Kaitoke School (Claris)

1 Context

Kaitoke School is situated near Claris on Aotea, Great Barrier Island. The school, which is adjacent to the Aotea Island Playcentre, serves children from Years 1 to 8 in multilevel classes. Both staffing and the number of children on the school roll have remained stable over the past three years. This continuity, which the board has actively pursued, has contributed to the school's history of sustained and ongoing improvement.

2 Equity and excellence

The vision and valued outcomes defined by the school for all children are "to aim high in everything you do - Whaia ki te teitei" and to develop values including honesty, self-confidence, a sense of responsibility, tolerance, aroha and compassion. The school's charter goals acknowledge the Treaty of Waitangi and local iwi. There is a strong emphasis on children achieving high levels of literacy and numeracy and becoming lifelong learners. Other important goals are to build children's understanding of the unique features of the island environment and community and to encourage them to value and sustain these.

The school's Public Achievement Information is incomplete for 2013 and 2015. However, the school has data for these years. Its most recent 2016 data shows that the majority of children are achieving at or above the National Standards in reading and writing. Over the past three years the school has had more than 70%, of children at or above the standard in reading and writing and approximately 50% at or above the standard in mathematics. Data for individual children show that in most cases they make good progress as they move through the year levels.

The school's low student numbers mean it is not possible to identify statistically significant disparities in achievement in the National Standards data. Teachers have however noted that programmes have not been as successful in lifting the achievement and accelerating the progress of a small number of Māori learners in writing and for boys in mathematics.

The school is progressively developing its processes for ensuring overall teacher judgements (OTJs) for National Standards are dependable. Teachers use a range of test results, samples of children's work and observations to arrive at their National Standards judgements. They also moderate assessment with each other. Teachers have begun to discuss, assessment approaches (such as the Ministry of Education's PACT tool) and the possible benefits of between school assessment moderation. Building and broadening moderation processes across schools and the curriculum is an important next step.

Since the last ERO evaluation the school has taken a number of steps to improve learning outcomes for children and accelerate their progress. These include:

• teacher professional learning and development to improve mathematics teaching and strengthen the reliability of National Standards judgements in mathematics
• improving systems for collecting and analysing achievement data
• more regularly and systematically tracking and reporting outcomes for children and their progress.

3 Accelerating achievement

How effectively does this school respond to children whose learning and achievement need acceleration?

The school is becoming increasingly effective at raising the achievement and accelerating the progress of children who are currently not achieving the National Standards.

Teachers have in-depth and holistic knowledge of each child. This is a result of their close liaison with parents, their positive and sustained connections with children, and their increasingly good use of assessment information. Children's individual needs and strengths are quickly identified as they come into the school. Those children who require learning support and acceleration are well catered for within the classroom programme and through additional tuition where necessary. Very good support is provided for children with special needs. Parents are well briefed about this support and their children's progress.

Improved assessment systems are resulting in school-wide monitoring of children's progress. This gives teachers good opportunities to collaborate and support each other to build on children's strengths and meet their learning needs. These improvements are also assisting teachers to identify and undertake relevant professional development (PLD) based on identified student needs. Recent mathematics PLD for example, has helped teachers to positively change children's attitudes towards mathematics.

Teachers are successfully accelerating the progress of a good number of the children who are currently not achieving National Standards. In some cases there has been marked acceleration, particularly in reading.

As part of continuing to lift achievement and accelerate children's progress, further work to refine target setting to focus on children whose progress needs acceleration would be worthwhile. Development could also include extending children's understanding of their own learning. Currently, most children are confident to talk about their learning goals and their learning tasks. However, a more in-depth understanding of what makes their work successful and how they can improve the way they learn could give children greater control over their own learning.

4 School conditions

How effectively do the school’s curriculum and other organisational processes and practices develop and enact the school’s vision, values, goals and targets for equity and excellence?

Children benefit from a responsive curriculum that is clearly linked to The New Zealand Curriculum and the school's vision, values and goals. This is underpinned and enhanced by positive and supportive relationships between children, teachers/staff and whānau, sound teaching approaches and good leadership and governance.

The school's ethos of inclusiveness and valuing each child is very evident in the tikanga of the school and the way that visitors are welcomed. All children are supported by teachers and each other to participate fully and share their mihi and whakapapa in Māori or their home language and to waiata. This is an example of the school's recognition of biculturalism and the way it successfully builds children's sense of belonging, promotes high aspirations and encourages responsibility and tuakana-teina relationships.

A very positive feature of the school is its close liaison and consultation with parents. Parents are also strongly supportive of the school and regularly attend assemblies and give assistance with education inside and outside the classroom, as well as with fundraising. Many parents who spoke with ERO said they valued the school's inclusiveness and staff's in depth understanding of children. They also noted the efficient and responsive communication they received about school life and their children's learning and well-being.

While the school's written reports could be more consistently clear regarding children's achievement in relation to National Standards, parents said that through regular three way, child, parent and teacher discussions they gain a good picture of their children's achievement and progress. Some parents expressed an interest in getting more information about how best to help their children's learning at home.

Curriculum and teaching approaches include a strong focus, particularly in the junior school, on giving children 'hands on' and 'real life' experiences and topics for learning that are linked to island life, the community and the environment. The history of Māori and Pākehā settlement of the island is incorporated into teaching topics and programmes. These approaches are helping children to solve problems, build their skills and have a sense of their turangawaiwai. As a result, children find their learning interesting and relevant to them.

An important part of teachers' approach is to seize the range of educational opportunities that arise on the island, such as visiting astronomers, as well as off island learning opportunities. This is helping to ensure that children enjoy an engaging and varied curriculum. Information communications technologies are used well to support children's learning inquiries and to connect them to peers and information in the wider world. These varied opportunities challenge and extend children and make learning 'fun'.

School leadership and governance is well connected to the community. This has helped to establish confidence in the school and its direction and won parent support. The principal's inclusive and consultative approach has created a sense of teachers, trustees and whānau being a team with a common focus on promoting children's education and well-being. Parents note that the principal handles any issues with tact and sensitivity and focuses on finding creative solutions to problems that are in the best interests of children.

The principal recognises and values staff strengths and is strategically building their leadership and teaching capability. This strategic intention could be further supported by developing systems for teachers to keep portfolios in alignment with the requirements of the Education Council and the Practicing Teacher Criteria.

The board has created a stable platform for developing and enacting the school's vision, values and goals. Its leadership and structures help to ensure that it consults and represents the community well. Trustees have a high level of commitment to their role. They are confident to question arrangements and offer divergent perspectives. Trustees have varied backgrounds, a range of experience and growing governance skills.

A good set of policy and procedures underpin board and school operations. Establishing a framework or checklist to ensure all accountabilities are consistently met would be a useful addition to board policies and procedures. The board is strongly focussed on positive outcomes for children and this is clearly reflected in trustees' decision making and resourcing.

Currently, trustees receive a wide range of data on student outcomes through the principal and other reports. Better documented analysis and commentary on this data would help the board evaluate the impact of initiatives and resources on learners and enable trustees to contribute to developing more specific achievement targets.

5 Going forward

How well placed is the school to accelerate the achievement of all children who need it?

Leaders and teachers:

• know the children whose learning and achievement need to be accelerated
• respond to the strengths, needs and interests of each child
• regularly evaluate how teaching is working for these children
• need to systematically act on what they know works for each child
• need to have a plan in place to build teacher capability to accelerate the achievement of all children who need it.

As part of continuing the school's positive developments, aspects of current planning should be made more targeted, and increased priority be given to:

• strengthening moderation and aspects of the analysis and reporting of student achievement data
• increasing the specificity of achievement targets to focus on accelerating the progress of the groups of children who are below the National Standards
• further developing assessment to better facilitate teaching as inquiry
• increasing children's depth of understanding of all aspects of their own learning.

Action: The board, principal and teachers should use the findings of this evaluation, the Effective School Evaluation resource, the Internal Evaluation: Good Practice exemplars and the School Evaluation Indicators to develop more targeted planning to accelerate student achievement. Planning should show how processes and practices will respond effectively to the strengths and needs of children whose learning and achievement need to be accelerated.

As part of this review ERO will continue to monitor the school’s planning and the progress the school makes. ERO is likely to carry out the next full review in three years.

6 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 the following:

• board administration

• curriculum

• management of health, safety and welfare

• personnel management

• 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

• processes for appointing staff

• stand down, suspensions, expulsions and exclusions

• attendance

• compliance with the provisions of the Vulnerable Children Act 2014.

To improve current practice a system should be developed to ensure that police vetting of staff is done well ahead of the date for renewal in order to ensure it remains current for all staff.

7 Recommendation

As part of continuing the school's positive developments it is recommended that school leaders refine aspects of planning and practice to enhance the school's capability to provide equitable and excellent outcomes for all students. 

Graham Randell

Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern

15 February 2017

About the school 

Location	Great Barrier Island
Ministry of Education profile number	1593
School type	Full Primary (Years 1 to 8)
School roll	32
Gender composition	Girls 60% Boys 40%
Ethnic composition	Māori Pākehā Samoan Niue Thai/Pākehā	3 22 4 2 1
Review team on site	December 2016
Date of this report	15 February 2017
Most recent ERO report(s)	Education Review Education Review Supplementary Review	December 2016 November 2013 February 2011

1 Context

What are the important features of this school that have an impact on student learning?

Kaitoke School near Claris, is one of three schools on Aotea, Great Barrier Island. It caters for students up to Year 8 in two multi-level classrooms. The school has experienced roll growth since 2012, and now has 31 students. About one-third of these students began their schooling and have remained at Kaitoke School. Some students leave the island for periods of time and return to the school, and most leave to attend secondary school on the mainland.

A particular feature of the school is the high level of involvement that staff and students have with the wider Great Barrier community. The school initiates and leads several annual community events. The board and principal continue to strengthen cooperative relationships with the two other schools on the island and to increase the sharing of resources. Many students who start school at Kaitoke come from Aotea Island Playcentre next door to the school. Playcentre children and their families are often involved in school activities.

Great Barrier Island’s isolation from the mainland has contributed to the school’s history of frequent staff turnover. However, the current principal has been at the school for two years and teaches in the senior class. A permanent teacher has been at the school for about five years. She has worked in both junior and senior classrooms and provides continuity as well as expertise in the school’s reading recovery programme. A part-time teacher has recently been employed for the junior classroom. The school’s long-term office executive and property manager also provide continuity and valuable assistance for the principal and teachers. The board of trustees includes both experienced and new members. All staff and trustees demonstrate high levels of commitment to the school and the island community.

Whanaungatanga, aroha and manaaki in the school are indicators of strong relationships amongst staff, whānau and students. This contributes to the sense of family and community and the positive and inclusive environment for learning. Students have a sense of security in the school.

ERO’s 2011 report recommended that the board develop stronger connections with the school’s Māori community. ERO also recommended more reflection of the Kaitoke community in the school’s curriculum and greater challenge for older students. ERO acknowledged the ongoing challenge of multi-level teaching, and noted that considerable improvement had been made since its 2009 review. Most of those improvements have been sustained and further progress has been made.

2 Learning

How well does this school use achievement information to make positive changes to learners’ engagement, progress and achievement?

Teachers are making increasingly good use of student achievement information to set targets, plan appropriately, group students for learning, and track their progress. This information is used to report to parents and the board about students’ progress and achievement against the National Standards.

The permanent teacher has a leading role in gathering, recording and analysing achievement data. She provides skilled support for students who have been at risk of not achieving to their potential so that they make accelerated progress. School information indicates that the majority of students achieve the National Standards in literacy and mathematics. Some students achieve well above the National Standards in reading and mathematics.

Teachers have very good knowledge of students’ learning needs. They continually seek ways to actively engage students in their learning. Older students are encouraged to reflect on their learning, are aware of their achievement levels and know what they need to do to improve. They often work independently and are confident contributors to class discussions and school decisions. Students are confident learners and are in a good position to take greater responsibility for their own learning progress.

Students are settled and familiar with school routines and expectations. Senior students have many opportunities to support other students in their learning and to take leadership roles in the school. Students with special learning needs are very well supported and new entrants are quickly included as members of the Kaitoke School family. A buddy system supports tuakana/teina relationships where younger students learn from and are supported by their older peers. These positive features contribute to the caring, inclusive culture and sense of shared responsibility for students’ wellbeing that are evident throughout the school.

Teachers and the board are aware that to improve students’ levels of achievement there is a need for professional development to help teachers increase the consistency of good quality teaching and learning in mathematics. Teachers are also keen to improve their practice in the teaching and assessment of writing.

3 Curriculum

How effectively does this school’s curriculum promote and support student learning?

The school’s curriculum is increasingly broad and effective in promoting and supporting students’ learning. Students have a wide range of learning opportunities that associate with the local island community. Students also have extended learning experiences through national and international internet links, the many visitors to the school and trips that they have to the mainland.

Students’ learning has been enriched by the increased inclusion of te reo Māori in the classrooms and a stronger association with Ngāti Wai and Ngāti Rehua, through Okiwi School. Meaningful projects include sustaining and caring for the natural island environment, community events such as the Matariki celebration, and the annual wharf-to-wharf marathon, which is an international event.

Teachers are hard working and capable. They are committed to professional learning and to improving their practice, as they move towards a more student-led curriculum. They agree that to build on current effective practices and enrich the curriculum, next steps include:

• continuing to build meaningful learning partnerships with students and their families
• working with the community to review and formalise the school’s strategic vision and curriculum, and to ensure that students have good access to all curriculum areas
• inquiring more deeply into their practice and strengthening professional networks with other schools to support their professional learning and development.

How effectively does the school promote educational success for Māori, as Māori?

The school’s curriculum is becoming more effective in fostering Māori students’ confidence as learners and pride in their heritage. Māori students are making good progress in reading and mathematics. They value the school’s positive, caring culture and are encouraged to take leadership roles. While consultation has mostly been informal, the principal is beginning to seek Ngāti Wai and whānau expertise and to build students’ sense of tangatawhenuatanga and kaitiakitanga. He is keen to foster greater whānau engagement in supporting their children’s learning.

The board and principal recognise that they should now make the school’s commitment to Māori success more explicit in school documents, including the charter, and in board practices. They are keen to use Ministry of Education strategy documents such as Ka Hikitia - Accelerating Success, and Tātaiako, to help them reflect on their practice and support their strategic thinking.

4 Sustainable Performance

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

The school is well placed to sustain existing good practices and to continue improving its performance. Students’ wellbeing and success are at the heart of school operations. The board is conscientious and well informed. Trustees are developing a good understanding of their governance role and think strategically about the future. The principal has led positive initiatives for change and improved outcomes for students. The school’s office executive manages systems well.

All staff have significant levels of commitment, work collaboratively for the school and are encouraged to share school leadership. They are valued for their strengths and contributions and respected as professionals. The board and principal have a goal to strengthen students’, and the community’s, view of the school as a vibrant, inclusive place of learning.

The board and principal agree that strengthening sustainability in the school should include a more cohesive, considered and aligned approach to school vision, annual targets, self review and strategic development. This approach should be reflected in the principal’s performance agreement and teachers’ appraisal. More specific targets and reporting would help the board to monitor progress against strategic goals for continued improvement.

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.

When is ERO likely to review the school again?

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

Dale Bailey

National Manager Review Services Northern Region

21 February 2014

About the School

Location	Claris, Great Barrier Island
Ministry of Education profile number	1593
School type	Full Primary (Years 1 to 8)
School roll	31
Gender composition	Boys 16 Girls 15
Ethnic composition	NZ European/Pākehā Māori Pacific	22 7 2
Review team on site	November 2013
Date of this report	21 February 2014
Most recent ERO report(s)	Supplementary Review Supplementary Review Education Review	February 2011 November 2009 June 2008