Cobham School

Education institution number:
2550
School type:
Contributing
School gender:
Co-Educational
Definition:
Not Applicable
Total roll:
25
Telephone:
06 867 3864
Address:

264A Lytton Road, Elgin-Gisborne, Gisborne

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Cobham School

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within 12 months of the Education Review Office and Cobham 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 

Cobham School is a small primary school located in Gisborne and provides education for students in Years 1 to 6. Whānau is prioritised in the school, and this is reflected in the school motto: "...he iti pounamu, he whānau kotahi...""...small but precious, whānau first..."

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

  • ensure learners will have the skills and opportunities to successfully access the national and local curricula

  • ensure learners and staff are happy, healthy and able to engage positively and productively with learning

  • provide a localised curriculum that focuses on culture, environment, and the arts.

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

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate how well schoolwide conditions, including teaching, learning and assessment practices, are impacting learner wellbeing, engagement and achievement.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is the identified need to:

  • improve attendance, engagement, progress and achievement for all learners

  • develop and maintain high expectations for positive behaviour and wellbeing

  • strengthen leadership and stewardship to improve the school’s performance.

The school expects to see:

  • consistent and sustained progress towards equitable and excellent outcomes for all learners

  • regular attendance rates for all learners

  • schoolwide consistency in effective teaching, learning and assessment practices, that result in improved outcomes for all learners

  • shared and enacted expectations for positive wellbeing for learners and staff

  • leadership for learning, resulting in effective decision-making and resourcing that significantly improves the school’s performance and learner outcomes.

Strengths

The school can draw from the following strengths to support its goal:

  • Staff who are committed to improving outcomes for all learners.

  • Engagement with external support in order to facilitate improvement in assessment practices, leadership and decision-making.

  • A clearly structured plan for improvement that clarifies and supports actions for success.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise achieving outcomes of equity and excellence for all learners through:

  • Developing a leadership of learning framework to guide and confirm implementation of:

    • priority actions to achieve outcomes of equity and excellence for all learners

    • robust systems and processes for monitoring, evaluating and responding to, the impact of actions on learner outcomes

    • systems and processes to ensure actions of ongoing improvement in response to internal evaluation.

  • Strengthened and consistent expectations and systems for positive behaviour and wellbeing for all.

  • Staff professional learning focused on strengthening consistent teaching, learning and assessment practises across the school in reading, writing and mathematics.

  • The Board of Trustees engaging in professional learning to support further understanding and implementation of effective governance roles and responsibilities.

ERO has concerns about:

  • The leadership of learning and stewardship to bring about the required improvements for equitable and excellent outcomes for all learners.

Recommendation:

The school continues to focus on valued outcomes for learners in a positive environment for teaching and learning while embedding effective leadership and stewardship.

The Ministry of Education is working alongside the school.

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

25 September 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

Cobham School

Board Assurance with Regulatory and Legislative Requirements Report 2022 to 2025

As of August 2022, the Cobham 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 Cobham 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

25 September 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

Cobham School

1 Background and Context

What is the background and context for this school’s review?

Cobham School is located  in Gisborne. It caters for students from Years 1 to 6. All students attending the school identify as Māori.

Since the November 2019 ERO report there have been staffing changes. A new principal was appointed at the beginning of 2020.  Some experienced trustees provide continuity on the board.

The previous report identified several areas for improvement. Over the past 18 months the school has participated in an ERO evaluation process to support improvement. The principal and board have received ongoing support from the Ministry of Education (MoE) to bring about the changes required.

The school is part of the Taha Tinana (Gisborne) Kāhui Ako.

2 Review and Development

How effectively is the school addressing its priorities for review and development?

Priorities identified for review and development

The overall goal was to strengthen principal leadership for high quality teaching and learning and enhance board capability for effective stewardship. Areas of focus to support this have included:

  • developing a clear strategic direction for the school
  • developing a school curriculum that supports student engagement and provides meaningful learning opportunities
  • collating and analysing dependable student progress and achievement information
  • building teacher capability, including aligning professional learning and development to school goals
  • board training to support trustees understanding of their roles and responsibilities.

The following areas of non-compliance were also identified:

  • procedures for the prevention of bullying
  • police vetting of non-teaching staff
  • crisis prevention/preparedness or support
  • complaints policy and procedure.
Progress

There has been a deliberate focus on creating an environment that promotes student wellbeing and engagement in learning. The school accesses support from a wide range of external agencies, personnel and community resources to assist with this. Community engagement in school activities has strengthened.

School reported data for the end of 2020 shows significant underachievement across the school in reading, writing and mathematics.  This information has been used to inform priorities, student learning foci and professional learning and development for 2021.

There has been some progress made in establishing positive learning relationships in the classroom. Students learn in a caring environment where their successes are acknowledged. Staff know the children and their whānau well.

Students have opportunities to work in different ways and are given some choice in the learning tasks to focus on.  Teachers organise the day to maximise learning opportunities and respond to the needs of the students.

Support staff work alongside teachers in classrooms to support student learning and wellbeing.

Key next steps

The principal and ERO agree the next steps for the school are to:

  • build teacher capability – understand what effective teaching practice means and looks like
  • build collective capacity to accelerate learning for all students and raise the overall levels of achievement
  • understand and use school processes and systems to deliberately plan for, track, monitor, record and report students’ achievement and progress.

This should support teachers to have a greater sense of urgency and higher expectations for student learning and achievement. 

Developing a responsive localised curriculum remains a strategic priority.  Progress so far has included:

  • a review of the school’s mission and values
  • initial planning to ensure the localised curriculum gives effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi
  • initial consultation with iwi about future direction for the school
  • professional learning and development that is focused on effective teaching to raise student achievement
  • review of the range and use of assessment tools and the development of an assessment schedule
  • accessing community resources to extend the range of learning opportunities for students.

The development of a curriculum action plan should enable a more considered and coherent approach to this work.

Consultation with parents and whānau has informed the development of the school’s charter. Strategic priorities are focused on improving outcomes for learners. The annual plan identifies how these goals will be progressed in 2021. Identified success criteria should support the monitoring and evaluation of progress towards achieving these goals.

The board is receiving support from a Limited Statutory Manager (LSM) to strengthen their knowledge and understanding of the stewardship role.  They are supportive of the principal and committed to caring for the school and wider community. Trustees are using an online platform to manage and review policies and related procedures. All areas of non-compliance have been addressed.

3 Sustainable performance and self review

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

The school needs to continue to grow its capacity to sustain and improve its performance.

Trustees receive useful information through the principal’s and LSM reports on school operation, learning opportunities, student achievement and personnel.

Key next steps

The principal, LSM and ERO agree key next steps for the board are to:

  • build trustee capability to understand and undertake their roles, responsibilities and legislative obligations
  • scrutinise information provided so they understand their core business, student learning, achievement and progress and use this to inform decision making.

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
  • school policies in relation to meeting the requirements of the Children’s Act 2014.

4 Recommendations

Recommendations, including any to other agencies for ongoing or additional support.

ERO recommends that the MoE and New Zealand School Trustees Association (NZSTA) continue to support the board in order to bring about the following improvements:

  • developing a coherent localised curriculum
  • improving systems, processes and practices to raise student achievement.

Conclusion

There has been a deliberate focus on creating an environment that promotes student wellbeing. Underachievement across the school continues. Community engagement and support for the school has strengthened. Strategic priorities are focused on raising student achievement. The school continues to need support to grow its capacity to sustain and improve its performance. ERO will continue to work with Cobham School as part of the Evaluation for Improvement process.

Phil Cowie
Director Review and Improvement Services (Central)
Central Region - Te Tai Pūtahi Nui

24 May 2021

About the school

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