Loburn School

School Context

Loburn School is a rural primary in Canterbury for students in Years 1 to 8. It currently has a roll of 162 students.

The school aims to provide a creative, stimulating and nurturing environment that encourages and supports each child to reach their full potential. It intends to establish a foundation of service, respect and participation on which children can aspire to be high performers, thinkers, communicators, investigators and team players.

The school’s annual targets focus on accelerating achievement for individual and groups of students achieving below expected levels in reading, writing and/or mathematics. In 2018, these targets were for reading and writing. In 2019, the focus includes extending the achievement of high achieving students.

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

• reading, writing and mathematics, and other essential learning areas

• the school targets for raising student achievement

• learning support programmes

• wellbeing, behaviour, attendance, and attitude to learning.

The school is a member of the Puketeraki Kāhui Ako|Community of Learning. The school’s strategic goals for development are closely aligned with Kāhui Ako goals. Leaders are currently refining the school-based curriculum and assessment practices, collaborative approaches to teaching and learning, and support for student wellbeing.

Evaluation Findings

1 Equity and excellence – achievement of valued outcomes for students

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

Students are well supported to achieve personal success and excellence. Achievement information consistently shows that most students achieve well in reading and mathematics, with lower overall levels of achievement experienced in writing, particularly for some groups of students. Māori students are achieving at similar rates to their peers.

1.2 How well is the school accelerating learning for those Māori and other students who need this?

The school is achieving success in accelerating learning for most students who need this. The school has good systems in place to identify groups of students not meeting expected learning outcomes. The 2018 results showed a substantial improvement of accelerated outcomes for the group targeted for reading, but not as much progress for those students targeted for their writing.

2 School conditions for equity and excellence – processes and practices

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

The school values are evident in practice across the school. Students participate and learn in caring, well-planned environments. There are positive relationships between staff and students, supported by wellbeing initiatives. Students have access to a wide range of engaging activities and learning experiences, in and out of the school. Students access a variety of tools that support their engagement for learning and promote their learning outcomes. Students’ opinions, and those of their parents, are used to inform and improve teaching practices.

Students have effective, sufficient and equitable opportunities to learn. Teachers make learning pathways visible and encourage students to take responsibility for managing their own learning.

Students requiring additional support in their learning are well supported through classroom teaching teams and by specialist teachers. Leaders and teachers regularly use evidence of students’ learning and progress to inform ongoing improvement of teaching practice.

Staff are engaged in professional learning and development that increases their knowledge and skills for individual and schoolwide improvement. Professional development is supported by access to external expertise and ongoing collaboration across their professional learning teams. Teachers are developing their skills in supporting each other’s development of professional practice, in a high trust environment.

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

There are a number initiatives for incorporating biculturalism into the school’s curriculum. The board and school leaders need to develop a more coordinated, meaningful and sustained approach. This should include the development, implementation and review of a long-term strategy and ongoing input from key stakeholders, whānau and local iwi.

The board identifies, and ERO agrees, that leaders should continue to:

• embed schoolwide initiatives for ensuring wellbeing

• ensure that all evaluations show what worked or not in contributing to outcomes for learners, and are based on evidence from a range of sources.

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 ERO’s Overall Judgement

On the basis of the findings of this review, ERO‘s overall evaluation judgement of Loburn 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.

5 Going forward

Key strengths of the school

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

• a broad, engaging and responsive curriculum

• systems, structures and processes supporting improvement

• a culture of professional learning and collaboration.

Next steps

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

• a coordinated and meaningful integration of te reo and tikanga Māori into whole school curriculum

• continuing to embed school-wide initiatives for student wellbeing

• developing aspects of internal evaluation practice.

Alan Wynyard

Director Review and Improvement Services Southern

Southern Region

3 May 2019

About the school