Taneatua School

Education institution number:
1978
School type:
Full Primary
School gender:
Co-Educational
Definition:
Not Applicable
Total roll:
134
Telephone:
Address:

44 McKenzie Street, Taneatua

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Taneatua School

Findings

On the basis of the findings of this review, ERO’s overall evaluation judgement is that Tāneatua School has made sufficient progress to address the areas that were identified and will now transition to ERO’s School Evaluation for Improvement | Te Ara Huarau model.

1 Background and Context

What is the background and context for this school’s review?

Tāneatua School is located in the rural township of Tāneatua near Whakatāne, with students in Years 1 to 8. There are five English medium and two Māori medium classes. Most of the current 129 students whakapapa to various hapū within Ngai Tūhoe, the local iwi. A new principal, deputy and board chair started in April 2019 after the 2018 ERO report was confirmed.

2 Review and Development

How effectively is the school addressing its priorities for review and development?

Priorities identified for review and development

The areas for review and development in the 2018 ERO report focused on:

  • strengthening the quality of teacher practice
  • improving systems for managing student behaviour and meeting student pastoral needs
  • building systems and processes that enable leaders to better collate and use assessment data to track and monitor progress and achievement
  • developing systematic and coherent systems for internal evaluation that focus on improving outcomes for students.
Progress
Strengthening the quality of teacher practice

Clear and high expectations for teacher planning and delivery are in place. The board has committed significant funding to a range of teacher professional development that responds to identified student needs and builds on effective practice. The principal has led school-wide professional development in the teaching of mathematics. More recently there has been a significant focus on innovative approaches to literacy teaching.

The use of effective and innovative teaching strategies to respond to students’ learning needs is highly visible, particularly in literacy and te reo matatini. Effective strategies observed by ERO include:

  • the use of the learning progressions of The New Zealand Curriculum (NZC) and the kauneketanga of Te Marautanga o Aotearoa (TMoA) to identify students who are at risk of not achieving and to identify their learning needs
  • flexible grouping of students to facilitate learning where a teina tuakana approach can be promoted
  • simplified planning templates that show alignment between student learning needs and planned activities
  • the natural integration of Tāneatuatanga and Tūhoetanga
  • learning made more visible to students
  • cooperative learning
  • a refined and integrated focus on the teaching of phonics to assist students to decode when learning to read in English.

The development of a positive culture for learning amongst teachers has resulted in high levels of consistency across many areas of practice. There is a strengths-based approach to teacher support and development. Teachers have been supported to develop their leadership capability. The learnings from professional development are freely shared and professional discussions are common. Teachers plan collaboratively and they celebrate their development.

Students in many classrooms can discuss their current learning level, the level they are aiming for by the end of the year and the next steps in learning. There are examples of highly effective practice in giving feedback and feedforward that align with students’ current goals and promote learner agency. Sharing these good practices across all classrooms is the next step.

Continuing to strengthen the professional leadership of the Rūmaki classes is needed to ensure teachers are able to keep up to date with evidence-based best practice, derived from research in the fields of Rūmaki education and second language acquisition.

Improving systems for managing student behaviour and meeting student pastoral needs

Respectful, caring, and supportive relationships between students and teachers are highly visible contributing to a calm and settled learning environment. A well-embedded approach to behaviour management promotes student self-management. Students with high behaviour needs and other special needs participate fully in the day-to-day life of the classroom within an inclusive school culture. They participate in interventions that strengthen pro-social behaviours and self-management of emotions. There has been a significant decrease in the number of serious behaviour incidents in the school.

Building systems and processes which enable leaders to better collate and use assessment data to track and monitor progress and achievement

The school has reviewed its assessment and aromatawai schedules. An appropriate range of assessment and aromatawai tools is being used. The principal has led professional development about how to make overall teacher judgements (OTJs). They meet with each teacher twice a year to discuss the robustness of these OTJs. Many informal professional discussions occur particularly when there are contradictions in the data.

The school tracks student progress and achievement using the learning progressions of the NZC and the kauneketanga of TMoA through a new student management system (SMS). Curriculum expectations for achievement are being developed and the assessment schedule will continue to be reviewed as the SMS becomes embedded.

The school agrees they need to continue to move the focus of assessment from achievement to both progress and achievement, specifically to accelerating the progress of students at risk of not achieving.

To do this, there needs to be:

  • a greater focus on monitoring and tracking the rates of progress of individual students at classroom and syndicate level
  • a greater focus in teacher professional discussion on the strategies found to be successful in accelerating student progress
  • a change in charter targets from percentage increases in overall achievement, to a focus on accelerating the progress of all students who are at risk of not achieving.
Developing systematic and coherent systems for internal evaluation that focus on improving outcomes for students.

The school has recently engaged with an external provider to provide a comprehensive and regularly updated policy framework. The framework includes a full cycle of review to ensure policies and procedures remain current.

The school’s strategic plan contains a range of appropriate strategic goals across several areas of school operation. It contains annual goals that generally align with these. The strategic plan has the potential to be strengthened as a tool for evaluation, by ensuring a clear and coherent alignment between strategic and annual goals and student outcomes.

3 Sustainable performance and self review

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

Trustees, leaders, and teachers have established a foundation of values, leadership, tone, climate and relationships likely to sustain and improve student learning - engagement, progress and achievement. They have developed the capacity to respond effectively to current or emergent issues and have built the capability to sustain and continue to improve student achievement.

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
  • school policies in relation to meeting the requirements of the Children’s Act 2014.

Conclusion

On the basis of the findings of this review, ERO’s overall evaluation judgement is that Tāneatua School has made sufficient progress to address the areas that were identified and will now transition to ERO’s School Evaluation for Improvement | Te Ara Huarau model.

Shelley Booysen
Acting Director Review and Improvement Services (Central)
Central Region - Te Tai Pūtahi Nui
2 August 2021

About the school

The Education Counts website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement.

Taneatua School - 15/11/2018

Findings

Taneatua School has made some progress in addressing the areas for development identified in the 2015 ERO report. Students at risk of underachieving are now better supported in ways underpinned by their culture and identity as Tāneatua and Tūhoe. However, low levels of achievement and poor rates of progress continue.

ERO intends to carry out another review over the course of one-to-two years.

1 Background and Context

What is the background and context for this school’s review?

Taneatua School is located in the small rural township of Taneatua near to Whakatane. The school caters for students from Years 1 to 8. The current roll is 148. All students are Māori, of Tūhoe descent. In two classes, the curriculum is delivered exclusively through the medium of te reo Māori. In the other seven classes students are taught mainly through the English language, with te reo Māori being used as a language of instruction up to 50% of the time.

The current principal was appointed shortly after the last ERO review in 2015 but has been a long standing member of the staff in other roles. There have been significant changes to teaching staff since the last review.

Trustees are representative of the local community. Most teachers have strong intergenerational links with whānau and their children. Raising overall levels of student achievement must be an urgent priority for the school.

2 Review and Development

How effectively is the school addressing its priorities for review and development?

Priorities identified for review and development in the 2015 ERO report

Systems and processes needed to strengthen teacher capability and raise and accelerate student progress and achievement are:

  • tracking and reporting student achievement throughout the year, especially for students who are at risk in their learning
  • building teacher capability to make overall teacher judgements about student achievement
  • using literacy progressions and Te Ara Ako i te Reo Matatini to inform learning and teaching
  • aligning the The New Zealand Curriculum (TNZC), Te Marautanga o Aotearoa (TMoA), and Te Reo o Tūhoe to create a unique curriculum document for Taneatua
  • developing a formal framework of self-review that reflects the school vision, values, goals and priorities and more accurately reflects the aspirations of the whānau whānui and ngā uri o Tūhoe to achieve ongoing improvement in teaching and learning
  • developing a strategic and coherent performance management system that builds professional capability and collective capacity. This should include opportunities for systematic and collaborative discussions, and teaching as inquiry with a focus on student learning and achievement.

Systems and processes to strengthen compliance with legislative requirements:

  • review and refine staff job descriptions and appointments polices and processes to ensure the board is meeting its responsibilities as a good employer
  • develop and maintain an ongoing programme of self-review in relation to policies and plans
  • provide appropriate career education and guidance for all students in Year 7 and above
  • meet requirements of the Vulnerable Children Act 2014 by developing child protection policies that guide staff to identify and report child abuse and neglect
  • develop a programme for delivering appropriate sexuality education, particularly for students in Years 7 and 8.
Progress

Some progress has been made in strengthening systems and processes that strengthen teacher capability to raise student progress and achievement. However, progress and achievement data indicates insufficient progress for improved outcomes.

Progress has been made in developing systems for measuring, tracking and reporting student achievement throughout the year, especially for students who are at risk in their learning. A new school-wide process for the Auraki section of the school focusses on measuring students’ rates of progress. Professional discussions by individual classroom teachers and syndicate groups to identify and discuss students whose progress needs to be accelerated are beginning to take place. School leaders are able to identify trends and patterns of progress and achievement across the school. This information should be used to assist the board to develop appropriate targets for acceleration and achievement, and to report progress against these targets.

At the classroom level some teachers, have developed useful systems for tracking the progress of students in relation to their identified needs. Some teachers are able to identify the at-risk students in their classes, and their next learning steps in some curriculum areas.

Some progress has been made in strengthening overall teacher judgements. An appropriate range of assessment tools is being used. Teachers have undertaken professional learning in the use of assessment tools and interpretation and analysis of data. The timing of assessments is increasingly aligned to reporting rates of progress for at-risk learners. Further development is necessary to strengthen the dependability of teachers' assessment judgements.

Progress has been made in strengthening teachers' use of the literacy and mathematics progressions of TNZC, and those of Te Ara Ako i Te Reo Matatini. Some teachers are using the progressions to:

  • plan programmes in response to student's individual learning needs
  • set goals with students about their learning
  • give feedback and feedforward to students
  • measure student progress
  • assist students to assess their learning.

Leaders must urgently address the need for more consistent quality of practice across all classrooms and in all the areas of literacy, mathematics and te reo matatini.

Some progress has been made in developing students as self-managing learners. Some students are able to talk about their current levels of attainment in relation to where they need to be by the end of the year, and what they need to do next in order to get there. There is an urgent need for leaders to ensure these practices are consistent across all classrooms.

Significant progress has been made in developing a unique curriculum document for Taneatua School that aligns the NZC, the TMoA and Te Reo o Tūhoe. Tāneatua knowledge and heritage is now highly visible in classrooms across the school and all classrooms have undertaken units of work that deepen and enhance students’ understanding of their rich culture and heritage – Tāneatua Ariki, Tāneatua Tohunga, Tāneatua Tangeta, Tāneatua Uruuru Whenua. Teachers have identified a need to further explore and embed a sequential approach to the delivery of Tāneatua and Tūhoe culture and to whakaū i ngā tāonga tuku iho nei ki te wairua ra anō.

Internal evaluation remains as an area requiring urgent development as follows:

  • tracking and monitoring the achievement of at-risk students
  • appraisal systems and processes for teaching staff including the principal, that meet the requirements of the New Zealand Education Council
  • formal processes for self review to monitor the effectiveness of teaching programmes and initiative. ‘

3 Sustainable performance and self review

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

The school is not well placed to continue to improve and review its performance. There is an urgent need to develop and embed conditions necessary to improve:

  • professional leadership to build the capability of teachers to meet the learning needs of all students
  • performance management systems so that issues of poor performance are addressed
  • internal evaluation to ensure that it is systematic, coherent and is consistently focused on improving outcomes for students.

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.

Actions for compliance

ERO identified non-compliance in relation to performance management. In order to address this, the board of trustees must:

  • consistently implement a robust appraisal system for all teaching staff, including the principal.
    [State Sector Act (1988) S.77c; Principals Collective Employment Contract.]

In order to improve current practice the board should:

  • strengthen the school’s behaviour management policy to ensure it reflects current teacher practice and meets Ministry of Education requirements with regard to stand downs and suspensions
    ensure that rules and guidelines for the physical restraint of students are consistently applied.

4 Recommendation

Recommendations, including any to other agencies for ongoing or additional support.

ERO recommends that the Secretary for Education consider intervention under Part 7A of the Education Act 1989 in order to bring about improvement in:

  • levels of student achievement and progress
  • teaching practice
  • professional leadership
  • internal evaluation to improve educational outcomes for all students.

Conclusion

Taneatua School has made some progress in addressing the areas for development identified in the 2015 ERO report. Students at risk of underachieving are now better supported in ways underpinned by their culture and identity as Tāneatua and Tūhoe. However, low levels of achievement and poor rates of progress continue.

ERO intends to carry out another review over the course of one-to-two years.

Adrienne Fowler

Director Review and Improvement Services

Te Tai Miringa - Waikato / Bay of Plenty Region

15 November 2018

About the School

Location

Taneatua, near Whakatane

Ministry of Education profile number

1978

School type

Full Primary (Years 1 to 8)

School roll

148

Gender composition

Boys 56% Girls 44%

Ethnic composition

Māori

100%

Special Features

Dual medium

Review team on site

August 2018

Date of this report

15 November 2018

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review
Supplementary Review
Education Review

October 2015
September 2012
August 2010