Findings
The school has made some progress towards addressing key areas for development. Some new systems and processes are in place and a more positive, collegial culture is evident. The board and principal have established a good working relationship and shared understandings about governance and management roles. A sustained focus on internal evaluation is needed, to build the collective capability of the school to evaluate the effectiveness of the recent changes and plan for ongoing improvement.
On the basis of the findings of this review, ERO ‘s overall evaluation judgement of Mangakino 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.
1 Background and Context
What is the background and context for this school’s review?
Mangakino School provides education for students in Years 1 to 8. The school is located in a small rural settlement, south west of Tokoroa. Most of the 37 students enrolled are Māori.
Important areas for further development were identified in the 2017 ERO report. Since that time the school has had a number of significant governance and operational changes. These changes meant that good progress was made in addressing the areas for development between mid-2017 and the end of 2018. A new principal started in 2019 and two teachers were appointed at the beginning of 2020.
The school has also gone through a re-designation process to change from an area school to a full primary school. This change took effect from January 2019. In December 2017, a commissioner was appointed to replace the board of trustees. In 2019, a new board was elected replacing the commissioner, and a limited statutory manager was appointed to provide continued support for the board.
2 Review and Development
How effectively is the school addressing its priorities for review and development?
Priorities identified for review and development
The following urgent priorities for development were identified in the December 2017 ERO report. These include:
- the implementation of a coherent local curriculum
- the implementation of appraisal systems for all staff
- a planned programme of professional learning for teachers
- building the assessment capability of leaders and teachers
- the management and use of achievement information to address the needs of at-risk students
- communication, professional trust and reciprocal relationships across the school
- developing partnerships for learning with parents and whānau
- implementing a consistent schoolwide approach to targeted action to accelerate learning and progress for at-risk learners
- implementing internal evaluation for improvement, including the evaluation of programme effectiveness in accelerating student progress.
Progress
Curriculum delivery, appraisal and building teacher capability through effective professional learning and development (PLD)
The principal has developed systems and processes to guide teacher practice focused on improving outcomes for students. Curriculum and assessment practices, learning relationships, aspects of student wellbeing and safety and performance appraisal systems have been reviewed. There is now improved coherence and efficiency across daily operation.
The charter and annual plan have been reviewed. School strategic direction is now clear, with teachers able to contribute and implement the annual plan. However, the majority of these systems and processes are new and have yet to be fully embedded and evaluated.
At the start of 2020, the school was fully staffed. Leaders and teachers now have a collective sense of urgency to improve school conditions and student outcomes. A programme of targeted professional learning and development is in place to build teacher capability and strengthen leadership capacity across the school.
The management and use of data to set strategic direction, inform teaching practice and target students whose learning is at risk
Good use is now being made of achievement information to set school priorities. A schedule is in place to guide the range of tools and timing of assessments across the school. This enables teachers to use a range of assessment tools to make judgements about the achievement of individual students in relation to expected curriculum levels. Assessment data is now used to identify and plan programmes for students whose learning is at risk. Data for students in Years 1 to 3 indicates the majority of students are making expected progress in reading, writing and mathematics. However, the school is unable to provide consistent and reliable schoolwide data for students in Years 4 to 8, who continue to experience low levels of achievement. Consequently, it is difficult to accurately identify levels of achievement and progress over time for these learners.
Students with additional learning and high and complex behaviour needs receive good levels of support from external agencies.
Relationships within the school and community, including staff morale and learning focused relationships with parents and whānau.
Staff morale has improved with a positive, collegial culture developing. Teachers support each other and regularly share their practice at staff and planning meetings. There are also more positive relationships between staff and students. The principal is providing a clearer strategic direction and higher expectations for teaching practice. Learning partnerships have been strengthened with well-attended termly reporting and goal setting meetings. The principal is making connections in the community by attending regular marae meetings and engaging with community groups.
The board has a focus on student learning and wellbeing. Trustees have actively sought a range of opportunities to build their knowledge, understanding and capability about their governance roles and obligations.
Internal evaluation to evaluate the effectiveness of the school’s curriculum and establish clear and agreed expectations for schoolwide learning and teaching.
Review of school operational systems and processes has enabled well-informed decisions about improvement during 2020. Student achievement data has been used to make decisions about teachers’ professional learning and development. A review of the local curriculum has taken place to establish clearer expectations for effective teacher practice.
Key next steps
In order to further improve outcomes for students the school needs to:
- continue to implement and embed recently developed systems and processes that guide teachers to promote positive learning and wellbeing outcomes for all students
- evaluate the effectiveness of recent changes and the impact on student wellbeing and learning
- fully implement appraisal processes for all staff
- further strengthen communication with the community
- further develop the curriculum to include careers and second language learning.
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 responding to the areas for improvement identified in the 2017 ERO report. The principal has successfully worked through complicated personnel and community issues that required addressing. New systems and processes have been introduced and are in the initial stages of implementation. An increasingly collegial approach to school improvement and a clearer focus on improving student outcomes are now evident. The board, leaders and teachers now need to embed these changes to improve student outcomes.
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.
In order to improve current practice, the board of trustees should:
- appropriately implement procedures to address the risk of cyber bullying
- work towards offering students opportunities for learning a second or subsequent language
- follow all employment processes regarding the appointment of new staff as outlined in the school’s policies and procedures
- record and document all evacuation drills
- receive reports regarding the certification status of teachers
- ensure notifiable events are reported to Worksafe New Zealand.
4 Recommendation
Recommendations, including any to other agencies for ongoing or additional support.
ERO recommends that the Secretary for Education consider continuing the intervention under Part 7A of the Education Act 1989 in order to bring about the following improvements:
- support the principal and board to evaluate the effectiveness of the recently implemented systems and process to improve student outcomes.
Conclusion
The school has made some progress towards addressing key areas for development. Some new systems and processes are in place and a more positive, collegial culture is evident. The board and principal have established a good working relationship and shared understandings about governance and management roles. A sustained focus on internal evaluation is needed, to build the collective capability of the school to evaluate the effectiveness of the recent changes and plan for ongoing improvement.
On the basis of the findings of this review, ERO ‘s overall evaluation judgement of Mangakino 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.
Darcy Te Hau
Acting Director Review and Improvement Services (Central)
Central Region - Te Tai Pūtahi Nui
26 June 2020
About the school
The Education Counts website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement.