Lemonwood Grove School

Lemonwood Grove School - 14/02/2020

School Context

Lemonwood Grove School |Te Uru Tarata is a newly established school in Rolleston, which opened in January 2017 with a starting roll of 59 students. It has a current roll of 347 Year 1 to 8 students. Further developments are planned to cater for the anticipated strong roll growth. 

The school’s vision is: ‘the best of you as you’.

The mission statement is: ‘to provide a landscape of possibilities where people connect and ideas flow in challenging, collaborative and creative ways’.

Both the vision and mission statement are underpinned by the school values: Grit (Niwha), Responsibility (Takohanga), Integrity (Ngākau taputahi), Thinking (Whaiwhakaaro).

Key strategic goals state that:

  • learners will be at the centre and encouraged to be the best they can be

  • learners will achieve at least one year’s worth of progress in reading, writing and mathematics

  • robust procedures and systems developed and implemented to ensure that all learners’ mental, social, physical and spiritual needs are being actioned.

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

  • achievement and progress in reading, writing and mathematics
  • outcomes related to engagement/wellbeing.

The school is a member of the Nga peka o Tauwhare Kākaho Kāhui Ako | Community of Learning.

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 effectively working towards achieving equitable and excellent outcomes for its students.

Achievement information for the end of 2018 shows that most students are achieving at or above curriculum level expectations in reading and mathematics and a large majority in writing.

Mid-year achievement information in 2019 for reading and writing showed that most students are on track to be at or above curriculum level expectations.

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

As the school develops, it can show it is beginning to accelerate the progress of some students who need it.

The school has developed effective processes for identifying, supporting and monitoring the progress of all priority students.

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?

Students benefit from strong, supportive relationships at all levels of the school that promote a sense of belonging. They participate and learn in a caring, collaborative, inclusive environment. Teachers have created an environment and culture that supports students to learn. They provide a curriculum that engages students through their interests, needs and abilities. Students appreciate how teachers listen to them, reflect on and adapt programmes to meet their learning needs and interests. There is a strong focus on supporting student participation, engagement and agency in learning. The learning environment encourages students to be self-managing learners in ways that promote equitable opportunities for them to achieve success across all learning areas.

Leaders build high levels of trust and learner-focused relationships with families, whānau, and other education providers to increase learning opportunities for students. Effective communication strategies are used to engage parents, whānau and community. Leaders and teachers recognise the importance of parent and whānau feedback and use it to determine priorities for improvement. There has been a considered approach to building connections with whānau and iwi to support the development of te ao Māori within the curriculum.

There is strong professional leadership across the school. Leaders ensure school targets and goals are understood with appropriate practices and systems in place to support their achievement. Effective strategies are put in place to build the school’s leadership capacity and to support continuous upskilling of all teachers. Strategic recruitment and collaborative practices are used effectively to build professional capability and collective capacity of staff schoolwide.

Leaders and teachers are improvement focused and share high expectations for students and themselves. Students’ progress is regularly tracked and monitored. Groups who need additional support are identified and targeted, and appropriate interventions are put in place.

The board builds relational trust and develops culturally responsive relationships with the school community. Trustees are reflective and are focussed on student learning and well-being They access a range of quality student achievement and progress information to inform their decision making.

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

Leaders and teachers need to continue to develop and use effective internal evaluation processes across all aspects of school processes and practices. This should enable them to more effectively evaluate the impact of interventions, planned actions and practices on student learning outcomes.

To better recognise and respond to students’ language culture and identity leaders and teachers need to further embed and develop culturally responsive practices throughout the school.

Trustees and leaders should refine strategic planning to provide closer alignment between strategic and annual goals and prioritise a small number of achievable goals. This should help them to better track and monitor progress towards achieving these 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 Children’s Act 2014.

4 ERO’s Overall Judgement

On the basis of the findings of this review, ERO’s overall evaluation judgement of Lemonwood Grove School | Te Uru Tarata’s performance in achieving valued outcomes for its students is: Well placed.

ERO’s Framework: Overall Findings and Judgement Tool derived from School Evaluation Indicators: Effective Practice for Improvement and Learner Success 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 caring, inclusive, collaborative environment that promotes a sense of belonging
  • focus on supporting student participation, engagement and agency in learning that is contributing to positive outcomes for studentsa strong
  • strong professional leadership across all levels of the school that is building the capability of staff.

Next steps

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

  • further developing and using internal evaluation processes to more effectively evaluate the impact of interventions on student learning outcomes.
  • further embedding and developing culturally responsive practices throughout the school to better respond to students’ language, culture and identity
  • refining strategic planning to better track and monitor progress towards achieving the goals.

Dr Lesley Patterson

Director Review and Improvement Services 

Southern Region

14 February 2020

About the school

Location

Rolleston

Ministry of Education profile number

6967

School type

Full Primary (Years 1-8)

School roll

347

Gender composition

Female 52%

Male 48%

Ethnic composition

Māori 5%

NZ European/Pākehā 80%

Other 15%

Students with Ongoing Resourcing Funding (ORS)

No

Provision of Māori medium education

No

Review team on site

October 2019

Date of this report

14 February 2020

Most recent ERO reports

These are available at www.ero.govt.nz 

New School Assurance Review August 2018

Lemonwood Grove School - 24/08/2018

New School Assurance Review Report

1 Introduction

A New School Assurance Review is a review of particular areas of school performance and is undertaken to specific terms of reference.

New School Assurance Reviews are generally undertaken within the first year of the school’s opening.

Terms of Reference

This review is based on an evaluation of the performance of Lemonwood Grove School. The terms of reference for the review are to provide assurance to the community:

  • that the school is well placed to provide for students
  • that the school is operating in accordance with the vision articulated by the board of trustees.

2 Context

The Rolleston area is growing rapidly. To accommodate this population growth, a number of new primary schools and a secondary school have been established. Lemonwood Grove School was established to provide education for school-aged children predominantly in the Faringdon community.

3 Background

From June 2016, a process was undertaken on behalf of the Ministry of Education (MOE) to assess the school’s readiness to open at the beginning of 2017. A readiness to open report was provided to the MOE in May 2017.

Lemonwood Grove School successfully opened in January 2017 with 59 students, from Years 1 to 8. The roll has continued to increase as the Faringdon community in Rolleston has grown. It is increasingly diverse as new families settle in the area. At the time of this review the roll was 192.

The school’s mission is to provide a landscape of possibilities where people connect and ideas flow in challenging, collaborative and creative ways. There is a strong focus on the key GRIT values and dispositions (grit, responsibility, integrity and thinking) for learners to adopt and develop. These values will equip learners to achieve the holistic vision to be ‘the best of you, as you’.

4 Findings

The school’s vision is highly evident in all aspects of its operations. Effective, positive partnerships among trustees, staff, learners and families are based on a shared understanding of the school’s vision. Comprehensive consultation and communication are fundamental to the well-considered design, development and delivery of the curriculum. The curriculum aims to provide all learners with the opportunity to develop to their full potential.

The core values, beliefs and principles are visible in the learning environment and in the actions of learners and teachers. Fundamental to these values is the first principle that learners are at the centre of practices and expected outcomes. In order to meet the vision for learners, projects, initiatives and programmes are explicitly linked to best outcomes for learners.

The wellbeing/hauora of learners and staff is prioritised. It is directly linked to the school’s vision and strategic goals. This reinforces the school’s desire to develop and respond to the needs of learners in every way.

The school is very well placed to provide for students.

There is a focus on purposeful, meaningful assessment and reporting. A comprehensive review process, with stakeholder consultation, is currently enabling leaders and teachers to continue strengthening the school’s ability to provide for students. Teachers and leaders use a range of valid reporting tools to ensure rich learner achievement information is communicated to families.

Students are given the framework to control what, when, where and how they learn. This framework is well organised and planned, but flexible. Planning for learning is future-focused and emphasises the development of strong learner-centred relationships. This planning philosophy prioritises connected learning that embraces the knowledge, skills and attitudes the school’s vision promotes for each learner. The unique school-based learning approach includes learning through play, enrichment programmes, links between the values and dispositions (competencies), and clear alignment with the school’s principles for learning.

There are comprehensive, well understood systems for identifying, monitoring and tracking students at risk of poor outcomes. Students are rigorously supported to be the best they can be. This support comes from other learners, teachers, learning assistants, senior leaders and (where appropriate) external support agencies. Parents are involved and included in partnerships which focus on the learning of their children. The school has worked hard to develop and achieve an inclusive culture.

The school is very well placed to sustain and improve its performance. Trustees and leaders have developed thorough, well documented ‘living’ policies and procedures. Stewardship roles are strategically organised within a thoughtful structure of working groups which report regularly. Leadership is highly collaborative and committed to the continuous improvement and development of the school. Strong alignment of purpose and action is evident, from vision to its enactment.

The school and ERO agree that the key priorities for the future are to continue to:

  • respond to growth in the school community

  • embed the school’s appraisal process for staff

  • develop cultural responsiveness.

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:

  • school management and reporting
  • 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 students' 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.

Conclusion

The school is very well placed to provide for students. It is clearly evident that the board, leaders and staff are operating in accordance with the school’s vision. The school is very well placed to sustain and improve its performance.

ERO is likely to carry out the first full review of the school after the third year of the school’s operation.

Alan Wynyard

Director Review & Improvement Services Southern

Te Waipounamu - Southern Region

24 August 2018

About the School

Location

Rolleston, Canterbury

Ministry of Education profile number

6967

School type

Full Primary (Years 1 to 8)

School roll

192

Gender composition

Girls: 48%

Boys: 52%

Ethnic composition

Māori

Pākehā

Pacific

Other ethnicities

9%

61%

6%

24%

Review team on site

July 2018

Date of this report

24 August 2018