Mayfield School (Mid-Canterbury)

Education institution number:

3432

School type:

Full Primary

School gender:

Co-Educational

Definition:

Not Applicable

Total roll:

Website:

http://www.mayfieldschool.co.nz

Telephone:

03 303 6214

Address:

14 Lismore Mayfield Road, Ashburton

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Mayfield School (Mid-Canterbury) - 15/01/2020

15 Jan 2020

School Context

Mayfield School, located in Mid Canterbury, is a full primary school for children in Years 1 to 8. The current roll is 77.

The school’s vision is ‘Striving High’. The vision is supported by a mission statement, ‘Every student will have the opportunity to strive to their full potential in a supportive environment’. The school values, (collectively known as HEART values) are honesty, enjoyment, achievement, respect and trying our best.

The 2019 annual targets for improvement are to:

provide high quality professional development to improve teaching and learning
use quality assessment information to target and support students who need this
develop leadership across the school
provide opportunities for students to enhance their learning environment
promote and encourage parent involvement and partnership in learning.

Leaders and teachers regularly report to the board, schoolwide information about outcomes for students in the following areas:

achievement and progress of students in reading, writing and mathematics
student engagement and wellbeing.

There has been continuity of leadership at the school since the 2017 ERO review. The board of trustees is a mix of returning and newly elected parent representatives. The school is an active participant in the Opuke Kāhui Ako | Community of Learning.

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 is effective in achieving excellent and equitable outcomes for most of its students.

School achievement information shows that:

most students are achieving at or above expected curriculum levels in reading, writing and mathematics
overall patterns of achievement in writing have improved from 2017 to 2019
Māori students are achieving as well as or better than other groups of students in reading, writing and mathematics
there has been a small disparity for boys in writing and girls in mathematics.

Other information provided to ERO shows that almost all students have a strong sense of belonging to their school and feel well cared for by teachers and other students.

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

The school is having some success in accelerating achievement for those students who need this.

Progress information for reading, writing and mathematics from 2017 and 2018 indicates that accelerated progress was made by approximately 30% of priority students over that time.

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?

Students participate and learn in carefully planned learning environments that are purposeful, collaborative and inclusive. Students are encouraged to take an active role in their learning and are increasingly able to make decisions about how to structure their own learning. There is an emphasis on what is best for students and provision of a curriculum that is engaging and meaningful.

Leaders and teachers have established clear and consistent expectations and effective systems to support teaching and learning programmes. Te reo and tikanga Māori is integrated effectively in classrooms and there is a strong sense of whanaungatanga (family-like relationships) across the school. Leaders and teachers are building culturally responsive relationships with Māori and Filipino whānau.

Teachers are clearly benefitting from well planned and implemented professional learning and development. This is successfully changing classroom practices and improving learning outcomes for students. Leaders make effective use of external and internal expertise. There are multiple opportunities for teachers to take on leadership roles that build their personal capability and the collective capacity of the staff.

Effective and positive relationships exist at all levels of the school. Parents, whānau and the community are welcomed, involved in school activities and encouraged to be partners in their children’s learning. Leaders regularly seek out the perspectives of students, staff, parents and whānau to develop and confirm school priorities and areas for development. Community collaborations successfully enrich learning opportunities for students and connect them with their local environment.

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

School leaders need to strengthen the analysis and evaluation of schoolwide student achievement and progress information to identify the effectiveness of programmes to accelerate learning for priority students.

Internal evaluation knowledge and practice needs strengthening across all levels of the school. Engaging in professional learning and development about internal evaluation and using an evaluative framework to guide the evaluation process are priorities for improvement. This should help to inform leaders as they make strategic decisions about processes and practices that will improve teaching and learning.

The school has identified, and ERO agrees, that it is timely to evaluate the school curriculum guidelines. This would help to ensure that they are relevant, coherent and encapsulate new practices and strategies developed through professional learning and development.

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 Mayfield School (Mid-Canterbury)’s performance in achieving valued outcomes for its students is: Well placed.

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.

5 Going forward

Key strengths of the school

For sustained improvement and future learner success, the school can draw on existing strengths in:

caring and collaborative learning environments which are focused on meeting students’ interests and needs and involving students in the learning process
effective and positive relationships which support student, parent and whānau engagement in learning
achieving outcomes for students that are largely equitable for all groups and show consistently strong levels of achievement.

Next steps

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

using student achievement information and internal evaluation more effectively to identify what is working well for students’ learning and where improvements are needed
reviewing the curriculum to ensure it reflects current school practices, students’ identity, culture and language and the local school context.

The school has made measurable progress in addressing the areas identified for development in the April 2017 ERO report. ERO recommends that the school seek support from NZSTA in order to progress improvements in:

the place of internal evaluation in governance.

Dr Lesley Patterson

Director Review and Improvement Services Te Tai Tini

Southern Region

15 January 2020

About the school

Location	Ashburton
Ministry of Education profile number	3432
School type	Full primary, Years 1-8
School roll	77
Gender composition	Boys 43, Girls 34
Ethnic composition	Māori 10 NZ European/Pākehā 55 Filipino 8 Other Ethnicities 4
Students with Ongoing Resourcing Funding (ORS)	Yes
Provision of Māori medium education	No
Review team on site	October 2019
Date of this report	15 January 2020
Most recent ERO report(s)	Education Review April 2017 Education Review February 2015

Mayfield School (Mid-Canterbury) - 27/04/2017

27 Apr 2017

Summary

The school roll at the time of the review was 69. There were 4 Māori, 43 NZ European/Pākehā, eight Filipino and 14 students from other ethnicities.

Since the last ERO evaluation in 2015 the school has made good progress in addressing the areas identified for development. There are now better systems in place to gather achievement information. School leaders are providing more comprehensive reports on student achievement to the board. There has been an increase in the use and understanding of te reo and tikanga Māori. Aspects of the curriculum have been updated, but this remains and area for further development.

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

The school is in the early stages of developing processes to respond to Māori and other children whose learning and achievement need acceleration.

The school is building capacity among staff and community to better support Māori children achieve equitable outcomes. They are successfully identifying learners at risk of not achieving and are focused on accelerating the progress of these children. Teachers are making good use of professional development to promote equity and excellence. The next steps for leaders and teachers are to implement a process for internal evaluation and complete a culturally-connected and responsive school curriculum.

Equity and excellence

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

At the time of this evaluation the school is beginning to know how effectively it responds to Maori and other children whose achievement needs accelerating as evaluation processes are in the early stages of development.

Most children, including Māori children, are achieving at or above the National Standards in reading, writing and mathematics. Targeted learning support is provided for children who need additional assistance. From this group the school has some good examples of children making accelerated progress. The teachers of these children are able to identify the strategies that have supported these children to progress well. These include teachers:

having high expectations for children’s learning
knowing the children well and beginning to personalise the curriculum
providing positive feedback
regularly involving families in the child’s learning programme.

Internal processes including high levels of collaboration between teachers have led to more accurate judgements on how children are progressing against the National Standards. Leaders and teachers are yet to carry out further moderation with other schools to strengthen this process.

School conditions supporting equity and excellence

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

Some of the school’s processes are enabling achievement of equity and excellence.

The strategic plan provides clear expectations for school staff and trustees. The goals provide the school with a focus on improving the quality of teaching and learning. Achievement targets are becoming more specific and measurable.

The school uses learning support programmes to meet the identified needs of children whose learning is at risk. Teachers provide information about programmes and the progress children maketo the board and parents. Learning support staff would benefit from increased understanding of what accelerated progress means.

The school is strongly committed to ensuring children value the Māori culture. They have reinstated kapa haka to enable children to learn and use te reo and tikanga Māori. The principal and some Māori parents are learning te reo Māori regularly as a group. The board has consulted with the Māori community and action plans are in place in response to parents’ aspirations for their children.

The school is providing support for children whose first language is not English. The school has a welcoming and inclusive environment. The board and principal have targeted learning resources and a specialist teacher provides additional second language guidance for children, families and staff.

The school’s values are well embedded in the curriculum. Staff have clear guidelines for literacy and numeracy. The principal has identified that they now need to complete guidelines for other learning areas. This was an area for development in the 2015 ERO report. ERO identified that the curriculum is yet to be localised to the context of the school and to include bicultural perspectives.

The principal uses teachers’ strengths to build a collaborative and team approach to teaching and learning. Teachers are increasing their use of inquiry and reflection in their practice. They also use outside agencies effectively to help them better meet the learning needs of children.

The board and staff are highly focused on student wellbeing and achievement. More able children are identified and given enrichment opportunities based on their academic strengths and interests.

The school values strongly influence the positive interactions between children and staff. Teachers provide meaningful opportunities for children to learn beyond the classroom. Senior children are well supported to develop their leadership skills. Transition into school is well managed. Teachers actively provide information for parents that supports children’s learning at home.

Sustainable development for equity and excellence

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

The board and ERO agree that the following developments are needed in order for the school to achieve equity and excellence.

Leaders and teachers are yet to:

develop a process for internal evaluation including regular evaluation of the effectiveness of teaching programmes
complete and update the school’s curriculum
work with other schools to develop a more robust moderation process.

At the time of this review the school was in the process of updating their policies to meet the requirements of the Vulnerable Children’s Act (2014). The principal is yet to update the behaviour management guidelines to better reflect school values.

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 is becoming well placed 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 Māori and other children 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.
need to build teacher capability to accelerate children’s learning and achievement.

The school agrees to:

develop more targeted planning to accelerate learning for children
monitor targeted planning, improved teaching, and children’s progress
discuss the school’s progress with ERO.

ERO will:

provide feedback and resources to support the development of more targeted planning
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)

27 April 2017

About the school

Location	Mayfield
Ministry of Education profile number	3432
School type	Full Primary
School roll	69
Gender composition	Girls 51% Boys 49%
Ethnic composition	Māori: 6% Pākeha: 62% Other Ethnicities: 32%
Provision of Māori medium education	No
Review team on site	February 2017
Date of this report	27 April 2017
Most recent ERO reports	February 2015 February 2013