Oakland Street, Mataura
View on mapMataura School
Mataura School - 30/06/2017
Summary
The school has a roll of 95. Forty three children identify as Māori and a small number as Pacific.
Since the last ERO review in 2014:
- there has been a change in the leadership team
- the school is using better systems to track and know about the progress of individual children.
School information shows that levels of achievement in reading, writing and mathematics have improved over the past four years. However, the board, school leaders and ERO agree that levels of achievement are not yet satisfactory.
How well is the school achieving equitable outcomes for all children?
The school responds well to Māori and other children whose progress needs to be accelerated and sustained. There are a number of school processes that are effective in enabling equity and excellence. The next step is for teachers to consistently identify purposeful strategies across all learning programmes to lift achievement.
The school’s strengths are:
- an unrelenting focus on children becoming socially and emotionally competent, resilient and optimistic learners
- the inclusion of Māori dimensions to support Māori children’s sense of identity
- strong connections with the parent and wider community to support children’s wellbeing and learning.
At the time of this review the school had capacity and capability to accelerate learning for all children. However, disparity in achievement for some children remains.
Leaders and teachers:
- know the children whose learning and achievement need to be accelerated
- need to use, record and evaluate strategies for targeted learning.
The school agrees to:
- monitor targeted planning, improved teaching, and children’s progress
- discuss the school’s progress with ERO.
ERO is likely to carry out the next review in three years.
Equity and excellence
How effectively does this school respond to Māori and other children whose learning and achievement need acceleration?
The school responds well to Māori and other children whose progress needs to be accelerated and sustained. The school has more work to do to lift the achievement and reduce disparity to ensure equitable outcomes for all learners.
School-wide achievement information for the past four years shows that levels of achievement in reading and writing have improved. Levels of achievement in mathematics have remained similar. The levels of achievement in writing and mathematics are not yet satisfactory.
School progress information for 2016 shows that some children made accelerated progress in relation to the National Standards for reading, writing and mathematics.
The teachers are using effective practices to make reliable judgements about children’s progress and achievement in relation to National Standards.
School conditions supporting equity and excellence
What school processes are effective in enabling achievement of equity and excellence?
The school has a number of processes that are effective in enabling equity and excellence.
There is a strong focus on the holistic wellbeing of children. The Mahi Tahi values of togetherness, achievement, having originality and inquisitiveness are highly evident in the everyday life of the school. Leaders and teachers have created learning environments where children feel well supported to learn. Children are well engaged in their learning and are taking an increased responsibility for their part in the learning process.
The curriculum design allows children to experience a wide variety of activities in contexts that are relevant to them. Curriculum guidelines are useful and detailed. They provide clear expectations and good support for teachers. Good systems are in place to track student achievement and progress.
The school has developed a strong pastoral care system. Leaders work well with external agencies to provide a safe and caring learning environment.
Sustainable development for equity and excellence
The school has some useful processes to identify areas that need further development.
What further developments are needed in school processes to achieve equity and excellence?
The school’s achievement targets need to reflect the intention to accelerate the progress of all students who are at risk of not achieving. Leaders and teachers need to plan more purposeful strategies to support the targets for accelerating children’s progress.
The school needs to strengthen and fully implement its internal evaluation practices. Reports to the board need to be more evaluative and explicitly identify those strategies that are having the greatest impact on accelerating progress and achievement.
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 for some children remains.
Leaders and teachers:
- know the children whose learning and achievement need to be accelerated
- need to use, record and evaluate strategies for targeted learning.
The school agrees to:
- monitor targeted planning, improved teaching, and children’s progress
- discuss the school’s progress with ERO.
ERO will provide an internal evaluation workshop to support the school to develop effective planning and monitoring processes to support equity and excellence for all children.
ERO is likely to carry out the next review in three years.
Dr Lesley Patterson
Deputy Chief Review Officer Southern (Te Waipounamu)
30 June 2017
About the school
Location |
Mataura |
Ministry of Education profile number |
3986 |
School type |
Contributing (Years 1 to 6) |
School roll |
95 |
Gender composition |
Girls: 48 Boys: 47 |
Ethnic composition |
Pākehā 46 |
Provision of Māori medium education |
No |
Review team on site |
May 2017 |
Date of this report |
30 June 2017 |
Most recent ERO reports |
Education Review March 2014 |
Mataura School - 04/03/2014
1 Context
What are the important features of this school that have an impact on student learning?
The school provides students with spacious and well-maintained playground and classroom spaces.
Students come from a diverse range of backgrounds and cultures. The way leaders and teachers acknowledge, respond to and celebrate students’ differences promotes an inclusive school culture. The board and staff have worked hard to encourage students to be confident, motivated and resilient.
The board and principal promote positive relationships with the school and with the wider community. They make good use of external agencies to promote the wellbeing of students and their families. The school roll changes often as families frequently move in and out of the area.
Since the 2011 ERO report, the school has made some progress in tracking student progress and improving aspects of self review.
2 Learning
How well does this school use achievement information to make positive changes to learners’ engagement, progress and achievement?
The board and staff are making good use of achievement information to:
- set achievement targets that support students who are at risk of not achieving
- identify students who require extra help with their learning and plan programmes of support.
Areas for review and development
Senior leaders and teachers should make better use of the information they gather about students’ progress and achievement to:
- show in class and school-wide plans what teachers will do differently to lift student achievement
- regularly track and evaluate the progress of students
- evaluate the effectiveness of planned programmes and teaching practices
- report students’ levels of progress and achievement regularly to the board.
3 Curriculum
How effectively does this school’s curriculum promote and support student learning?
The school’s curriculum needs further development and review to improve its effectiveness in supporting students' learning.
Students enjoy learning and engage in a wide variety of experiences within the school and beyond. Teachers make good use of the local community to extend students’ learning. Students told ERO they are well supported by their teachers.
All students have an opportunity to learn about te reo and tikanga Māori in a programme that they can choose to attend. Teachers need to review whether the students who are not involved have sufficient opportunities to develop their understanding of New Zealand’s bicultural heritage.
The school’s vision, values and guidelines for high-quality teaching practice are well understood. The principal has identified the next step is to review how well these are followed and used by the school.
The quality of teaching practice varies. The best teaching examples observed in some classes included well planned and paced lessons where students knew what they were learning and why it was important.
Areas for review and development
The principal and teachers have identified, and ERO agrees, that to ensure the curriculum more effectively promotes and supports student learning a review should identify:
- to what extent teachers make use of curriculum guidelines to support teaching practice
- how well teachers reflect on and improve their teaching practice
- to what extent the curriculum overviews ensure that students experience the curriculum areas other than literacy and mathematics
- how well a bicultural perspective is included.
How effectively does the school promote educational success for Māori, as Māori?
Māori students spoke confidently about their identity and their aspirations to learn more. They appreciate the opportunities they have to learn about their language and culture. These students identified their parents’ desire for them to know and have access to Māori experiences.
4 Sustainable Performance
How well placed is the school to sustain and improve its performance?
The school is well placed to sustain and improve its performance.
Trustees have a good understanding of their roles and responsibilities. They make good use of a wide range of information to set long and short-term goals. Trustees use achievement data to make well-informed decisions relating to professional development and the allocation of resources.
The principal knows the school well and what needs to happen to improve outcomes for students. She makes good use of the diverse strengths of staff.
Areas for review and development
The school has undertaken some useful reviews. The next step to improve the quality of self review is to develop a plan that identifies what senior leaders and teachers will do to act on the findings from the reviews and to evaluate the impact of the changes.
The board and staff have identified, and ERO agrees, there is a need to regularly review and report the impact and effectiveness of a number of programmes and initiatives in the school that have a direct impact on students' learning, progress and achievement. These include:
- learning interventions for individuals and groups of students, including teacher aides and external support
- transition of children into and out of the school
- the appraisal of school leaders and teachers
- board progress in relation to meeting the annual and strategic goals.
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.
Graham Randell
National Manager Review Services Southern Region
4 March 2014
About the School
Location |
Mataura, Southland |
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
3986 |
|
School type |
Contributing (Years 1 to 6) |
|
School roll |
101 |
|
Gender composition |
Boys 57; Girls 44 |
|
Ethnic composition |
NZ European/Pākehā Māori Cook Island Other Pacific European |
56 39 1 4 1 |
Review team on site |
November 2013 |
|
Date of this report |
4 March 2014 |
|
Most recent ERO reports |
Education Review Education Review Supplementary Review |
February 2011 October 2007 January 2004 |