Remarkables Primary School

School Context

Remarkables Primary School in Frankton has a roll of 549 Years 1 to 8 students who are from diverse cultural backgrounds.

The school’s vision is to: inspire and equip learners to be savvy citizens with wide future horizons -Ngā iwi tumeke. The valued outcomes for students, described across five peaks to reflect the local environment, are to: show respect, reflect, reach up and reach out, reward and build resilience. These values underpin the school curriculum.

Key strategic aims for school leaders and teachers are to:

• grow resilient people and partnerships
• teach and learn with a future focus
• maximise teacher and student potential
• measure and reflect effectively.

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

• reading, writing and mathematics progress and achievement

• current curriculum programmes in all areas of learning

• positive behaviour initiatives.

Since the 2015 ERO review, there have been changes to the school’s leadership team and board, including a new chairperson and trustees. The board has benefited from external short term professional development in governance.

The board and leaders have responded positively to areas for improvement identified in the previous ERO review, including strengthening some board documentation, increasing the consistency of teaching and building better understanding of bicultural practices.

The school is a member of the Wakatipu Kāhui Ako|Community of Learning (CoL).

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 effectively achieving equitable and excellent outcomes for its students in literacy, mathematics and its valued outcomes

School information shows that for 2017 and 2018 almost all students in Years 1 to 5, and most students in Years 6 to 8, achieved or exceeded curriculum expectations in reading and mathematics. The majority of these students achieved curriculum expectations in writing. However, there is still disparity for some students. The school recognises the need to increase the number of students working at expected levels in writing across the school, and also in reading and mathematics, particularly in Years 6 to 8. School information shows that most Māori students achieve very well in reading, writing and mathematics.

The school has extensive information about individual students’ progress and achievement for year groups. School-wide information shows that, over 2017 and 2018, there has been a slight increase in reading achievement overall and sustained high achievement in writing and mathematics for students in Years 1 to 5.

Almost all students are achieving the school’s valued outcomes.

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

The school is effective in its response to those students whose learning and achievement need acceleration. Overall school information shows that targeted responses to accelerate learning in reading were very effective for most of these students. Specific and targeted responses were effective for over a third of Māori students in reading, and for nearly half of these students in mathematics. School information shows that at each year level, a number of students moved from achieving within the expected levels of achievement to exceeding expectations in reading, writing and 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 benefit from a well-considered, meaningful and rich curriculum which reflects their local environment. As they progress through the school, students have increasing choice in curriculum design. Access to learning experiences across the curriculum is enhanced through the use of specialist teachers providing opportunities for in-depth learning experiences. Increased bicultural capability is enabling students to hear and use te reo Māori and learn about tikanga Māori. Regular performance of waiata and kapa haka in the community provides authentic contexts for learning, and has built learning-centred partnerships beyond the school.

The school is a warm and inclusive learning community that values collaboration and innovation. There are positive relationships at all levels of the school. The deliberate and increased schoolwide focus on strengthening resilience supports the wellbeing of students. Students value having a wide range of leadership opportunities that contribute to their learning and wellbeing. They experience positive transitions in, through, and out of the school.Children with additional and/or complex needs are well supported.

Teachers’ capacity is strengthened by ongoing inquiry into their own practices. Leaders and teachers are systematically developing effective processes to communicate and share new knowledge and information in ways that promote improvement and innovation. There are clear expectations for teachers which guide the enactment of the curriculum and support assessment. Teachers’ strengths are valued and well utilised. Well-considered provision for collaboration across teaching teams is building collective capability.

Strong pedagogical leadership and strategically planned professional learning and development is contributing to ongoing improvement in teaching and learning. Internal evaluation practices are thoroughly embedded across the school. The culture of professional learning is well established and focused on quality teaching and positive outcomes for children.

Leaders and teachers have implemented effective long and short term strategies including:

• school-wide teacher development to increase the professional capability and collective capacity in the teaching of writing, which is supported by the school’s participation in the Kāhui Ako
• clearly identifying which students would benefit from a differentiated approach, and more closely monitoring their progress
• building students’ capability and capacity to become more independent learners who are able to articulate their progress and achievement.

Coherent processes and practices promote equity and excellence. The board’s strategic vision, values and planning clearly articulate the future direction for the school. Strategic provision of resourcing to support teaching and learning is responsive to the identified strengths, needs and interests of students and staff.

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

School leaders and teachers now need to analyse learning information to know more about the effectiveness of specific teaching strategies and practices. They also need to report on the sufficiency of progress for those students who are at risk of not achieving at expected levels.

School leaders should continue to analyse the impact of deliberate acts of teaching and approaches in supporting 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 Vulnerable Children Act 2014.

4 ERO’s Overall Judgement

On the basis of the findings of this review, ERO’s overall evaluation judgement of Remarkables Primary School performance in achieving valued outcomes for its students is: Well placed.

ERO’s Framework: Overall School Performance 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:

• strong pedagogical leadership that is building teacher capability and capacity to promote equity and excellence

• trustees, who are well informed about their role, have broad experience and are highly focused on positive outcomes for students

• a collaborative and innovative culture of learning.

Next steps

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

• strengthening the analysis of shifts in achievement to identify the extent to which the rates of individual student progress are sufficient for accelerated learning
• further analysing data to know which interventions have been most successful and for whom
• tracking accelerated progress to ensure achievement gains are sustained over time.

Alan Wynyard

Director Review and Improvement Services Southern

Southern Region

12 April 2019

About the school