Summary
Hampden Street School has a roll of 462 children. This includes 61 Māori children and 15 Pacific children.
Since the 2013 ERO review, the school has made steady progress towards addressing the areas for improvement noted in that report. Leaders and teachers have developed a stronger curriculum foundation, distributed leadership and undertaken professional development to gain a clearer understanding of internal evaluation.
There is some disparity overall in achievement between groups of students. School-wide data has slightly dipped for writing and mathematics in comparison to previous years. The school has responded promptly to this. Overall achievement remains above 80%. Boys do slightly less well in writing and girls in mathematics. Reading achievement remains high.
How well is the school achieving equitable outcomes for all children?
The school is effectively achieving equitable outcomes for most children. Overall, the school responds well to Māori and other children whose learning and achievement need acceleration.
There are many useful systems and practices in place that are effective in supporting learning progress and achievement. The school is improvement focused and has very good internal evaluation for identifying areas for further development or refinement.
The school needs to continue to strengthen the reliability of its assessment practices and teacher appraisal. The coordination of provision for children with additional learning needs must be improved.
At the time of this review, most children were actively engaged and had some choice in their learning. They were well supported to work collaboratively and use problem-solving techniques. They enjoyed authentic contexts for learning.
Children are achieving well. The school demonstrates strong progress toward achieving equity in educational outcomes. This is supported by effective, sustainable processes and practices.
ERO is likely to carry out the next review in three years.
Equity and excellence
How effectively does this school respond to Māori and other children whose learning and achievement need acceleration?
The school generally responds effectively to Māori and other children whose learning and achievement need acceleration.
Most Māori children are achieving well against the National Standards in literacy and very well in mathematics. Most Pacific children achieve well in reading but less well in mathematics and writing.
Across the school most children are achieving at or above the National Standards in writing and mathematics with a higher level of achievement in reading.
The school needs to continue to strengthen the procedures that support the reliability of teacher judgements about children’s achievement in literacy and mathematics.
The school’s vision supports the development of positive relationships. School leaders are strongly focused on pastoral care. They are responsive to individuals and use innovative approaches to keep children whose learning is at risk connected to school and their learning.
School conditions supporting equity and excellence
What school processes are effective in enabling achievement of equity and excellence?
The school has some very effective systems and practices in place that are enabling equity and excellence for most learners.
Team leaders and teachers use an effective process to identify, target and monitor children not making expected progress. Internal evaluation processes are positively impacting on what teachers know about learners who need acceleration, what is working and what is not.
The transition process for new entrants is creative and responsive and demonstrates a sound awareness of learning pathways between early learning services and the school.
Professional learning and development, linked to strategic goals, is making a difference to the quality of processes in place to support equity and excellence for all learners. Good use is made of research and external expertise to benefit children’s learning and achievement.
Governance and leadership are clearly focused on promoting positive outcomes for learners. There is a shared understanding of the strategic direction of the school. Key aspects for promoting equity and excellence within the school are:
- using teacher strengths and growing leadership capacity across the school
- the increasing use of student voice in decision-making
- providing an inclusive environment focused on developing positive relationships with children and their families.
The school is committed to working with other schools in the Nelson City Community of Learning that is focused on raising learners’ achievement. Shared goals are strongly influencing board decision making and annual targets to support learners at Hampden Street School.
Sustainable development for equity and excellence
What further developments are needed in school processes to achieve equity and excellence?
Some aspects of the school’s processes and practices need strengthening.
The school’s targets need further strengthening to provide the board with the more specific overview of the learners being targeted and how the school plans to best meet their needs. Better clarity will enable the board to regularly monitor how well targets are being met.
Current assessment procedures are not robust enough to give assurance that overall teachers’ judgements against the National Standards are consistent across the school. Continuing to develop effective moderation practices will enhance the rigour of these decisions.
The school’s processes for addressing the needs of children at risk of not achieving need further strengthening. Evaluating the impact that interventions have on accelerating children’s progress and achievement is a next step. Ensuring that practices are coherent and sustainable will enable the school to have a fuller overview of provision for and success in accelerating outcomes for these children.
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
- 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
The appraisal process should be further refined to align more closely with the Education Council’s expectations.
To improve current practice, the board of trustees should:
- ensure teachers’ appraisals clearly show how the practising teacher criteria are being met annually.
Going forward
How well placed is the school to accelerate the achievement of all children who need it?
Overall, children are achieving well. The school demonstrates very good progress towards achieving equity in educational outcomes, supported by effective, sustainable processes and practices.
Agreed next steps are to:
- continue to strengthen the reliability of assessment practices
- improve the systems and coordination of support for children with additional learning needs
- strengthen teachers’ appraisal.
ERO is likely to carry out the next review in three years.
Dr Lesley Patterson
Deputy Chief Review Officer Southern/Te Waipounamu
15 June 2017
About the school
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Location
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Nelson
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Ministry of Education profile number
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3193
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School type
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Contributing Year 1 to 6
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School roll
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462
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Gender composition
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Boys: 52%; Girls: 48%
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Ethnic composition
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Māori 13%
Pākehā 68%
Pacific 3%
Asian 5%
Other European 5%
Other Ethnicities 6%
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Provision of Māori medium education
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No
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Review team on site
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February 2017
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Date of this report
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15 June 2017
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Most recent ERO reports
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Education Review October 2013
Education Review June 2009
Education Review April 2006
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