Te Huarahi Linwood Avenue School

1 Context

Linwood Avenue School is an inclusive and increasingly diverse school with children from many different cultures attending. There are a high number of students whose first language is not English (ESOL).

The school has a high roll turnover. This reflects the mobile nature of many families in the local community. The school works constructively with many community organisations and businesses to enhance the learning opportunities for children and to better meet their wellbeing needs.

The board of trustees and senior leadership have led the school through a period of change and challenge following the Christchurch earthquakes in 2011 and 2012. Preparations towards a school rebuild, as part of the Christchurch School Renewal programme of work, are underway.

The school works collaboratively with a cluster of other local schools to identify opportunities to enhance learning for children and to build leadership and teacher capability. This cluster, along with some other schools, is in the process of forming a larger Community of Learning.

The newly elected board of trustees includes a mix of experienced and new trustees. At the time of this review, the principal of four years had resigned. Preparations for a new appointment have begun.

2 Equity and excellence

The vision and valued outcomes defined by the school for all children are to 'achieve success through learning’ and demonstrate respect, resilience, curiosity and caring. The school encourages children to aim high, persevere and succeed, while making a positive contribution to the world. Children also develop the attributes of a ‘Linwood Learner’ which include being self managers, actively involved and learning together.

Many Māori children are achieving at or above their school peers. Pacific children are doing well in literacy with slightly lower levels of achievement in mathematics.

The school’s overall achievement information shows that many children are achieving well, particularly in reading with a high number of children at or above the National Standards. The high number of ESOL children, who are receiving extra learning support, is reflected in the school's overall National Standards data.

Pākehā girls and Pacific girls have been targeted for a lift in achievement in the board's 2016 annual targets.

The teachers have strengthened in-school moderation practices in recent years and worked with other schools to externally moderate teacher judgements (particularly in writing) to support the consistency and accuracy of achievement information.

Since the 2012 ERO review, the school has lifted the levels of children's achievement, particularly in reading. There were no areas for review and development identified in the 2012 ERO report. The school has worked towards accelerating children's progress and achievement by developing shared knowledge and understandings about:

• effective teaching of writing
• collaborative teaching and learning practices in preparation for flexible learning environments as part of the school rebuild
• use of digital technology to support learning.

3  Accelerating achievement

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

The school effectively responds to Māori children whose learning and achievement need acceleration. Leaders and teachers have very high expectations that Māori, and all children, will achieve. School data shows three quarters of those who were below the National Standards in mathematics and writing accelerated their progress during the first half of 2016.

Leaders and teachers quickly identify children at risk of not achieving. Teachers use a range of assessment practices, as well as interactions in and outside of the class, to get to know children well as learners and individuals.

Teachers regularly discuss children's progress and achievement. They work together in teams and with other specialists to identify relevant learning support for those children that need extra help. Teachers evaluate the effectiveness of their teaching and adjust programmes or trial new approaches to better support children’s learning, health and wellbeing needs.

Teachers value the language, culture and identity of Māori children. Teachers are actively building their own understanding of culturally responsive practices and providing increased opportunities for Māori children to participate in, and learn about their culture.

School structures such as `houses’ and `buddy classes’ are designed to support students to make connections across the school. Tuakana Teina, older children helping younger ones, contributes to their sense of belonging within the school.

The school works closely with a number of community organisations and external specialists to ensure programmes and services are tailored to meet the needs of individual children.

Teachers and leaders closely monitor the progress and achievement of all children who are at risk of not achieving and make timely decisions about how best to respond.

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

The school effectively responds to other children whose learning and achievement need acceleration. Many of the actions and practices described above also apply to these children.

Teachers are very mindful of specific strategies that enhance learning outcomes for Pacific children. They are well supported by professional learning and development to increase their understanding. A Samoan language teacher supports some children to learn their home language.

The high number of children who are supported with English language learning make good progress, particularly in Years 1 to 4.

Leaders and teachers have a strong focus on early intervention, particularly for literacy development. Teachers make effective use of the Mutukaroa programme to help parents in their child's first year of school to better understand assessment and what this means for their child's learning. The school values its partnership with parents. Ideas and resources to help learning at home are shared. Achievement information shows that by the end of Year 3 these children have made significant gains.

School leaders and ERO agree, that further clarifying school-wide understandings about what represents accelerated progress could further assist with how rates of progress are reported in curriculum reviews and achievement reports to the board.

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?

The school's curriculum and other organisational processes and practices effectively develop the school's vision, values, goals and priorities for equity and excellence.

Survey information shows that children feel well cared for and have high levels of engagement with their learning. They value the way their teachers support their learning as well as opportunities to learn with, and from each other. 

The school's curriculum-in-action has a strong focus on literacy and numeracy learning. It also has an emphasis on health, wellbeing and physical education which reflects the learning styles and needs of many students. The school is implementing some innovative teaching and learning initiatives to better support children as lifelong learners.

School leaders are in the process of redeveloping the school's documented curriculum so that it better reflects current practice. ERO supports the focus on further developing practices that support children to take responsibility for their learning, including knowing about their achievement and progress, and having greater input into what and how they learn.

Teachers are well supported to build their professional skills and knowledge through:

• high quality, well-planned professional learning
• effective appraisal processes
• strong collaborative practices that build shared understandings, and effective planning and evaluation of teaching and learning.

The school has a range of useful and well-established internal evaluation processes for finding out what is working and what needs to be improved. These regularly include the views of children, parents and teachers.

The school leadership team is cohesive and works together effectively to:

• communicate the school's vision and model high expectations for outcomes for all learners
• plan and implement a considered approach to change management
• create responsive systems and structures which meet the needs of learners and teachers
• develop leadership capability within the teaching staff
• develop and contribute to a range of community relationships and partnerships for the benefit of learners.

Trustees are strongly focused on lifting achievement and accelerating the progress of learners at risk of underachievement. They are well informed about student achievement and use this information effectively to prioritise resourcing to support these learners. Trustees make effective use of training and use their skills well to improve learning for all students. The board has been mindful of monitoring the wellbeing of students, families and staff throughout a period of significant change.

As the board prepares for a change in school leadership, it is timely for the trustees to review the school's strategic plan and specifically document the long-term vision for the future direction of the school.

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
• respond effectively to the strengths, needs and interests of each child
• regularly evaluate how well teaching is working for these children
• act on what they know works well for each child
• build teacher capability effectively to achieve equitable outcomes for all children
• are well placed to achieve and sustain equitable and excellent outcomes for all children.

The board, school leaders and teachers are very well placed and have shared high expectations that all children can and will achieve. A significant strength is the way internal evaluation supports children’s learning and ongoing school improvement. Leaders and teachers use learning information very effectively to remove barriers to learning, meet diverse needs and promote children’s wellbeing, progress and achievement.

ERO is likely to carry out the next review in four-to-five 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. 

7 Recommendation

The board and senior leaders are very well placed to implement the next steps identified in this report and to continue to improve outcomes for children through ongoing internal evaluation. 

Lesley Patterson
Deputy Chief Review Officer Southern

23 August 2016 

About the school 

1 Context

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

Students learn in an inclusive and supportive atmosphere. They feel valued and welcome. The principal, trustees and teachers are making good use of strong links with families and the wider school community.

The school is located in the east of Christchurch, and has been affected by the Canterbury earthquakes. School leaders and teachers have worked successfully to monitor and support student well-being and to provide consistency of learning with an ongoing focus of improving achievement and progress.

The school values and vision have helped to build the positive school culture. The introduction of restorative justice practices based on the school values has helped bring about significant improvements in behaviour.

2 Learning

How well are students learning – engaging, progressing and achieving?

Students are well engaged in their learning and actively participate in the wider life of the school.

Building student engagement has been a focus for teachers’ professional development. Teachers are expected to include detailed strategies to engage students in their unit planning. Teachers make good use of analysed student achievement information at class level to identify learning needs, and plan programmes to meet these needs.

Students ERO spoke to enjoy the challenge of learning. They indicated that the variety of teaching approaches used by teachers helped them in their learning. Students respond positively to the good range of leadership opportunities that are provided.

The reinforcement of school values is supporting improvements in overall levels of student engagement and supporting students’ development of self-management skills.

There are good to high levels of student achievement. The school reports that over 55% of the whole-school population is achieving at or above the national standards in mathematics, reading and writing. Students identified as not meeting the standards are targeted for additional support, including English for speakers of other languages (ESOL), and learning support groups.

Senior leaders and trustees seek and use analysed achievement information to make informed decisions in planning for school improvement. Literacy and numeracy achievement is reported regularly to the board. This information is detailed and specific, and shared with the community.

Most students are making good learning progress. Teachers identify students who are not achieving at expected levels, and set targets for them. Teachers design learning programmes to accelerate progress of priority learners. In 2011, these students made very good progress in reading and writing.

3 Curriculum

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

The cohesive nature of the school’s curriculum effectively promotes and supports students’ learning.

The well-developed curriculum reflects the diversity and the wishes of the local community. The curriculum includes an emphasis on:

• student engagement in learning
• oral language development to promote wider literacy learning
• achievement for Māori and Pacific students, including teaching of te reo Māori and Samoan language.

Teaching programmes are responsive to the needs of students and the community. Recent examples include an All Black day, a fun activities day and a 2011 production that was written by students and involved all students in the school. Teachers monitor the learning and well-being of students, particularly since the earthquakes. They are flexible in adapting programmes to meet any identified needs.

Students benefit from very good quality teaching. Teachers regularly:

• promote good relationships and a positive learning environment
• plan for groups to work at the right level of learning
• encourage students to manage their own learning
• provide coaching and modelling.

A comprehensive staff handbook sets out very clear expectations for teachers. It includes specific guidelines for planning, teaching, assessment and reporting. It emphasises the importance of using student achievement information, including teachers considering the effectiveness of their teaching practices. Senior leaders regularly monitor the quality of classroom teaching.

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

Māori student achievement is similar to or slightly better than that of other school groups. Senior leaders and teachers have developed and are implementing a detailed plan to support Māori student achievement, and to provide opportunities for Māori students to experience activities that reflect their cultural heritage. The kapa haka group is large and inclusive. The students enjoy performing, and benefit from the good quality teaching of te reo and tikanga Māori. Teachers monitor Māori student achievement, engagement and well-being to evaluate the success of their programmes, and regularly communicate their findings to whānau.

4 Sustainable Performance

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

The school is very well placed to sustain and improve its performance. The board provides effective governance, and has set a clear vision and strategic direction for the school. This includes a strong focus on student and family needs, ongoing improvement, and a strategic approach to planning next steps. Robust and effective systems and procedures have been introduced to ensure ongoing sustainability. School documentation is comprehensive and well linked to the school’s strategic direction.

The principal and senior staff provide strong leadership, especially of teaching and learning. The leadership team is cohesive, collaborative, and reflective. They strongly influence the continuing development and enhancement of an inclusive and supportive school culture.

The board, leaders and teachers have good quality self-review practices to ensure that their focus is always on school improvement. As a result, trustees are well informed about student progress and achievement, and progress towards meeting the school’s annual goals and targets.

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
• 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 four-to-five years.

Graham Randell

National Manager Review Services Southern Region

3 August 2012

About the School