Colyton School

Colyton School

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within 14 months of the Education Review Office and Colyton 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 

Colyton School is in a rural setting on the outskirts of Feilding. The school caters for students in years 1 to 8.

Colyton School’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are:

  • to encourage students and teachers to reach their potential, be confident and capable learners, be kind and secure individuals and contribute positively to the school community

  • to establish a strong, relevant, and robust curriculum based on best practices and innovation while reflecting the local environment

  • to prepare students for the future, equip them with necessary skills, reflect the local and cultural environment, and honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi through planning, teaching and learning.

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

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate how well delivery of the school’s localised curriculum achieves equitable and excellent outcomes for all learners.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is:

  • leader’s analysis of achievement has identified an appropriate focus on building equitable and excellent outcomes for boys when compared to girls. The school has also identified strengthening culturally responsive practices aligned to their ongoing development of the localised curriculum. ERO and the school will work together to gather information over time and gain evaluative insights into the impact of the school’s deliberate actions on outcomes for boys and further development of the culturally responsive curriculum.

The school expects to see:

  • equity and excellence for students, accelerated progress for learners working toward curriculum expectations and a positive shift in boys achieving in writing, similar to girls

  • effective teaching and learning, reflecting shared strategies and new approaches, in the delivery of literacy and culturally responsive practices

  • meaningful stakeholder engagement that connects the rich resources and funds of knowledge of whānau, iwi and the community in design and delivery of the localised curriculum

  • highly effective teaching and learning matching the schools shared expectations of effective and culturally responsive curriculum practice.

Strengths

The school can draw from the following strengths to support its goal to strengthen equity and excellence for boys and strengthen culturally responsive curriculum delivery and practice for learners:

  • leaders, trustees, and staff pursue the vision, values, and goals of the school and their community to support equitable and excellent outcomes for learners

  • between 2021 and 2022 the school reported a positive trajectory in the achievement of boys in writing, showing most learners achieving curriculum expectations

  • teachers share practice and participate in professional learning and development (PLD) aligned to the schools’ key priorities

  • classroom environments are positive and productive, encouraging the purposeful engagement of students in learning.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise:

  • setting specific targets and documenting the deliberate actions the school will undertake to achieve equity and excellence

  • engaging in partnership with key stakeholders to build on the resources of the local community to inform ongoing development of the localised curriculum

  • continued participation of school personnel in PLD aligned to the schools’ curriculum priorities, inclusive of culturally responsive practice

  • gathering information, at points in time, using progress data, observation of practice and stakeholder voice to inform evaluation insights into the impact of curriculum developments.

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

13 November 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

Colyton School

Board Assurance with Regulatory and Legislative Requirements Report 2022 to 2025

As of November 2022, the Colyton 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 Colyton 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

13 November 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

Colyton School - 20/12/2017

School Context

Colyton School is on the rural outskirts of Feilding. It caters for students Years 1 to 8. At the time of review there were 105 children on the roll, with 11 identifying as Māori.

The school’s vision is based on the core values of self-confidence, personal best, initiative, respect, integrity, and tenacity, and working together to achieve more.

TheNew Zealand CurriculumThe school states that all students will be able to accessthrough the Colyton School curriculum, and that students will be supported to fully participate in and contribute to the school, community environment and global community.

Leaders and teachers regularly report to the board, schoolwide information about outcomes for students in the following areas: progress and achievement in reading, writing and mathematics.

Since the August 2014 ERO report, school leadership has changed twice. The current principal began at the school at the start of Term 3, 2017.

The school is part of the newly established Feilding Kāhui Ako|Community of Learning.

Evaluation Findings

1 Equity and excellence – valued outcomes for students

1.1 How well is the school achieving equitable and excellent outcomes for all its students?

Overall levels of achievement for all students have steadily improved since the previous ERO review.

In 2016 nearly all students achieved at or above expectations in reading, writing and mathematics. Māori students achieved at similar levels to their peers within the school.

Girls consistently achieve at slightly higher levels than boys. School leaders have identified that raising achievement for boys, particularly in writing, is a priority.

Almost all students who graduate from the school at the end of Year 8 have achieved learning success in relation to national expectations.

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

The school has strengthened its effectiveness in responding to those Māori and other students whose learning and achievement need acceleration.

Māori students identified as at risk of underachievement at the end of 2016 have all been supported to successfully accelerate their progress. Approaching the end of 2017, almost all Māori students are now achieving well in reading, writing and mathematics.

The small number of other students whose learning and achievement requires acceleration are identified and provided with additional support. Many of these students make good and accelerated progress. Almost all boys targeted for improvement in literacy in 2017 have experienced accelerated progress and are now achieving well.

2 School conditions for equity and excellence

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

The board of trustees has a charter and annual plan that provide clear direction for school improvement and development. Professional learning and development (PLD) for improved teacher practice is aligned to whole school priorities and the needs of students.

Purposeful classroom environments are underpinned by positive and respectful relationships. Student voice is recognised, valued and responded to. Students are encouraged to make decisions about their learning, and are increasingly aware of their next steps for improvement.

Teachers and leaders are collaborative and collegial. They continue to strengthen how they use achievement information to improve student learning, achievement and progress through planning collaboratively, sharing good practice, and collectively tracking and monitoring student achievement and progress. They engage in regular reflection and consideration of ways to improve outcomes for students, undertake combined inquiry, and develop useful connections across the learning community.

An appropriate range of standardised and formative assessment tools are used effectively to measure student achievement and progress. The accuracy and dependability of teachers’ overall assessment judgements about students’ learning is established through internal and external moderation.

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

Leaders plan to review and develop the curriculum. This provides opportunity to include guidance for:

  • effective teaching and assessment practices, and ensuring that assessment frameworks developed by the school align more closely with national expectations
  • developing explicit schoolwide targets for the progress and desired outcomes for students who need acceleration, and a relentless focus on improving the progress of those students
  • the school’s desired expectations for graduating students
  • how the curriculum will respond to students’ culture and identity
  • relevant and appropriate learning experiences that support community aspirations, and children’s transitions to the next phase of their education.

The current appraisal process is not fully effective or sufficiently implemented to support teachers to develop their practice. School leaders have identified this and a newly developed and useful appraisal process has been adopted for 2018. This should offer the challenge and rigour required to enhance teaching effectiveness, and provide opportunities to reflect on the impact of practice on student outcomes. It should also support teachers to have evidence that demonstrates they meet the standards for registration.

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 Vulnerable Children Act 2014.

4 Going forward

Key strengths of the school

For sustained improvement and future learner success, the school can draw on existing strengths in:

  • effective teaching practices and learning environments that are successfully developed and managed to support increased student collaboration, participation and engagement

  • clear and consistent expectations for teaching and learning that have supported and sustained positive outcomes for students

  • leadership that supportsand encourages teachersto improve practice through professional learning and developmentaligned to school priorities and the needs of students.

Next steps

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

  • strengthening systematic, evidence-based internal evaluation of the impact of practices on student outcomes for greater understanding of what makes the biggest difference

  • measuring the impact of curriculum review and development on teaching and learning, and enabling teachers to inquire fully into the effectiveness of their practice.

ERO’s next external evaluation process and timing

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

Patricia Davey

Deputy Chief Review Officer Central (Acting)

Te Tai Pokapū - Central Region

20 December 2017

About the school

Location

Colyton

Ministry of Education profile number

2354

School type

Full Primary (Years 1 to 8)

School roll

105

Gender composition

Male 56, Female 49

Ethnic composition

Pākehā 86%
Māori 10%
Pacific 4%

Provision of Māori medium education

No

Review team on site

October 2017

Date of this report

20 December 2017

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review, August 2014
Education Review, October 2011
Education Review, October 2009