Rangitikei College is a co-educational secondary school that provides for students from Marton and the surrounding rural area. Ngāti Apa is recognised as mana whenua. The roll is 302, and 33% identify as Māori with 8% as Samoan. The roll has grown by 40 students since the September 2015 ERO report.
The vision defined by the school is that through building relationships and personalising learning great futures can be created for all students. Key values to support the vision are based on REP – Respect (Whakaute), Excellence (Eke Panuku) and Participation (Whakaruru).
The board of trustees’ 2018 annual plan gives priority to raising ‘the active engagement and achievement of all students to attain their personal best and develop personal pathways beyond school’.
Leaders and teachers regularly report to the board, schoolwide information about outcomes for students in the following areas:
Since the previous ERO report, a new principal and deputy principal have been appointed. The recently revised charter gives priority to school improvement based on growing links with the community and a more relevant curriculum for students. Close liaison with and support from the community enabled the opening of an extensive artificial turf multi-sport area in November 2017. Both the school and community make extensive use of this facility.
The school is part of the South Rangitikei Kāhui Ako.
Although some students achieve well, senior data needs to trend more positively to consistently align with at least national figures. Preliminary data for 2018, indicates improvement in overall NCEA achievement as a result of a range of actions.
Levels of success in NCEAs have fluctuated since 2014 and need to consistently improve at each level. There has been improvement in overall NCEA Level 2 data. Females continue to achieve more highly than males at NCEA Level 3 and Pākehā higher than Māori at NCEA Level 2.
The number of certificate endorsements gained is below national comparisons. Students in physical education regularly gain NZ Scholarships. In 2017, two students were successful in gaining this qualification, with one gaining an Outstanding Scholarship.
The percentage of students remaining to the senior school has continued to increase and is now similar to national figures. In 2017, 75% of school leavers had achieved at least NCEA Level 2. Māori leaver data shows attainment remains below their Pākehā peers.
Data is collated to show the achievement of Samoan students. Qualification success is variable. Many of these students are English language learners (ELL) and enrol at the school at senior levels. The recent introduction of Samoan as an NCEA subject has provided pathways for increased success for these students.
To increase the opportunities for individual learners to gain NCEA, target students are identified in Years 11 to 13. In 2017, less than half of these students achieved the NCEA level hoped for. Most of these students returned to school in 2018 to give themselves the opportunity to gain at least NCEA Level 2.
The school has mixed success in accelerating learning in Years 9 and 10 and increasing the likelihood of gaining senior qualifications for individual students at risk of not gaining these.
Reading and mathematics data collected for incoming Year 9 students indicates most learners require significant acceleration in their progress to meet curriculum expectation by the end of Year 10. School analysis of 2017 reading data indicates the majority of students below expectation accelerated their progress over the year. Māori and Samoan students are accelerated at similar levels to their peers. Leaders are building the use of mathematics data to show progress in the junior school.
Leaders have made significant strategic changes to systems and programmes to better support equity and opportunity for learner success. The revised school charter, appropriately informed by consultation with the community, provides a future-focused vision for students. The strategic plan identifies relevant annual targets linked to improving student outcomes.
Strengthened processes and practices improve support for students to accelerate progress, be involved in meaningful pathways and gain relevant qualifications. There is a schoolwide focus on literacy to improve learning success across all curriculum areas. The implementation of the improvement plan is responsive to ongoing review and inquiry.
The ‘No Limits’ curriculum development provides greater opportunities for personalising learning. Choice and flexibility are linked to students’ changing interests and aspirations, particularly at senior level. All students have opportunities to work on self-led, meaningful learning projects. Learners are able to pursue greater understanding of and skills related to their areas of interest. Some Māori and Samoan students successfully use cultural knowledge as a vehicle for learning.
Curriculum development provides increased opportunity for learner success. A range of programmes and interventions is in place to more effectively promote success for specific groups of students. Student leadership of a range of activities is successfully promoted.Greater access to a range of part-time involvement in tertiary education or industry training and long distance learning extends pathways available for students.
More effective, learning-based relationships with parents, whānau and the community supports greater responsiveness to the variable and changing needs of learners. Fono contribute to initiatives that promote learning and engagement of Samoan learners and their aiga. Academic mentors build connections with students and families to promote learners’ wellbeing and success. Mentors appropriately identify students at risk in their learning, provide support and monitor progress.
Building teacher capability through collaborative practice promotes shared responsibility for improved student wellbeing, progress and achievement. Professional learning and appraisal of teachers is suitably aligned to student outcome priorities identified by trustees and leaders. Increased links with contributing schools enables greater knowledge and understanding of the learning strengths and needs of transitioning students.
An improved system for tracking senior student progress has been implemented. Years 9 and 10 assessment information is increasingly used to show individual progress over time. Curriculum and school leaders review of student outcomes is more focused. Student voice is a valued component of review. The principal leads internal evaluation that effectively contributes to improvement.
Strengthening the implementation of the recent developments in processes and practices that contribute to valued outcomes for learners is a continuing priority.
Trustees, leaders and teachers should more consistently make use of achievement information to:
A significant number of students across Years 9 to 13 are identified as having additional learning needs. Appropriate individual learning plans support learners with the most complex needs. Systems being developed to share information with teachers should assist greater progress in learning. Progress for additional needs students, including ELL learners, should be reported to trustees to assist decision making about resourcing.
Leaders and teachers should collaboratively develop clear expectations and guidelines for effective teaching practice aligned to the recently revised vision for learning. The resulting indicators should also reflect culturally responsive practice linked to the local setting and the Standards for the Teaching Profession.
Some Māori students have demonstrated effective leadership and gained high levels of achievement and success. The board of trustees has committed to greater involvement of Te reo o Ngā Rangatahi (whānau) and iwi representation to extend the opportunity for genuine Māori voice in decision making. To improve outcomes for all Māori learners the school should, in collaboration with whānau and iwi, continue to promote the more meaningful inclusion of te ao Māori in teaching and across the curriculum.
As identified by the school, it is appropriate to further extend the focus on Years 9 and 10 literacy and mathematics development to ensure there is a base of foundation skills in place for all students. This should more effectively enable access to a range of learning pathways and better outcomes in the senior school.
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:
For sustained improvement and future learner success, the school can draw on existing strengths in:
developments in curriculum that support greater personalisation and relevance of learning for individual students
learning-based connections and relationships that support learner wellbeing and progress
building teacher capability through collaborative practices that promote shared responsibility for improving student outcomes.
For sustained improvement and future learner success, priorities for further development are in:
ensuring more rigorous tracking and monitoring of senior students learning and progress to improve outcomes in national qualifications
developing clear expectations for teaching to promote the recently redefined vision for student learning
further extending the focus on Year 9 and 10 literacy and mathematics learning to improve their access to a range of pathways in the senior school.
ERO is likely to carry out the next external evaluation in three years.
Alan Wynyard
Director Review & Improvement Services
Te Tai Pokapū - Central Region
25 October 2018
|
Location |
Marton |
|
Ministry of Education profile number |
195 |
|
School type |
Secondary (Years 9 to 15) |
|
School roll |
302 |
|
Gender composition |
Male 51%, Female 49% |
|
Ethnic composition |
Māori 33% |
|
Students with Ongoing Resourcing Funding (ORS) |
Yes |
|
Provision of Māori medium education |
No |
|
Review team on site |
August 2018 |
|
Date of this report |
25 October 2018 |
|
Most recent ERO report(s) |
Education Review September 2015 |