State Highway 6, Franz Josef
View on mapThis Profile Report was written within twelve months of the Education Review Office and Franz Josef Glacier 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
Franz Josef Glacier School is located in South Westland and provides education for learners from Years 0-8. The school’s vision to develop its students to be ‘Franztastic Learners’: confident, connected, actively involved, lifelong learners.
Franz Josef Glacier School’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are:
to maintain and continue to improve outcomes for all students in literacy
to improve outcomes for ākonga Māori, boys and learners with diverse needs
working with whānau, agencies and secondary schools to support transitioning students.
You can find a copy of the school’s strategic and annual plan on Franz Josef Glacier School’s website.
ERO and the school are working together to evaluate the impact of developing a local curriculum in literacy to enhance learning outcomes for all students.
The rationale for selecting this evaluation is:
to consistently improve ākonga and whānau understanding of learning progress in literacy in order to promote ownership of learning
to sustain and strengthen consistency and practices across Years 0-8 in literacy to meet the needs of all learners.
The school expects to see:
enhanced student achievement in spelling, reading and writing, achieved by redeveloping student goals to scaffold the current broad curriculum objectives into more valuable and attainable steps
inclusive school practices and actions meeting the needs of the school’s diverse, unique learners
a consistently positive and culturally responsive learning climate which promotes engagement in learning.
The school can draw from the following strengths to support its goal to evaluate the impact of developing a local curriculum in literacy:
effective school-wide monitoring of student progress and achievement information
flexible, personalised, and differentiated opportunities to set up students for success as ‘Franztastic Learners’
committed and flexible staff who can diversify, plan, evaluate, and modify teaching practices to support all learners.
Moving forward, the school will prioritise:
developing programmes that address the diverse learning abilities of all students
scaffolding goals using language that has meaning for and value for students
developing self efficacy so that students fully understand and benefit from their learning.
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 School
16 June 2023
The Education Counts website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement. educationcounts.govt.nz/home
As of August 2022, the Franz Josef Glacier School Board has attested to the following regulatory and legislative requirements:
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
For further information please contact Franz Josef Glacier 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 School
16 June 2023
The Education Counts website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement. educationcounts.govt.nz/home
Franz Josef Glacier School, located in Franz Josef Glacier township, is for students in Years 1 to 8. The current roll is 46 children, which is representative of steady roll growth over the last three years.
The school states that its vision is: motivated, happy students achieving their fullest potential. Valued outcomes, collectively known as Franztastic Learners underpins the vision: learners who respect themselves, respect others and take responsibility for their actions and who are confident, connected and actively involved lifelong learners.
The 2019 annual plan targets are to: improve outcomes for all students in literacy and mathematics; support students achieving below curriculum expectations and transitions for students moving into and from the school; foster and maintain links to the school community, and ensure parents and whānau are involved in their children’s learning.
Leaders and teachers regularly report to the board, schoolwide information about outcomes for students in the following areas:
reading, writing and mathematics.
The school community is culturally diverse. There are regular fluctuations of student numbers due to the tourism context of the community.
Since the 2015 ERO review the school’s staffing has remained consistent. Teachers and leaders have participated in professional learning in mathematics and writing.
The school is effectively achieving equitable and excellent outcomes for its students.
Achievement information for 2016, 2017 and 2018 shows that most students, including Māori students, achieve at or above expectations in reading and mathematics; and the majority of students, including Māori achieve at or above expectations in writing. Student achievement across reading, writing and mathematics is improving over time. Achievement in writing is not as high as in reading and mathematics.
There is some disparity for girls in mathematics in 2018 and there has been disparity for boys in writing.
In 2018, targeted interventions were introduced which reduced the level of disparity.
The school has had success accelerating learning for those Māori and other students who need this.
Analysed achievement data from 2018 shows that: half of targeted students accelerated learning to reach curriculum expectations in reading; and about a third of targeted students accelerated learning to reach expectations for writing.
Some targeted students left the school during the year.
Students participate and learn in caring and inclusive learning communities. Relationships at all levels of the school are respectful, productive and effective in supporting engagement and achievement. The learning environment is calm and purposeful. Students from different year levels interact freely and the concept of tuākana teina is actively encouraged. The school has established strong links with the wider community. Local resources and expertise are sought and used to broaden learning opportunities for students.
Leaders have high expectations for teaching and learning. Students’ wellbeing and achievement are their key concern. A coherent curriculum and appropriate expectations for learning are balanced with flexibility for teachers to design programmes which are responsive to students’ interests, needs and strengths. A range of appropriate support programmes is carefully planned and delivered. Progress is identified, tracked and monitored through well-developed systems. Strategic use is made of resourcing, internal expertise and external agencies to support innovation, and inform teaching practices.
Teachers work collaboratively and engage in regular learning conversations designed to strengthen their practice and responsiveness to student needs. There is a strong focus on supporting students to become effective learners. Appropriate assessment tools are used to identify priority learners and inform support programmes. Teachers share leadership roles and take responsibility for building their own capacity and capability.
Leaders and teachers should refine data management and evaluation practices to further clarify the progress made by priority learners over time, measure the impact of targeted interventions, and inform future priorities and plans for improvement. They should also continue to increase opportunities for students to actively participate in the setting and monitoring of their learning goals.
The school needs to strengthen the appraisal process to meet Teaching Council 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:
During the review, ERO checked the following items because they have a potentially high impact on student safety and wellbeing:
On the basis of the findings of this review, ERO’s overall evaluation judgement Franz Josef Glacier School’s performance in achieving valued outcomes for its students is: Well placed.
ERO’s Framework: Overall School Performance is available on ERO’s website.
For sustained improvement and future learner success, the school can draw on existing strengths in:
For sustained improvement and future learner success, priorities for further development are in:
Alan Wynyard
Director Review and Improvement Services Southern
Southern Region
31 May 2019
|
Location |
Franz Josef Glacier |
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
3343 |
|
School type |
Full Primary (Years 1 to 8) |
|
School roll |
46 |
|
Gender composition |
Girls 23, Boys 23 |
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori 8 NZ European/Pākehā 25 Other ethnic groups 13 |
|
Students with Ongoing Resourcing Funding (ORS) |
No |
|
Provision of Māori medium education |
No |
|
Review team on site |
April 2019 |
|
Date of this report |
31 May 2019 |
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review September 2015 |
This school provides a caring and family-like culture for students and their families. Students have a strong understanding of the school values. Most students are achieving well in reading and mathematics. Achievement is lower for writing. This is a priority area for the school. The trustees and principal are improving their use of assessment information to make decisions to better support all students’ learning.
ERO is likely to carry out the next review in three years.
Franz Josef Glacier School provides a caring and family-like culture for students, their families and whānau. Parents actively provide social events for the school community and fundraise to support school activities.
Students come from a diverse range of cultural backgrounds. The school roll changes often due to the transient nature of the community, however the school is currently experiencing roll growth. An early childhood centre has recently opened on the school grounds and has replaced the school-led transition programme for four year olds.
The core teaching staff, including the principal, has been constant in the school for a significant period of time. They are supported by a part-time teacher and three teacher aides appointed in 2015.
The school is part of a cluster of local West Coast schools. These schools are in the early stages of establishing a community of schools to reduce isolation, provide ongoing support for one another and work together to improve student achievement.
The school makes some effective use of achievement information to make positive changes for learning. Trustees, leaders and teachers acknowledge increased use of learning information would enhance student outcomes further.
The 2014 achievement information shows that most students were achieving at or above National Standard expectations for reading and mathematics. Achievement was lower for writing.
Students have an awareness of their achievement levels from the twice yearly reports teachers send to students and their parents.
The principal and teachers use school-wide assessment information to set useful targets to lift achievement levels of those students needing extra support to succeed.
Examples of good teaching practice observed by ERO included:
Trustees receive regular reports about school-wide and group achievement in relation to the National Standards for reading, writing and mathematics. They use this information to make well-considered resourcing decisions.
The school’s curriculum clearly expresses the desire for students to progressively take ownership and responsibility for their learning. To support students to be more engaged in their learning, teachers have identified the need to:
The June 2012 ERO review recommended that the principal and teachers extend the integrated curriculum and ensure that the school values were understood by all students. This review found that students now have a strong understanding of the school values. The curriculum has been well developed with useful guidelines for teaching and learning for all areas. Teachers need to make better use of these to guide their practices.
Students and teachers have developed a vision for a “franztastic learner”. When this is reviewed it would be useful to place a greater emphasis on students taking responsibility for their own learning.
Students learn through an integrated approach. Teachers take care that each learning area is kept prominent. Senior students have their learning extended by attending South Westland Area School one day each week for technology, science and physical education. The principal is aware of the importance of junior students being confident communicators before they start formal learning. She seeks external support for students when they require additional support.
Teachers are improving the teaching of writing through ongoing PLD. They have identified that it is timely to further develop the writing guidelines to reflect this new learning.
Student learning would be better supported if written planning:
Māori students experience some aspects of their culture in classroom and school-wide programmes. The board, principal and teachers recognise that responding to the language, culture and identity of Māori students is ongoing work. They are aware that they need to engage with whānau Māori in an ongoing and greater way.
The school has comprehensive guidelines to guide its direction and operations. There is a useful framework to guide internal review. An appraisal system for teachers is being developed and is still in the early stages of use. In 2014, the principal’s appraisal was completed by an external provider however the teacher’s appraisal was not completed.
The board is very supportive of the principal and teachers. Trustees know that student achievement is their main priority. Trustees, the principal and teachers will be better placed to sustain and improve the performance of the school when they address the following next steps.
The principal and teachers need to analyse assessment information at class and school-wide level more deeply to:
The trustees and principal need to ensure:
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:
During the review, ERO checked the following items because they have a potentially high impact on student achievement:
This school provides a caring and family-like culture for students and their families. Students have a strong understanding of the school values. Most students are achieving well in reading and mathematics. Achievement is lower for writing. This is a priority area for the school. The trustees and principal are improving their use of assessment information to make decisions to better support all students’ learning.
ERO is likely to carry out the next review in three years.
Chris Rowe
Deputy Chief Review Officer Southern (Acting)
15 September 2015
|
Location |
Franz Josef, South Westland |
|
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
3343 |
|
|
School type |
Full Primary (Years 1 to 8) |
|
|
School roll |
35 |
|
|
Number of international students |
N/A |
|
|
Gender composition |
Girls: 18 Boys: 17 |
|
|
Ethnic composition |
Pākehā Cook Island Māori |
19 9 7 |
|
Review team on site |
July 2015 |
|
|
Date of this report |
15 September 2015 |
|
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review Education Review Education Review |
May 2012 June 2008 February 2005 |