Te Kopuru School

Te Kopuru School

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within 12 months of the Education Review Office and Te Kopuru 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 

Te Kopuru School is a rural, full primary school located on the northern side of the Kaipara Harbour, 10 kms south of Dargaville. The school has provided education and served its local community for nearly 150 years. 

The school’s vision, values, and curriculum reflect a strong bi-cultural emphasis. Te reo Māori me ona tikanga Māori are integrated into school activities, and teaching and learning programmes.

Te Kopuru School is part of the Northern Wairoa Kāhui Ako | Community of Learning. 

Te Kopuru School’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are:

  • focusing on culturally responsive and relational practices and developing learner ownership of their learning

  • applying deliberate teaching strategies to support authentic and meaningful learning through localised curriculum

  • fostering a culture of care, respect for self, others, and the environment

  • building educationally powerful connections and relationships locally, nationally and globally with teachers and learners.

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

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate how effectively teaching and learning programmes contribute to equitable outcomes for all learners and develop learners’ ownership of their own learning.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is to support the schools’ focus on developing learners’ ownership of their own learning. The school believe that children learn best when they know themselves – mana-atuatanga – uniqueness and connectedness.

The school expects to see:

  • teachers supporting learners to be confident, engaged and leading their learning

  • collaborative teacher practice that uses effective strategies to promote engagement and learning

  • teachers demonstrating a high level of relationship building capability and a high level of teaching skill

  • exciting, vibrant and innovative learning opportunities and experiences for learners.

Strengths

The school can draw from the following strengths to support the school in its goal to evaluate how effectively teaching and learning programmes contribute to equitable outcomes for all learners and helps develop ownership of their own learning:

  • opportunities for Māori learners to succeed as Māori, and for all learners to learn about the bicultural heritage of Aotearoa NZ

  • a focus on growing teacher capability and capacity

  • positive links to the community where whānau are involved in the learning partnerships

  • welcoming positive and inclusive environment that values learner culture, language, and identity.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise:

  • continuing to strengthen a localised and culturally responsive curriculum that provides authentic and purposeful learning
  • continuing to build a culture of reflective practice, ongoing collective capacity, and professional capability across the staff
  • responding to community need by strengthening te reo Māori within the school.

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.

Filivaifale Jason Swann
Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)
Northern Region | Te Tai Raki

21 February 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

Te Kopuru School

Board Assurance with Regulatory and Legislative Requirements Report 2022 to 2025

As of May 2022, the Te Kopuru School Board 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 Te Kopuru 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.

Filivaifale Jason Swann
Director Review and Improvement Services (Northern)
Northern Region | Te Tai Raki

21 February 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

Te Kopuru School - 21/12/2018

School Context

Te Kopuru School, located close to Dargaville in the northern Wairoa district, has provided education for children and served its local community for nearly 150 years. Catering for students from Years 1 to 8, the school has a roll of around 120 children, of whom more than half are Māori. Many of the children have strong iwi and generational connections to the area and to the school, as do many of the staff.

The school continues to offer bilingual education as an option for children from Years 4 to 8. Te Whare Poutama currently caters for around 20 students and offers Māori immersion to Level 3. Class sizes are small in all other classrooms as part of the board’s commitment to promoting positive outcomes for children.

The principal has led the school for many years along with some long-serving staff. Other teachers and support staff are new to the school. The 2015 ERO report identified that all areas identified for review and development in the 2014 ERO report had been addressed with external support. It recommended that leaders continue to build on Ka Hikitia, the Ministry of Education’s Māori Education strategy, in the teachers’ appraisal system.

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

  • achievement data related to reading, writing and mathematics

  • curriculum experiences for students, including trips outside of the school and co-curricular opportunities.

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 working towards achieving equitable and excellent outcomes for all its students.

The school recognises that children’s wellbeing is a precursor for learning and values wellbeing outcomes for children. These outcomes include teachers and leaders engaging and involving whānau in children’s learning and school events, and consulting with whānau regularly about key aspects of the school. Leaders ensure that all children have equitable access to learning resources and external expertise, and to experiences outside of the classroom.

Significantly valued as an outcome for all students is the school’s bicultural curriculum. Schoolwide learning opportunities in te reo Māori and tikanga and te ao Māori support children’s identity as Māori and/or as citizens of Aotearoa New Zealand. Learning in Te Whare Poutama promotes language, culture and identity for Māori children and their whānau, and supports the success that children have as Māori in their school. 

The school has a clear focus on preparing children to be the best learners they can be. As a result of this focus, the school’s achievement data shows that overall most students achieve at or above expected levels in reading and mathematics, a pattern that has been consistent for the past three years. Achievement in writing has declined over the past few years, leading to the school’s strategic and professional learning focus on improving students’ writing.

The school’s data also shows that by the end of Year 8, nearly all children are achieving at or beyond expected levels in reading, writing and mathematics.

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

The school is making some progress towards accelerating learning for Māori and other children. Its achievement information identifies disparity for Māori children in reading, writing and mathematics.

Teachers identify and plan for children’s learning and wellbeing strengths and needs. Children whose learning requires acceleration are provided with various types of support, including in-class teacher aides and external specialist support. Additionally, small class sizes give children greater opportunity for individual or small group teacher time.

The principal agrees that it is timely for the school to access external support to promote teachers’ and leaders’ understanding of acceleration. This type of support would also guide teachers as they continue to improve their assessment process, especially in using varied sources of evidence to make judgements. Additionally, it would help teachers to identify children’s learning needs at the start of the year so that children’s access to learning support is maximised.

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?

School leaders are focused strongly on promoting success for Māori children and whānau, and for all other children and families in the school community. They enact effectively the school’s vision for an authentic, biculturally-inclusive school environment. Te reo Māori and tikanga are increasingly strong throughout the school and especially in Te Whare Poutama. Collectively, leaders and staff have the skills and the determination to strengthen this significant part of the school’s curriculum.

Relevant external professional learning is improving individual teaching and learning practices. Significantly, teachers are developing their understanding of children’s competencies, dispositions and experiences as learners. They are supported to embrace positive attitudes about children and their families, and to have high expectations for all children to be the best they can be.

Staff manage children’s pastoral needs effectively, understanding that wellbeing is a precursor for learner success. Overall, children experience positive relationships with their teachers and are settled in their learning areas. Teachers use increasingly restorative and child-focused strategies to manage children’s behaviour and promote learning, including engaging with parents and whānau. Staff aim to enhance children’s mana as part of their approach.

The school’s curriculum is increasingly responsive to children’s interests, strengths and needs. It is informed by parent and children’s ideas and opinions. Learning programmes are planned around local issues, events and the environment, as well as being focused on reading, writing and mathematics. It could be useful for the school to now consider using Te Marautanga o Aotearoa to design teaching and learning programmes for children learning in Te Whare Poutama.

Leaders and teachers are in the process of exploring some new teaching and learning initiatives that include play-based learning, thinking/metacognition skills, digital fluency and practical learning applications. Alongside these considerations, leaders are also planning to evaluate the extent to which learning programmes provide sufficient challenge and engagement for children.

The board of trustees resources the school strategically to promote equitable and excellent outcomes for children. Learning environments are well equipped and maintained. Internal evaluation is increasingly well understood as a tool for improvement, including teacher appraisals that connect to the professional learning focus on self-critique.

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

The board and principal agree that it is timely to evaluate the impact of the various initiatives introduced in the past two years. Additionally, the board could strengthen its review of policies against practice, ensure that the principal’s reports to the board are more evaluative, and write board minutes so that they are useful as a self-review tool.

Further developments for school improvement include:

  • strengthening internal evaluation capability

  • enhancing teaching and learning practices responsive to children’s learning

  • developing teachers’ shared understanding of acceleration

  • improving assessment practices

  • strengthening the board’s understanding of their legislative requirements.

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.

In order to improve practice, the board should improve the system for managing complaints and in-committee minutes.

4 Going forward

Key strengths of the school

For sustained improvement and future learner success, the school can draw on existing strengths in:

  • courageous and resilient leadership showing ongoing commitment to promoting success for Māori children and whānau and all others in the school community

  • the positive way it consults with whānau to design a relevant and localised curriculum

  • building a critically reflective, child-focused and innovative teaching team.

Next steps

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

  • continued strengthening of the school’s internal evaluation practices

  • enhancing teaching and learning practices so that learning programmes appropriately challenge and stimulate children’s thinking

  • developing teachers’ shared understanding of acceleration and improving the school’s assessment approach

  • strengthening the board’s focus on meeting legislative requirements.

ERO recommends that the school seek support from the Ministry of Education to further improve its understanding of acceleration and use of data.

ERO’s next external evaluation process and timing

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

Violet Tu’uga Stevenson

Director Review and Improvement Services

Te Tai Raki - Northern Region

21 December 2018

About the school

Location

Te Kopuru, Dargaville

Ministry of Education profile number

1111

School type

Full Primary Years 1 to 8

School roll

124

Gender composition

Boys 57% Girls 43%

Ethnic composition

Māori 72%
Pākehā 23%
other ethnic groups 5%

Students with Ongoing Resourcing Funding (ORS)

Yes

Provision of Māori medium education

Yes

Number of Māori medium classes

1

Total number of students in Māori medium (MME)

20

Review team on site

October 2018

Date of this report

21 December 2018

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review September 2015
Education Review June 2014
Education Review August 2009