North East Valley Normal School

School Context

North East Valley Normal School (NEV Normal) provides education for children from Years 1 to 6. The school has a roll of 265 children, of whom 19 percent identify as Māori. The roll has grown significantly since the last ERO review (2015).

A bilingual classroom, |Te Rōpu Manaaki, offering education in te reo Māori and English, was established in 2017. Currently 26 children participate in learning in this classroom.

The school has had a long association with the North East Valley Community Project and the offices for this organisation are hosted on site along with a community garden.

NEV Normal has a partnership with the University of Otago College of Education to provide placements and mentoring for trainee teachers.

The school’s vision is for a learning community that is caring, respectful, knowledgeable, confident and competent, prepared for life and grounded in the ‘greater good’ and the community. The school’s values are respect, responsibility and safety.

Current strategic priorities are to sustain positive outcomes for all children and their whānau through:

• effective collaboration with children, whānau and the community

• continued curriculum development with an emphasis on culturally responsive practices, learning-to-learn capabilities, environmental education and digital technology

• promoting effective teaching practice.

Achievement goals are for all children to: ‘achieve their potential’, achieve at the school’s expected curriculum levels in reading, writing and mathematics and for equitable achievement outcomes for Māori students. The school has specific targets for junior reading and numeracy at year four.

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

• achievement in reading
• engagement, attendance and positive behaviours for learning.

In addition the board receives reporting on outcomes for priority learners participating in tailored learning interventions and outcomes related to the school’s specific targets for junior reading and numeracy in year four.

The school is a member of the Otepoti ki Te Raki Kāhui Ako|Community of Learning. The principal leads this community.

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 working effectively to achieve equitable and excellent outcomes for its students. Information for 2016 to 2019 shows most children achieve at and above the school’s curriculum expectations. The school is effective in achieving excellent and equitable outcomes for all students in reading.

Reporting against the school’s specific achievement targets shows the school is effective in supporting most students to achieve at expected levels in reading by the end of Year 2 and at expected levels for numeracy by Year 4.

Achievement information for 2016 and 2017 shows that while most students achieved at expected levels in writing and mathematics, there was a small disparity for Māori students.

Attendance, engagement and behaviour reporting shows students have good levels of engagement in learning and maximised opportunities to learn.

Achievement information for 2018 was not provided to ERO during the review.

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

The school effectively meets the needs of a diverse range of students and supports them to make positive progress. School reporting on a wide range of targeted teaching and support programmes (including for reading and mathematics intervention groups) shows they effectively promote students’ engagement, participation, social/emotional capability and achievement.

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?

Leaders collaboratively develop and pursue the school’s vision, goals and targets for enabling all children to achieve their potential. They do this by:

• valuing and enabling strong reciprocal relationships with the wider community

• promoting a high trust, positive, inclusive, caring learning culture

• setting high expectations for effective teaching and learning and encouraging innovation

• recognising and fostering leadership across the learning community

• leading and enabling culturally responsive practices across the school.

The school has effective systems for identifying, monitoring and responding to the diverse needs of all children. Teachers make strong use of a wide range of learning information to get to know students as individuals and learners, and to personalise their teaching. Students with additional needs are well supported to participate in learning opportunities that provide appropriate challenge. Teachers collaborate effectively to support the continuity of learning for students as they progress through the school.

Student’s language, culture and identity are valued and celebrated. All students have many, meaningful opportunities to know, understand and value Māori language, knowledge and perspectives. Students and whānau value the way their identity, belonging, whānaungatanga and language are nurtured in Te Rōpu Manaaki. Students learn in a community characterised by respect, empathy, cooperation and team work.

A broad, localised curriculum effectively reflects and enacts the school’s vision and valued outcomes for children as holistic learners. Strengths include the way it:

• is developed collaboratively with learners and families|whānau

• gives emphasis to learning-to-learn capabilities, social and emotional competence, health and well-being and environmental education

• makes links to students’ lives beyond school

• makes strong use of local community resources and partnerships to provide authentic contexts for learning.

The school has well-established reciprocal learner-centred relationships with families/whānau, the education sector and wider community. Leaders and teachers draw on this expertise to enrich teaching and learning and meet the needs of children. Leaders and teachers actively participate in community and professional partnerships and networks focussed on deepening their professional capability.

Leaders and teachers demonstrate collective capacity to do and use evaluation, inquiry and knowledge-building to sustain improvement and innovation. They engage in ongoing critical reflection about what makes the greatest difference to students’ learning.

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

Trustees and leaders need to further analyse school-wide outcomes for students in writing and mathematics. This will enable them to make better informed decisions based on knowing more about:

• equity for all groups of students

• outcomes against the school’s achievement target for all children to be achieving at expected curriculum levels

• trends and patterns in achievement over time.

Leaders need to report regularly to the board about schoolwide student progress and achievement.

The school is currently revising its localised curriculum. Leaders and teachers are developing ways of knowing about how well students are developing the capabilities valued in the new curriculum. ERO agrees that reporting these outcomes to the board will support ongoing decision making.

3 Other Matters

Provision for international students

The school is a signatory to the Education (Pastoral Care of International Students) Code of Practice 2016 (the Code) established under section 238F of the Education Act 1989. The school has attested that it complies with all aspects of the Code.

At the time of this review there were 2 international students attending the school.

The school has well developed and considered practices for the induction and pastoral care of international students. Students’ English language learning is well supported both within specialist language and mainstream classes. Children’s additional needs are carefully identified and appropriately responded to.

4 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.

5 ERO’s Overall Judgement

On the basis of the findings of this review, ERO’s overall evaluation judgement of North East Valley Normal School’s performance in achieving valued outcomes for its students is: Strong.

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.

6 Going forward

Key strengths of the school

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

• strong learner-centred partnerships with parents, whānau and the community that enrich teaching and learning
• a broad, localised curriculum that responds well to the interests, strengths and needs of students
• culturally responsive practices that value and celebrate the culture, language and identity of students
• a learning culture amongst staff that promotes critical reflection and innovation.

Next steps

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

• strengthening the analysis and reporting of school-wide achievement information to be able to more systematically identify and address any in-school disparity
• developing new assessment and reporting processes to know about how well all students are developing the broad learning capabilities valued in the school’s revised curriculum.

Dr Lesley Patterson

Director Review and Improvement Services Southern

Southern Region

29 October 2019

About the school

Findings

Students at this school receive very good quality teaching. They achieve highly in writing and mathematics and very highly in reading. They value and celebrate the rich diversity of their multicultural community with their teachers. Their school hosts a wide variety of support and extension programmes. They are effectively supported in their learning and wellbeing. Their learning is meaningfully integrated across all subjects.

ERO is likely to carry out the next review in four-to-five years.

1 Context

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

North East Valley Normal School provides a welcoming and safe environment for learning. A strong focus is placed on creating a positive school culture where everyone’s wellbeing is cared for.

Students come from a range of countries and cultures. Teachers and senior leaders develop close relationships with the students and their parents. They make themselves readily available to parents and know the children as learners and as individuals.

The school hosts a wide variety of programmes of support and extension for students and community members. A special feature of the school is its connectedness with other schools and education providers. As a result, there is much individual attention for children in their classrooms and professional stimulation for teachers.

The school has had a steady growth in the roll. It has long-serving, experienced staff and principal. The school’s values of respect and acceptance of all students is highly evident. Students have a strong sense of belonging and appreciation for their school and teachers.

The school has successfully addressed the recommendations in the 2011 ERO report.

2 Learning

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

The school uses learning information very well to make positive changes to students’ engagement, progress and achievement. Students overall achieve highly in writing and mathematics and significantly high in reading. This is attributed to the strong focus all teachers place on each student’s achievement and the very good teaching students receive in their daily learning.

Teachers effectively use rich assessment information to inform their teaching, adapt the learning programmes and meet each student’s learning needs. They closely track and monitor the progress the students make. They make informed decisions about appropriate support for students and share useful information with other teachers to help students in their move from one year to the next.

The board receives regular reports about school-wide achievement in all subjects. Senior leaders have developed a very useful way of reporting students’ progress in reading. They need to develop similarly useful ways of reporting on writing and mathematics.

3 Curriculum

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

Students’ learning is effectively supported through a broad range of experiences during their time at school. This includes a major focus on reading, writing and mathematics through their junior years. Their learning is enhanced by visitors with particular expertise, student teachers, support from local community initiatives and members of the school community. Students spoken with by ERO were very positive about their school and the many opportunities provided for them in and out of the classroom.

All adults at the school are mindful of students’ wellbeing and ensure students work and play in a safe and supportive school environment. This is created through the close, personal relationships that the principal and teachers develop with the students and their parents. Students receive positive messages of encouragement and praise in a variety of ways that recognise their successes and help build their sense of self worth.

Students are well supported to develop as confident, capable learners, with a well-developed respect for themselves and others. Students are learning to take an active part in and manage their own learning. This includes assessing their own and each others’ work, and setting meaningful learning goals with their teachers and parents. Their work is attractively displayed in their classrooms. ERO observed high quality examples of students’ art across the school. Wider aspects of school life such as growing positive life skills are celebrated in assemblies, and letters and phone calls home. The school’s expectations for learning and teaching are very clear and consistently applied.

Students in all classrooms receive very good quality teaching. The teachers know their students well. They closely monitor each student’s progress and plan to meet individual needs. Students who need extra support to succeed receive high quality ‘wrap around’ support. Students are well informed about their next learning steps. They have fun and are highly engaged in purposeful learning activities. The class and school environment is settled, happy and well organised. The different learning areas are integrated in interesting and meaningful ways.

Students benefit from a range of effective learning support and extension programmes. The school has hosted a number of specialist learning initiatives. These include extension programmes for students with gifts and talents, English for second language learners, and social skills and parent-support programmes. The deputy principal provides effective individual support for students experiencing difficulty in their learning and helps to ensure students with high needs are well provided for.

Senior leaders and teachers have developed a more effective method of curriculum review and reporting. The reviews are informed by assessment data and completed by classroom teachers and syndicate leaders. They identify priority students and next steps for action. A next step for teachers is to clearly show the progress students have made in their achievement and how students’ opinions have helped inform judgements made about the effectiveness of the programmes of learning provided.

How effectively does the school promote educational success for Māori, as Māori?

The school provides a wide range of opportunities for Māori students to engage and achieve in their learning. A strong value of Māori language and culture is shown across the school in many ways. Many students access rich experiences for learning their language, culture and identity through the bilingual and full-immersion classes.

In all classrooms the achievement and wellbeing of Māori students is closely monitored and supported. Teachers include meaningful insights and Māori world views in students’ learning. They should continue to grow their confidence and competence to use more Māori language and culture in their daily lessons.

The principal speaks Māori very well and models his valuing of Māori culture to students and the wider school community. A next step for the school is to more clearly show how well the school’s plans and programmes are lifting the achievement of Māori students.

4 Sustainable Performance

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

The school is very well placed to sustain and improve its performance.

The board has a strong focus on student wellbeing and students succeeding in their learning. Trustees ensure that all students are given the opportunity to be successful in their learning. They seek parent opinion to ensure school and parent expectations are aligned.

Most trustees are new to the role and have skills that support strategic governance. Trustees should expect that reports to the board should more clearly identify:

• trends and patterns of school-wide achievement, particularly in reading, writing and mathematics
• specific groups of students needing to make a faster rate of progress
• what has benefited or impeded students in improving their achievement.
• The principal and senior leaders have a strong focus on:
• maintaining the positive culture of the school
• being accessible to students, parents and staff
• the holistic development of students
• supporting staff to work collaboratively and to maintain a healthy work/life balance.

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.

Conclusion

Students at this school receive very good quality teaching. They achieve highly in writing and mathematics and very highly in reading. They value and celebrate the rich diversity of their multicultural community with their teachers. Their school hosts a wide variety of support and extension programmes. They are effectively supported in their learning and wellbeing. Their learning is meaningfully integrated across all subjects.

ERO is likely to carry out the next review in four-to-five years.

Graham Randell

Deputy Chief Review Officer Southern

9 February 2015

About the School