Clinton School

Clinton School

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within 12 months of the Education Review Office and Clinton School working in Te Ara Huarau, an improvement evaluation approach used in most English Medium State and State Integrated Schools. For more information about Te Ara Huarau see ERO’s website. www.ero.govt.nz

Context 

Clinton School is a rural, full primary school located in the South Otago region. They cater for learners from years 1 to 8. The school’s vision is Tipu Oki Kaha enacted through the values of Respect for Ourselves, Respect for Others, Respect for our Environment.

Clinton School’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are to continue to:

  • develop the school culture of Manaakitanga-respect, belonging, responsibility and kindness so as to optimise the learning experience of all ākonga

  • build the capacity of ākonga and staff so that they progress and develop as confident learners, achieving personal excellence.

You can find a copy of the school’s strategic and annual plan on Clinton School’s website.

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate the effectiveness of structured literacy initiative on improving learner progress and achievement.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is that:

  • the school has identified through well-analysed data that many students do not have phonological awareness, which is strongly related to early reading and writing development

  • structured literacy initiative is a recent approach the Clinton School has adopted

  • learners’ progress will need to be analysed and monitored to measure the effectiveness of this approach in an ongoing way.

The school expects to see:

  • a school-wide approach to develop the skills needed by all staff in the structured literacy teaching approach

  • ongoing monitoring of teacher practice to ensure consistent implementation of structured literacy across all levels of the school

  • teacher evaluation of learner progress through the literacy levels and the impact this has on improving outcomes for all learners.

Strengths

The school can draw from the following strengths to support it in its goal to improve outcomes for learners in literacy:

  • an established learning environment that has ākonga wellbeing at the centre of teaching and learning approaches

  • manaakitanga is the integral value that drives the school culture this supports learners to have a clear understanding of expectations for behaviour, engagement and learning opportunities

  • targeted professional development that empowers staff to deliver and reflect on the provision of high quality teaching and learning for all ākonga

  • ongoing monitoring and evaluation of interventions for ākonga who need extra support.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise:

  • continuing the delivery and understanding of the structured literacy approach

  • professional learning to support teacher capability and to understand the impact of this initiative on ākonga literacy learning.

ERO’s role will be to support the school in its evaluation for improvement cycle to improve outcomes for all learners. ERO will support the school in reporting their progress to the community. The next public report on ERO’s website will be a Te Ara Huarau | School Evaluation Report and is due within three years.

Shelley Booysen
Director of Schools

3 August 2023 

About the School

The Education Counts website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement.  educationcounts.govt.nz/home

Clinton School

Board Assurance with Regulatory and Legislative Requirements Report 2023 to 2026

As of May 2023, the Clinton School Board has attested to the following regulatory and legislative requirements:

Board Administration

Yes

Curriculum

Yes

Management of Health, Safety and Welfare

Yes

Personnel Management

Yes

Finance

Yes

Assets

Yes

Further Information

For further information please contact Clinton School, School Board.

The next School Board assurance that it is meeting regulatory and legislative requirements will be reported, along with the Te Ara Huarau | School Evaluation Report, within three years.

Information on ERO’s role and process in this review can be found on the Education Review Office website.

Shelley Booysen
Director of Schools

3 August 2023 

About the School

The Education Counts website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement. educationcounts.govt.nz/home

Clinton School - 21/05/2020

School Context

Clinton School is a Year 1 to 8 school in the rural town of Clinton. Most children travel to school by bus. The school’s roll at the time of the review was 65 students, including 11% who identify as Māori.

The school’s vision, linked to significant trees within the town, is to ‘grow mighty oaks - tipu, oki kaha’. Its manaakitanga values of respect, resilience and honesty underpin this vision. The school community, board, leaders and teachers want the children to become strong, resilient and steadfast, like the oak trees.

The strategic goals state that, to achieve the school’s vision, all students should make positive gains within the New Zealand Curriculum (NZC), including actively participating in physical education activities at least three times per week, and the proportions of students making accelerated progress and working above the school’s expectations in mathematics should be lifted.

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

  • overall and specific group achievement in reading, writing and mathematics in relation to the school’s expectations
  • sufficiency of progress in reading, writing and mathematics for specific groups
  • demonstration of key competencies within the NZC
  • attitudes towards their schooling.

The school roll fluctuates, with approximately one third of students entering or leaving within any one year. A small number of students are English language learners. Since the March 2017 ERO report, there have been changes in teaching staff, including a new deputy principal. Several trustees are new to the board.

Teachers are participating in Ministry of Education provided professional learning and development related to the school’s manaakitanga focus.

The school is a member of the Big River 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 effective in achieving equitable and excellent outcomes for most learners.

Consistently and over time (2017-2019), most students achieve at or above the school’s expectations in reading and mathematics. The large majority of students achieve expectations in writing. Māori students achieve at or better than these levels.

School learning information shows a significant reduction over time in the difference between boys’ and girls’ achievement in reading. The proportion of girls achieving at or above the school’s expectations in mathematics continues to be higher than boys.

Over three quarters of students who have attended Clinton School for more than 18 months are achieving the school’s expectations in reading, writing and mathematics.

Almost all students are meeting the school’s goal of actively participating in three or more sessions of physical education per week. Most students are successful in meeting the school’s expectation to demonstrate the key competencies of the NZC.

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

The school has good evidence that it is effective in accelerating the progress of many students who need this.

Of the students who had been at the school for more than 18 months in 2019, and were identified as not achieving at expected levels, almost half made accelerated progress in reading and mathematics. Most of these students made accelerated progress 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?

Students learn and achieve in a caring, positive, inclusive culture. There is a strong belief that every child can and will achieve success. Students are appropriately challenged and their achievements celebrated. The school’s focus on manaakitanga is highly evident. There are warm relationships across the school. Students experience a sense of belonging, pride and success.

Very effective student-centred decision making occurs at board, leadership and teacher levels. Leaders and teachers systematically gather, analyse, evaluate and report relevant outcome information for students. The board receives trustworthy information from many sources about the learning needs of students. Resources are used well and specifically adapted to changing student needs. Teachers collaborate to develop a responsive, personalised curriculum that supports all learners to achieve and succeed.

The school and community engage well in reciprocal, learning-based partnerships connecting people, place and learning aligned to the school’s three strategic focus areas. Students’ learning is enhanced through meaningful engagement in authentic, practical activities. This includes visitors to the school and in local events. Community support and expertise has enhanced te ao and te reo Māori learning. These community collaborations enrich opportunities for students to become confident, connected and actively involved.

Students with diverse learning needs are very well supported and provided for. Teachers make good use of specific guidelines to integrate new students into meaningful learning programmes. They quickly identify, plan and implement programmes to support students’ learning needs and parent aspirations. Teachers and leaders evaluate the sufficiency of students’ progress and identify what further support for learning is needed. These practices promote equitable outcomes for students.

The principal effectively leads and manages ongoing leadership, improvement and internal evaluation throughout the school. Planning, tracking and monitoring processes are of high quality. Wider educational networks and relevant research are drawn into the evaluation frame. Staff and students benefit from professional learning from within and beyond the school that aligns to the school’s strategic priorities. The school is very well placed to sustain current practices that promote equity and excellence for all students.

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

The school’s current manaakitanga focus is intended to support positive student outcomes. It is now timely for leaders and teachers to more formally evaluate the impact of this on all learners. An evaluation framework, with desired measurable outcomes, should provide the board with comprehensive information about the success of this focus. Such an approach could be used to evaluate responses to emergent contextual changes and consolidate existing current practices for future sustainability.

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 Clinton School’s performance in achieving valued outcomes for its students is: Strong.

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:

  • its caring, affirming and inclusive ethos that supports all learners to succeed
  • the personalised curriculum which effectively responds to students’ wellbeing and learning needs
  • school-community partnerships that enrich the curriculum
  • successfully supporting students with diverse learning needs, including changes in schooling, to learn and succeed
  • effective leadership that supports continuous improvement.

Next steps

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

  • broadening evaluation practices to know the impact of the manaakitanga programme and any further specific initiatives undertaken.

Dr Lesley Patterson

Director Review and Improvement Services (Southern)

Southern Region - Te Tai Tini

21 May 2020

About the school

The Education Counts website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement.

Clinton School - 15/03/2017

1 Context

Clinton School is a small, rural, Years 1-to-8 school located in the South Otago town of Clinton. The school's roll has remained relatively stable over the last three years. The experienced principal and board have thoughtfully managed significant staffing changes during 2016 so that teachers and children maintained their focus on learning. About a quarter of the school roll is made up of children new to the area. The school has a long history of working with other schools in the area and is a member of the recently formed Big River Community of Learning. The board is placing a priority on the refurbishment of classrooms to ensure they are suitable learning environments.

2 Equity and excellence

The vision and valued outcomes defined by the school for all children are 'to create a community of learners preparing for life ahead'. The school's vision is for children to be growing like mighty oaks. The board raises significant local funds to provide all learners full access to the school's curriculum. In this way trustees are assured that the school's vision and values are enacted for all learners.

The school’s achievement information shows that a high proportion of Māori children achieved at or above the National Standards (NS) in reading, writing and mathematics over the last three years. The majority of other learners achieved at similarly high levels during this time.

The school uses a wide range of standardised assessment information and in-class observations to inform Overall Teacher Judgements (OTJs) in relation to the National Standards. The principal leads regular informal discussions with classroom teachers about assessment information. These discussions support decision making around NS judgements.

Since the last ERO evaluation the school has:

  • ensured that written reports to parents show achievement in relation to NS
  • helped students to set goals and know more about their achievement and next learning steps
  • participated in a Ministry of Education strategy to accelerate learning in mathematics
  • strengthened bicultural practices for the benefit of Māori children and all children
  • required board reports to clarify the link between targeted funding and student outcomes.

3 Accelerating achievement

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

The school identifies and provides good support for Māori children whose learning and achievement need acceleration. 

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

The principal and teachers identify and support other children, whose learning and achievement need acceleration. The school reports that students with a history of attending multiple schools achieve well if they remain at the school for an extended period. Staff members take particular care to build positive partnerships with families and whānau. They do this to engage children fully in learning and to accelerate their progress.

4 School conditions

How effectively do the school’s curriculum and other organisational processes and practices develop and enact the school’s vision, values, goals and targets for equity and excellence?

The curriculum and practices at this school effectively support its vision for its children. The school has good systems in place for monitoring learners whose progress and achievement are at risk. Leaders and teachers actively tailor learning for these children, and find relevant support from external agencies when appropriate. The school warmly welcomes children new to the area and actively engages with their families to ensure a smooth transition into the school. For these children, the principal routinely seeks information about each child's prior learning to identify and meet their needs.

A strong emphasis is placed on building partnerships between teachers and children. Teachers use their knowledge of children as individuals to build children's confidence as learners. Staff take a collective responsibility to know all children in the school well and contribute as a team to meet the needs of each child. Staff members talk about all learners as 'our children'. Within all areas of school life there is a focus on tuakana-teina relationships which provide leadership opportunities for senior students. These senior student leaders (kaiārahi) plan and run activities for the benefit of all children in the school.

Children benefit from a broad, well-designed curriculum that:

  • includes learning experiences involving people, places and history linked to the school's location
  • provides authentic learning contexts to make learning interesting and relevant
  • acknowledges New Zealand's unique bicultural heritage
  • dedicates regular time for older children to support younger children with their learning
  • develops competencies which help children take responsibility for their learning and relate well to others.

The principal and teachers have clarified and documented learning expectations for writing. The next step is to extend this work to other learning areas. Another next step is to develop shared and agreed understandings for all aspects of moderation. This includes developing a manageable process for collating assessment information used to make and justify OTJs in relation to NS.

The principal and teachers work well together to share ideas, support each other, and reflect on what is working for learners who need additional support. They consider ways to support these students and implement strategies to bring about improvement in learning. There is variable quality in the way teachers evaluate the impact of strategies used to accelerate progress. The next step for teachers is to adopt a more evaluative and consistent approach when recording the impact of their efforts to improve student outcomes.

Leadership in the school is effectively:

  • building positive relationships with parents and whānau
  • creating an orderly learning environment
  • encouraging a collaborative staff culture
  • promoting excellence and equity for all learners.

The board has high expectations that every child will progress well. The principal and trustees have set comprehensive achievement targets and developed a plan to ensure that focus is on accelerating the progress of priority learners. The next step is to incorporate this plan in the board's annual plan.

The board receives multiple reports from the principal about curriculum and achievement. The next step for the board is to ensure that reports they receive are more concise, more evaluative, and clearly show the impact of learning programmes on children's progress. This will put trustees in a better position to scrutinise the information, know what is going well and what needs to improve, as well as where to direct resources.

Trustees have succession plans in place. The next step is to extend succession planning so that it includes documented guidelines for board practices.

5 Going forward

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

Leaders and teachers:

  • know the children whose learning and achievement need to be accelerated
  • respond effectively to the strengths, needs and interests of each child
  • regularly evaluate how well teaching is working for these children
  • act on what they know works well for each child
  • build teacher capability effectively to achieve equitable outcomes for all children
  • are well placed to achieve and sustain equitable and excellent outcomes for all children.

Leaders and teachers work collaboratively to respond well to the needs of all learners. Their next step is to improve evaluation so that the board, leaders and teachers can identify what has worked well for learners, why it worked well and whether or not priority learners made sufficient progress. ERO's publication, Effective School Evaluation: How to do and use evaluation for improvement would be a useful document to guide this process.

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

6 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 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

  • processes for appointing staff

  • stand down, suspensions, expulsions and exclusions

  • attendance

  • compliance with the provisions of the Vulnerable Children Act 2014.

7 Recommendation

To continue to promote equitable and excellent outcomes for all learners, the school should act on the next steps in this report.

Dr Lesley Patterson

Deputy Chief Review Officer

Te Waipounamu Southern

15 March 2017

About the school 

Location

Clinton

Ministry of Education profile number

3723

School type

Full Primary (Years 1 to 8)

School roll

84

Gender composition

Girls: 42

Boys: 42

Ethnic composition

Pākehā

Māori

Other

57

23

4

Review team on site

December 2016

Date of this report

15 March 2017

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review

Education Review

Education Review

January 2014

February 2011

November 2007