Miller Avenue School

Miller Avenue School

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within six months of the Education Review Office and Miller Avenue 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 

Miller Avenue School is located in Paeroa and provides education for students in Years 1 to 8.  A new principal started in June of 2022.  The school hosts a satellite class from Goldfields Special School.

Miller Avenue School’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are:

  • to grow ‘great learners’ who are engaged in learning and see them themselves as successful

  • to promote and nurture physical, mental, social and spiritual wellbeing of their people

  • to strengthen teacher efficacy using an inquiry mindset.

You can find a copy of the school’s strategic and annual plan on Miller Avenue School’s website.

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate how effectively school programmes and practices are contributing to improving outcomes for all students and raising overall achievement.  Supporting student wellbeing and increasing rates of attendance are ongoing priorities for the schools.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is:

  • the opportunity it provides to respond increasingly effectively to school data to accelerate learning and raise achievement

  • the school’s commitment to meeting the holistic needs of students and their whānau.

The school expects to see further actions implemented to enable increase student engagement and success in learning.

Strengths

The school can draw from the following strengths to support its goal to improve outcomes for all learners in wellbeing, attendance, and achievement:

  • leadership that is strategically focused on improving attendance rates for identified students

  • the provision of ongoing professional learning and inquiry that supports teacher collaboration and builds consistency of school practices to improve learner outcomes

  • a newly established framework and school-wide values that promote actions to improve positive behaviour for learning (PB4L).

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise:

  • developing school-wide assessment practices to ensure consistency and reliability of data and identify rates of progress

  • continuing to build teacher capability to meet the diverse needs of all learners and support accelerated outcomes

  • strengthening and embedding the PB4L programme to enable a positive culture for learning across the school.

ERO and the school board have concerns about student engagement and learning outcomes. New strategies have been implemented to address aspects of attendance and behaviour.

Recommendation

ERO recommends that the Ministry of Education considers providing support for the school to bring about improvement in raising student achievement.

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

16 June 2023 

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

Miller Avenue School

Board Assurance with Regulatory and Legislative Requirements Report 2023 to 2026

As of March 2023, the Miller Avenue School, 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: 

  • ensuring that persons without a practising certificate are not continued to be employed  
    [section 93(3) Education and Training Act 2020]  

  • receiving assurance at intervals of not more than six months that a trial evacuation has occurred
    [Reg 29 Fire Safety, Evacuation Procedures, and Evacuation Schemes Regulations 2018].

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

Further Information

For further information please contact Miller Avenue School, 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

16 June 2023 

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

Miller Avenue School

This review is designed to support schools that were experiencing difficulties at the time of the last review. ERO provides ongoing evaluation over the course of one-to-two years as the school works to improve its overall performance and build its self-review capability.

This report answers key questions about the school’s background and the context for the review. The report also provides an evaluation of how effectively the school is addressing areas identified for review and development and the quality of its practices and systems for sustaining performance and ongoing improvement.

Findings

On the basis of the findings of this review, ERO ‘s overall evaluation judgement of Miller Avenue School’s performance in achieving valued outcomes for its students is the school will transition into ERO’s Evaluation for Improvement process.

1 Background and Context

What is the background and context for this school’s review?

Miller Avenue School is located in Paeroa and provides education for students in Years 1 to 8. The school’s current roll of 135, includes 98 Māori students. The school hosts a satellite class of Goldfields Special School. 

Since the 2018 ERO report, there have been significant changes to the teaching team. A new principal was appointed in Term 3, 2020. Most trustees are new to their roles. Leaders and teachers have undertaken professional learning and development in assessment, literacy, and mathematics. 

The school is a member of the Ohinemuri Community of Learning|Kāhui Ako

The 2018 ERO report identified significant areas for development and this report summarises the progress made in addressing these areas. 

2 Review and Development

How effectively is the school addressing its priorities for review and development?

Priorities identified for review and development:
  • a strategic approach to raising achievement through target setting, regular monitoring, tracking, and reporting on rates of progress and achievement of at-risk learners  

  • the alignment of teaching programmes, appraisal goals and teacher inquiries to strategic targets 

  • greater involvement of trustees in scrutinising school data and setting strategic direction 

  • strengthening leadership of learning 

  • developing and documenting a local curriculum that reflects community aspirations, particularly for Māori 

  • establishing clear expectations and shared understanding about effective assessment practice 

  • the management and use of student achievement information 

  • developing shared expectations for high-quality teaching and learning and ensuring consistent implementation of these across the school 

  • implementing robust and consistent appraisal and performance management systems 

  • evaluating practices, processes and initiatives designed to accelerate progress and achievement of at-risk learners. 

Progress

Leadership has developed an effective strategic approach to raising achievement. Detailed planning is well focused on improving outcomes for all learners and accelerating the progress of students who are at risk of not achieving. Clear processes are in place to identify priority learners and their progress is regularly tracked, monitored and reported on over time. Board members are well informed about student achievement and can use this information to make appropriate resourcing decisions that enable equitable opportunities to learn. 

Leadership for learning is building teacher capability through a range of planned strategies. Ongoing professional learning is developing teacher knowledge and supporting shared understanding and consistency of practices. Clear expectations are in place for planning, including personalised learning plans for students, that are developed in partnership with whānau. Regular professional growth cycles for teachers and staff appraisal are focused on continuous growth and improvement. A school wide approach to pastoral care and positive behaviour for learning (PB4L) is supporting student belonging and wellbeing.  

Leaders and teachers have strengthened assessment practices across the school. Regular moderation and collaborative discussions support the consistency of teacher judgements about student achievement. A range of assessment tools, including standardised assessments, enables greater reliability of data and supports teachers to plan responsively for students’ needs and next steps for learning. 

Key next steps

Leaders now need to: 

  • embed newly developed systems, processes, guidelines and expectations to enable sustainability of school improvement practices 

  • continue to build collective capacity to accelerate learning for all students at risk of not achieving and raise overall levels of achievement. 

The board now needs to: 

  • engage in community consultation to inform strategic planning and contribute to a shared school vision, values and local curriculum that are inclusive of Māori whānau, hapū and iwi

3 Sustainable performance and self review

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

Miller Avenue School is developing useful processes and practices to sustain and continue its performance. Factors contributing to sustainability are: 

  • strategic planning and priorities that are well focused on improving outcomes for all students 

  • the implementation of a new student management system (SMS) that is supporting the analysis and use of student achievement information at all levels across the school 

  • teachers clearly identifying and responding to the learning and behavioural needs of their students through specific planning and programmes 

  • strong pastoral care and culturally responsive practices that are contributing to the wellbeing of students 

  • board members undertaking training and keeping well informed about student progress and achievement. 

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.

Actions for Compliance   

ERO and the board identified the following areas of non-compliance during the board assurance process:  

  • renewal of police vetting every three years for employees who still work at the school 

[clause 12 schedule 4 Education and Training Act 2020] 

  • students in Year 7 and above are provided with appropriate career education and guidance 

[NAG 1(f)]. 

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

Conclusion

On the basis of the findings of this review, ERO ‘s overall evaluation judgement of Miller Avenue School’s performance in achieving valued outcomes for its students is the school will transition into ERO’s Evaluation for Improvement process.

Phil Cowie
Director Review and Improvement Services (Central)
Central Region - Te Tai Pūtahi Nui

1 July 2022

About the school

The Education Counts website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement.