Fitzroy School caters for Years 1 to 6 students in Fitzroy, New Plymouth.
A steadily growing roll has resulted in an enrolment zone for the school. Of the current roll of 384 students, 78 are Māori and 14 are Pacific. The largest year groups are in the junior school. The increasing roll has prompted a number of property developments, including two new classrooms, and presented challenges for staffing and use of space.
Many staff are long serving, and several new teaching positions have been established. School and board leadership is stable. The established Fitzroy Family concept continues to underpin school values.
A focus on identifying and monitoring the achievement of students who require additional support to be successful is highly evident in the school.
Assessment information is used to appropriately identify students not achieving in relation to the National Standards and to set achievement targets. These are shared with teachers. School data shows most students, particularly Pacific, achieve well in reading. Although most students achieve well in writing and mathematics, data shows there are groups of students who do not achieve the standards.
Team leaders monitor students’ progress towards set targets throughout the year and undertake an annual review of achievement to report to the board. Further inquiry into trends and patterns in achievement data by teachers and leaders should help to focus strategies to improve outcomes for students.
A range of programmes is provided for learners with additional learning needs. A new role of literacy support teacher has been developed. Teachers track the learning support provided and levels of achievement for these students.
Important next steps are to establish a shared understanding of accelerated learning and clear expectations for effective, focused response to underachieving students. This should assist leaders to make clear judgements about the success of interventions in promoting progress. Teachers should also be able to evaluate the effectiveness of their teaching strategies.
Useful guidelines assist staff to make overall teacher judgements about students' achievement in relation to National Standards. Increased moderation opportunities should strengthen consistency and robustness of judgements.
Three-way conferencing promotes students' involvement in their learning. Written reports to parents provide some useful next steps and information about how parents can help at home.
Recent development of the curriculum to integrate learning areas and incorporate an approach to support students’ thinking skills is highly evident in the school. Teachers are developing consistent use of models and practices to ensure cohesive curriculum implementation.
Students confidently participate in learning. Classes offer opportunities for students to collaborate and support each other. Teachers provide small group teaching in mathematics and literacy and support the focus of learning with related independent tasks.
Provision is made for all students to learn te reo Māori. Classrooms promote a sense of belonging and are busy, attractive and orderly environments. Positive relationships are evident.
Student leadership is fostered and many students take on a range of prominent roles and responsibilities within the school. Students clearly understand expectations for positive behaviour. Values and principles promoted through the Fitzroy Family concept underpin school activities and interactions.
A recent review of this concept sought the views of teachers and students to establish common understandings. Further review should include analysed input from parents, whānau and other groups, to ensure diverse perspectives are represented.
Recently introduced professional learning groups provide opportunities for teachers to share strategies and build professional knowledge. These should support teachers’ growing understanding of effective teaching and learning, and assist them to inquire more deeply into their teaching practice.
It is timely to review the curriculum in partnership with parents, whānau and the wider community, to ensure it reflects their aspirations. Review should consider how well the curriculum responds to the local context and to the cultural diversity of students and their families.
The school is strengthening its provision for Māori students. Funding of external expertise supports curriculum delivery. Te reo Māori me ngā tikanga lessons and kapa haka provide opportunities for students to make connections with their identity, language and culture. Additional opportunities are provided for some students to enrich their te reo learning through extension classes.
The Māori curriculum team provides good support for the development and implementation of the te reo Maori me ngā tikanga programme. Team members are improvement focused. They set direction, reflect on provision and initiate change.
Establishing a more strategic and cohesive plan for development should ensure efforts are coordinated and aligned. This should be guided by a clear vision of success for Maori, as Māori, developed in partnership with local iwi, hapū and whānau, and Ka Hikitia: Accelerating Success 20132017. Use of Tātaiako: Cultural Competencies for Teachers of Maori Learners should support the development of teachers’ capacity to be more culturally responsive in their practice.
Good relationships are evident throughout the school. Trustees have a range of expertise and experience and work collaboratively with school leaders. Staff value and support each other.
The use of external appraisal and professional development for the senior leadership team provides appropriate support for their development as managers and professional leaders. Teachers have a range of leadership opportunities in curriculum and syndicate teams. Developing clear expectations of roles and responsibilities is a next step.
Established practices to support student wellbeing are evident in the school. A number of school staff provide highly responsive care and support for students and liaise with families. Ensuring there are clear, coordinated systems with defined responsibilities for identifying needs, accessing and monitoring support, and evaluating outcomes for students should strengthen practice.
School leaders use planned, regular self review and a schedule provides for the evaluation of a wide range of school activities and initiatives. Review promotes reflection on practices through useful questions and clear indicators of success. Student and teacher perspectives are well represented.
Next steps should include:
Results of review, including annual planning outcomes, should be shared with the community and inform ongoing strategic goals and priorities.
School leaders recognise teacher appraisal needs strengthening. Further development should include: setting of relevant and specific goals; observations of practice with specific feedback to guide improvement; and clear links to teachers’ roles in promoting students’ progress. Planned developments include the use of a portfolio to provide evidence of progress towards goals and support teachers to systematically inquire into the effectiveness of their teaching.
Trustees have focused on ensuring school staffing and property is adequate for new enrolments brought about by increased numbers of students, particularly in the junior area. Senior leaders have recognised the need to review school practices and systems as the school develops.
Improving systems for managing documentation to support self review, accountability and communication should support this. Increased partnerships with parents and whānau in decision-making and goal-setting should also be promoted through review.
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:
During the review, ERO checked the following items because they have a potentially high impact on student achievement:
In order to improve practice, trustees should ensure minutes of board meetings are properly kept and available for public viewing. [Good practice; Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987, Public Records Act 2005]
ERO is likely to carry out the next review in three years.
Joyce Gebbie
National Manager Review Services Central Region (Acting)
20 May 2014
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Location |
New Plymouth |
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Ministry of Education profile number |
2167 |
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School type |
Contributing (Years 1 to 6) |
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School roll |
378 |
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Gender composition |
Female 48%, Male 52% |
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Ethnic composition |
NZ European/Pākehā Māori Pacific Asian Indian Other ethnic groups |
68% 20% 4% 4% 2% 2% |
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Special Features |
Resource Teacher of Literacy Reading Recovery Centre |
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Review team on site |
March 2014 |
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Date of this report |
20 May 2014 |
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Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review Education Review Education Review |
March 2011 April 2008 April 2005 |