Kumeroa School

Kumeroa School

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report 

Background

This Profile Report was written within 6 months of the Education Review Office and Kumeroa 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 

Kumeroa School is situated in the Tararua District, east of Dannevirke and Woodville. It provides educational opportunities to students in Years 1 to 8 in a rural setting.

Kumeroa School’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are for all students succeed in an environment that:

  • supports people to be the best they can be
  • encourages thriving
  • is relationship focused
  • Is welcoming and inclusive.

You can find a copy of the school’s charter, strategic and annual plans on Kumeroa School’s website.

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate the impact of new teaching practices on student achievement in mathematics.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is a desire to:

  • further raise the engagement and achievement of students in mathematics
  • identify and implement effective practices in the teaching of mathematics at all class levels.

The school expects to see students who are engaged and enjoying mathematics with teachers who utilise strategies proving to be the most effective in mathematics teaching. They also expect to see a rise in achievement and confidence in mathematics across the school.

Strengths

The school can draw from the following strengths to support the school in its goal to raise student engagement and achievement in mathematics and to improve teacher practice in this area of the curriculum.

  • A safe learning environment where students are ready to learn and able to make mistakes.
  • Teachers willing to make changes to their practice to improve learning opportunities for students.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise:

  • further developing opportunities for students to grow their mathematical skills, confidence and a positive attitude to this subject
  • provision of professional support to staff to develop their understanding of effective teaching in mathematics.

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

12 March 2024

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

Kumeroa School

Board Assurance with Regulatory and Legislative Requirements Report 2023 to 2026

As of November 2023, the Kumeroa 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 second language instruction in Years 7 and 8 is insufficient.
    [New Zealand Curriculum]

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

Further Information

For further information please contact Kumeroa 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

12 March 2024 

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

Kumeroa School - 31/05/2019

School Context

Kumeroa School, a rural school close to Woodville, has students in Years 1 to 8 and a roll of 46. The school’s overarching vision is to develop future-focused learners who ‘GROW’. This is supported through the valued outcomes for students to: ‘guide and lead others, be reflective, resilient and reliable, open to lifelong learning and willing to learn independently and collaboratively’.

Since the August 2016 ERO evaluation extensive property development has occurred. The principal was appointed in 2018 and a new teaching team established at the beginning of 2019. A core group of experienced trustees has provided continuity of stewardship in a time of staffing change.

Current strategic aims are to further develop the curriculum, student engagement and achievement, wellbeing and effective governance for sustainability. There is a particular focus on accelerating progress for identified students in literacy and mathematics.

Leaders and teachers regularly report to the board, schoolwide information about achievement in reading, writing and mathematics in relation to the levels of The New Zealand Curriculum.

Teachers are engaged in professional learning to strengthen school wide assessment practices.

The school is part of the Tararua Kāhui Ako.

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 continues to focus on attaining excellent outcomes for children. Schoolwide end-of-year achievement information for 2018, indicates that most students achieved at or above expectations in reading, with a high majority in writing. Over time, achievement in mathematics has been variable with the majority of students achieving at or above expectation. Māori learners achieve as well as their school peers in reading, writing and mathematics.

Achievement overall has remained relatively consistent over the past three years, particularly in reading. Boys are achieving less well in reading and writing. The school is aware of this disparity and there is evidence that this is reducing over time.

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

Of the students identified in 2018 as needing accelerated learning, most made progress, with some showing acceleration in reading, writing and mathematics.

Students whose learning requires acceleration are identified, monitored and well known to staff. Deliberate and targeted teaching strategies are actioned to accelerate their learning. A range of interventions are responsive to the needs of individual 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?

Collaboration and a strong sense of community successfully foster students’ engagement in their learning. They experience positive relationships within a welcoming environment, well aligned to the school’s vision and values. Students work well together and confidently articulate their learning. They regularly share their achievements with parents, whānau and community.

Student-led learning is successfully promoted through meaningful projects that draw on their life experiences and are responsive to their strengths and interests. Students have authentic learning opportunities through the ‘Agri curriculum’. They make links to relevant community expertise to enhance and support this learning.

Students benefit from a curriculum that increasingly incorporates aspects of te ao Māori. Whānau, Māori, parents and teachers continue to support the school to develop appropriate tikanga such as pōwhiri, waiata and haka that reflects the school community. Students have ongoing opportunities to participate in kapahaka.

A strategic and well aligned approach to change and improvement is informed by a process of ongoing review and inquiry. Student achievement and wellbeing is given priority and whānau, parent and community perspectives are valued to support ongoing improvement. The principal is actively involved in a range of professional learning and development opportunities to grow leadership. The strengthened appraisal process provides a useful framework to support staff inquiry into the effectiveness of their teaching linked to student outcomes.

The board actively represents and serves the school community. A consistent approach to upholding the school’s vision has successfully contributed to sustainability of school operation during times of change.

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

The review of the documented curriculum is underway to reflect the enacted, evolving curriculum and to support consistency of practice across the school. Guidance should include:

  • capturing the localised ‘Agri Curriculum’, place-based education and integration of te ao Māori concepts
  • formalising guidelines for teaching, learning and assessment practices
  • showing clearly the alignment to the principles and key competencies of The New Zealand Curriculum
  • provision for career education, learning and second language options for students in Years 7 and 8.

Trustees and leaders engage in reflection and inquiry to inform decisions for improvement. To further support this process, trustees, leaders and teachers should continue to develop a shared understanding of internal evaluation. This should enable them to evaluate the effectiveness of newly implemented processes and practices in relation to improving outcomes for students.

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 Kumeroa School’s performance in achieving valued outcomes for its students is: Well placed.

ERO’s Framework: Overall School Performance 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:

  • a responsive curriculum that ensures students experience a wide range of authentic learning opportunities
  • sustained and knowledgeable stewardship that is committed to upholding the school’s vision and values
  • continued community engagement that supports student learning.

Next steps

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

  • formally documenting all aspects of the current curriculum for continuity and consistency of teacher practice
  • having a shared understanding of internal evaluation to further support trustees, leaders and teachers to measure the effectiveness of systems, processes and teaching practices on learner outcomes and consequently inform ongoing decision making.

Areas for improved compliance practice

To improve current practice, the board of trustees should:

  • review the child protection policy to ensure that it meets the requirements of the Children’s Act 2014 and provide teachers with relevant training.

Phillip Cowie 
Director Review and Improvement Services 
Central Region

31 May 2019

About the school

LocationKumeroa
Ministry of Education profile number601
School typeFull Primary (Years 1 to 8)
School roll46
Gender compositionMale 34, Female 12
Ethnic composition

Māori 5

NZ European/Pākehā 41

Students with Ongoing Resourcing Funding (ORS)No
Provision of Māori medium educationNo
Review team on siteMay 2019
Date of this report31 May 2019
Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review August 2016

Education Review May 2013

Education Review December 2009