- ERO evaluates and reports on the education and care of children and young people in early childhood services and schools.
Paparangi School in the Northern suburbs of Wellington caters for students in Years 1 to 6. At the time of this ERO review, the roll was 277 students, 16% of whom identify as Māori. An enrolment zone was established in 2018 and implemented in 2019. The roll continues to grow.
The school has a vision to ‘grow adventurous learners’. Its ‘GROW’ values (Grit, Respect, Others, Wonder) have been recently reviewed.
Current goals and targets for improvement in student outcomes are: raising achievement, design and implementation of a localised curriculum, creation of collaborative learning environments and the fostering of a healthy and active community which thinks and acts sustainably.
Leaders and teachers regularly report to the board, schoolwide information about outcomes for students in the following areas:
There have been a number of changes of staff since the September 2016 ERO review, several as a result of roll growth. A new board of trustees was established in June 2019. A new deputy principal and two assistant principals were appointed December 2019.
Professional development in 2018 and 2019 was focused on mathematics and redevelopment of the curriculum. In 2019 the focus was on the revision of school values and the development of consistent expectations for students’ behaviour.
The school is working towards equitable and excellent outcomes for its students.
In 2018, almost all students achieved at or above school expectations in reading while most achieved at this level in writing and mathematics.
Overtime there has been a small increase in student achievement in reading and a small decrease in mathematics. Boys, Māori and Pacific students achieve at lower rates than girls in writing. Māori girls achieve at levels lower than Māori boys and other students in mathematics.
Most students make expected progress. Accelerated achievement is evident for some students in reading, writing and mathematics.
The school continues to work to identify and implement effective practices and processes to promote equity of outcomes for all learners. This is reflected through actions that focus on continuous improvement. Leaders and teachers are developing better systems for the effective tracking of student achievement outcomes.
Staff work collaboratively with parents and specialist staff to provide effective support for students with high and complex needs. The learning support coordinators are highly aware of these children and share information about their needs with teaching teams. The progress of English language learners is regularly monitored, and programmes adjusted accordingly. Teacher assistants are highly valued for the support they provide for individuals and class programmes.
Leaders strongly support the school’s direction to achieve its revised vision, values and strategic goals. They have introduced new learning environments and teaching practices to improve student outcomes. Clear and consistent social expectations are being developed through implementation of the new schoolwide values.
The school is at a beginning stage of redeveloping a local curriculum. This includes guidelines for delivery and content. Teachers are developing ways to adapt the delivery of the curriculum to make it more authentic and engaging for students.
An environmental focus continues to be central to learning contexts and activities. STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics) and play-based learning practices were introduced in 2018 to support students to have more ownership of their learning. An increased emphasis on oral language has been introduced to improve reading and writing levels. It is too early to assess the impact of these initiatives on student outcomes.
A review of the assessment schedule, including reporting of each student’s achievement to parents, was completed in 2019. This gives useful guidance on progress and achievement.
The school’s local curriculum is currently being reviewed and updated to reflect the revised vision for learning. Completion and documentation of this, in consultation with families and the community, is a key next step to sustain improvements to teaching and assessment practices.
Leaders, trustees and teachers are reflective and seeking to understand the impact of initiatives on practice and student outcomes. They are developing their understanding of evaluation and inquiry and the importance of ensuring these processes are purposeful, systematic and coherent. Further development of inquiry and evaluation to support better measurement of the impact of initiatives and curriculum actions is a next step.
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:
During the review, ERO checked the following items because they have a potentially high impact on student safety and wellbeing:
On the basis of the findings of this review, ERO’s overall evaluation judgement of Paparangi School’s performance in achieving valued outcomes for its students is: Developing.
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.
For sustained improvement and future learner success, the school can draw on existing strengths in:
For sustained improvement and future learner success, priorities for further development are in:
ERO identified non-compliance in relation to consultation on delivery of the health curriculum.
In order to address this, the board of trustees must:
Since the on-site stage the board has taken steps to address this.
Dr Lesley Patterson
Director Review and Improvement Services Te Tai Tini
Southern Region
17 March 2020
|
Location |
Wellington |
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
2947 |
|
School type |
Contributing (Years 1 to 6) |
|
School roll |
277 |
|
Gender composition |
Male 58%, Female 42% |
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori 16% |
|
Students with Ongoing Resourcing Funding (ORS) |
Yes |
|
Provision of Māori medium education |
No |
|
Review team on site |
October 2019 |
|
Date of this report |
17 March 2020 |
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review September 2016 |