South Featherston School

Education institution number:
2993
School type:
Full Primary
School gender:
Co-Educational
Definition:
Not Applicable
Total roll:
57
Address:

45 South Featherston Road, Featherston

View on map

South Featherston School

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report 

Background

This Profile Report was written within 2 years of the Education Review Office and South Featherston School working in Te Ara Huarau, an improvement evaluation approach used in most English Medium State and State Integrated Schools. For more information about Te Ara Huarau see ERO’s website. www.ero.govt.nz

Context 

South Featherston School serves the community in the South Wairarapa. It delivers learning opportunities to children in Years 1-8 - "We are a SMALL school, doing BIG things!"  Its mission is to ensure 'every learner leaves our school with a passion for learning and a kete of strategies to use in every area of life.'

South Featherston School’s overarching strategic priority for learners is to enhance student learning and success. This includes:

  • Hauora’ – fostering creativity, balance wellbeing and a lifelong enthusiasm for learning.
  • Whakamana’ – through focusing on empowering each with the skills to suit their specific needs and styles.
  • Whanaungatanga’ – supporting children to connect to key people in their world.
  • Kaitiakitanga’ – growing environmental awareness and understanding of the roles and responsibilities in relation to this.

You can find a copy of the school’s strategic and annual plan on South Featherston School’s website.

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate the effectiveness of the school’s refreshed local curriculum in enriching student wellbeing and promoting the engagement and achievement of all students.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is: 

  • To increase the engagement of students in learning opportunities.
  • To provide curriculum experiences that raise students’ awareness and knowledge of their local stories, histories, places and people. 
  • For students to know and understand where they are culturally located.
  • To support the achievement and wellbeing of students across the school.

The school expects to see school leaders, trustees, teachers, students and whānau actively engaged in learning the local stories and histories of the area, allowing students to develop an understanding of how stories affect people and place. It also expects staff to utilise information and modern teaching strategies to plan and implement programmes to support student engagement, achievement and wellbeing.

Strengths 

The school can draw from the following strengths to support the school in its goal to develop and implement an engaging local curriculum:

  • strong community support and engagement that supports student learning and a diverse curriculum
  • caring staff that provide varied and responsive learning opportunities to children
  • leadership that is supportive and seeks continual improvement and better outcomes for students - both social and educational.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise: 

  • the development and implementation of a local curriculum including identifying opportunities for students to engage in in learning using South Wairarapa as a context
  • developing a shared understanding of the importance of local stories and their place in the curriculum
  • measuring the children's knowledge of their local stories, and their use of Te Reo. 

ERO’s role will be to support the school in its evaluation for improvement cycle to improve outcomes for all learners. ERO will support the school in reporting their progress to the community. The next public report on ERO’s website will be a Te Ara Huarau | School Evaluation Report and is due within three years. 

Shelley Booysen
Director of Schools 

5 December 2023 

About the School

The Education Counts website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement.  educationcounts.govt.nz/home 

South Featherston School

Board Assurance with Regulatory and Legislative Requirements Report 2023 to 2026 

As of February 2023, the South Featherston School Board has attested to the following regulatory and legislative requirements:

Board Administration

Yes

Curriculum

Yes

Management of Health, Safety and Welfare

Yes

Personnel Management

Yes

Finance

Yes

Assets

Yes

Further Information

For further information please contact South Featherston School, School Board.

The next School Board assurance that it is meeting regulatory and legislative requirements will be reported, along with the Te Ara Huarau | School Evaluation Report, within three years.

Information on ERO’s role and process in this review can be found on the Education Review Office website.

Shelley Booysen
Director of Schools  

5 December 2023 

About the School 

The Education Counts website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement. educationcounts.govt.nz/home

South Featherston School

Findings

South Featherston School has effectively addressed its priorities for improvement. There is sound collaboration between board members and the principal to ensure positive outcomes for students. The board is well informed. Key school practices are successfully supporting an improvement focus and are likely to continue to improve and sustain student progress and achievement.

1 Background and Context

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

South Featherston is a rural school in South Wairarapa, providing education for students in Years 1 to 8. The current roll is 48 students, of whom 29% are Māori.

The school has been supported by a limited statutory manager (LSM) since June 2019. The LSM has been working with the board to develop and strengthen school and board systems and processes. The board has also participated in governance workshops with the New Zealand School Trustees Association. Since February 2020, the principal has been involved in leadership programmes and the principal and teachers have undertaken professional development on literacy, digital learning, mathematics and science.

2 Review and Development

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

Priorities identified for review and development

The February 2020 ERO report identified the following areas for development:

  • processes and practices relating to assessment, and tracking and regularly reporting progress and achievement
  • documenting curriculum delivery guidelines and the local curriculum
  • school and board systems and processes, including strengthening community engagement.
Progress

The board, principal and teachers have made significant progress in all areas identified for development.

A suitable assessment and reporting schedule was implemented at the start of 2020. Teachers identify target students in their class, implement teaching strategies to meet their needs, and track their ongoing progress.

The principal reports analysed information on student progress and achievement to the board. Reports keep board members well informed about initiatives to improve outcomes for students.

Assessment information from mid-2021 shows that almost all students are achieving at or above curriculum expectations in mathematics and reading. In writing, this is the case for most students. Of the students achieving below expectations at the start of 2021 in reading, writing and mathematics, all have made progress with some students making accelerated progress.

Teachers use a range of sound deliberate teaching strategies effectively to engage students in thinking and learning. All children are fully engaged in interesting, purposeful learning experiences.

A curriculum delivery plan provides clearer guidance for teaching and learning. This document includes procedures about careers and second language learning for students in Years 7 and 8. Documentation of the local curriculum is ongoing.

Board members have a shared understanding of their roles and responsibilities and ensure that the school is meeting statutory requirements. The board and principal have introduced new initiatives and strategies to strengthen relationships with parents and the community.

3 Sustainable performance and self review

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

The school has made good progress with developing processes and practices to sustain and continue to improve its performance.

Communication between the board, principal and teachers is collaborative and reflects a commitment from all to ongoing school improvement.

The principal and board collect information to make sense of what is currently happening and identify future actions. To further strengthen evaluation for ongoing improvement, it is important to focus on the effectiveness of an initiative in terms of outcomes for students. This is a key next step.

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 Children’s Act 2014.

Conclusion

South Featherston School has effectively addressed its priorities for improvement. There is sound collaboration between board members and the principal to ensure positive outcomes for students. The board is well informed. Key school practices are successfully supporting an improvement focus and are likely to continue to improve and sustain student progress and achievement.

The school will transition into ERO’s Evaluation for Improvement process.

Dr Lesley Patterson
Director Review and Improvement Services (Southern)
Southern Region - Te Tai Tini

8 December 2021

About the school

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