Kumara School

Kumara School - 21/12/2017

School Context

Kumara School is a small rural school located in the township of Kumara. Children are taught in two multi-level classrooms and the current roll is 34.

The overarching vision for this school is: ‘Mining every opportunity so our students will be confident, successful, lifelong learners.’ The school values are: Respect, Inquiry, Growth, Honesty and Teamwork (RIGHT values). The expectations of valued outcomes are for students to be literate, numerate, problem solvers, critical thinkers, self-managers, effective communicators and persevering.

The school’s current goals are to:

  • increase student engagement and positive behaviour

  • embed school values

  • increase teacher confidence with digital tools for learning

  • develop the ‘learn, create, share’ pedagogy

  • update learning spaces

  • improve cultural responsiveness.

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

  • National Standards information for reading, writing and mathematics

  • a range of norm-referenced assessment information

  • engagement survey information

  • curriculum reports in English, mathematics and languages.

Since the 2014 ERO evaluation a new principal and two new teachers have been appointed. There have been changes to the board of trustees, including a new board chair.

The school is a member of the Māwhera Kāhui Ako|Community of Learning (CoL) and is participating in teacher professional learning opportunities afforded by this CoL. Participation in the Toki Pounamu technology project is supporting the principal and teachers to develop a digital learning environment.

Evaluation Findings

1 Equity and excellence – valued outcomes for students

1.1 How well is the school achieving equitable and excellent outcomes for all its students?

Achievement information for 2015-2016 shows that the majority of children achieve at expected levels in reading and mathematics.

Less than half of students achieve at expected levels in writing. The school is not yet achieving equitable outcomes for boys in writing.

Students with additional learning needs experience an inclusive school environment.

1.2 How effectively does this school respond to those Māori and other students whose learning and achievement need acceleration?

There is limited evidence of accelerated progress for those children who need additional support with learning. Although students are targeted for learning support, this school is not yet responding in a way that results in accelerated progress.

There are systems in place to monitor the progress of individuals, but learning information is not yet analysed to show the impact of learning interventions and identify sufficiency of progress.

2 School conditions for equity and excellence

2.1 What school processes and practices are effective in enabling achievement of equity and excellence?

The board, principal and teachers are developing educationally powerful connections to support effective teaching and positive learning outcomes for students.

They are taking good advantage of the opportunities the Māwhera CoL provides, particularly in terms of professional learning opportunities and shared expertise.

The CoL work is important and relevant for this school in terms of:

  • its collective focus on raising achievement in writing

  • building teacher capability in effective use of learning information and assessment practices

  • evaluating the impact of initiatives on learning outcomes.

The board, principal and teachers are actively seeking to engage the local community. They are responding thoughtfully to whānau survey information, parents are made to feel welcome in the school, and consideration is given to how well community events meet the needs of family and whānau.

Leadership and governance are strong.

School planning shows a clear vision and good coherence between strategic planning and annual planning. There are good quality monitoring practices in place which provide the board and principal with feedback in relation to strategic goals. The principal and board have a deliberate and strategic emphasis on creating a positive learning environment and raising expectations for learning and behaviour. The curriculum is well planned and incorporates clear expectations for teaching and learning. Resources are utilised thoughtfully so that teachers are well supported to develop their teaching capability and students have access to good quality learning experiences.

The principal and board have very strong evaluation practices in place. English and mathematics curriculum reports to the board include achievement information as well as student voice. The board’s auditing processes are of high quality.

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

The principal and teachers need to strengthen the way that learning information is gathered, analysed and used to inform decision making. This includes:

  • continuing to develop formative assessment practices which will better inform targeted planning for priority learners

  • developing school-wide systems and practices for regular monitoring, analysing and reporting on sufficiency of progress

  • developing more relevant, specific and timely ‘teaching as inquiry’ plans to assist the evaluation of practice and programmes on learning outcomes (particularly for recent innovations)

  • sharing learning expectations with students so they are more aware of their ‘learning journey’.

Progress reporting and analysis of sufficiency of progress for children on Individual Education Plans (IEPs) needs strengthening in order to clearly show outcomes.

Reporting on valued outcomes for learners, and on learning areas other than reading, writing and mathematics will contribute to a better understanding of the equity and excellence picture for all students at this school.

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.

4 Going forward

Key strengths of the school

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

  • the development of educationally powerful connections which support and sustain teaching and learning

  • leadership and governance which manage change and innovation effectively.

Next steps

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

  • strengthening of formative assessment practices to provide timely information about the sufficiency of student progress

  • collecting and analysing data to understand the impact of teacher practice and programmes on learning outcomes (including a stronger process for ‘teaching as inquiry’)

  • strengthening student engagement and ownership of learning by clarifying expectations for learning and progress within a meaningful timeframe.

ERO’s next external evaluation process and timing

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

Dr Lesley Patterson

Deputy Chief Review Officer Southern

Te Waipounamu - Southern Region

21 December 2017

About the school

Location

Kumara

Ministry of Education profile number

3401

School type

Full primary

School roll

34

Gender composition

Female: 20

Male: 14

Ethnic composition

Māori: 3

Pākehā: 28

Other: 3

Provision of Māori medium education

No

Review team on site

November 2017

Date of this report

21 December 2017

Most recent ERO report(s)

January 2014

December 2010

Kumara School - 14/01/2014

1 Context

What are the important features of this school that have an impact on student learning?

The school is a small, rural school located in a historic township on the West Coast with strong, historic links to gold mining. The school encourages students’ pride in the local area and history.

Students and teachers work well together in a welcoming, family-like environment. They work well together and are respectful of each other. Older students have many leadership opportunities and are very supportive of the younger students. They regularly contribute to their learning and school programmes.

The school has developed good relationships with the local community. Students benefit from the frequent involvement of local community members in learning programmes and school events.

In 2012, the small student roll led to the school becoming a sole charge school. The board currently funds a part-time teacher and teacher aide to support the teaching of literacy and numeracy. There have been significant changes in the school roll over the last few years due to high numbers of families moving in and out of the area. The school has become more multicultural.

The principal and board have made good progress in addressing the 2010 ERO recommendations. These relate to improving the school’s future plans and developing aspects of the curriculum.

2 Learning

How well does this school use achievement information to make positive changes to learners’ engagement, progress and achievement?

Teachers make good use of individual student achievement data to support students’ learning and engagement.

Teachers collect a wide range of achievement information for all students. This shows that some students are achieving at or above National Standards in reading and writing. Mathematics information shows that more students are achieving at expected levels than the other areas. Most students who enter school with low achievement are making good progress over time. Students and their parents are regularly provided with detailed, informative student achievement reports.

Teachers use their knowledge of students very well to identify those who are not achieving as well as expected. These learners are closely monitored. They are provided with regular and ongoing support from a board-funded teacher aide who uses specifically targeted programmes. The principal also seeks additional support for students from a range of agencies outside the school.

Students are encouraged to be self-managing learners. They set appropriate learning goals and regularly discuss these with their teachers. Students are also provided with specific examples of what they need to do to achieve expected levels in writing and mathematics.

Area for review and development

The principal has developed effective ways to evaluate students’ learning and progress. However, some aspects of these plans could be strengthened. This could include consistently:

  • showing the specific teaching actions to be taken to support students’ learning and achievement
  • identifying what contributed to/or hindered expected progress
  • identifying what teachers could do differently to raise achievement further.

This information could then be used to plan for all learning areas to help teachers identify the next steps for teaching and learning.

3 Curriculum

How effectively does this school’s curriculum promote and support student learning?

The school’s curriculum effectively promotes and supports students’ learning.

Students are provided with a wide and varied range of opportunities to learn about the local area. They regularly participate in educational, sporting and cultural learning experiences within and beyond the classroom. Teachers ensure appropriate emphasis is given to literacy and mathematics.

Students have access to an extensive variety of resources to support their learning. They benefit from a wide range of information and communication technologies, which are integrated meaningfully into learning programmes and used frequently.

The school’s curriculum provides useful guidelines for teaching and learning. It clearly reflects the meaningful and relevant school ‘HAPPY’ values. ‘Goldfield Sam’ is the well-recognised and visible symbol of the school’s key characteristics of learning that feature strongly in all aspects of the curriculum. These characteristics are effectively integrated into all areas of the school and are well understood by students and the community.

A special feature of the school’s learning programme is the Hauora Patch (a large, covered vegetable garden). Students’ comprehensive horticultural knowledge was rewarded with the school winning the Westland School Garden trophy in 2012.

Area for review and development

The principal has identified, and ERO agrees, that aspects of the school’s curriculum need to be updated and completed. This includes:

  • developing the learning areas for Creativity and Thinking (The Arts & Technology)
  • reviewing the Integrated programme to ensure that all aspects of science and social science are covered over time.

How effectively does the school promote educational success for Māori, as Māori?

The school currently has no students enrolled who identify as Māori.

Students have a variety of opportunities to learn about aspects of the Māori language and culture.

The next step, as part of the curriculum review, is to consider and document how the Māori culture and te ao Māori (Māori world view) can be included more often into all aspects of learning.

4 Sustainable Performance

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

The school is well placed to sustain and improve its performance.

The board is supportive of and focused on raising student achievement. The principal regularly provides trustees with detailed and informative reports about student learning and school operation.

The board and principal have increased the ways they engage with and communicate with the community. Trustees use this information to carefully plan annually and long term. These plans are well organised and give clear direction for the ongoing improvements to learning and teaching.

The board and principal work closely together. Trustees take an active role within the school and have good systems to monitor the school’s operations.

The principal maintains good links with other schools and groups within the district for sharing practices and resources that benefit students’ learning.

Areas for review and development

The appraisal system needs to be strengthened. The process should include regular observations and constructive feedback and next steps for all staff.

Self review needs to be further developed. The principal and board need to document a formal process that is well understood, used and ongoing.

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.

When is ERO likely to review the school again?

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

Graham Randell

National Manager Review Services Southern Region

14 January 2014

About the School

Location

Kumara, West Coast

Ministry of Education profile number

3401

School type

Full Primary (Years 1 to 8)

School roll

20

Gender composition

Girls 13 Boys 7

Ethnic composition

NZ European/Pākehā

Pacific

18

2

Review team on site

November 2013

Date of this report

14 January 2014

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review

Supplementary Review

Supplementary Review

December 2010

June 2008

March 2007