and cooperatively. Parents, families, whānau, and the community are welcomed and involved in school activities as respected and valued partners in learning.

The school is increasingly diverse and has focused on building its effectiveness in responding to all languages, cultures and identities. A positive impact is evident from the newly appointed kapa haka tutor. Te reo and te ao Māori are increasingly integrated into other curriculum areas.

Ongoing curriculum review has resulted in documented guidance for teaching and learning in mathematics aligned with recent professional development. How students are prepared in literacy for the next phase of their education has been well considered and developed through collaboration with the local secondary school.

Leaders and teachers agree that further strengthening the curriculum to better promote the accelerated progress of priority learners is a next step. Planned improvements to guidelines and expectations for teaching that reflect best practice should support more consistent delivery and implementation. Introducing localised contexts and incorporating the aspirations of parents and whānau should improve cultural responsiveness. 

Clearer guidance and expectations should provide a stronger basis for the monitoring and evaluation of how well teaching practice promotes accelerated learning. Determining what makes the biggest difference to student outcomes should assist the making of future decisions and actions to promote and sustain further improvements.

Staff are well supported by a range of professional development that aligns with the school's priorities for improvement. Further consideration of Tātaiako: Cultural Competencies for Teachers of Māori Learners when staff reflect on their practice, should enable them to evaluate and strengthen their response to Māori learners.

Leaders have identified that appraisal needs strengthening to more effectively support teachers to improve their practice. A recently developed performance management process was introduced in 2016. Ensuring that it aligns strongly with school priorities, monitors the impact of professional development and includes next steps for improvement will better support teachers to build their capability.

Trustees receive regular information about student achievement. They use this well to inform decisions about priorities and resourcing. They set a clear direction for school improvement.

Effective succession planning has ensured the recently elected board has a mixture of experienced and new trustees. The induction process is well considered. Board training will support trustees to strengthen their capability in fulfilling their roles and responsibilities.

School leaders agree that continuing to strengthen the systematic use of evidence-based evaluation to measure the impact of practices and programmes is required. Improved evaluation should better inform progress towards achieving targets and provide leaders with information about which actions had the biggest impact and why. Knowing this should support the school to sustain and improve its performance.

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 whose learning and achievement need to be accelerated
  • respond to the strengths, needs and interests of each child
  • regularly evaluate how teaching is working for these children
  • do not always or systematically act on what they know works for each child
  • ·         have a plan in place but have not yet built teacher capability effectively to achieve equitable outcomes for all children.

Action: The board, principal and teachers should use the findings of this evaluation, the Effective School Evaluation resource, the Internal Evaluation: Good Practice exemplars and the School Evaluation Indicators to develop a Raising Achievement Plan to further develop processes and practices that respond effectively to the strengths and needs of children whose learning and achievement need to be accelerated.

As part of this review ERO will continue to monitor the school’s Raising Achievement Plan and the progress the school makes. ERO is likely to carry out the next full 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
  • the school’s policy and procedures in relation to the application of the Vulnerable Children Act 2014.

7 Recommendation

ERO recommends that the school continues to develop:

  • a culturally responsive curriculum
  • plans to support priority learners to achieve equitable and excellent outcomes
  • strengthened use of data by teachers to inform their teaching
  • processes for building capacity to monitor and evaluate effectiveness. 

Joyce Gebbie
Deputy Chief Review Officer Central

10 August 2016 

About the school 

Location

Opunake

Ministry of Education profile number

2237

School type

Full Primary (Years 1 to 8)

School roll

113

Gender composition

Male 51, Female 49%

Ethnic composition

Māori
Pākehā
Pacific
Other ethnic groups

28%
57%
  2%
13%

Review team on site

May 2016

Date of this report

10 August 2016

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review
Education Review
Education Review

June 2012
March 2009
May 2005