School Context
Te Kuiti High School is a co-educational secondary school providing education for students in Years 9 to 13. It is located in Te Kuiti. The roll of 295 includes 165 Māori students. At the time of this ERO review, three international students attended the school.
The school’s mission statement and values are currently under review. Strategic goals for 2019 – 2021 include goals focused on student achievement, teaching practice, manaakitanga and communication pathways between the school and its community.
Leaders and teachers regularly report to the board, schoolwide information about outcomes for students in the following areas:
- achievement within the New Zealand Qualifications Framework.
Since the previous ERO review in 2015, a new principal and team of deputy principals have been appointed. The recently-elected board of trustees includes several first-term representatives.
The school is a member of the Waitomo Kāhui Ako.
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 not achieving equitable and excellent outcomes for all students.
Achievement data over the last three years shows that the majority of students achieve at Levels 1 and 2 of the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA). However, less than half of students achieve at NCEA Level 3 and University Entrance (UE).
The school is not analysing overall achievement data for students in Years 9 and 10.
Rates of achievement at all levels of NCEA have decreased over time. In 2019, enrolment-based achievement data shows that almost half of students achieved at NCEA Level 1 and just over half achieved at Level 2. Approximately one quarter of students achieved NCEA Level 3 and UE. Of those students who achieved NCEA Level 3, approximately half gained a Merit or Excellence endorsement.
Data over time shows that patterns of significant disparity at all levels of NCEA and in UE for Māori students have not been addressed by the school. Māori students achieve significantly less well than their Pākehā peers at NCEA Levels 1 and 2, and disparity is increasing at Level 3 and in UE. Enrolment-based data for 2019 shows that one third of Māori students gained NCEA Level 1 and approximately half of Māori students gained NCEA Level 2. Very few Māori students gained Level 3 and UE.
There is also an ongoing pattern of significant disparity for boys who achieve less well than girls in NCEA Levels 2 and 3. Enrolment-based data for 2019 shows that less than half of boys achieved NCEA Level 1 and just over half achieved NCEA Level 2. In 2019, there was significant disparity between boys and girls in UE.
School leavers’ data since 2016 shows the number of students leaving the school with a minimum of an NCEA Level 2 qualification is significantly decreasing. In 2018, the large majority of girls left Te Kuiti High School with a minimum of NCEA Level 2. However, less than half of Māori students and boys left school with a minimum of NCEA Level 2.
The school does not formally collect and analyse information about students’ further education and employment beyond school.
1.2 How well is the school accelerating learning for those Māori and other students who need this?
The school is not effectively accelerating learning for those Māori and other students who need this.
The school collated available achievement data during the onsite phase of the review. This analysis showed that over a three-year period some students, including Māori, who began school at Year 9 achieving below expected curriculum levels, and who stayed until Year 11, made accelerated progress to achieve NCEA Level 1. However, rates of acceleration are not yet sufficient.
Developing schoolwide capability, systems and processes to consistently collate, analyse and report information about accelerated progress for Māori and other students who require it is an urgent priority.
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?
Leadership has recently introduced strategies and initiatives in response to the school’s achievement information. There has been a focus on working towards strengthening te ao Māori schoolwide and there have been some changes to pastoral systems. Positive relationships are evident between teachers and students. Respectful interactions support settled classroom environments where students are confident to contribute. Teachers are beginning to integrate local contexts into learning activities to increase student engagement.
2.2 What further developments are needed in school processes and practices for achievement of equity and excellence, and acceleration of learning?
Leaders need to develop a coherent, strategic approach to prioritise the improvement of equitable and excellent outcomes for students. This needs to include:
- communicating the rationale for change
- clarifying roles and responsibilities
- aligning systems and processes to ensure consistent practice across the school.
Building the capability of leaders and teachers to effectively use, analyse and report achievement information is a priority. Increased accountability and scrutiny are required at all levels. This needs to include developing:
- a shared understanding of accelerated progress to improve outcomes for learners most at risk
- appropriate acceleration targets to address and respond effectively to all at-risk learners
- a robust tracking and monitoring system of all students at risk from Years 9 to 13.
Trustees, leaders and teachers need to develop their knowledge and understanding of effective evaluation. This should support:
- identifying priorities for improving teacher capability and capacity to better respond to the individual needs of learners
- the development of a responsive curriculum for meaningful pathways for at-risk students, and to improve retention, engagement and achievement
- knowing and understanding the effectiveness and impact of initiatives and interventions on outcomes for all at-risk students.
Trustees need to develop their knowledge and understanding of their roles and responsibilities relating to legislative compliance. This includes ensuring that school policies and procedures are known across the school community and consistently followed.
3 Other Matters
Provision for international students
The school is a signatory to the Education (Pastoral Care of International Students) Code of Practice 2016 (the Code) established under section 238F of the Education Act 1989. The school has attested that it complies with all aspects of the Code.
At the time of this ERO review there were three international students attending the school, including one exchange student.
The school has effective practices and systems in place for the provision of education and care of its international students. There are good opportunities promoted for them to share their culture, integrate and involve themselves in school life and community, as well as achieve academic success.
4 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 Children’s Act 2014.
5 ERO’s Overall Judgement
On the basis of the findings of this review, ERO’s overall evaluation judgement of Te Kuiti High School’s performance in achieving valued outcomes for its students is: Needs development.
ERO will maintain an ongoing relationship with the school to build capacity and evaluate progress.
ERO’s Framework: Overall Findings and Judgement Tool derived from School Evaluation Indicators: Effective Practice for Improvement and Learner Success is available on ERO’s website.
6 Going forward
Key strengths of the school
For sustained improvement and future learner success, the school can draw on existing strengths in:
- leadership that is committed to improving outcomes for students.
Next steps
For sustained improvement and future learner success, priorities for further development are in:
- systems and processes to support consistent practice schoolwide
- management and use of achievement information to respond effectively to all at-risk learners and improve equitable and excellent outcomes for students
- teachers’ knowledge and understanding of strategies to effectively respond to the learning needs of at-risk students
- internal evaluation capability at all levels to understand the impact and effectiveness of all aspects of school organisation.
Actions for compliance
ERO identified non-compliance in relation to personnel and health and safety. In order to address this, the board of trustees must implement policies, procedures and practices on:
- the physical restraint of students, including ensuring that the names and positions of authorised staff are documented, and appropriate steps are taken to ensure that parents, students, school staff and community know about the school’s policies for managing challenging behaviour and using physical restraint
[Clause 4 & 10 Education (Physical Restraint) Rules 2017]
- safety checking of new and existing employees
[Children’s Act 2014; regulations 5 – 8 of the Vulnerable Children (Requirements for Safety Checks of Children’s Workers) Regulations 2015]
- mandatory reporting to the Teaching Council when required.
[Education Act 1989, sections 392 – 395]
Areas for improved compliance practice
To improve current practice, the board of trustees should ensure that:
- the school’s complaints procedures are consistently followed, and responses are appropriately documented
- processes and practices to support students’ wellbeing are reviewed and strengthened
- health and safety processes are strengthened, and outcomes are reported to the board.
Recommendations to other agencies
ERO recommends that the Ministry of Education and New Zealand School Trustees Association consider providing support for the school in order to bring about improvement in:
- curriculum, teaching practice and student achievement
- legislative compliance and scrutiny of the school’s effectiveness in improving outcomes for students.
Darcy Te Hau
Acting Director Review and Improvement Services
Central Region - Te Tai Pūtahi Nui
26 June 2020
About the school
The Education Counts website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement.