School Context
Takitimu Primary School has a roll of 77 Year 1 to 8 children. Children come from a range of countries and cultures. Some children are English Language Learners (ELL). With changes in local employment opportunities, some children arrive or leave during the school year.
There have been significant changes in the school in the last three years. These include changes in principal, a new teacher, board chair and trustees.
The school’s vision is for students to ‘Be the best you can be’. Other stated priorities are that students will be confident, connected, lifelong learners. The school’s strategic goals are to improve student achievement in mathematics, school culture and community engagement. There are also targets to lift achievement for identified children in reading, writing and mathematics.
Leaders and teachers report to the board, school-wide information about outcomes for students in the following areas:
- achievement in reading, writing and mathematics
- progress against school targets to lift achievement in literacy and mathematics
- student wellbeing.
The school is part of a cluster of Western Southland schools, who work together for professional learning (PL), and activities for students, such as sport. Teachers have also participated in Ministry of Education (MOE) funded PL in literacy, mathematics and science.
The school has made good progress against some of the recommendations in the 2015 ERO report. Some recommendations remain as areas to further strengthen.
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?
The school is achieving equitable and positive outcomes for most of its students.
Most children achieve at or above the school’s expected levels in reading. The majority achieve at or above expected levels in writing and mathematics. Over time school-wide achievement levels have remained fairly consistent.
There is some variability in achievement between different groups. Pacific and Māori children achieve at similar levels to NZ European in reading but not as well in writing and mathematics. Achievement rates are more varied for Filipino children because some are ELLs.
1.2 How well is the school accelerating learning for those Māori and other students who need this?
The school successfully accelerates the learning of the majority of children identified as below expected curriculum levels in reading, writing and mathematics. In 2018 at least half of these children achieved at or above expected levels by the end of the year.
The school’s end of 2018 information did not include an analysis of progress for different groups of children, for example by gender or ethnicity. This means that ERO cannot evaluate how well the school is accelerating the learning of Māori or other groups of children.
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 children are settled and well engaged. They learn and interact well alongside each other. Between children there is a respectful culture. Most children know and can explain the school values.
The learning support leader and teachers have developed very effective practices to identify, monitor and support children who need extra help to succeed in their learning. These children, especially ELLs, benefit from deliberate teaching and additional interventions. Teachers relentlessly seek the best way to support these children.
Children benefit from very effective teaching and assessment practices. Teachers plan carefully to meet the different needs and abilities of their children. They use an appropriate range of assessment methods and tools to make reliable judgements about children’s progress and achievement in literacy and mathematics. Deep analysis of standardised assessment data has enabled teachers to monitor children’s progress, identify gaps in learning and inform their planning and teaching. With recent changes in staff, it is important that these effective assessment practices are maintained.
Over time, teachers have benefitted from purposeful professional learning. This and their appraisal goals align well with the school’s strategic targets and goals. With external support, they carried out a comprehensive review of the mathematics and science curriculum guidelines. The review process used provides a useful model for ongoing review of other curriculum areas.
The school has a capable board of trustees. They understand that student wellbeing and achievement are their primary focus and use data to inform their decisions. Trustees have clear delegations and have sought relevant PL.
The new principal is well supported by the board, an external advisor and relevant professional development. He has developed action plans as to how the school will move forward.
2.2 What further developments are needed in school processes and practices for achievement of equity and excellence, and acceleration of learning?
The school has identified, and ERO’s evaluation confirms, that the next steps are to:
- develop a more collaborative staff culture
- strengthen community engagement (especially learning-focused partnerships with parents)
- strengthen the way Māori and other cultures are valued.
Other priorities are to:
- ensure the principal manages changes effectively, including better involvement of relevant staff in decision making and planning
- ensure effective internal evaluation of different learning areas, and teaching and learning over time
- complete the review of Takitimu Primary School curriculum, including reviewing with parents the school’s vision, valued outcomes for children and local curriculum priorities
- strengthen aspects of reporting to the board by deepening analysis of student progress and achievement in mid and end of the year reports; extending reporting to include student outcomes in other curriculum or school priority areas; and more regular and evaluative reporting about progress towards meeting school targets and annual goals.
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.
During the onsite stage of the review, ERO found non-compliance related to managing bullying, cyber safety, physical restraint and post disaster relief.
4 ERO’s Overall Judgement
On the basis of the findings of this review, ERO’s overall evaluation judgement of Takitimu School performance in achieving valued outcomes for its students is: Developing.
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:
- settled and engaged students who are ready to learn
- effective assessment and teaching practices that contribute to students’ progress and achievement
- the relentless focus by teachers on children who need extra support to succeed.
Key next steps
For sustained improvement and future learner success, priorities for further development are in:
- improving staff culture and ensuring a more collaborative approach to decision making
- implementing effective internal evaluation practices that identify what is working and what is not
- strengthening aspects of reporting to the board
- maintaining a strategic focus on better valuing of Māori and other cultures in the school to enrich learning and foster inclusivity.
Actions for compliance
ERO identified non-compliance in relation to physical restraint and search and retention.
In order to address this, the board of trustees must:
- ensure it meets all the requirements of the physical restraint rules. Specifically policies and training for staff in physical restraint
[Education (Physical Restraint) Rules 2017]
- ensure it has policies and procedures for retention of property and searches of students
[139AAA to 139AAH of the Education Act]
Areas for improved compliance practice
To improve current practice, the board of trustees should:
- develop procedures related to managing cyber bullying and post-disaster relief.
Alan Wynyard
Director Review and Improvement Services Southern
Southern Region
30 May 2019
About the school
|
Location
|
Nightcaps, Southland
|
|
Ministry of Education profile number
|
398
|
|
School type
|
Full primary (Years 1-8)
|
|
School roll
|
77
|
|
Gender composition
|
Girls 42, Boys 35
|
|
Ethnic composition
|
Māori 17
NZ European/Pākehā 47
Other ethnicities 13
|
|
Students with Ongoing Resourcing Funding (ORS)
|
No
|
|
Provision of Māori medium education
|
No
|
|
Review team on site
|
March 2019
|
|
Date of this report
|
30 May 2019
|
|
Most recent ERO reports
|
Education Review October 2015
Education Review June 2012
Education Review October 2008
|