Grovetown School

School Context

Grovetown School is a semi-rural school close to Blenheim. It was established more than 150 years ago and caters for children in Years 1 to 6. Since ERO’s 2015 review, the school roll has increased to 79. The school now has an enrolment scheme to manage growth. The school is becoming more culturally diverse.  

The school’s overarching vision is building ‘a community of lifelong learners who make a difference’. The school is in the process of developing its LEARNER Framework that represents the Lifelong Learner, Environment, Action, Responsibility, Integrity, Empathy and Respect. This Framework succinctly combines the previous school values (responsibility, hauora, respect and enthusiasm), the 6 C Values (Character, Citizenship, Collaboration, Communication, Creativity and Critical Thinking), the school’s learner profile andTheNew Zealand Curriculumkey competencies to clarify what it means to be a learner. The aim is to provide a rich and relevant curriculum that empowers learners.

The board’s strategic goals relate to community partnerships, achievement for lifelong learners and making a difference through deep engagement in learning. Student outcome targets are:

• for students to achieve personal and educational success

• for students to be at the appropriate curriculum level in reading, writing and mathematics by the time they leave at the end of Year 6

• related to wellbeing: ‘healthy, happy staff and students, and engaged whānau’.

More specific annual targets focus on improvement for groups whose progress needs to be accelerated.

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

• achievement in reading, writing and mathematics

• programmes and initiatives to improve outcomes for priority learners

• some information relating to engagement, for example attendance, behavioural data and family/whānau engagement at student conferencing

• improved learning opportunities through curriculum initiatives and development.

As a result of rapid roll growth, the teaching team now consists of six teaching staff and two teacher aides. An additional classroom has been built and is used as a combined teaching space for children from new entrant to Year 1.

The board is made up of both experienced and recently elected trustees with diverse skills. The principal is soon to retire following many years’ service to the school. Trustees are planning carefully to ensure continuity in, and sustainability of, improvements with their appointment of a new principal.

Over the past three years, staff have participated in professional learning and development (PLD) in new pedagogy for deep learning (NPDL) and spirals of inquiry. Teachers and trustees have also grown their understanding of cultural responsiveness. This learning reflects the key next steps for improvement in ERO’s 2015 report.

The school is part of the Piritahi Kāhui Ako | Community of Learning (CoL). In addition to this, they are continuing their long-standing relationship with a cluster of five schools within this CoL.

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?

Grovetown School is working well to achieve equitable and excellent outcomes for all its students.

Over the past three years, student achievement in reading has remained relatively constant. Students’ achievement in mathematics and writing has improved significantly since 2015. The school’s most recent data reported to the board show that 88% of students are achieving at or above expectations in reading, 91% in writing and 85% in mathematics. Māori and Pacific students generally achieve at or above curriculum expectations.

Students with specific strengths and abilities engage in programmes and activities to challenge their thinking, creativity, understanding and behaviours.

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

Students whose learning requires additional support are clearly identified, assessed and tracked closely. Where appropriate, external support is accessed. They are actively supported to develop the skills to successfully access learning, and are provided with many valuable opportunities to engage in learning.

School data shows that many of these students make accelerated progress.

Teachers are making good use of their spirals of inquiry to focus their teaching on priority learners, and to identify alternative strategies to accelerate progress and achievement.

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?

The student-centred school curriculum reflects the school’s vision for learners, and is strongly aligned with The New Zealand Curriculum. Ongoing curriculum developments that respond to learners’ interests include passion projects and ‘learning for life’ that extend student engagement and learning, and broaden their experiences.

Recent developments such as play-based learning and the introduction of NPDL are direct responses to learners’ interests and needs. The school curriculum design and implementation supports students’ learning, enabling them to make good progress towards, and achieve, curriculum expectations.

Teachers use a variety of teaching strategies to engage students in meaningful learning. They keep the learner at the centre and encourage cooperative learning and active engagement. Students develop learning-to-learn capabilities and transferable thinking skills that extend across learning areas. They are growing their ability to articulate their own learning, progress and next steps. Students are also building their social competence and citizenship, and are contributing to improvements in the community.

Leaders have a clear and shared vision for successful Grovetown learners. They work in collaborative ways to enable equity and excellence for all students. Leaders model openness, risk taking and receptiveness to change for improvement. As a result the school community works well together to create a positive, inclusive environment that promotes student learning and wellbeing.

Parents, whānau and the community participate in school activities and contribute constructively to decision making in a variety of ways. Improved sharing of information about student engagement, progress and achievement are helping to build meaningful learning partnerships with parents and families/whānau. Increasing connections and collaboration through the CoL are supporting in-school developments and the transition of students into and beyond the school.

The board actively represents and serves the school and community in its stewardship role. Trustees’ strong commitment to wide consultation collectively builds ownership of school vision, values and curriculum. The ongoing good working relationship with principal and staff is underpinned by relational trust. Trustees’ responses to professional needs and suggestions impact positively on outcomes for students. The board shares the school leaders’ commitment to increasing cultural responsiveness and developing partnerships with iwi and the Māori community.

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

Leaders and the board should now more deeply scrutinise student information, with a strong focus on the accelerated progress of priority learners and groups of students over time. The use of a student wellbeing survey would help to provide the board with useful information to further inform decision making on programmes, practices and resourcing.

The school should ensure that inquiry and internal evaluation practices and processes:

• are systematic and coherent, well documented, and focused on achieving equity and excellence for all
• support the board to evaluate its effectiveness in its stewardship role
• continue to grow capacity of leaders and teachers to embed and sustain improvement
• continue to build students’ capability as independent and self-managing learners.

The board and school staff should continue to develop cultural responsiveness and bicultural understandings throughout the curriculum and school practices. This would be supported by continuing to build deep and meaningful partnerships with the Māori community.

The staff appraisal system is currently under review. As part of this review, leaders should ensure that the process shows a clear and ongoing alignment with the school’s vision and values.

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.

Areas for improved compliance practice

To improve current practice, the board of trustees should ensure that:

• policies and procedures related to health and safety cover required precautionary practices to maintain student and staff safety

• board meetings and records reflect best governance practice.

4 Going forward

Key strengths of the school

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

• trustees’ commitment to building collective ownership of the school’s vision and values

• collaborative leadership with a clear vision for successful Grovetown learners

• the dynamic, student-centred school curriculum

• teaching that engages students in deep and authentic learning

• meaningful partnerships in learning with parents, families/whānau, and the CoL.

Next steps

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

• continuing to build meaningful partnerships with the Māori community that support trustees’ and staff cultural responsiveness, Māori students’ success as Māori, and all students’ development as bicultural citizens of Aotearoa New Zealand

• refining data analysis and systematic internal evaluation processes to enable evidence-based judgements about the impact of curriculum and learning and teaching developments in terms of their contribution to equity and excellence for all students.

ERO’s next external evaluation process and timing

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

Alan Wynyard

Director Review & Improvement Services

Southern Region

5 February 2019

About the school