Ohau School

1 Context

Ohau School caters for students in Years 1 to 8. At the time of this review, 186 students were enrolled, of whom 22% identify as Māori. The community is largely rural and members provide strong support for school events. Celebration of students' success occurs throughout the year.

Since the June 2013 ERO review, the school has refurbished the property and plant. A focus on environmental practices has been retained. There have been changes to the teaching team, and leadership, with two assistant principals appointed at the beginning of 2016. Teachers have been involved in local education initiatives and professional learning and development. The school is part of the Horowhenua Community of Learning (CoL).

2 Equity and excellence

The vision and valued outcomes defined by the school for all children are to be self managing, confident and creative learners, who can effectively communicate and connect with the world around them.

Underpinning these outcomes are the school values of respect, responsibility, kindness, honesty and determination and the key behaviour strands, within the school’s behaviour approach, ‘living above the line’.

The school reports that, in 2015 most students were achieving at the National Standards in reading, writing and mathematics. Māori achieved at similar levels to their peers in writing. There was disparity of outcomes for Māori in mathematics and reading, and for boys in reading and writing.

At midyear 2016, National Standards data shows that Māori are achieving at lower levels than their peers in reading and mathematics. Māori achievement in writing exceeds that of their peers. There is disparity of achievement for boys in writing.

Internal assessment moderation processes have further developed over time. Teachers use a wide range of tools to inform their overall judgements about students' achievement in reading, writing and mathematics.

Since the previous ERO evaluation the school has focused on:

• implementing processes to support teachers to better meet individual student needs
• further developing achievement data tracking and monitoring processes
• extending the reporting of achievement data to the board
• improving the quality of feedback to students on their learning and next steps
• revising the school appraisal process
• introducing an inquiry curriculum and Ngā Whetu Huarahi Tika –the pathway to success for Māori learners alongside the Ngā Whetu programme. This aims to provide culturallyresponsive contexts for Māori learners whose learning and achievement needs acceleration.

The school and ERO agree that these are areas for continued development and further strengthening.

3 Accelerating achievement

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

Ohau School is continuing to develop its response to Māori and other students whose learning and achievement needs acceleration.

In 2016, the school implemented a multi planning approach to respond to the needs of students at risk of underachieving. This is contributing to teachers and leaders building a clearer picture of students' strengths and needs to inform planned actions for improvement.

Student achievement information is collected at class, team and leadership level. This is used to identify those students needing extra support with their learning and those requiring learning extension. In-class and withdrawal programmes are put in place as required. Leaders and teachers need to have clearer understanding of the impact of interventions on raising student achievement.

Targets are set for raising student achievement. ERO and leaders agree that these need to more clearly identify all students needing acceleration in their learning and achievement. Continuing to develop a shared understanding of what acceleration is, and what expected outcomes are for individual progress and achievement is needed. This should assist the school to evaluate the impact of planned actions.

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?

Respectful interactions and positive relationships are evident. Classrooms are settled. Teachers know students well. ‘Finding a way’ to support student learning and wellbeing is a focus for leaders and staff. Students cooperate and work well together. Their work is celebrated and valued. ERO saw examples where students knew about their next learning steps. Students take part in kapa haka and demonstrate familiarity and capability in pōwhiri.

Trustees are experienced. The board is made up of parents and community members. Access to training is in place to support those new to the role of governance. Trustees receive guidance from the principal and get information on a regular basis to assist in decision making. The board now receives school progress data which should be useful in measuring the impact of planned actions in accelerating the learning and achievement of Māori and other learners.

There have been changes to the senior leadership team. A central and ongoing focus for this group is building a culture of trust. The principal actively promotes parent and community involvement in the school and fosters links with the local marae. Staff are encouraged to take on leadership roles. Formalising and extending processes to support teachers and leaders to develop the quality of their practice is an important next step.

The school has developed purposeful links with its community. Families receive useful information about school happenings. Parents and families are encouraged to share their expertise, skills and knowledge which further enhances children's learning.

Students experience a broad curriculum. An increasing focus on relevant contexts for learning is enhancing their engagement and motivation. Students are involved in a range of leadership activities in and outside of the school. The revised curriculum document has a clear vision and alignment to The New Zealand Curriculum and prioritises literacy and mathematics. Other learning areas are delivered through an inquiry learning focus. The school has articulated a vision for Māori learners’ success, Ngā Whetu, which aims to support Māori learning in culturally-responsive ways.

Leaders are aware that some aspects of the curriculum require further development. These include:

• provision of better guidance for effective teaching practice in learning areas
• integrating te ao Māori into the integrated contexts
• building teachers' and leaders' capacity and capability in te reo me ngā tikanga Māori
• developing success indicators to measure how well the curriculum is meeting the needs of all students.

The teacher appraisal processes have been revised in 2016. Teachers set goals and have opportunities to reflect, be observed, and gather evidence about their practice in relation to the Practising Teacher Criteria.

Processes for developing teacher practice require strengthening. Improvement is needed in:

• goal setting
• collaboration of observation focuses that align to teachers' goals
• developing understanding of what counts as evidence
• the frequency of professional conversations and constructive feedback between teachers and leaders
• clearer evaluative judgements and next steps for development of practice.

Formal processes for teachers to inquire into aspects of their practice to improve outcomes for students have been introduced in 2016. Staff are at the early stages of building their understanding of what evidence-based teaching as inquiry is, and how it might help them to improve their practice.

Since the onsite stage of the ERO review the board have taken steps to meet its legislative obligations in relation to its role in the principal's appraisal.

Improving evaluative capacity across the school, to identify what specific actions and practices are making the most difference in accelerating the progress and achievement of Māori learners and others, is a priority. 

5 Going forward

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

Leaders and teachers:

• know the children whose learning and achievement need to be accelerated
• need approaches that effectively meet the needs of each child
• need to ensure the school is well placed to accelerate the achievement of all children who need it.

Action: Since the onsite stage of the ERO review, the board and senior leaders have participated in an internal evaluation workshop. They should use this workshop, the Internal Evaluation: Good Practice exemplars and the School Evaluation Indicators to address the findings of this evaluation and develop more targeted planning that includes a significant focus on building teacher capability to accelerate learning and achievement.

As part of this review ERO will continue to monitor the school’s planning 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

• compliance with the provisions of the Vulnerable Children Act 2014.

The board of trustees must strengthen its role in the principal's performance management to ensure it meets all legislative requirements. This includes annually assessing the principal against all the professional standards for principals; ensuring appraisal is based on the Practising Teacher Criteria and there is an annual performance agreement in place. [State Sector Act 1988]

In order to improve current practice the board should update the appointments procedure and practice to ensure they meet the legislative requirements outlined in the Vulnerable Children Act 2014.

7 Recommendation

ERO recommends that teachers, the principal and trustees improve their understanding of internal evaluation to identify what specific actions and practices are making the most difference in accelerating the progress and achievement of learners.

Since the onsite stage of ERO's review, trustees have sought external advice to develop their understanding of the role and responsibilities of stewardship. This will be ongoing. 

Joyce Gebbie

Deputy Chief Review Officer Central

30 November 2016

About the school