Manutuke School

Education institution number:
2602
School type:
Composite
School gender:
Co-Educational
Definition:
Designated Character School
Total roll:
173
Telephone:
Address:

59 Waingake Road, Manutuke

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Manutuke School - 21/06/2017

Summary

Manutuke School caters for students in Years 1 to 8. At the time of this external evaluation, 118 Māori students are enrolled and two pākehā children. The rumaki Māori syndicate within the school supports 57 students in four Level One full immersion classes.

The school’s vision ‘Te Manu Tū Kē’ is a reflection of the school, and the history of where it is situated. ‘The bird that stands unique’ underpins the values of: manaakitanga; kotahitanga; whanaungatanga; rangatiratanga; and wananga – ako.

National standards data for the school over the past three years shows that achievement rates have increased in writing. Reading over the same period of time shows fluctuations in the rates of achievement as students move through the school. Leaders have identified that accelerating boys’ achievement in writing is a focus in 2017. Achievement gaps between boys and girls for reading and mathematics require improvement.

The school’s Ngā Whanaketanga Rumaki Māori data over the past three years shows that most students are achieving well in pangarau, pānui, korero, and tuhituhi. It is evident that boys are achieving better than girls in pangarau.

Leaders and teachers have been involved in a wide range of professional learning and development programmes since the January 2014 ERO report. These include:

  • positive behaviour for learning
  • mathematics and Pangarau
  • the Progress and Consistency Tool (PaCT) and overall teacher judgements
  • learning with digital technology
  • teaching as inquiry
  • a teaching and learning innovation fund initiative to improve the quality of oral language in te reo Māori. 

How well is the school achieving equitable outcomes for all children?

National Standards and Ngā Whanaketanga information shows that most students make expected progress over time. Some students that are not achieving at expected levels.

The school has recently increased its focus on improving its systems, processes and strategies to better support equitable outcomes for all children.

The school environment has a positive tone. Relationships are warm and respectful. Students experience a curriculum that provides them with many opportunities to learn in contexts that promote the uniqueness of ‘Te Manu Tu Ke’. Trustees, leaders and teachersare reflective. There is a strong focus on learning, and the physical and spiritual wellbeing of all children.

Further developments in school processes to achieve equity and excellence should:

  • strengthen school wide targets, reporting against progress towards these from classroom to board level
  • build leaders’ and teachers’ understanding and practices of internal evaluation
  • develop key curriculum statements to guide teaching and learning
  • enhance teaching as inquiry and appraisal systems for teachers and leaders to link more closely to the school wide targets that focus on accelerating children’s learning.

ERO will provide an internal evaluation workshop in response to a request by the school.

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

Equity and excellence

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

The school has developed and strengthened processes to promote progress for students whose learning and achievement needs acceleration.

Reported data for 2016, showed that many students were achieving well in relation to the national standards in reading, writing and mathematics. However, this achievement data shows that there is disparity between boys and girls in all three learning areas. Ngā whanaketanga data for 2016 showed that most students achieve well in pangarau, panui, korero, and tuhituhi.

Leaders and teachers have identified target students whose learning and achievement needs acceleration. They regularly track and monitor their progress.

Syndicate leaders and teachers work collaboratively to moderate their overall teacher judgements about students' achievement in relation to the National Standards and Ngā Whanaketanga. Teachers have a good understanding of expectations for moderation. 

School conditions supporting equity and excellence

What school processes are effective in enabling achievement of equity and excellence?

Leaders and teachers are increasing their knowledge building capability to improve their practices and processes to better promote the achievement of equity and excellence.

Curriculum design reflects the uniqueness of ‘Te Manu Tu Ke’, the place, the village and the school. Every child has the opportunity to learn, progress and achieve in a kaupapa Māori setting. It provides choices for students’ learning and provides relevant contexts that promote the Manutuke way. A wananga approach provides many opportunities for children to learn. Developing key learning statements and guidelines for all the essential learning areas is a key next step. This should guide teachers’ implementation of the school’s curriculum.

Children experience positive and respectful relationships between their teachers and peers. The school values are reinforced by the strong focus on programmes. Learning contexts promote students’ spiritual and physical wellbeing, and a high sense of belonging in the school.

All staff are involved in an external professional learning and development programme that focuses on teaching as inquiry to improve teachers’ practice to better support those children whose learning and achievement requires acceleration. As part of this process teachers are learning to use data to identify targeted groups of students, their learning needs and develop key strategies to improve their learning outcomes.

A collaborative leadership model is well promoted in the school. Syndicate leaders have many opportunities to lead. Promoting leadership within each syndicate has a positive focus on building teachers’ capability and encourages them to lead aspects of the curriculum.

Sustainable development for equity and excellence

What further developments are needed in school processes to achieve equity and excellence?

Leaders and trustees have appropriately identified the need to improve their understanding of effective internal evaluation to enable them to measure the impact of the curriculum to promote positive outcomes for all children.

Improved clarity and alignment of annual goals and targets from strategic to class level is needed. This should better enable more regular reporting of progress against targets to accelerate achievement of children during the year. This should assist improving accountabilities and understanding of what works for school wide improvement and leaders and trustees measuring of school performance against its vision, mission and school priorities.

Teachers and leaders should further refine their teaching as inquiry and appraisal goal setting processes so that they are more explicitly linked to improved outcomes for students whose achievement needs acceleration. 

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

  • 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.

Going forward

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

The school has capacity and capability to accelerate learning for all children. However, disparity in achievement between boys and girls remains.

Leaders and teachers:

  • know the children whose learning and achievement need to be accelerated

  • need to develop and implement approaches that effectively meet the needs of each child

  • need to improve the school conditions that support the acceleration of children’s learning and achievement.

ERO will provide an internal evaluation workshop in response to a request by the school. 

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

Alan Wynyard

Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern (Acting)

21 June 2017

About the school 

Location

Gisborne

Ministry of Education profile number

2602

School type

Full Primary

School roll

120

Gender composition

Male 55%, Female 45%

Ethnic composition

Māori 98%
Pākehā 2%

Provision of Māori medium education

Yes

Number of Māori medium classes

4

Total number of students in Māori medium (MME)

57

Total number of students in Māori language in English medium (MLE)

63

Review team on site

May 2017

Date of this report

21 June 2017

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review January 2014

Education Review November 2010

Education Review December 2006

 

Manutuke School - 23/01/2014

1 Context

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

Manutuke School is a rural school. Almost all of the 145 students are Māori, with strong genealogical links to the local iwi of Rongowhakaata. The school offers a choice of Māori or English medium education. There are two syndicates and both cater for new entrants to Year 8. Te Whānau Reo Māori consists of five classes and Te Whānau Auraki has three classes.

Students have opportunities to be involved in a broad range of cultural and sporting activities. Students achieve well in speech, kapa haka, and sporting competitions at a local, regional and national level. Most students travel from nearby Gisborne to attend the school.

From 2010 to 2012, teachers were involved in professional development focusing on the use of information and communication technologies as a tool to support teaching and learning.

Trustees and senior leaders have invited a Student Achievement Function Practitioner, from the Ministry of Education, to work with them on school development. A change team has been established, consisting of whānau, teachers, senior leaders and trustees.

The school has been accepted to begin involvement in a Positive Behaviour for Learning (PB4L) Ministry of Education project in 2014.

There is strong community pride and ownership of the school. Staffing is stable and includes exManutuke students. Four new board members were elected in May of this year. They have worked alongside staff to establish a shared understanding of the school vision.

The school has a good reporting history with ERO.

2 Learning

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

This year’s school wide targets have focused on increasing the achievement of Year 8 students in writing. Recent assessment data shows evidence of good progress. The end of year data 2012 for students in Te Whānau Reo Māori, showed that most students were achieving or exceeding in relation to Ngā Whanaketanga Rūmaki Māori in panui. Just over half were achieving or exceeding in pangarau and tuhituhi.

Data for those students in Te Whānau Auraki showed that approximately half of students were achieving at or above in relation to the reading, writing and mathematics National Standards.

  • Although school wide targets are appropriately based on achievement information, ERO recommends that future targets more accurately reflect the level of underachievement across the school.

Syndicate leaders collate overall student achievement information and present this to the board.

  • A next step is to increase the focus on deeper analysis of syndicate and school wide achievement information to establish patterns of progress over time. This information should guide planning for teachers’ professional development and board resourcing.

Teachers appropriately use student achievement information to identify students who are underachieving and track their progress during the year. Staff reflect on students’ achievement and implement some strategies designed to assist their progress.

  • Staff should build on this practice to inquire into the effectiveness of their teaching. This should include the planning and use of deliberate teaching strategies to accelerate student progress based on student achievement data.

Teachers promote and celebrate students’ success across all areas of the curriculum to achieve the school’s broader goal of each learner attaining their potential. This goal is encapsulated in the school’s value of rangatiratanga.

Reports to parents clearly show achievement in relation to Ngā Whanaketanga Rūmaki Māori and the National Standards. Reports also include students’ next learning steps and how whānau can support their children’s learning at home.

  • Although some students are working with their teachers to set and review their learning goals, ERO recommends that teachers build on students' involvement in their learning. This should support learners to have the knowledge to talk about progress, level of achievement and determine their next learning steps.

3 Curriculum

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

The school’s curriculum has been developed as a shared vision that centres on ‘Te Manu Tu Ke’. This reflects community aspirations and represents ‘engaging, empowering and inspiring each student to achieve their unique potential’. The school’s goal of empowering students is evident in practice. Students led the development of their school song ‘Manutuke’ to describe the school vision.

Learning contexts are strongly embedded in local knowledge and te reo me ngā tikanga Māori. This includes links between the environment and te ao Māori. There is a clear focus in the curriculum on activities that are meaningful to the students, staff and community.

The school values of rangatiratanga, kotahitanga, wānanga, manaakitanga and whanaungatanga clearly guide the daily life of the school. The values are evident in the way that teachers and students interact. Tuakana teina practices strengthen relationships across the school and support student learning.

Teachers provide a caring, supportive learning environment. They give students positive feedback and model examples of high quality work. Classroom environments are well resourced. The development of a policy to support transition to school is underway.

Provision of support for special needs students is evident. Teachers monitor their progress and access specialist support when relevant. The Resource Teacher: Learning and Behaviour and the local Social Worker in Schools are both an important part of the special education needs team. They help to ensure that programmes are appropriately tailored to the needs of the individual child and their whānau.

The school’s transition practices are flexible and responsive to the needs of children and their whānau. These practices are relationship-centred and strongly based on the core school values.

  • The curriculum should be strengthened by continuing to seek opportunities for further collaboration across the whole school. Developing shared understandings of best practices in effective teaching is one such area. Contexts for learning across both syndicates should also be considered. In addition, the development of learning progressions across year levels is likely to strengthen curriculum delivery and support teaching and learning.

4 Sustainable Performance

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

The board has an appropriate focus on raising student achievement. Trustees are developing an understanding of governance and take responsibility for assigned roles. During 2013, there has been a focus on trustees and staff working collaboratively and involving whānau.

  • To sustain and improve its performance, the school should plan a coordinated, cohesive approach to educational development, with goals that clearly give priority to accelerating student achievement.
  • A key next step is to develop a self-review process that will be used by trustees, school leaders and teachers to evaluate and continuously improve teaching and learning at Manutuke School.
  • Strengthening the teacher appraisal process to include specific, robust feedback and clear development goals linked to the school’s priorities is also likely to have a positive impact on teaching and learning.

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.

Joyce Gebbie

National Manager Review Services

Central Region (Acting)

23 January 2014

About the School

Location

Gisborne

Ministry of Education profile number

2602

School type

Full Primary (Year 1 to 8)

School roll

145

Gender composition

Male 55%

Female 45%

Ethnic composition

Māori

NZ European/Pākehā

98%

2%

Special Features

Level One Te Reo Māori Immersion classes

Base school for Resource Teacher: Māori

Review team on site

November 2013

Date of this report

23 January 2014

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review

Education Review

Accountability Review

November 2010

December 2006

February 2002