Shannon School

Shannon School

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within 12 months of the Education Review Office and Shannon School working in Te Ara Huarau, an improvement evaluation approach used in most English Medium State and State Integrated Schools. For more information about Te Ara Huarau see ERO’s website. www.ero.govt.nz

Context 

Shannon School was founded in 1889 and is situated in the Horowhenua area, between Palmerston North and Levin. The school values the connection to its rural community which is reflected in its Enviro School programme. Active links with local iwi/hapū Ngati Whakatere are supported throughout the school and board decisions. The school’s motto ‘Kia Mau te Puawaitanga o to Mana - Nurturing the Mana of the Learner,’ is prioritised across the school. 

Shannon School’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are to:

  • enable personalised, seamless learning pathways

  • foster whānau/family engagement

  • nurture and support wellbeing.

You can find a copy of the school’s strategic and annual plan on Shannon School’s website.

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate how well a balance of explicit teaching and agentic learning supports learner progress and ensures equitable and excellent outcomes for all learners.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is: 

  • that the school has successfully trialled a balance of explicit teaching and agentic learning opportunities in mathematics and is now prioritising the transfer of this practice to other areas of the curriculum
  • to progress learner outcomes in reading, writing and mathematics across the school
  • to ensure models of teaching and learning support learner progress to expected curriculum expectations.

The school expects to see:

  • all learners progressing and achieving at their expected curriculum level

  • coherent, consistent and collaborative school-wide practices.

Strengths

The school can draw from the following strengths to support its goal for all learners to achieve at expected curriculum expectations:

  • learner voice is highly valued and shapes their learning experiences

  • classroom systems and processes are well established and embedded to support learners to be self-managing

  • Māori learners are secure and successful in their identity as Māori

  • close links with Ngāti Whakatere supports learners to build connection to, and a rich knowledge of, the local environment and its people.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise outcomes of equity and excellence for all learners through:

  • providing explicit teaching opportunities across the curriculum

  • embedding systems and processes of internal evaluation to identify the effectiveness of models of teaching and learning and practices.

ERO’s role will be to support the school in its evaluation for improvement cycle to improve outcomes for all learners. ERO will support the school in reporting their progress to the community. The next public report on ERO’s website will be a Te Ara Huarau | School Evaluation Report and is due within three years.

Phil Cowie
Director Review and Improvement Services (Central)
Central Region | Te Tai Pūtahi Nui

3 November 2022 

About the School

The Education Counts website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement.  educationcounts.govt.nz/home

Shannon School

Board Assurance with Regulatory and Legislative Requirements Report 2022 to 2025

Board Administration

Yes

Curriculum

Yes

Management of Health, Safety and Welfare

Yes

Personnel Management

Yes

Finance

Yes

Assets

Yes

Further Information

For further information please contact Shannon School Board of Trustees.

The next Board of Trustees assurance that it is meeting regulatory and legislative requirements will be reported, along with the Te Ara Huarau | School Evaluation Report, within three years.

Information on ERO’s role and process in this review can be found on the Education Review Office website.

Phil Cowie
Director Review and Improvement Services (Central)
Central Region | Te Tai Pūtahi Nui

3 November 2022

About the School

The Education Counts website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement. educationcounts.govt.nz/home

Shannon School - 04/09/2017

Summary

Shannon School caters for children from Years 1 to 8. The roll at the time of this ERO review is 97 with over 70% identifying as Māori. This is a significant drop in overall numbers since the July 2014 ERO review.

A reasonably high number of students do not attend Shannon School for their entire primary schooling. There has been increased transience of students since July 2014. The school continues to offer children the option of Māori immersion education.

There is a reasonably high number of children attending who have diverse needs. The school works positively to provide all children with individualised learning journeys.

Accelerating student achievement continues to be a priority. Student achievement data shows that while there has been improvement for some, there are significant numbers of children who are not meeting National Standards expectations. The school has put a range of initiatives and programmes in place to monitor and improve this situation.

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

Lifting achievement for Māori students remains a priority. Generally across the school there has been a downward trend with significant numbers of children not meeting National Standards expectations. There is disparity for Māori learners across reading and mathematics and for Māori boys in writing. Children in ruma rumaki have similar achievement patterns to those in the English medium classes. Culturally responsive practices are well embedded.

School processes are focused on children achieving equity and excellence. There are some continuing areas for further development needed to support children’s educational success.

The school has capacity and capability to accelerate learning for all children. However, disparity in achievement for Māori and/or other children remains.

The school agrees to:

  • continue to develop more targeted planning to accelerate learning for children

  • continue to monitor targeted planning, improved teaching, and children’s progress

  • discuss the school’s progress with ERO.

ERO will provide an internal evaluation workshop to support the school to continue to develop effective planning and monitoring processes to support equity and excellence for all children.

ERO is likely to carry out the next review in three years.

Equity and excellence

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

The school is working positively to improve its response to Māori and other children whose learning and achievement need acceleration.

Lifting achievement for Māori students remains a priority. Generally across the school there has been a downward trend with significant numbers of children not meeting National Standards expectations. There is disparity for Māori learners across reading and mathematics and particularly for Māori boys in writing.

The school has set an aspirational target for 2017 for all Māori boys to accelerate progress to achieve at or above the National Standard in writing. In 2016 70% of Māori students were below or well below the National Standard in writing. Children in ruma rumaki have similar achievement patterns to those in the English medium classes.

The school continues to seek ways to strengthen effective practices to achieve positive outcomes for all children. Teachers work collaboratively across the school and with teachers from other schools in their Kerekere Community of Learning | Kāhui Ako (CoL). Their focus on consistency of judgements about achievement also allows them to identify assessment trends and patterns.

The school is working with their Kerekere CoL to moderate assessment through the use of the Progress and Consistency Tool (PaCT). The use of this tool has the potential to further strengthen the dependability and reliability of the school’s publicly reported student achievement data.

Students with diverse needs are well identified and supported. They have individualized programmes of learning with action plans developed in collaboration with teachers, parents and external agencies. Additional support, including the provision of teacher aides, supports students with identified or complex learning needs.

Staff professional learning and development allows teachers to learn and apply new knowledge that supports them to accelerate student achievement. The focus for teacher development on oral language and writing for 2017 supports the school targets.

School conditions supporting equity and excellence

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

The school motto, values, teaching beliefs and key competencies clearly underpin the curriculum. The values of Shannon School - Pride, Courage, Caring, Effort and Unity - are evident and well enacted by children and adults. Personalised learning is a key focus to promote ownership and knowledge of their progress and achievement. Children make decisions about their learning. Digital learning options promote student engagement.

Culturally responsive practices and learning are well embedded. Students have the option to be educated within a Māori medium class from Year 1 through to Year 8. The board presently funds the teacher in this class. Some older students spend time in the rumaki class to extend their te reo Māori. Children show pride and confidence in their culture. 

Leaders work positively to provide a supportive, trusting environment conducive to student learning and wellbeing. Teachers are reflective and collaborative. They work together focusing on the best outcomes for students. There is a strong focus on pastoral care and wellbeing that supports children’s sense of belonging in the school.

Teachers meet regularly and closely monitor all student’s achievement. Data boards provide them with clear, visual information. Teachers continue to develop their capability to inquire into and evaluate the impact of their practice. Strengthening teachers’ evaluative knowledge and capability should ensure that inquiry supports improved practice and contributes to the school’s identified priorities.

Committed trustees bring a range of experiences to support equity and excellence for children. They have sought external support to guide their ongoing work. Trustees have a high profile in the school and are well informed about student achievement. They regularly review the school’s guiding documents and have developed strategic goals that inform the annual plan. The principal reports monthly to the board against the strategic goals and five school teaching beliefs.

The board and staff have used a range of initiatives to engage families and whānau in their children’s learning. Three-way conferences are successful. Ongoing surveys seek whānau input into school activities. Leaders, staff and trustees recognise the importance of ensuring that all children have equitable opportunities to succeed. Staff work closely with families to promote children’s success while they attend.

Sustainable development for equity and excellence

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

School processes are focused on children achieving equity and excellence. There are some continuing areas for further development needed to support children’s educational success. The school and ERO agree that these include continuing to:

  • strengthen teaching practice and building inquiry to determine the impact of practice in accelerating student progress

  • develop educational partnerships with early learning services to work collaboratively to lift children’s oral language skills

  • use PaCT to strengthen the dependability of National Standard judgements and ensure the accuracy of teacher judgements

  • build educationally powerful connections with families and whanau.

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. 

Appraisal audit

The school appraisal process meets the requirements for issuing and renewing teacher practising certificates. The process is improvement-focused and provides opportunities for teacher goal setting and reflection.

Going forward

How well placed is the school to accelerate the achievement of all children who need it?

The school has capacity and capability to accelerate learning for all children. However, disparity in achievement for Māori and/or other children remains.

Leaders and teachers:

  • know the children whose learning and achievement need to be accelerated

  • need to continue to build teacher capability to accelerate children’s learning and achievement.

The school agrees to:

  • continue to develop more targeted planning to accelerate learning for children

  • continue to monitor targeted planning, improved teaching, and children’s progress

  • discuss the school’s progress with ERO.

ERO will provide an internal evaluation workshop to support the school to continue to develop effective planning and monitoring processes to support equity and excellence for all children.

ERO is likely to carry out the next review in three years.

Alan Wynyard

Deputy Chief Review Officer Central (Acting)

4 September 2017

About the school

Location

Shannon

Ministry of Education profile number

2989

School type

Full Primary (Year 1 - 8)

School roll

97

Gender composition

Girls 52, Boys 45

Ethnic composition

Māori 70

Pākehā 26

African 1

Provision of Māori medium education

Yes

Number of Māori medium classes

One

Total number of students in Māori medium (MME)

12

Number of students in Level 1 MME

12

Review team on site

June 2017

Date of this report

4 September 2017

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review, July 2014

Education Review, June 2011

Education Review, June 2008