Chaucer School

Summary

Chaucer School in Blockhouse Bay provides education for children from Years 1 to 6. The school’s students are from a diverse range of cultural backgrounds. Children with Pacific heritage make up 27 percent of the roll, with the majority being Samoan or Tongan. Children with Indian heritage form the next biggest group. Māori make up 12 percent and children from Middle Eastern backgrounds comprise 11 percent. The school hosts two Oaklynn Special School satellite classes.

Since ERO’s 2014 review, there have been some new appointments to the leadership team. The school is part of the Lynfield Community of | Kāhui Akonvolvement in the CoL is enhancing opportunities for teacher-led innovation and inquiry.Learning(CoL). I

The 2014 ERO report highlighted that development was necessary in areas including learning, curriculum and self review. This report notes that good progress has been made in these areas.

How well is the school achieving equitable outcomes for all children?

Most children achieve at or above the National Standards by Year 6. The school has worked successfully to ensure that there is parity in achievement for Māori students in mathematics.

The school has a variety of effective school conditions and processes that support equity and excellence. Learners benefit from the school’s holistic approach to pastoral care, a responsive curriculum, good governance and leadership, and the promotion of an inclusive culture.

Continuing to refine and improve the analysis and use of achievement information, and internal evaluation practices has the potential to enhance the school’s response to children whose learning needs acceleration.

ERO is likely to carry out the next review in three years.

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

The school responds effectively to all children whose learning and progress requires acceleration.

Overall children achieve well in relation to the National Standards. Information from 2016 shows that by the time children leave the school in Year 6, approximately 90 percent achieve at or above the National Standard in reading and mathematics and 80 percent in writing. It is notable that between 2015 and 2016 Māori children’s achievement in mathematics significantly increased across all year levels.

There has been some decline in National Standards achievement levels through 2016. It is important that school leaders further refine their analysis of student achievement so that they are able to determine the factors that may be influencing these changes in achievement levels. This is likely to help them to make better informed decisions regarding the strategies and resourcing being used to accelerate children’s learning.

External professional development and regular in-school moderation is supporting the development of dependable teacher judgements about achievement in relation to the National Standards.

School conditions supporting equity and excellence

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

The school has a variety of effective school conditions and processes that support the achievement of equity and excellence.

Children’s wellbeing is well supported through a holistic pastoral care programme. Most children enjoy a sense of belonging to the school, feel cared for and included. Senior children are given a wide range of formal and informal leadership postions, roles and opportunities that are both class-based and school-wide. This is growing their confidence as learners and their ability to support, lead and collaborate with others.

Children demonstrate confidence in their cultural identity. There is a strong sense that difference and diversity are respected. The school values the use of families’ home languages. Learning environments are inclusive and collaborative. Māori children have increasing opportunities to experience education success as Māori.

Teachers implement a curriculum that supports learners’ participation and engagement and gives them agency in their learning. The curriculum makes connections to children’s lives, prior understandings, out of school experiences and real world contexts. Students learn in an environment where they can take risks and errors are regarded as opportunities for learning.

School leaders are continuing to promote teaching strategies to support more personalised learning for children. It would now be useful for leaders to establish curriculum guidelines to provide a framework for building and sustaining consistently effective teaching practices.

Children with first languages other than English are well supported to access the curriculum. Children with special needs and abilities participate in learning opportunities that provide both support and challenge.

The board of trustees strongly promote the school’s vision to the community. Trustees are increasingly aware of their responsibilities as stewards of the school. They are working towards making better use of the information reported to them. They seek advice and resources to support them in their roles and make good use of their individual and collective expertise.

School leaders actively extend their own skills and understandings and support teachers in their professional growth. There are robust teacher appraisal processes in place. These closely align with teachers’ inquiry into the effectiveness of their practices to support targeted students whose learning needs to be accelerated. Teachers have opportunities to take leadership roles and have access to a wide variety of appropriate expertise to build their capability.There has been good progress in establishing processes for internal evaluation.

Sustainable development for equity and excellence

What further developments are needed in school processes to achieve equity and excellence?

To support ongoing development that promotes equity and excellence the school should:

• continue to refine and improve the analysis and evaluation of datato determine the effectiveness of school practices and conditions and their impact on achievement and other valued outcomes for individuals and groups of children
• establish leadership practices and school documentation to ensure that curriculum expectations are clear and support consistently effective teaching and learning.

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

• 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.

Provision for international students

The school is a signatory to the Education (Pastoral Care of International Students) Code of Practice 2016 established under section 238F of the Education Act 1989. The school has attested that it complies with all aspects of the Code. No international students were enrolled at the time of the ERO review.

Actions required

ERO identified non-compliance in relation to in-committee processes.

In order to address this the board must:

• Implement robust complaints and in-committee processes and review school policies to ensure that they reflect the requirements of the Vulnerable Children Act 2014.

Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987, Public Records Act 2005, Vulnerable Children Act 2014 HS31 GMA7a

Going forward

How well placed is the school to accelerate the achievement of all children who need it?

Learners are achieving well. The school demonstrates strong progress toward achieving equity in educational outcomes, supported by effective, sustainable processes and practices.

Agreed next steps are to:

• increase and refine leaders and teachers’ scrutiny of achievement data to deepen internal evaluation practices.

ERO is likely to carry out the next review in three years.

Violet Tu’uga Stevenson

Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern (Acting)

22 September 2017

About the school