School Context
Purua School The school has 32 children on its roll, eight of whom have Māori heritage. Children are taught in two classrooms and regularly combine for shared teaching and learning sessions.provides education for children in Years 1 to 8 in a small rural community to the north west of Whangarei.
The school’s vision, “Purua School students will be inventive, creative and ready for the future”, aims to equip children with the knowledge, skills and attitudes they need to successfully continue their own education. The overarching philosophy for learning encompasses the celebration of difference and diversity. The school supports integrated learning across all curriculum areas with environmental awareness and action as a unifying principle.
Leaders and teachers regularly report to the board schoolwide information about outcomes for children in the following areas:
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achievement in reading, writing, oral language and mathematics
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achievement across the curriculum in relation to the levels of the New Zealand Curriculum
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outcomes relating to wellbeing for success
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progress for children learning through play and inquiry learning.
The 2015 ERO report summarised the progress the school had made over the previous three years. The school has maintained strengths identified in that report and has successfully addressed ERO’s recommendations. Roll numbers and staffing have remained stable since 2015. There has been some turnover of trustees serving on the school board since the last board elections.
Purua School is a member of Ngā Kura mo te ako o Whangarei, Group 4 Community of Learning|Kāhui Ako.
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 towards achieving equitable and excellent outcomes for all its learners.
School achievement information over the past three years shows that most children achieve at or above The New Zealand Curriculum (NZC) levels in literacy and they are increasingly successful in mathematics. Most make good learning progress and some make accelerated progress. However, due to the small number of children and a fluctuating roll, it is difficult to reliably identify trends and patterns in achievement data over time.
The board’s valued outcomes for children are very evident in the school’s positive learning culture. Children know each other well and value the tuakana/teina relationships that they have with each other.
The school’s inclusive environment is highly responsive to children’s social, emotional and learning needs. The school collects information to monitor learning behaviours and results show that overall, children demonstrate positive attitudes and confidence in themselves as learners.
The school has good evidence of the progress and achievement children make in relation to the school’s local curriculum. Visual and written information in the school’s newsletters and on social media sites highlights children’s oral language development and their growing social learning skills. The information shows children as they work cooperatively to solve problems and challenges, and their achievement in the visual and performing arts, and in sports and physical activities.
1.2 How well is the school accelerating learning for those Māori and other students who need this?
The school’s personalised approach to learning is very effective in identifying and accelerating the learning of children who need this.
The school size and ethos promotes collaboration between teachers and whānau, and between children and teachers. Together they identify students’ learning needs, set individual learning plans and track students’ progress in meaningful ways. Transition processes respond to individual children, allowing them the time they need to be ready to engage fully with their learning programmes.
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?
The school’s learning community is characterised by respect, empathy, and mutual trust. By working together they provide an inclusive and supportive environment that promotes the learning and wellbeing of all children. Relationships are respectful and productive, and difference and diversity are valued. The school works proactively to identify and draw on community resources to enrich children’s learning opportunities, achievement and wellbeing.
The school’s local curriculum, which has the environment as a unifying concept for learning, very effectively enacts the principles and values of The New Zealand Curriculum. It was collaboratively designed and developed with the full involvement of families/whānau, children and staff. Local community expertise supports the relevant, innovative child-led learning programme. Learning through play, and project (inquiry) learning provide opportunities for children to learn across the curriculum while following their interests and passions.
The curriculum is increasingly culturally responsive. Curriculum planning and evaluation is integrated into annual strategic planning that takes place at Matariki celebrations each year. Since the last review the school has made significant progress in integrating bicultural practice into learning programmes. Regular te reo Māori sessions are providing children and teachers with opportunities to learn about and experience tikanga Māori. Children engage and participate with enthusiasm in these activities.
Leadership across the school promotes personal and collective responsibility for learning. Leaders and trustees seek out the perspectives and aspirations of children, parents and whānau, incorporating these in the school’s vision, values, goals and targets. Children actively participate in the development of a learning environment that respects their contributions and promotes their wellbeing.
2.2 What further developments are needed in school processes and practices for achievement of equity and excellence, and acceleration of learning?
School leaders have identified the need to continue to develop assessment and evaluation practices that are appropriate to play based, and inquiry learning. These practices will enable teachers and children to deliberately build on previous learning and to identify both the progress made, and the next steps to further challenge each learner.
The use of teaching as inquiry and professional knowledge building provides a sound foundation for further development of internal evaluation processes. Continuing to build creative internal evaluation processes that match the school’s curriculum should support continued innovation and improvement for children’s 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:
During the review, ERO checked the following items because they have a potentially high impact on student safety and wellbeing:
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emotional safety of students (including prevention of bullying and sexual harassment)
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physical safety of students
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teacher registration and certification
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processes for appointing staff
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stand down, suspension, expulsion and exclusion of students
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attendance
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school policies in relation to meeting the requirements of the Vulnerable Children Act 2014.
4 Going forward
Key strengths of the school
For sustained improvement and future learner success, the school can draw on existing strengths in:
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an inclusive, collaborative culture that sustains interest and motivation for innovation in teaching and learning
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a culturally responsive curriculum that promotes children‘s holistic development
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strong connections with parents, whānau and the local community that promote meaningful learning and engagement for children
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leadership that maintains high expectations of learning and teaching across the school.
Next steps
For sustained improvement and future learner success, priorities for further development are in:
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continuing to develop capability in assessing and evaluating the outcomes of the innovative curriculum to guide decisions about children’s learning
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developing and documenting internal evaluation and inquiry processes to help the board, leaders and teachers to evaluate and measure the impact of the curriculum on outcomes for learners.
ERO’s next external evaluation process and timing
ERO is likely to carry out the next external evaluation in three years.
Violet Tu’uga Stevenson
Director Review and Improvement Services
Te Tai Raki - Northern Region
29 November 2018
About the school
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Location
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Whangarei
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Ministry of Education profile number
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1089
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School type
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Full Primary (Year 1-8)
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School roll
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32
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Gender composition
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Girls 17 Boys 15
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Ethnic composition
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Māori 9
Pākehā 23
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Students with Ongoing Resourcing Funding (ORS)
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No
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Provision of Māori medium education
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No
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Review team on site
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October 2018
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Date of this report
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29 November 2018
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Most recent ERO report(s)
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Education Review July 2015
Education Review February 2012
Education Review June 2009
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