Birdwood School

Findings

ERO has concerns about how well the school’s leaders provide opportunities for high quality educational outcomes for learners within the school. The school is not well placed to gauge or test the effectiveness and impact of its curriculum and operational systems. ERO recommends that the Secretary for Education consider an external intervention under Part 7A of the Education Act 1989.

ERO intends to carry out another review over the course of one-to-two years.

1 Context

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

Birdwood School is situated in the western suburbs of Auckland within the Ranui area. The school provides education for students from Years 1 to 8. Thirty-five percent of students identify as Māori and sixty percent identify with Pacific ethnicities and cultures. The school roll fluctuates during the year as there are high levels of student transience in and out of the school.

Birdwood School has a positive and inclusive climate where whānau and community are welcomed. Learning - focused relationships between the school, family and child are valued as an important part of children’s education.

At the time of this review, the senior leadership team in the school consisted of an established principal and two acting assistant principals who had been appointed internally for one year. The board of trustees has yet to advertise these two positions for permanent tenure.

External advisors and the Ministry of Education (MoE) have supported the school at many levels with professional learning and development (PLD) for teachers. Recent initiatives have included literacy PLD with Vision Education, The Incredible Years parenting programme, and Te Marautanga o Aotearoa curriculum support from the MoE for the bilingual unit.

The 2012 ERO review noted some developing strengths in the school. During the last three years teachers have focused on learning environments for children where language-rich classrooms are promoting literacy and numeracy initiatives. The 2012 ERO report recommended that formative assessment practices be improved to give children a deeper understanding of their individual learning processes and next steps. This review found that assessment systems generally still need further improvement.

Three teachers in Te Puawaitanga have had significant professional development to improve the unit’s te reo Māori capacity.

2 Learning

How well does this school use achievement information to make positive changes to learners’ engagement, progress and achievement?

Birdwood School makes some use of achievement information to make positive changes to learners’ progress and achievement.

School information shows some improvements in students’ performance in National Standards during the 2014 year. Currently, teachers are overly reliant on test data to assess students’ learning and progress. School leaders and teachers need to further develop the capacity to form overall teacher judgements about students’ progress and achievement in relation to the National Standards. This should help them to draw on a wider range of information to assess and monitor student learning across the curriculum. It should also help teachers to plan more effectively for students’ learning needs.

Improving leadership of the analysis of student achievement is a priority. School leaders should establish more effective and reliable assessment and reporting systems to better promote students’ progress and achievement. These new systems should aim to improve the reporting of achievement information to the board and increase students’ use and understanding of assessment information. Improved systems are likely to help school leaders and trustees set more relevant and meaningful targets reflecting the specific needs of individuals and groups of students who are at risk of not achieving.

Continuing to strengthen teachers’ understanding of the impact of their teaching practice on students’ learning, is a priority for teacher development. This could help teachers to evaluate their teaching and learning programmes and modify and adapt their practice appropriately. This professional development should be part of teaching appraisal requirements.

The new entrant classes affirmed in the previous ERO report, continue to provide well for year one children. Teachers effectively support children’s transition into primary school using aspects of early childhood education practice. The learning progress of children at this age is well documented and evaluated by the staff concerned.

Students for whom English is an additional language (ESOL) are assisted by experienced teacher aides within mainstream classes to become more proficient in using English. School leaders should action the recommendations identified in the 2012 ESOL report to improve provision for these learners.

Students with special needs are identified and support is accessed through a range of interventions and agencies. The principal takes this role in the school at present.

ERO recommends that the Ministry of Education (MoE) considers providing support through a Student Achievement Function (SAF) practitioner to help consolidate and embed quality assessment systems and practice across the school.

3 Curriculum

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

The Birdwood Curriculum is only partially aligned to The New Zealand Curriculum (NZC). The school is beginning an evaluation and redesign of the curriculum. A new inquiry process is being trialled during 2015 alongside a review of the eight curriculum learning areas.

School leaders should consider how they can ensure that student strengths, prior knowledge, interests and aspirations are built into the inquiry-based curriculum. Leadership opportunities for students could also feature more prominently in teacher and student curriculum planning. It is likely that students would engage more readily in their learning if their voice was more prominent and more choice was available to them.

Foundation subjects for learning – reading, writing and mathematics are prioritised in the school curriculum. These areas are covered in two large blocks of time before lunch. Inquiry topics are usually timetabled in the afternoon and are linked to reading, writing and mathematics where possible. This has the potential to make reading, writing and mathematics more connected and meaningful for children.

Some aspects of the school’s curriculum document promote and support students’ holistic learning very well. The school’s vision and values are significant to the Birdwood community. Whānau want care and nurturing for their children to be part of the school ethos. The creation of a positive environment for purposeful partnerships between school and family is a strength of the school’s curriculum.

During the review, ERO and school leaders agreed that, in order to develop a high quality school curriculum it is important to:

• ensure the new curriculum document demonstrates appropriate coverage and balance of the NZC
• better reflect the NZC principles of coherence, learning to learn, high expectations and future focus in the school’s curriculum
• deepen the content of the learning areas, particularly for senior students in subjects such as Science
• promote critical thinking and problem solving activities in curriculum planning.

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

Thirty five percent of the school’s students identify as Māori. There is a school-wide commitment to biculturalism and promoting success for and as Māori. Students participate at school whakatau, with senior students leading whaikōrero and waiata.

The majority of Māori students learn in the well-established bilingual unit, Te Puawaitanga o Te Reo. The unit provides a cultural setting where students’ language, culture and identity are celebrated.

Teachers work collaboratively to plan programmes. Regular hui with the school’s Māori community allow parents to share their aspirations for their children’s learning.

Whānau, school leaders, students and teachers, with external support, have developed a marau-a-kura to guide Te Puawaitanga o te Reo pathway to the future. It could be timely to develop an action plan to provide a more coordinated and strategic approach to support the unit to realise the vision of Māori enjoying educational success as Māori.

4 Sustainable Performance

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

Birdwood School is currently working towards sustaining and improving its performance. School staff and governors are addressing the school's sustainability issues.

ERO has confidence in the governance capability of the board of trustees. The highly experienced board chair has a deep knowledge of board obligations and responsibilities. The board has demonstrated that it is acting as a good employer. Trustees are given ongoing encouragement to access board training opportunities.

The School Charter is a clear document that sets out strategic goals for the school’s future direction. The community has recently been given time to consult on changes to the charter for the next phase of school development. ERO sees the charter as a statement of intention and recommends strategic action to ensure that the charter’s goals and targets are measured and met in an accountable way.

The senior leadership team needs more capacity and capability, particularly in regard to self review. It is an urgent priority for the team to find ways to lead and embed high quality professional teaching practice that will improve educational outcomes for students.

Teachers are working hard in three teams across the school. They support each other to foster a collegial and supportive work culture.

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
• processes for appointing staff
• stand-downs, suspensions, expulsions and exclusions
• attendance.

In order to improve practice, the school should strengthen the documentation of all stand downs and suspensions according to Ministry of Education procedures and demonstrate that there is evidence of the support put in place for students on their return to school.

During the course of the review ERO identified three areas of non-compliance. In order to address these, the board of trustees must:

• ensure that all support staff are appraised annually
  [National Administration Guideline 3 (ii), National Administration Guidelines 1993]

• ensure that police vetting of non-teaching and unregistered employees at school is undertaken every 3 years, on or about the third anniversary of the previous police vet
  [s78C, Education Act 1989]

• maintain an ongoing programme of self review relating to the board’s policies, plans and programmes
  [National Administration Guideline 1993 (NAG) 2(b)].

Recommendations to other agencies

ERO recommends that the Secretary for Education consider intervention under Part 7A of the Education Act 1989 in order to address the leadership and curriculum development and implementation concerns identified in this report. ERO also recommends that the MoE considers providing the school with support from a SAF practitioner.

Conclusion

ERO has concerns about how well the school’s leaders provide opportunities for high quality educational outcomes for learners within the school. The school is not well placed to gauge or test the effectiveness and impact of its curriculum and operational systems. ERO recommends that the Secretary for Education consider an external intervention under Part 7A of the Education Act 1989.

ERO intends to carry out another review over the course of one-to-two years.

Graham Randell

Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern (Acting)

7 September 2015

About the School