Shirley Primary School

Shirley Primary School

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within 15 months of the Education Review Office and Shirley Primary 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 

Shirley Primary School is located in Shirley, Christchurch and caters for learners from Years 1 to 6. It is a member of Ōtākaro Kāhui Ako with several other local schools and early childhood centres. The school’s vision for all is to Reach for the stars / Whāia te iti kahurangi.

Shirley Primary School’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are:

  • increasing community engagement from all stakeholders to improve learner outcomes

  • implementing a culturally relevant localised curriculum so that each child is able to achieve academic success

  • creating a school culture which is reflective of the school’s vision and values.

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

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate how well the curriculum, teaching and learning support equity and excellence in literacy for diverse learners.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is:

  • the school’s data picture identifies scope to further grow achievement, progress and engagement - including for Māori and Pacific learners, and for the high proportion of English language learners

  • senior leaders are seeking to review and refine existing curriculum guidelines and teaching approaches

  • Professional development has been sought to build capability in literacy teaching, including the introduction of a structured literacy approach.

The school expects to see students supported to achieve to their potential, engaged in authentic and meaningful learning experiences. The teaching team will demonstrate effective and consistent literacy practices that systematically build on students’ strengths and prior knowledge. Curriculum pedagogy and practices will be purposefully and collaboratively grown and sustained. The school will engage with whānau and families to deliberately foster learners’ enjoyment and success in reading and writing. Students and families will share their perspectives in a learning partnership with the school, where adaptations to teaching and learning approaches are highly responsive to their ideas and aspirations.

Strengths

The school can draw from the following strengths to support the school in its goal to strengthen and sustain effective literacy practices that promote success for diverse learners:

  • an embedded relational and inclusive culture, underpinned by shared values

  • well-considered leadership structures, designed to create and sustain shared expectations of quality practices, and purposefully grow teacher capability

  • collaborative and supportive teaching teams, purposefully sharing expertise to support greater learner wellbeing and success.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise:

  • using an ERO evaluation plan to further inform existing strategic and annual planning

  • reviewing and refining literacy guiding documents based on best-practice evidence and research from professional development, to develop a coherent literacy learning pathway and practice expectations

  • engaging with Māori whānau, Pacific communities and English language learners in the evaluation for improvement journey for literacy.

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

Shelley Booysen
Director of Schools

16 August 2023

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

Shirley Primary School

Board Assurance with Regulatory and Legislative Requirements Report 2022 to 2025

As of August 2022, the Shirley Primary School Board of Trustees has attested to the following regulatory and legislative requirements:

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 Shirley Primary 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.

Shelley Booysen
Director of Schools

16 August 2023

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

Shirley School - 17/01/2018

School Context

Shirley School is a contributing school in Christchurch East. It has a roll of 401 students. Students come from diverse backgrounds and a range of ethnicities. Many students do not have English as their first language. Considerable numbers of students enter and leave the school within a year.

The school continues to respond to the ongoing effects of the 2011 and 2012 Christchurch earthquakes. Students, their families and whānau and staff continue to be challenged by this. There has been substantial school rebuilding and refurbishment. This has included, most recently, three large learning hubs containing more specialised learning areas.

Senior leaders are new to their roles at this school. This includes a new principal who took up the role in Term 4, 2017. Prior to his appointment the two deputy principals shared the acting principal role for two terms. There have been other changes in staffing and trusteeship.

Staff professional learning and development has been in areas that support the school’s current context and areas of focus. This has included ‘focusing on mindfulness’ and ongoing participation in a University of Waikato programme to develop Mathematical Inquiry Communities.

The school states that its vision is ‘whāia te iti Kahurangi, reaching for the star in everyone’. Its valued outcomes for its students are that they will be engaged, self-managing and have self-efficacy. The school’s expectation is that students will achieve this through striving for excellence, taking responsibility, collaborating actively and showing respect.

The school’s current goals are to:

  • create an environment for success
  • provide and foster educationally powerful connections and relationships
  • provide a responsive curriculum with effective teaching and opportunity to learn.

The school’s current targets are to increase the proportion of students achieving the National Standards in reading, writing and mathematics.

Leaders and teachers regularly report to the board, schoolwide information in the following areas:

  • student achievement in relation to the National Standards in literacy and mathematics
  • progress for students with additional needs
  • progress for groups of students who have received learning interventions and specific programmes.

Shirley School is a member of the Ōtākaro Community of Learning|Kāhui Ako.

Evaluation Findings

1 Equity and excellence – valued outcomes for students

1.1 How well is the school achieving equitable and excellent outcomes for all its students?

The school is working very positively and proactively towards achieving equitable and excellent outcomes for all its students.

Overall student achievement for the period 2014 to 2016 shows the majority of students are achieving at or above National Standards in reading. Most students are achieving at these levels for writing and mathematics. The school’s information shows that over time, greater proportions of girls are achieving in literacy, with boys not achieving as well as girls in reading and writing. Pacific students are not achieving as well as their peers at the school, particularly in reading. Students with additional needs are being very well supported and do achieve their goals, making very positive progress.

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

This school is responding very effectively to those Māori and other students whose learning and achievement need acceleration.

The school can show that it is effectively and sometimes very effectively accelerating the progress of students who are not yet achieving its expectations in literacy. In 2017, over half of those Māori and Pacific students who were achieving below expectations in literacy, made accelerated progress. Some year groups of students have made accelerated progress in mathematics as a result of a targeted intervention programme.

The school has had a deliberate focus on developing students’ mindfulness. Analysis after this programme indicates an increase in students’ awareness of their own responses and strategies that are contributing to their success and confidence in learning.

2 School conditions for equity and excellence

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

The board is effectively guiding and supporting the school through a period of significant change. Its focus has very much been on supporting students and staff and their wellbeing. It is meeting its statutory requirements well and making decisions in the best interest of students.

This can be seen in its provision of additional resources for:

  • children learning English as a new language
  • individual or groups of children who need extra support in their transition into the school and the school learning environment.

The board supports equity for all students and participates actively in school-wide professional learning and development to better understand children’s needs to inform decision making. This enables children to have optimum opportunities to engage in their learning.

Leaders ensure an orderly and supportive environment that is conducive to children’s learning, wellbeing and safety. They have redefined and raised expectations for student behaviour to improve the conditions for teaching and learning. Leaders identify and resolve conflict quickly and effectively. They are building and drawing on strong relationships with other education institutions and community organisations. They promote and participate in professional learning and development that is specifically targeted at the school’s current context and the needs of learners and teachers.

Prioritising students’ opportunity to learn underpins the school’s curriculum. It is responsive to the identified needs of students, providing a wide range of targeted and flexible support and intervention programmes. Students have many opportunities for choice within their learning. A school-wide culture of care and support for learners pervades. A particular feature of the school’s local curriculum is its strong focus on developing and embedding students’ social competencies. Teachers are implementing the school curriculum in ways that strongly promote student engagement in their learning.

Students’ skills, behaviour and readiness to learn are quickly assessed by teachers and teacher aides. Depending on need, these students receive specific support focused on accelerating their learning and embedding positive learning behaviours.

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

The analysis and use of learner information needs to be extended to identify and evaluate the sufficiency of progress individuals and groups of learners make. This should include developing and sharing a school-wide understanding and expectations for accelerated progress for learners.

Schoolwide targets should clearly show the school’s focus on accelerating progress for all learners who are below or well below the National Standards. Clearly aligning reporting (to leaders and the board) of this progress within the year will better assure the board about shifts made. Extending assessment and moderation practices within and beyond the school will strengthen the dependability of teachers’ judgements.

It is timely for the school to evaluate the effectiveness of recent curriculum and timetable changes on outcomes for learners. This should include:

  • the play-based curriculum in the junior school
  • students’ understanding and ownership of their own learning
  • how well the curriculum is supporting Māori learners to succeed and progress.

The school has identified, and ERO agrees, that its partnership with families/whānau is an area to continue to strengthen. Continuing to seek effective ways of communicating with families of English language learners will be an important part of this. Extending whānau engagement should include ways for them to support and know more about their children’s learning and how this can be supported at home.

Strengthening and embedding the school’s appraisal system for teachers will be an important aspect of the redefining of roles and responsibilities of the new leadership team.

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 Students 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:

  • strong, supportive and focused governance that supports student and staff wellbeing and success

  • the positive culture of care and support that is contributing to student wellbeing

  • its responsive curriculum design and enactment that is engaging learners

  • the way in which leaders and teachers are continuing to embrace change that improves learner outcomes.

Next steps

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

  • the analysis, evaluation and reporting of the sufficiency of progress learners are making, that aligns with schoolwide expectations

  • evaluating the effectiveness of the school’s curriculum to ensure it meets the needs, interests and abilities of all learners

  • strengthening partnerships with families and whānau so that they can be more involved in their children’s learning.

ERO’s next external evaluation process and timing

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

Dr Lesley Patterson

Deputy Chief Review Officer Southern

Te Waipounamu - Southern Region

17 January 2018

About the school

Location

Christchurch

Ministry of Education profile number

3504

School type

Contributing (Years 1 to 6)

School roll

401

Gender composition

Girls: 51% Boys: 49%

Ethnic composition

Māori: 14%
Pākehā: 56%
Pacific: 13%
Other: 17%

Provision of Māori medium education

No

Review team on site

November 2017

Date of this report

17 January 2018

Most recent ERO reports

Education Review: January 2013
Education Review: October 2009
Education Review: June 2006

Shirley School - 11/01/2013

1 Context

What are the important features of this school that have an impact on student learning?

Shirley Primary School has an inclusive, welcoming and caring school environment that strongly supports students’ learning. Students appreciate the respectful, positive and affirming relationships they have with their teachers.

The school vision promotes high expectations that all students can and will succeed in their learning, and be well prepared for the future. Teachers actively encourage students to work together to share ideas and learn from each other.

The diverse and multicultural student roll includes a large number of students who do not have English as their first language. The school successfully engages and involves families in partnerships for learning in a variety of ways.

The school grounds and some buildings have been affected by the Canterbury earthquakes of 2010, 2011 and 2012. The board, principal and staff have responded positively and supportively to these events, and maintained their focus on student learning and wellbeing.

2 Learning

How well does this school use achievement information to make positive changes to learners’ engagement, progress and achievement?

Areas of strength

Leaders, teachers and trustees have developed useful procedures to collect and analyse student achievement. They use this information well to:

  • identify students’ strengths and needs
  • plan appropriate programmes
  • set targets for lifting achievement
  • monitor student progress and identify next learning steps
  • provide informative reports to parents.

Regular reports are provided to the board about all areas of the curriculum, with appropriate emphasis on reading, writing and mathematics.

These reports show that most students, including Māori and Pacific, make good progress in their learning. This is most evident in the junior school, where many five year old students start with low literacy and numeracy understandings. These students make accelerated progress in their first years at school.

Students at risk of underachieving are well supported by specific in-class programmes and other targeted teaching. This additional support is making a positive difference to students’ learning. High achieving students are given regular opportunities for extension.

Teachers use a range of teaching practices to successfully engage students in learning and raise their achievement. These include:

  • making the purpose of learning clear
  • providing criteria for students to assess their own work against
  • giving students some choice about what and how they learn
  • recognising and affirming students’ efforts and success.

These approaches are contributing to students’ positive attitudes towards learning.

Teachers are increasingly using achievement information to reflect on the impact of their teaching on student outcomes, particularly for groups of learners most at risk of not achieving. They use this information to make appropriate changes to their practices.

Reports to parents provide very good information about student achievement, students’ next learning steps and how parents can support students at home. It is less clear in the end of year reports what progress students have made through the year. The school could consider making these reports easier for students and parents to understand.

3 Curriculum

How effectively does this school’s curriculum promote and support student learning?

The school’s curriculum is effectively supporting and promoting students’ learning.

Areas of strength

The curriculum’s strong emphasis on the values of respect, care and determination, and the focus on life-long learning skills is evident in the way staff and students learn together.

Students benefit from a wide range of learning opportunities that build on their strengths, needs and interests. Information and communication technologies (ICT) are increasingly used by students and teachers for learning and teaching.

Teachers know, respect and value students and their language and cultural identity. The school’s kapa haka and Pacific cultural groups provide all students with opportunities to appreciate and learn more about Māori and Pacific culture and language.

Teachers give considerable emphasis to meeting students’ wider learning needs through well-organised pastoral care systems. Expectations for behaviour are well known and understood. Teachers promote students’ self esteem and expect them to take increasing responsibility for their own actions.

Students have many opportunities to support and learn from others. The concepts of tuakana teina and ako are regularly integrated in school programmes through buddy and leadership responsibilities.

Area for review and development

School leaders and teachers are aware of the need to continue to review the school’s curriculum to investigate its effectiveness in improving student engagement and achievement. This should include how well:

  • the New Zealand Curriculum principles are given effect
  • the school’s curriculum reflects Pacific and Māori perspectives
  • achievement expectations for writing align with the National Standards
  • students understand and can confidently talk about their achievement, progress and next learning steps, particularly in relation to the National Standards.

How effectively does the school promote educational success for Māori, as Māori?

The school is effectively promoting educational success for Māori, as Māori.

Māori students are full participants in all aspects of school life. Teachers know their Māori learners well. They use this knowledge to form positive relationships with them, and to make decisions about the best ways to cater for their individual needs and strengths. Te reo Māori is taught in separate lessons in some classes, and is also integrated in class programmes. The school has given prominence to the whakairo (carving) that represents the values and vision of the school.

The school provides ongoing opportunities for Māori parents and whānau to contribute their views about a variety of topics. The board and school leaders recognise the need to find more successful ways to gain a wider response from the parents of Māori students.

4 Sustainable Performance

How well placed is the school to sustain and improve its performance?

The school is well placed to sustain and improve its performance.

Areas of strength

The strong and focused professional leadership is valued by staff and positively influences ongoing school improvement. The principal and other school leaders have high expectations for student learning and for teachers as professionals. These expectations are clearly defined in school guidelines. Teacher appraisal is used effectively to recognise good practice, and identify where improvements could be made.

The principal appropriately delegates and builds the leadership capacity of staff to work towards achieving the school’s goals. School leaders have actively fostered a team approach to school-wide decision making. Good use is made of teachers’ strengths and interests in leading curriculum development. Professional development for teachers is well targeted, and focused on improving outcomes for students.

Trustees and leaders have developed a systematic self-review process that is used well to maintain and further develop all aspects of the school’s operations. The views of staff, students and parents are valued and acted on.

The board has used external support to strengthen its governance responsibilities. Trustees ask good questions about student achievement. They use the information they receive to set future directions for the school.

Trustees work effectively as a team, combining a range of experience and expertise to confidently carry out their responsibilities. The board is proactively planning to ensure that its effectiveness is maintained over time.

Area for review and development

The school’s charter could be strengthened to more clearly reflect the needs of some groups of learners. For example:

  • annual targets should focus specifically on the groups of students who are not yet achieving against the National Standards
  • action plans should show the strategies that teachers will use to work towards these targets
  • the many good practices already in place to support Māori and Pacific learners need to be reflected and extended on in the charter.

Board assurance on legal requirements

Before the review, the board of trustees 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:

  • board administration
  • curriculum
  • management of health, safety and welfare
  • personnel management
  • financial management
  • asset management.

During the review, ERO checked the following items because they have a potentially high impact on student achievement:

  • emotional safety of students (including prevention of bullying and sexual harassment)
  • physical safety of students
  • teacher registration
  • processes for appointing staff
  • stand-downs, suspensions, expulsions and exclusions
  • attendance.
When is ERO likely to review the school again?

ERO is likely to carry out the next review in four-to-five years.

Graham Randell National Manager Review Services Southern Region

11 January 2013

About the School

Location

Christchurch

Ministry of Education profile number

3504

School type

Contributing (Years 1 to 6)

School roll

260

Gender composition

Girls 53% Boys 47%

Ethnic composition

NZ European/Pākehā

Māori

Pacific

Asian

Other Ethnicities

59%

15%

10%

8%

8%

Review team on site

October 2012

Date of this report

11 January 2013

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review

Education Review

Supplementary Review

October 2009

June 2006

June 2004