Ōhoka School

Ohoka School - 15/06/2020

School Context

Ōhoka School, located in North Canterbury, is a full primary school for students in Years 1-8. The current roll is 146 students, 12% of whom identify as Māori.

The school’s vision is, ‘Growing Our Future Together- Striving Beyond’. The vision is supported by a set of three values: Respect, Resilience and Responsibility.

In 2019 the board of trustees consulted the school community to inform the priorities for the strategic plan. The 2020 strategic goals for improvement are to:

  • ensure that Ōhoka school is governed effectively and strategically
  • provide continued academic achievement for all learners, within a holistic curriculum
  • develop positive relationships and promote a sense of pride, culture, belonging and wellbeing with our school and wider community
  • define and develop the school’s points of difference.

Leaders and teachers regularly report to the board, schoolwide information about outcomes for students in regard to achievement and progress of students in reading, writing and mathematics, and student engagement and wellbeing.

There have been several changes in staff in recent years, including the appointment of a new principal in 2019. The mostly new board of trustees was elected in 2019. Since February 2019, a Limited Statutory Manager has supported the board to develop effective relationships with the school’s community. This intervention finished in March 2020.

The school is an active participant in the Puketeraki 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.

Carefully moderated achievement data from 2019 shows that:

  • most students are achieving at or above expected curriculum levels in reading and mathematics
  • the large majority of students are achieving at or above expected curriculum levels in writing
  • Māori students are achieving as well or better than other groups of students in reading, writing and mathematics.

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

The school is making good progress, overall, in accelerating the achievement of those students who need this.

Progress information for writing from 2018 and 2019 indicates that accelerated progress was made by the majority of students identified for extra support.

Information from the end of 2019 shows that the majority of targeted students made accelerated progress in reading and approximately 25% made accelerated progress in mathematics.

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 a caring, collaborative and inclusive learning community. They experience a broad range of learning opportunities and are encouraged to take on leadership roles within the school and community. Students are increasingly able to have more voice and choice in their learning, and they provide feedback to teachers about the types of teaching that best meet their learning needs.

Teachers and leaders know their students well. They have developed effective systems to identify, support and monitor the progress of all students. Culturally responsive teaching practices promote bicultural themes for all and support Māori students to enjoy success as Māori.

A distributed model of leadership that uses teachers’ strengths is in place and is enabling teachers to build their professional capability and collective capacity. School leaders have established clear and consistent social expectations that support learning and wellbeing. Leaders are improvement focused. They effectively use internal and external expertise and wider education community networks to pursue the school’s vision, goals and targets for improvement.

Leaders and trustees emphasise building relational trust at all levels of the school and developing a positive school culture. They proactively seek input from the school community to inform strategic planning and give parents and whānau a voice in determining priorities for improvement.

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

Leaders and trustees need to strengthen internal evaluation across all levels of the school. Using a structured approach to internal evaluation will help the school to know how effectively programmes and initiatives are in improving outcomes for students.

The school has identified, and ERO agrees, that leaders and teachers should continue to:

  • strengthen relationships with parents, whānau and the wider school community to encourage active, reciprocal communication and involvement in the life of the school
  • review the school curriculum to reflect more localised, authentic contexts for learning, to further engage students and provide them with increased opportunity to take ownership of their own learning.

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 Ōhoka School’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, collaborative and inclusive learning communities across the school
  • effective systems which identify, support and monitor the progress of all students
  • the emphasis leaders and trustees give to building relational trust at all levels of the school.

Next steps

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

  • strengthening internal evaluation to know what is effective in improving student outcomes
  • building and extending existing relationships with the school community to promote active and reciprocal learning partnerships
  • reviewing the school curriculum to reflect local contexts and promote student engagement and agency.

Dr Lesley Patterson

Director Review and Improvement

Southern Region - Te Tai Tini

15 June 2020

About the school

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

Ohoka School - 26/09/2017

Summary

The school has a roll of 223 children. Since the last review, the school and senior leaders have worked to embed and further develop effective teaching and learning strategies. Five new staff began at the school in 2017. This has meant that the teaching teams have had to revisit expectations for teaching and learning so that there continues to be consistency of practice across the school.

Leaders and teachers actively contribute to the Puketeraki Rangiora Kāhui Ako|Community of Learning (CoL).

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

The school is highly effective in the way it responds to children whose learning and achievement need acceleration.

The school has many effective processes that are enabling achievement of equity and excellence.

Children participate and learn in caring, collaborative learning communities. Effective, culturally responsive teaching strategies support and promote children's learning.

School leaders ensure an orderly and supportive environment that is conducive to children's learning and wellbeing. Parents, whānau and the community are welcomed and involved in school activities as respected and valued partners in learning.

The board effectively represents and serves the school and education community.

The board and school leaders need to continue to develop effective ways of identifying the impact of initiatives on learning and other outcomes for children.

At the time of this review, children were highly engaged in a curriculum with sufficient interest and challenge to meet their needs and interests.

Children are achieving excellent educational outcomes. School performance has been sustained over time through well-focused, embedded processes and practices. This school has successfully addressed in-school disparity in educational outcomes.

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

Equity and excellence

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

The school is highly effective in the way it responds to children whose learning and achievement need acceleration.

Most children, including Maori and Pacific children, are achieving well against the National Standards in reading, writing and mathematics. Identified groups of priority learners receive targeted learning programmes. The priority groups include children who would benefit from extension programmes. The progress of priority learners is regularly monitored and reported to the board.

The school has a strong focus on its vision and core values of being caring and creative, open-minded, optimistic leaders and learners. This is evident in the environment, and in the way adults and children behave.

Teachers’ judgements about children’s achievement are based on comprehensive, rigorous assessment processes.

School conditions supporting equity and excellence

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

The school’s processes are very effective in supporting equity and excellence.

Children participate and learn in caring, collaborative learning communities. The core values include caring for others. All teachers work together for the benefit of all children and have collective responsibility for them. Children, teachers, parents and whanau participate in curriculum design and decision making.

Effective, culturally responsive pedagogy supports and promotes children's learning. The school's culturally responsive action plan details a number of initiatives that teachers are undertaking to recognise and celebrate biculturalism and cultural diversity. Maori perspectives are evident in the environment and planned for in curriculum programmes. Teachers have made good progress, and are aware that they need to continue to develop this aspect of the school.

School leaders ensure an orderly and supportive environment that is conducive to children's learning and wellbeing. Leaders are highly reflective, and strategic in their approach to school leadership. Teachers who are new to the school are well resourced and supported. Clear expectations for learning and teaching are easily accessible and evident in practice.

Parents, whānau and the community are welcomed and involved in school activities as respected and valued partners in learning. Parents receive regular real-time updates on their children's learning and can easily provide comment. They have a wide range of ways that they can be involved in supporting children's learning at home. The school's communication plan provides a strategic approach to managing communication with the community.

The board effectively represents and serves the school and education community. Trustees bring a diverse and useful range of skills and experiences to the board. They actively participate in learning-based teams to promote their goal of every child having “the ultimate learning experience”.

Sustainable development for equity and excellence

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

The school’s evaluative processes could be further developed to identify and build on the impact of its many initiatives.

The board and school leaders need to be more specific in identifying and recording the impact of their initiatives. While there is ongoing discussion among leaders and trustees about student achievement and the outcome of various programmes, there is little evidence of any conclusions reached about programme effectiveness, or decisions about next steps. Identifying success criteria at the start of an initiative and using them to evaluate outcomes would assure leaders and trustees that their initiatives are achieving the desired outcomes.

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?

Children are achieving excellent educational outcomes. School performance has been sustained over time through well-focused, embedded processes and practices. This school has successfully addressed in-school disparity in educational outcomes.

The agreed next step is to further refine the school’s evaluative processes.

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

Dr Lesley Patterson

Deputy Chief Review Officer Southern

26 September 2017

About the school

Location

North Canterbury

Ministry of Education profile number

3451

School type

Full primary (Year 1-8)

School roll

223

Gender composition

Girls 53%

Boys 47%

Ethnic composition

Māori 0.5%

Pākehā 87%

Other 12.5%

Provision of Māori medium education

No

Review team on site

August 2017

Date of this report

26 September 2017

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review

Education Review

Education Review

2012

2009

2005