Te Waha O Rerekohu Area School

Te Waha o Rerekohu Area School - 02/05/2019

School Context

Te Waha o Rerekohu Area School is located in the rural township of Te Araroa on the east coast beneath Te Maunga o Whetumatarau. At the time of this ERO review there were 103 students enrolled from Years 1 to 13. Almost all students are Māori and whakapapa to Hinerupe and Tuwhakairiora and te iwi o Ngāti Porou.

The school’s whakataukī is ‘Whakapono kia koe – Believe in yourself’. The school has developed ‘The Rerekohu Way’ that has set clear expectations for behaviour and learning.

Since the previous ERO report in 2016, a new principal and deputy principal have been appointed. The long serving board chair is knowledgeable and continues in his role as do the majority of trustees. There have been new appointments to the teaching and support staff. The roll has increased over the last three years.

The school has a rūmaki reo immersion unit with students in Years 1 to 8. Te reo instruction is also available for National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) Levels 1, 2 and 3.

Leaders and teachers regularly report to the board, school-wide information about outcomes for students in the following areas:

  • reading, writing and mathematics
  • panui, tuhituhi, pāngarau and taha korero
  • NCEA and qualifications on the New Zealand qualifications framework
  • attendance, business in the classroom and conduct (ABC’s)
  • value added to student knowledge and understanding of the localised curriculum.

Teachers have participated in a range of professional learning and development (PLD) programmes including teaching as inquiry, numeracy and literacy strategies and effective use of digital technology.

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 equity and excellence for all its students

The school can show in 2018 in Years 1 to 8 most of the students were achieving at the expected curriculum levels in reading and the majority in writing and mathematics. Boys were significantly outperforming girls in reading. Though there is disparity between girls and boys in writing and mathematics the gap has been decreasing over time.

The school can show that the majority of students in the rūmaki reo immersion unit are achieving at the expected levels in panui, tuhituhi, pāngarau and taha korero.

Achievement at Years 9 and 10 shows half the students are achieving in reading and writing and less than half in mathematics and this pattern has been relatively consistent over the last two years.

2018 NCEA data confirmed by NZQA shows almost all students are achieving Level 1, the majority are achieving Level 2 and all that stay for Year 13 are achieving Level 3 and University Entrance. Few students are endorsed with merit.

Over the last three years there has been no consistent pattern of disparity.

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

The school can show some effective acceleration for at-risk learners in reading, writing and mathematics. Leaders collated and analysed acceleration data for 2018 while ERO was onsite.

Leaders are still developing systems to monitor the extent, pace and sufficiency of progress to determine if students at-risk of underachieving are on track to achieve accelerated progress. Some teachers can show acceleration for individual students, but this is not inclusive of all students who require it.

Cohort tracking over a four-year period also shows that almost all the students who were at risk of underachieving in Year 9 and stayed until Year 12 and 13, made accelerated progress to achieve the National Certificate of Educational Achievement Level 2 or above.

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?

Leaders and teachers build relational trust and effective collaboration across the school community to provide an environment conducive to learning. The school has developed, through whānau consultation, a contextual, localised curriculum that strengthens students’ knowledge and understanding of their language, culture and identity. There is a strategic and sequential approach to incorporating te reo me ōna tikanga o Tuwhakairiora specifically and Ngāti Porou. The school proactively identifies and draws on community resources to enhance learning opportunities, achievement and wellbeing for students.

The school actively promotes a culture of care for students and this fosters a strong sense of belonging and inclusion. Trustees generously fund a range of initiatives that provide equitable opportunities to learn for all students and respond to community aspirations. Leaders and teachers set high expectations for all learners through the ABC point system that supports students to build a sense of pride ‘in our place’. The school has a range of intervention and support programmes for students achieving below expected curriculum levels. There is an effective system for tracking and monitoring the progress and achievement of at-risk learners who are participating in NCEA. Most teachers have fully engaged with professional learning opportunities to grow their collective capacity in the teaching of mathematics, writing and te reo Māori. There are positive, respectful relationships at the school amongst leaders, teachers, students and their parents and this promotes a calm, settled environment for learning.

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

In-school processes and practices need to be further refined to achieve equitable and excellent outcomes for all learners.

An urgent priority for senior leaders is to develop specific, measurable targets for the acceleration of at-risk learners and build a school wide understanding of internal evaluation. This is required to:

  • establish a clear line of sight to at-risk learners through the alignment of targets from trustees, leaders, syndicates and teachers

  • regularly track, monitor and report to the board on the progress of all target students particularly Years 1 to 10

  • ensure all students with special educational needs are provided with individual learning plans

  • strengthen the teaching as inquiry process to build teacher capability to accelerate the progress of those students who require it

  • evaluate the effectiveness of programmes, processes and practices to accelerate the learning of students at risk of not achieving equitable outcomes.

Clarify roles, responsibilities and expectations for leadership and develop a more coherent and integrated way to make and sustain improvements overtime to lift school performance.

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.

4 ERO’s Overall Judgement

On the basis of the findings of this review, ERO’s overall evaluation judgement of Te Waha o Rerekohu Area School performance in achieving valued outcomes for its students is: Developing.

ERO’s Framework: Overall School Performance is available on ERO’s website.

5 Going forward

Key strengths of the school

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

  • contextually rich curriculum that promotes student’s strong cultural identity
  • a culture of collaboration among leaders, teachers, parents and whānau, that maintains high expectations for teaching and learning throughout the school

Next steps

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

  • internal evaluation processes that ensures the alignment of targets, action plans, teacher inquiry and regular reporting to monitor progress and acceleration for at-risk learners
  • leadership working in a coherent and strategic way to ensure ongoing improvement for all students across the school.

Actions for compliance

ERO identified non-compliance in relation to the 2108 annual appraisal of the principal against the professional standards for principals.

In order to address this, the board of trustees must:

  • Ensure the process for the principal’s appraisal in 2019 is fully implemented and meets legislative requirements.
    [NZ Gazette and relevant Collective Employment Agreement]

Areas for improved compliance practice

To improve current practice, the board of trustees should:

  • Ensure the online tool used for teachers’ appraisal is fully implemented to meet the requirements of the Teaching Council.

Phillip Cowie

Director Review and Improvement Services Central

Central Region

2 May 2019

About the school

Location

Te Araroa

Ministry of Education profile number

550

School type

Composite (Years 1 to 13)

School roll

103

Gender composition

Boys 53% Girls 47%

Ethnic composition

Māori 99%
Pākehā 1%

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)

8

Total number of students in Māori language in English medium (MLE)

10

Number of students in Level 1 MME

8

Number of students in Level 2 MME

10

Review team on site

March 2019

Date of this report

2 May 2019

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review June 2015
Education Review May 2013
Education Review June 2010

Te Waha o Rerekohu Area School - 30/06/2015

Findings

Students develop a strong sense of place and belonging. Staff demonstrate a holistic approach to the education and support of students, who enjoy appropriate levels of success in academic, cultural, sporting and social endeavours. School leadership is providing a positive sense of direction for the community and student achievement.

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

1 Background and Context

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

Te Waha o Rerekohu Area School is situated in the rural township of Te Araroa on the east coast beneath Te Maunga o Whetumatarau. It caters for 84 students in Years 1 to 13. All but three of these students whākapapa to Hinerupe and Tuwhakairiora and te iwi o Ngāti Porou. Students are strongly affirmed in their language, culture and identity. The majority of teaching staff are Māori and whākapapa to Ngāti Porou and provide positive role models for all students. There has been a decrease in staffing and a decline in the number of students, since the last ERO report.

Since 2013 a new deputy principal has strengthened the senior leadership team and provided additional support for the principal.

The 2013 ERO report identified the need to implement a performance management system, strengthen assessment practices, and governance and management systems. Considerable ongoing professional development and support from Ministry of Education (MOE) and external consultants has been provided in these areas. There has been comprehensive reporting of student achievement to the board by the principal and syndicates.

2 Review and Development

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

Priorities identified for review and development

Develop and implement a performance management system that meets legislative requirements

Progress

At the time of the 2013 review the school did not have a performance management system for the principal or staff that met legislative requirements. Significant progress has been made and the school now has:

  • documented clear performance management policy and procedural guidelines
  • completed a full appraisal cycle for all staff in 2014, that included reflection of practice, classroom observations and written feedback to guide professional development
  • annual reporting to the board on the outcome of the performance management process.
Areas for further development

The school needs to make clearer links between strategic priorities and teacher performance objectives in the appraisal process. This is likely to bring a stronger and consistent focus on areas for development across the school. In addition senior leaders should work with staff to evaluate the effectiveness of the performance management system in relation to teaching and learning and student achievement.

The board needs to recognise its responsibility to manage the performance of the principal annually. This appraisal is to include the teaching role of the principal and reflect school strategic priorities.

Assessment practice and use of data
Progress

The 2013 ERO report identified many aspects of the management of assessment that required review and development.

All staff and trustees have been involved in significant professional development in this area facilitated by MOE personnel and external consultants. Senior leaders and staff have made considerable progress in the following areas:

  • The development and implementation of an assessment schedule for both the senior and junior syndicates.
  • The more effective use of an electronic system for the collection, analysis and sharing of student achievement information.
  • An increased awareness among teachers of the importance of using achievement information to inform their planning to meet the different learning needs of students.
  • The more systematic tracking of the progress of students participating in NCEA qualifications.
  • The recent development of more visual formats for reporting to parents on their child’s achievement and progress against National Standards.
  • The setting of targets to raise student achievement in the school charter.
Areas for further development

Senior leaders and teachers should now consolidate their use of data and information to evaluate how successfully they are meeting the learning needs of all their students, including those at risk of not reaching their educational goals. This evaluation should include monitoring the progress of students as they move from the primary to secondary areas of the school.

Students need to be better informed about their own achievement and progress to encourage them to take greater responsibility for their own learning. 

Governance and management practices
Progress

Senior leaders meet on a regular basis and maintain a strong focus on professional development and practice. They have been proactive and flexible in the use of restricted staffing resources to provide appropriate learning pathways for students. These leaders are working successfully with staff and students to strengthen the positive school culture.

Areas for further development

It is important that a productive and supportive partnership is established between the principal and the board of trustees, built on a shared and agreed understanding of governance and management roles and responsibilities.

A review of board operations should now be undertaken to ensure:

  • trustees are well informed and empowered to contribute in their respective roles
  • transparency of decision making processes
  • requirements for board attendance and composition are met.

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 well placed to sustain and continue to improve and review its performance.

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. 

Conclusion

Students develop a strong sense of place and belonging. Staff demonstrate a holistic approach to the education and support of students, who enjoy appropriate levels of success in academic, cultural, sporting and social endeavours. School leadership is providing a positive sense of direction for the community and student achievement.

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

Dale Bailey
Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern

30 June 2015

About the School 

Location

Te Araroa

Ministry of Education profile number

550

School type

Composite (Years 1 to 13)

School roll

84

Gender composition

Boys      43
Girls       41

Ethnic composition

Māori
Pākehā

81
  3

Special Features

Rumaki Reo (Year 1-8)

Review team on site

May 2015

Date of this report

30 June 2015

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review
Education Review
Education Review

May 2013
June 2010
June 2006