Clearview Primary

Clearview Primary - 27/11/2019

School Context

Clearview Primary School is a Year 1 to 8 school located in the community of Rolleston, near Christchurch. The current roll is 743 students, 8% of whom identify as Māori.

The school’s vision promotes ‘skilled thinkers and communicators stepping out with confidence.’ Valued outcomes are connected to the competencies of ‘collaborate, climb, connect, create, care, and curiosity’.

Three strategic goals drive planning and improvement in the areas of learning, partnerships and creativity. The 2019 annual targets are for students to demonstrate the competency of caring, and to improve writing for Year 4 and mathematics for Year 6 learners.

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

  • reading, writing and mathematics
  • additional needs, including students whose learning requires extension
  • competency development.

Since the 2014 ERO review, there has been significant roll growth. Changes in leadership, staff and the board include a new principal and board chair.

Leaders and teachers have participated in whole school professional learning linked to:

  • pedagogical practice

  • collaborative inquiry

  • bicultural practices, including the development of a cultural narrative for the school

  • learning progressions in core learning areas

  • leadership coaching.

School staff are active participants in the Ngā Peka o Tauwharekākaho 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 achieving equitable and excellent outcomes for the large majority of its students.

Achievement information for 2018 shows that:

  • most students achieve at or above curriculum expectations in reading

  • the large majority of students achieve at or above curriculum expectations in writing and mathematics

  • there is a measurable, positive shift in student capability to work collaboratively.

In 2018, school leaders and teachers identified disparity for Year 3 students in writing and Year 5 in mathematics, compared with other cohorts. These cohorts are the focus for targeted action to develop reading and writing during 2019.

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

School information to determine the extent of accelerated learning is unavailable for 2018.

Mid-year data for 2019 shows that the school has considerable work to do in accelerating learning for a significant number of students who are underachieving in reading and writing.

The school is more successful in accelerating learning in mathematics. Almost one-third of students identified for additional support made accelerated progress in this area.

The mid-year information for 2019 shows that, to date, teaching is having a more positive impact on the learning extension of high achieving students in reading, writing and mathematics. Approximately half of these students made accelerated progress in reading and mathematics, and one-third in writing.

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?

Governance and leadership very clearly place students at the heart of decision-making. A strong culture of collaboration and care is evident and promoted at all levels of the school. Professional relationships between all stakeholders, including students, are respectful, thoughtful and improvement-focused. Parents and the local community are valued as active participants in supporting a culture of learning.

School systems and processes are well aligned to strategic and annual goals, providing clarity and coherency within the leadership team and for teachers. Schoolwide communication processes are effective. Leaders and teachers actively seek professional learning connections with each other and externally, as part of a professional learning plan connected to strategic priorities.

The curriculum is localised, flexible and provides a range of authentic opportunities for learning. The competency-driven nature of the curriculum promotes self-management and student agency. Well-considered interventions assist students to access the depth and breadth of the New Zealand Curriculum.

A strong culture of collaborative inquiry is building teacher capability. Leaders and teachers take collective responsibility for student learning and wellbeing. Systems and processes to guide quality teaching and learning are aligned to school priorities.

Leaders are focused on building effective leadership capability and recognising teachers’ skills and strengths. Targeted professional learning (internal and external) is informed by research, aligned to strategic priorities and aims to promote effective teacher practice. Staff have multiple opportunities to develop leadership skills. A culture of inquiry, innovation and reflection is developing well. Purposeful links to the wider education community, including the global education community, provide new ideas and research to inform teaching practices.

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

The completion of the curriculum was identified by leaders, and confirmed by ERO, as a priority for further development. Learning progressions for reading, writing and mathematics should be extended to all learning areas. Teachers need to have clear expectations for progress and achievement in relation to all areas of the curriculum. Clarity around expectations for teaching, learning and student achievement is likely to support the school’s focus on increasing student agency and self-management of learning.

Leaders have identified, and ERO confirms, the need to build on existing culturally responsive practices. They need to complete a Māori action plan and share this with whānau for their input. The visibility of te ao Māori could also be strengthened across all learning areas.

Internal evaluation is not yet used effectively to gauge the impact of innovations and interventions. Elements of critical reflection and inquiry are evident in practice but are not yet strongly evaluative. School leaders need to adopt a framework for evaluation and build evaluative capability to identify those practices which are most effective in supporting learning for all students, and particularly for those who require additional support.

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 Clearview Primary’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:

  • improvement-focused governance and leadership which places children at the centre of decision-making
  • a strongly localised, authentic curriculum which provides an extensive range of learning experiences for children
  • a well-developed culture of professional learning and inquiry which is focused on improvement for teachers and students.

Next steps

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

  • establishing learning progressions and clarity of teaching and learning expectations in all learning areas
  • building on culturally responsive practices, including the visibility of te ao Māori in learning areas
  • building a shared understanding of internal evaluation to identify those innovations and practices that are most effective in accelerating and promoting student learning.

Dr Lesley Patterson

Director Review and Improvement Services Te Tai Tini

Southern Region

27 November 2019

About the school

Location

Rolleston, Christchurch

Ministry of Education profile number

6980

School type

Full Primary (Years 1 to 8)

School roll

743

Gender composition

Boys: 50%, Girls: 50%

Ethnic composition

Māori 8%

NZ European/Pākehā 75%

Pacific 2%

Other ethnicities 15%

Students with Ongoing Resourcing Funding (ORS)

Yes

Provision of Māori medium education

No

Review team on site

September 2019

Date of this report

27 November 2019

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review October 2014

Education Review October 2011

Clearview Primary - 24/10/2014

Findings

Since its establishment in 2010, the school has experienced significant growth. Trustees and school leaders successfully promote the school’s vision for learners and learning. They demonstrate a strong commitment to the school and its students. A particular strength of the school is the way teachers support students to develop self-management skills so that they become increasingly responsible for their own learning.

ERO is likely to carry out the next review in four-to-five years.

1 Context

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

Since its establishment in 2010, the school has experienced significant roll growth. This rapid growth has meant ongoing increases to staffing and developments to management systems and practices. These changes have been well managed by trustees and the senior leadership team.

Teachers use the school’s modern, purpose-built facilities effectively to support teaching approaches that actively foster student engagement and independence. A strong emphasis is given to technologies to support learning programmes.

The board, school leaders and teachers have successfully built on the strengths noted in the school’s October 2011 ERO report. They have made good progress developing self review at all levels of the school to achieve the vision of making ongoing improvements to learning and teaching.

2 Learning

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

The school makes very good use of achievement information to make positive changes to student engagement, progress and achievement.

This effective use of achievement information is most evident in the way leaders and teachers analyse, report and use achievement information in literacy and mathematics. For example, they use this information to:

  • establish school-wide and team annual improvement targets for groups of students
  • identify and provide additional support for students who have the most significant learning needs
  • provide informative reports to the board and parents about student achievement
  • support students to set meaningful personal goals and to acknowledge and celebrate their successes in a variety of ways.

The judgments teachers make about student achievement are based on an increasing range of regular assessments. These assessments, along with students’ own self assessments, have become more accurate.

A wide variety of additional learning support, along with the approaches used to extend more able students, is well managed to support and extend students. Many students have benefited from these learning opportunities.

Area for review and development

School leaders should consider extending the analysis and reporting of student achievement and progress to include curriculum areas other than literacy and mathematics.

3 Curriculum

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

The school’s curriculum actively engages students and successfully supports their learning. The impact of this is most evident in the:

  • very good levels of student achievement in reading and good levels in mathematics
  • good progress targeted students make towards achieving individual goals and school targets
  • extent to which students are motivated to learn
  • way students are developing attitudes and skills that will equip them well for their future.

The senior leaders’ and teachers’ active promotion of the school’s values, high expectations, and respectful relationships help to create a positive and supportive learning environment for students.

Teachers provide students with a wide variety of learning experiences. Teachers help to engage students in their learning by using their interests and ideas when planning programmes. The links between what students learn in one area, such as literacy, and other aspects of their learning help to make their learning meaningful.

Leaders and teachers are taking appropriate steps to update the school’s curriculum guidelines so that these better reflect and build on the best of current programmes and practices. The well-considered and systematic approach being used for this process will increase the usefulness of these documents.

Teachers make consistent use of a wide variety of teaching strategies that foster student learning. These include:

  • well-paced and varied programmes that provide students with clearly focused teaching
  • good opportunities for students and teachers to learn from each other
  • reflecting on and adapting programmes, practices and groupings to build on student strengths
  • structuring learning, and supporting students, in ways that help them to experience success.

A particular strength of the school is the way teachers support students to develop self-management skills so that they become increasingly responsible for their own learning. They also provide students, in particular older students, with an appropriate variety of opportunities to develop their leadership skills.

Area for review and development

Leaders recognise, and ERO agrees, that ongoing priority needs to be given to strengthening the school’s documented curriculum guidelines.

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

The school uses a range of ways to effectively support Māori students to achieve success as Māori. This includes:

  • consulting with, and developing good relationships with, the parents and whānau of Māori students
  • active support for the school’s kapa haka group
  • fostering ongoing links with the local marae
  • using staff strengths to support teachers to integrate aspects of te reo and tikanga Māori into their programmes.

These and other well-considered practices help Māori students feel their culture is valued and helps motivate them to learn.

Most Māori students achieve at similar levels to their peers in literacy and mathematics.

Area for review and development

School leaders and teachers should increase the use of te reo Māori and further embed tikanga Māori within the school’s curriculum.

4 Sustainable Performance

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

The school is very well placed to sustain and improve its performance. The clearest evidence of this is in the way the board and school leaders have met the challenges associated with significant roll growth and change since the school started in 2010.

The board and school leaders successfully promote the school’s vision for learners and learning, demonstrate a strong commitment to the school and its students, and work in partnership towards meeting shared goals.

School leaders actively promote a positive student-centred and improvement-focused school culture.

Strengths of the school’s leadership and practices include the:

  • leadership of the principal, along with the effective operation of the senior leadership team and teaching teams
  • very high levels of collaboration and teamwork amongst teachers
  • variety of delegations, the opportunities teachers have to lead, and the way staff strengths are used to enhance learning opportunities for students
  • wide range of professional development opportunities, the systematic staff induction processes and well-developed appraisal practices.

Features of the school’s ongoing programme of self review include the regular seeking of feedback from parents, students and staff. The board and school leaders make good use of this feedback and other review findings to inform decision making. Self review is evident at all levels of the school’s operations.

The board governs the school well. School plans identify the most important goals and deliberate actions to achieve these. Trustees are responsive to reports to the board and actively support developments that focus on improving learning and teaching. The school has positive links with its wider community.

Areas for review and development

The board and school leaders should consider several developments that would enhance aspects of planning and self review. These include:

  • refining some aspects of annual planning to determine what counts as success and how it will be measured
  • strengthening the quality of self review in teaching and learning, through focused observations of the programme in action.

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.

Conclusion

Since its establishment in 2010, the school has experienced significant growth. Trustees and school leaders successfully promote the school’s vision for learners and learning. They demonstrate a strong commitment to the school and its students. A particular strength of the school is the way teachers support students to develop self-management skills so that they become increasingly responsible for their own learning.

Next ERO Review

When is ERO likely to review the school again?

ERO is likely to carry out the next review in four-to-five years.

Graham Randell

National Manager Review Services Southern Region

24 October 2014

About the School

Location

Rolleston, Christchurch

Ministry of Education profile number

6980

School type

Full Primary (Years 1 to 8)

School roll

616

Gender composition

Boys 56%

Girls 44%

Ethnic composition

NZ European/Pākehā

Māori

Pacific

Other Ethnicities

90%

8%

1%

1%

Review team on site

September 2014

Date of this report

24 October 2014

Most recent ERO report

Education Review

October 2011