School Context
Henry Hill School in Napier is for students in Years 1 to 6. Of the 256 students enrolled, 77% are Māori and 8% Pacific. The roll has increased over the past three years.
The school’s statedvision for student success is to develop a school:Where Kids CAN Achieve Anything!The school values are:resilience, perseverance, responsibility,creative, confident, connected. Theseunderpin teaching and learning and help define the #CanKidz learner profile.
Leaders and teachers regularly report to the board, schoolwide information about outcomes for students in the following areas:
- achievement in reading, writing and mathematics
- wellbeing.
School facilities have been progressively upgraded with both new construction and ongoing refurbishment.
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 achieves good outcomes across most groups of students. Most students achieve at or above expectations in reading, writing and mathematics. There is some variation of achievement between year groups. The over time pattern of achievement for Pākehā students in writing and mathematics is less strong and consistent than for other groups within the school.
Students with more complex learning needs are well identified. Their progress is appropriately monitored against specific, personalised development plans.
1.2 How well is the school accelerating learning for those Māori and other students who need this?
Leaders report that most students targeted as at risk of not achieving made accelerated progress through 2017.
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?
The curriculum provides opportunities that support and promote students’ learning for them to experience success. The school has made significant progress in developing and articulating the Henry Hill Curriculum to be flexible, inclusive and increasingly responsive to diverse groups of learners. This is evident through the strong focus on te ao Māori, bicultural and multicultural perspectives, digital technologies and the use of local contexts and resources. Student voice is valued.
The purposeful environment promotes students’ wellbeing, sense of identity, belonging and engagement in learning. Relationships among students and teachers are positive and respectful. Children are highly engaged in, and talk knowledgeably about, their learning. School systems are culturally responsive. There is a deliberate approach to acknowledging the cultural identity of whānau, aiga and families.
The trustees, principal and leaders have a clear vision for, and strategies to promote, the achievement of equity and excellence across the school. There is an increasing coherence of systems and processes at board, leadership and teacher level that are focused on improving student outcomes.
Leaders have high expectations for teaching and learning. They recognise and use the knowledge and skills of teachers to lead aspects of the curriculum. Extensive professional development is appropriately focused on introducing new methodologies and growing collaborative professional practice.
2.2 What further developments are needed in school processes and practices for achievement of equity and excellence, and acceleration of learning?
Reporting to the board about student achievement is still for broad groups and cohorts of students. The school responds well to Māori and other children whose learning and achievement need acceleration. The progress of individual students is well tracked and monitored. Developing a shared schoolwide understanding of acceleration should enable teachers and leaders to refine teaching practice and reports to more specifically focus on the overall rate of progress of priority and target students. This should also assist in extending and sustaining improved and equitable achievement to all groups of students within the school.
Leaders recognise the importance of continuing to enhance internal evaluation. By developing clear expectations of intended outcomes of programmes at the planning stage they should be better able to evaluate the impact of the newly introduced approaches and initiatives on student learning.
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:
- the curriculum that is flexible, inclusive and increasingly responsive to diverse groups of learners
- a purposeful environment that promotes students’ wellbeing, sense of identity, belonging and engagement in their learning
- increasing coherence of systems and processes at all levels that focus on improving student outcomes.
Next steps
For sustained improvement and future learner success, priorities for further development are in:
- developing common understandings and approaches to accelerating the progress of at risk students
- enhancing internal evaluation to better understand the impact of programmes and initiatives on student outcomes.
ERO’s next external evaluation process and timing
ERO is likely to carry out the next external evaluation in three years.
Alan Wynyard
Deputy Chief Review Officer Central (Acting)
Te Tai Pokapū - Central Region
22 August 2018
About the school
| Location | Napier |
| Ministry of Education profile number | 2574 |
| School type | Contributing (Years 1 to 6) |
| School roll | 265 |
| Gender composition | Male 52%, Female 48% |
| Ethnic composition | Māori 77%
Pākehā 12%
Pacific 8%
Other ethnic groups 3% |
| Students with Ongoing Resourcing Funding (ORS) | Yes |
| Provision of Māori medium education | No |
| Review team on site | May 2018 |
| Date of this report | 22 August 2018 |
| Most recent ERO report(s) | Education Review July 2015 Education Review November 2012 Education Review July 2009 |