Highfield School

Highfield School

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

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

Highfield School is a primary school for children in Years 1-8 located in Timaru. The school includes a specialist classroom for ongoing resourcing scheme (ORS) funded students. The school’s vision for students is that they thrive in their learning through a focus on creativity, wellbeing and identity.

The school’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are:

  • Ako – engaging teaching and learning and responsive curriculum

  • Auahatanga – provision of learning opportunities and environments that foster creativity

  • Hauora – programmes and practices that foster student health and wellbeing

  • Tuakiri – inclusive, culturally responsive practices and relationships that foster pride in identity.

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

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate how well the school’s inclusive, culturally responsive curriculum and teaching practice is supporting positive learning and wellbeing outcomes for diverse learners.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is that the school has a diverse school roll, both in terms of ethnicities and abilities, and is committed to providing excellent, equitable learning outcomes for all.

The school expects to see:

  • ORS funded learners, neurodiverse learners and learners with specific learning difficulties thriving socially and academically

  • Pacific learners progressing and achieving at expected rates and levels in literacy and numeracy

  • Māori and other students having authentic opportunities to participate in tikanga Māori, growing in their knowledge of mātauranga Māori and progressing in te reo Māori learning.

Strengths

The school can draw from the following strengths to support it in its goal to support excellent and equitable outcomes for diverse learners:

  • school governance and leadership that is committed to inclusion and equity for all

  • inclusive school culture that promotes a sense of belonging for all students

  • strengthening inclusive teaching practices that are increasingly removing barriers to learning for diverse students

  • developing school-wide expectations, guidelines and structures for the delivery of culturally responsive and inclusive curriculum and teaching.

Where to next?

Moving forward the school will prioritise:

  • continued development of teacher capability to deliver inclusive, culturally responsive curriculum and teaching

  • collaborative development of school-wide plans and guidelines for inclusive, culturally responsive curriculum and teaching

  • ongoing review and evaluation to know about the effectiveness of curriculum and teaching practice on learning outcomes for diverse students.

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

1 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

Highfield School

Board Assurance with Regulatory and Legislative Requirements Report 2023 to 2026

As of March 2023, the Highfield 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

Actions for Compliance

ERO and the board have identified the following areas of non-compliance during the board assurance process: 

  • Provision of appropriate career education and guidance for all students in Year 7 and above

[Education and Training Act 2020 section 103 (b)]

The board has since taken steps to address the areas of non-compliance identified.

Further Information

For further information please contact Highfield 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

1 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

Highfield School

Findings

Highfield School has made progress in addressing its priorities for improvement. Board members, the principal and teachers are working together to ensure positive outcomes for students. The school is now collecting reliable learning information to inform classroom and school-wide planning.  Collaborative practices are successfully supporting an improvement focus likely to improve and sustain student progress and achievement. 

1 Background and Context

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

Highfield School, located in Timaru, caters for learners in Years 1 to 8. There are 304 students at the school, of whom 21 % of the students identify as Māori.   

This report outlines Highfield’s progress in addressing the areas for review and development in ERO’s 2020 Education Review report.

A Student Achievement Facilitator Practitioner (SAF) from the Ministry of Education worked with the school in 2020. Since the 2020 report there has been little change to the teaching team. The board has a mix of new and experienced members.

2 Review and Development

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

Priorities identified for review and development

The 2020 ERO report identified that the school needed to:  

  • improve the use of school-wide achievement information
  • review and update the school’s curriculum
  • build capability in evaluating and knowing the impact and effectiveness of programmes and practices on outcomes for students
  • address some areas of non-compliance and improve its practices around safety checks of the workforce as stated in the school’s policy.  
Progress

The principal, teachers and trustees have made progress in addressing the areas identified in ERO’s 2020 report. The principal and senior leaders have taken a systematic approach to address the identified areas for improvement. In 2020 the school made well-considered changes to the leadership and teaching-team structure.  This reorganisation has created greater collegiality within the school.

Use of achievement information

Leaders and teachers have improved the processes for the collection and analysis of learning data. Student learning information is more reliable. Teachers are using sound moderation practices to ensure judgements are consistent across the school. The school is using the Progress and Consistency Tool (PaCT) to support the making of evidence-based judgements of students’ progress and achievement. Teachers’ greater analysis of data is monitoring the progress of students and identifying areas of concern. Teachers and leaders are giving greater attention to the amount of progress students are making over time.

The School Board is now more fully informed of school-wide achievement and progress. Members are making better sense of the school’s achievement picture. They are making good use of this information to inform their decisions. Board members and school leaders have strengthened the setting of charter targets. Targets are clearer and guide what is to be achieved. Reports about the targets show that in 2020 approximately two thirds of the targeted students made accelerated progress.

Curriculum

Leaders and teachers are placing a greater focus on building effective teaching and learning. Growing relational trust and the change in team structure has led to more coherency, consistency and collaboration within and between the teaching teams. Teachers and teacher aides work together to better support students at risk of not succeeding. They identify and share useful teaching strategies to support the learning of all students. 

Teachers, teacher aides and leaders have sought a range of opportunities through research and professional development to increase their awareness of current best practice.

All staff make considered use of external expertise to support the redevelopment of the school curriculum. School leaders have gathered and valued the perspectives of various groups within the school community, including students, to inform the revision of the school’s charter, values and curriculum. 

Knowing about the impact of teaching programmes

The improved assessment and recording of data provide the teachers and team leaders with a basis to evaluate the impact of teaching programmes. Teachers regularly reflect, and discuss in their teams, the progress of students and impact of their teaching. A useful tool for recording and reflecting on practice supports this evaluation for improvement.

Areas of compliance to improve

The school is now:

  • reporting school-wide achievement information to its community
  • meeting with whānau Māori to build relationships, share plans and targets, report achievement and discuss the further development of the school’s localised curriculum
  • completing the annual analysis of variance as required
  • reporting monthly on aspects of meeting the board’s obligations of being a good employer
  • confirming the identity of new employees as stated in school’s policy and procedures.

Key next steps

School leaders continue to:

  • review and refine the guiding documents that reflect a localised curriculum and ensure students experience the breadth of the New Zealand Curriculum
  • enhance the assessment and moderation practices to align with recent professional development in literacy and mathematics and to know about the progress and achievement of significant groups in the school
  • develop processes for evaluating the impact of school-wide initiatives.

3 Sustainable performance and self review

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

The school is well placed to sustain and continue to improve and review its performance.

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.

Conclusion

Highfield School has made progress in addressing its priorities for improvement. Board members, the principal and teachers are working together to ensure positive outcomes for students. The school is now collecting reliable learning information to inform classroom and school-wide planning.  Collaborative practices are successfully supporting an improvement focus likely to improve and sustain student progress and achievement. 

The school has made sufficient progress to transition into ERO’s Evaluation for Improvement process. 

Dr Lesley Patterson
Director Review and Improvement Services (Southern)
Southern Region - Te Tai Tini

15 December 2021

About the school

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

Highfield School 

School Context

Highfield School is a full primary school, for Years 1-8, located in Timaru. It has a roll of 275 students, 17% of whom are Māori. The school is culturally diverse. High dependency students are catered for within Te Whare Maru teaching space and regular classrooms.

Since the 2017 ERO review, there have been changes in leadership of the school. A new principal was appointed in late 2019 and a new board chair in 2020. Two assistant principals and new team co-ordinators were appointed following a leadership restructure in 2020. Several new teachers and board members have also been appointed. A school enrolment zone has been in place since 2018.

The school vision is ‘together we are brilliant’ and the values of ‘motivated, respect, thinking, resilient, honest’ underpin school priorities and strategic direction.

Key strategic goals for 2020 have been collaboratively developed by the school community and focus on learning, wellbeing and creativity.

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

  • student achievement in reading, writing and mathematics
  • behavioural trends
  • inquiry 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 not yet achieving equitable outcomes for all students.

Achievement information between 2016 and 2019 is variable. It shows inconsistencies overtime in outcomes for students’ learning and progress. Achievement overall was higher in 2019 than 2018, with a large majority of students achieving at or above curriculum expectations in reading and writing and most achieving in mathematics. There has been a small increase in student achievement in mathematics overtime, including for Māori. Girls achievement in reading, writing and mathematics was higher than for boys.

The 2019 achievement data, for Years 1 to 3 in reading shows a significant drop, writing also declined in Years 2 and 3 from that achieved in 2018. In Years 6 and 8 achievement outcomes were lower than in other senior groups in reading, writing and mathematics.

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

Leaders and teachers have yet to develop useful ways of tracking student achievement for groups of students and at a whole school level.

Accelerated achievement is evident for a small number of students in a targeted literacy programme. At classroom level teachers can show progress for groups of students.

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 board and newly established leadership have worked collaboratively with the school community to develop a shared vision and strategic direction for the school. There is clear alignment between the vision and strategic goals, with priority given to continuing to build a positive school culture.

School leaders, teachers and the board place emphasis on successful outcomes for students’ wellbeing and achievement. They regularly seek the perspectives of students and whānau. Student voice is valued and used to inform decision making. Students are actively involved in a range of meaningful leadership opportunities to provide a sense of ownership and belonging.

Targeted and ongoing professional learning for leaders and teachers continue to strengthen teaching practice, including the use of assessment information to inform teaching. Good use is made of external expertise to support school improvement and build teacher capability.

Students with additional learning needs benefit from individualised programmes. They have regular opportunities to learn alongside their peers.

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

The board and leaders should establish improved systems and practices for collecting, analysing, tracking and reporting school-wide progress and achievement information, particularly for priority learners. This will enable them to be assured that schoolwide data is reliable. This should also include strengthening school targets by focusing on accelerating progress for students who need this.

Developing and documenting the school’s localised curriculum is a priority. This includes providing clear expectations for teaching and learning across all areas of the curriculum. New Zealand’s bicultural heritage should also be clearly reflected within the school’s enacted and documented curriculum.

School leaders and trustees should continue to give a high priority to building leadership capability across the school to enable and support collaborative and shared practices including building internal evaluation capacity and capability in order to know which initiatives and practices are most effective in achieving equity, excellence and acceleration of learning.

The board and leaders have identified, and ERO’s evaluation confirms, the need to continue to build the learning culture of the school and embed the recently developed expectations for positive management of behaviours.

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 Highfield School’s performance in achieving valued outcomes for its students is: Needs development.

ERO will maintain an ongoing relationship with the school to build capacity and evaluate progress.

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:

  • collaborative leadership and governance that prioritises student learning and wellbeing
  • ongoing professional learning provisions to build shared understandings of good practice across teaching teams
  • the improved positive working relationship and communication within the school and with its community.

Next steps

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

  • collecting, analysing and reporting reliable school-wide achievement information
  • reviewing and updating the school’s documented curriculum
  • evaluating and knowing the impact and effectiveness of programmes and practices on outcomes for students.

Actions for compliance

ERO identified non-compliance in relation to the board’s reporting processes to the community.

In order to address this, the board of trustees must:

  • report to the school’s community on the progress and achievement of students as a whole and for groups of students, including those who have special needs (including gifted and talented students)
    [NAG 1(c)]
  • report to the school’s community on the progress and achievement of Māori students against the school’s plans and targets
    [NAG2(d)]
  • include in the annual report a statement which provides an analysis of any variance between the school’s performance and the relevant aims, objectives, directions, priorities or targets set out in the school charter
    [section87(2)(e) Education Act 1989]
  • report in its annual report on the extent of its compliance with the personnel policy on being a good employer (including the equal employment opportunities programmes
    [77A State Sector Act 1988]
    .

Areas for improved compliance practice

To improve current practice, the board of trustees should:

  • ensure that the safety checking of the workforce includes identity confirmation, as stated in the school’s policy and procedures.

Recommendations to other agencies

ERO recommends that the Ministry of Education and New Zealand School Trustees Association provide support for the school in order to bring about improvement in:

  • the analysis and reporting of school-wide achievement information for groups of students
  • reviewing and updating the school’s curriculum and assessment practices
  • building knowledge and understanding of effective internal evaluation and inquiry for improvement
  • board roles and responsibilities, including reporting to its community.

Dr Lesley Patterson
Director Review and Improvement Services (Southern)
Southern Region - Te Tai Tini
5 June 2020  

About the school

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