Ross School

School Context

Ross School is a small, rural contributing school in Westland with a long history as an integral part of its local community. The school has 30 students, about a quarter of whom identify as Māori.

The school’s vision is to develop confident, honest students who are able to access all areas of learning and have integrity and pride in themselves and the community. This vision is underpinned by the values of respect, responsibility, caring and honesty.

The school has set targets for 2018 relating to student achievement and wellbeing.

A new principal began at the start of 2018. The board of trustees has a mixture of experienced and new members.

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

• achievement for Māori students
• acceleration and progress for target students
• achievement in relation to the New Zealand Curriculum

The school is a member of Westland Kāhui Ako|Community of Learning (CoL) and is developing relationships with other local schools.

Since the last ERO review in 2015, there has been limited progress in addressing some of the areas identified for improvement. These relate to documenting assessment and achievement information, and supporting students to better understand their own learning.

Evaluation Findings

1 Equity and excellence – valued outcomes for students

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

The school is working effectively towards achieving equitable and excellent outcomes for children.

School information shows that, over time, most children achieve at or above expectations in reading, writing and mathematics. In 2017 almost all children achieved at or above expectations in mathematics and writing. The school has well-established systems to support all children to make progress.

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

The school responds very effectively to students whose learning requires acceleration. In 2017 all students identified as needing to accelerate in mathematics did so. Students whose learning needs acceleration are identified at an early stage, and they are monitored and receive appropriate individual programmes. Children with additional needs are well supported.

2 School conditions for equity and excellence

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

The school places importance on building and maintaining positive relationships, both within the school and with the wider community. Students, staff and parents have a strong sense of belonging and pride in the school, and a family atmosphere is fostered and valued.

The school’s values are evident throughout the school community, particularly the concepts of honesty and caring. Tuakana-teina relationships (older children supporting and involving younger children) are strongly evident in the classroom and outside.

Parents are welcomed and are able to engage in regular conversations about their children’s learning. Partnerships with local and regional businesses and organisations enable the school to provide good resources that enhance learning for all children.

The school is developing useful links with both the local playgroup and high schools in the area, enabling smooth transitions for children into and out of the school. Relationships with other schools provide additional valuable curriculum and professional development opportunities.

Children at Ross School enjoy school and are enthusiastic about their learning. They benefit from small class sizes, a focused, co-operative environment and the teachers’ thorough understanding of their needs, interests and abilities. Teachers use a range of assessment tools to establish individual learning needs and tailor programmes around these so that children can achieve success.

Children have opportunities to experience a wide curriculum with local content incorporated. They have some choice within their learning. Teachers are in the early stages of developing children’s ability to understand and manage their own learning so that they can set and monitor their own learning goals and next steps.

The school has a stable and capable board of trustees that represents a range of experience and skills. Sound governance guidelines have been established to ensure effective practice and a strategic improvement focus. The board resources the school according to established needs to support positive outcomes for children. It is proactive in seeking school and community feedback and acting on this.

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

Leaders and teachers should continue to develop a shared understanding of effective teaching and learning strategies based on current good practice. This will contribute to consistency of practice and the development of a more student-centred approach to learning. Teaching practices will be further strengthened by a greater understanding and embedding of teaching as inquiry and intentional teaching strategies.

A deeper understanding of, and a planned approach to, internal evaluation is necessary. This will help the school to understand the effectiveness of practices, programmes and interventions in order to ensure the best outcomes for children.

Leaders and teachers need to understand and utilise the school’s student management system to track, analyse and document progress and achievement in a systematic and robust manner.

Leaders and teachers acknowledge the need to establish a school-wide understanding of bicultural perspectives and practices in order to affirm students’ identity, culture and language, and to reflect New Zealand’s bicultural society.

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:

• a culture of strong, supportive relationships within the school and local community
• providing an environment that fosters children’s pride, engagement and achievement
• able trustees with an understanding of governance and strategic focus.

Next steps

For sustained improvement and future learner success, the school’s priorities are to:

• develop and embed leaders’ and teachers’ capacity to use evaluation, inquiry and knowledge building to understand what is working and inform decision making
• develop shared understandings and effective systems that will ensure a collaborative approach to student-led teaching and learning
• strengthen understanding of the bicultural nature of Aotearoa New Zealand so that this is a natural part of the environment, practices and programmes.

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

Te Waipounamu - Southern Region

5 June 2018

About the school